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This Friday, WWE will officially kick-off the WrestleMania 35 weekend by presenting NXT Takeover: New York from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. NXT Takeovers have always delivered and this one isn't an exception. In fact, many are saying that this card has the potential to be the best Takeover ever and that is saying something.
The event will see Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano facing off for the vacant NXT Championship in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. Elsewhere on the card, we have Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler locking horns for the NXT Women's Championship. The King of Bros or rather The Original Bro, Matt Riddle will look to put some gold around his waist as he goes up against The Velveteen Dream for the NXT American Championship.
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With such a stacked card, NXT Takeover: New York has 'Show of the Year' written all over it. NXT is renowned for its high-quality matches and brilliant storytelling and we expect to see the same, come April 5th. Here are five things that could happen at NXT Takeover: New York.
#5 Aleister Black and Ricochet winning the NXT Tag Team Championship
The odd-pairing of Ricochet and Aleister Black has been quite a successful one. Not only is the duo making waves on the main roster, but they have also earned a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championships against The War Raiders at NXT Takeover: New York by winning the Dusty Tag Team Classic Tournament.
Black and Ricochet defeated The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cuttler) in the finals of the said tournament. The decision to have Ricochet and Black win the Dusty Cup did surprise a lot of fans given that the duo is a regular feature on the main roster.
Black and Ricochet already have a title match scheduled for this week's Monday Night RAW as they are set to face against the Current RAW Tag Team Champions, The Revival. They are the favourites heading into this match and are excepted to walk out of RAW as the new RAW Tag Team Champions.
With many excepting Black and Ricochet to bid adieu to the black and yellow brand, they could end up shocking the world and dethroning the War Raiders. A win for Hanson and Rowe would make Black and Ricochet the first team to hold the RAW and NXT Tag Team Championship simultaneously. Given how much the WWE likes to swerve its fans, we won't be surprised to see the duo winning the tag titles at Takeover.
#4 Bianca Belair winning the NXT Women's Championship
One of the biggest talking points coming out of NXT Takeover: Phoenix was the flack Sam Roberts received due to his criticism of Bianca BelAir. Roberts threw a lot of shade at the EST of NXT saying that she wasn't ready for Takeover. Belair would later respond to Robert's criticism and let's stay that she didn't take too kindly to the criticism. While the match itself was anything spectacular, the very fact that Belair was able to hold her fort in a high-profile match spoke volumes about the kind of talent she is.
BelAir will have a shot at redemption as she will be a part of the Fatal Fourway Match for the NXT Women's Championship. Belair will go up against the Japanese duo of Io Shirai and Kairi Sane and the current NXT Women's Champion, Shayna Baszler. BelAir's stock has been on the rise ever since she made her debut in 2017.
With Baszler potentially moving up to the main roster following WrestleMania 35, BelAir winning the women's title makes a lot of sense. BelAir has proven with her previous performance that she is ready to carry the women's division forward. Besides, BelAir is a fully homegrown talent and we all know how much WWE loves its homegrown talent.
#3 WALTER ending the reign of the Bruiserweight
With a reign of over 680+ days as WWE United Kingdom Champion, Pete Dunne has etched his name in history books as the longest reigning champion in modern WWE. The Bruiserweight has run through competition and has defeated the likes of Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Zack Gibson, Mark Andrews, and Joe Coffey. For a while it seemed like that the Dunne was truly unstoppable, that is until he came face to face with the Ring General, WALTER.
One of the biggest signings for NXT's UK division, WALTER is one of the most renowned big men in the business. The Austrian is a deadly mix of athleticism and brute strength, a combination which is hard to find in today's time. WALTER is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the UK independent scene and has won major championships in every promotion he has been in. He is a former Progress, PWG and wXw World Champion.
Although he debuted on NXT UK a few months ago, WALTER has dominated all of his opponents thus far and will look to carve the chest of Pete Dunne on April 5th and break his record-breaking Championship reign.
#2 The NXT debut of Kushida
After losing his IWGP Junior Heavyweight to Taiji Ishiimori at Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4th, Kushida officially announced his departure from New Japan the very next day via a press conference. Kushida has been the flagbearer of the company's Junior division for the past few years and will go down in history as one of the best Junior Heavyweights of all time. He is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, has won the prestigious Best of the Super Junior twice (2015 and 2017) and the Super Jr. Tag Tournament once in 2012.
The former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion had his last match in New Japan at Road to The New Beginning on January 29 against Hiroshi Tanahashi with his NJPW contract expiring on January 31st. The 'Time Splitter' has for long been in WWE'S radar with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reporting last Summer that the company has been sending out feelers to the Japanese star.
In addition to high-octane matches and immaculate production value, NXT Takeover's are renowned for being the platform for new stars to declare their arrival on the black and yellow brand. Over the years, we have seen stars like Bobby Roode, Drew McIntyre, Matt Riddle, and Ricochet be in the crowd during Takeover. Although we haven't heard anything from Kushida since he left New Japan, he is excepted to be at ringside at Takeover: New York.
#1 Johnny Gargano finally winning the NXT Championship
One of the longest-tenured NXT superstars in history, Johnny Wrestling has achieved everything in NXT, except winning the NXT Championship. The Ohio-native has previously challenged for the top prize on multiple occasions but came up short. Gargano was initially supposed to face his friend-turned-foe, Tomasso Ciampa for the NXT Championship at NXT Takeover: New York.
But the Blackheart suffered neck injury which required surgery and he had to relinquish 'Goldie', thereby putting an abrupt end to one of the best WWE feuds of the last decade. Gargano defeating Ciampa and winning the NXT Championship would've been a fairytale ending to a two-year long feud. But as they say, all stories don't have a fairytale ending.
Gargano would instead face Adam Cole in a two out of three falls match for the vacant NXT Championship. Although Gargano has already debuted on the main roster, NXT is where the Rebelheart truly shines. It would be a travesty for Gargano to come up to the main roster without ever having won the NXT Championship. Gargano finally winning the NXT Championship despite the numerous roadblocks he has faced over the years will be a perfect way to cap off the biggest show in NXT history.
