6 major questions for tonight's NXT tapings (September 20)

NXT comes back to Full Sail tonight for the next set of TV tapings, covering the September 26th through October 17th episodes. These tapings will take us through the halfway point between TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 and TakeOver: War Games II. While we've only gotten hints so far, the card for the latter event should begin taking definitive shape over the next four weeks.

With that in mind, here are some major questions looming over the yellow brand as it begins its next session.

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#1 Will the Dream demand Ciampa's spotlight?

Will Dream tell Ciampa that beating "Johnny Failure" isn't a big deal?

Tommaso Ciampa declared that he had no number one contender for his title, proudly stating that he won while Johnny Gargano and Aleister Black lost. He'll take on Otis Dozovic next week after an encounter in the infamous Full Sail parking lot, but that's just a warm-up for the champ.

Ciampa bragged about the spotlight being on him during his last appearance, but if there's one other superstar that craves and demands that spotlight, it's the Velveteen Dream, who has emerged as the likeliest challenger for the NXT Championship after he dispatched Johnny Gargano (or "Johnny Failure") on September 5th.

Ciampa and Dream have had some recent house show matches which have been widely praised. Will that translate over to television and will we see Dream start to demand the biggest spotlight against the champ?

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#2 Has Johnny done goofed and did it?

Is there another big "failure" looming?

Ever since his match with Ciampa at TakeOver: Chicago II, Johnny Gargano has slowly descended into madness. Could that madness have induced him to actually attack Aleister Black?

Other potential perpetrators, such as Tommaso Ciampa, Lars Sullivan, and Kassius Ohno have seemingly been cleared. That, along with Gargano's non-denial four weeks ago and Candice LeRae's strange behavior last night, have firmly placed him in the role of prime suspect.

If it isn't him, and a swerve is on the way, it will feel rather anticlimactic.

#3 What's next for Kairi and Shayna?

The war isn't over.

We found out that Shayna Baszler was indeed going to invoke her rematch clause over these past few episodes. Kairi, for her part, isn't intimidated, but Shayna Baszler looked even more dangerous than she did during her title reign. The loss clearly put another chip on her shoulder, just as the Mae Young Classic loss did.

The rematch will likely take place at Evolution, but what happens between now and then, and what will War Games look like behind it? Is it possible that with the horsewomen stuff in full swing on the house show circuit, Shayna will bring back up? If so, Kairi could have potential backup as well.

#4 What chaos will we encounter on the road to War Games?

After last night's match of the year candidate between Pete Dunne and Ricochet was halted by the Undisputed Era, it's clear that both men have a lot of lingering beef with the yellow brand's resident hooligans. War Raiders entered the picture as well.

All of these superstars' lives will be intertwined over the next couple of months as NXT heads into Los Angeles on November 17th. But what alliances will form? Will we see the return of Moustache Mountain to Full Sail along the way?

Whatever the case, all of these guys will find themselves inside two rings and a gigantic steel cage.

#5 How does Bianca Belair deal with Nikki Cross?

Bianca Belair continues to hype her NXT undefeated streak and clearly wants a title shot, but before she can get there, she'll have to get through Nikki Cross, who battled her to a draw a week ago.

How will these two interact with one another over the coming weeks? We'll likely see a stipulation match to settle the score between them, but of what kind? And what does Bianca's calendar look like as Evolution and War Games come closer?

#6 Will Matt Riddle and Io Shirai debut?

It's the same question as before. WWE's two biggest recent acquisitions didn't make their Full Sail debuts during the last set of tapings. Will this time be any different?

For Matt Riddle, the path is obvious. A confrontation with Kassius Ohno is looming, as he has said that he's tired of hot new acquisitions always jumping him in the pecking order.

Io Shirai will debut in the Mae Young Classic next week. Having done so, will she make her NXT TV debut shortly afterward? She and Kairi Sane have gotten tangled up with Shayna and her UFC horsewomen allies on the house show circuit in recent weeks, so will she come to Kairi's aid in her war against the Queen of Spades?