NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 predictions

We're now six days away from the biggest show on NXT's calendar, TakeOver: Brooklyn. This will be the fourth edition of the event, and if the past three are any indication, we're in store for a memorable event that will almost certainly outshine SummerSlam the next night.

All NXT titles will be on the line in the Barclays Center, and despite Aleister Black's catastrophically-timed injury, the card still looks like it could be one of NXT's best ever.

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Which superstars will leave the Barclays Center standing tall? Which ones will even leave standing at all?

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Velveteen Dream vs. EC3

The 1% vs. The Dream

At first glance, this match looks like the odd one out on the card. Unlike Velveteen Dream's other feuds, it doesn't have a lot of build, and it doesn't feel terribly important. Neither EC3 nor Velveteen Dream have been involved in major angles following June's TakeOver: Chicago II.

It's also a puzzling match because neither EC3 or Dream are in the best position at the moment. A high profile loss could hurt both of them quite a bit. However, Velveteen Dream certainly has the higher ceiling, and Raw could better use EC3's services (though there's no indication he's going to be called up to the main roster yet).

Velveteen Dream needs the win more here. He's coming off the heels of a high profile loss to Ricochet, and so far, his only TakeOver victory was against the comparatively lowly Kassius Ohno in Philadelphia.

To keep Velveteen Dream in the main event conversation in NXT, he needs to win this match, or else he'll have the stigma of being a perpetual big match loser. With him being a longer-term investment for NXT, he should notch the victory here.

Prediction: Velveteen Dream beats EC3

NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era (c) vs. Moustache Mountain

Part three.

There's every reason to expect lightning to strike a third time when these two teams get back in the ring together. Their first two encounters were barnburners. The second match even managed to snag a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer.

The result won't be in doubt, however. There's no way that the Undisputed Era are dropping the tag team titles so soon after winning them back. Back-and-forth title hot shots don't happen in NXT, because it devalues the gold. Furthermore, Bate and Seven are both going to be big parts of the UK division, and they won't be able to defend the NXT tag team titles as frequently as they should.

If the Undisputed Era is to drop their championships for good, it will likely come against War Raiders. We saw the first hints of that feud in the buildup to Brooklyn, and it's likely all three teams will do battle in War Games in November.

Prediction: The Undisputed Era retains the NXT Tag Team Championship

NXT North American Championship Adam Cole (c) vs. Ricochet

Bay bay!

This is the hardest match on the card to predict. Ever since the legendary ladder match in New Orleans, the North American Championship hasn't been at the forefront of NXT programming...until now.

The stakes go beyond the title. Ricochet arguably can't afford a high profile loss. At the same time, Adam Cole hasn't been able to truly stamp his place in history as being a memorable champion worthy of being the inaugural titleholder. Adam Cole dropping it so soon would feel underwhelming.

That's why I lean slightly in Cole's favor here, but it's only razor thin. Ricochet can be protected in defeat somehow, whether it's through interference or another way, and he'll almost certainly find himself continually embroiled with the Undisputed Era on the march to war games.

Prediction: Adam Cole defeats Ricochet to retain the NXT North American Championship, in cheap fashion

NXT Women's Championship: Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Kairi Sane

Round three.

In the week where we found out the Mae Young Classic finalists, we'll see a rematch of last year's final in the Barclays Center. Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler then, with Baszler subsequently getting her win back in February. The two are 1-1 against each other. This will be the rubber match.

While it definitely wouldn't feel surprising if Shayna Baszler retained her title, there are many other moving parts here.

Shayna Baszler has been a dominant bully with the championship, but it now feels like her reign has run its course. She's already decisively defeated every babyface in the NXT women's division. None save Sane have any momentum at the moment, and if she were to lose here, Baszler would have no competition left. The only alternative would be to hot shot the two Mae Young Classic finalists to title contention, but with that final at Evolution taking place only three weeks before War Games, the build would be extremely underwhelming, with a result that would either snuff all the heat of the challenger or put the title on that challenger with a premature payoff.

Furthermore, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn always has a signature babyface triumph. The first came with Bayley's cathartic victory over Sasha Banks to finally capture the NXT Women's Championship. The second came with Shinsuke Nakamura cementing his rise to the NXT Championship. The third came with Drew McIntyre's triumphant return to the company as a reinvigorated competitor, taking the NXT Championship along the way. With the way this year's NXT Championship match will likely go, this would be the other possible big babyface moment. Triple H usually likes to have babyfaces be the ultimate victors in extended feuds like this.

Kairi Sane is also being advertised for Raw's Osaka show, and sending her in as champion seems the logical thing to do (and NXT actually has logic). Shayna Baszler has also already teased her arrival on Raw, as she showed up there about a month ago, claiming she ran out of competition in NXT.

And then there's Io Shirai, who will likely be in the audience. She and Sane have years of history together as friends and rivals, and an NXT Women's Championship program between them has the potential to be the best feud for that title since Sasha Banks and Bayley.

All of these things point to Sane's victory. If any title in Brooklyn is the likeliest to change hands, it's this one.

Prediction: Kairi Sane defeats Shayna Baszler to become the new NXT Women's Champion.

NXT Championship: Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano

No man standing.

Aleister Black's injury led to this singles match being made a last man standing contest. It's a conveniently chosen stipulation.

Neither Johnny Gargano nor Tommaso Ciampa can afford a loss at this moment in their story. Tommaso Ciampa dropping the NXT Championship so soon would ruin the ultimate payoff, and Johnny Gargano is in no condition to win the gold now because of his descent into madness. He needs to find the Johnny Wrestling character everyone loved before that happens.

Because of this, there will be no winner. After over thirty minutes in what could be the most brutal match of 2018, both champion and challenger will fail to make the ten count. Both of them will be carried out of the Barclays Center on stretchers, which will leave their record at one win apiece with one draw.

The rubber match will take place later on, with Hell in a Cell being the only appropriate stipulation.

Prediction: A draw. Tommaso Ciampa retains the NXT Championship by default.