I’ve been wanting to start doing this for some time now, but I’ve never really found the time.
I’ve mentioned it a lot in the past and this isn’t exactly a hot take, but I adore NXT. There’s a reason a good 50% of my match of the year list was filled with NXT matches, as far as I’m concerned, it’s where the best wrestlers in the world do the best wrestling in the world.
So, what better opportunity to start writing about my favourite wrestling brand than it’s first major show of 2019?
Matt Riddle vs Kassius Ohno
Well, this one should be fairly simple.
Matt Riddle seems to be getting the fast track to the top in NXT, and Ohno is a surprisingly good introductory feud for him. His surprise 6-second match at Wargames seemed like it should’ve been a one and done, but I’ve actually been enjoying this whole feud quite a lot.
I imagine we’ll get more of an actual match this time around since Riddle does need an opportunity to showcase his many talents on a big stage like Takeover. It’s hard to tell where exactly Riddle will go from here, but I think we’ll see him competing for the NXT title fairly soon.
To the surprise of no-one, I’m picking Matt Riddle to walk away with the win here.
Ricochet(c) vs Johnny Gargano
(NXT North American Championship)
My body is ready.
Gargano was a 5-star match machine last year, featuring in a rather large number of my favourite matches from 2018, and it looks like he’ll be kicking this year off with another one.
Ricochet has been on fire since he got to NXT as well, with some brilliant matches against Adam Cole at Brooklyn, Pete Dunne on NXT’s weekly show and a death-defying performance at Wargames. These are two men who’s styles should blend excellently to create a memorable match that I imagine will be the stand out an already loaded card.
NXT’s storytelling can often be a lot more unpredictable than the main roster’s, so as much as it feels to me like both Gargano and Ciampa need to be holding titles going into Wrestlemania season, a better story might actually come from Gargano adopting Ciampa’s style and attitude and STILL failing. That said, I think Ricochet has done enough with the title to justify dropping it now to serve a bigger story, and it just feels right to me that Johnny Gargano picks up the title here.
The Undisputed Era(c) vs War Raiders
(NXT Tag Team Championships)
Talk about a size miss-match.
That’s the beauty with how Undisputed Era have performed during their time in NXT though, they go into matches where they have absolutely no chance and come out on top without making themselves look super weak. Sure, they’re bastards who cheat to get their way, but they also put on a damn good performance and show that they’re capable wrestlers in the process.
While I haven’t been overly impressed by what War Raiders have done in NXT so far, they’ve certainly shown promise and I’m not one to write wrestlers off very quickly, so I’m confident this will be a massive showcase for their talents as a team.
As much as I’d love to see Undisputed Era to carry on their role as sneaky heel champions that can actually wrestle, I think their time in NXT might be coming to a close rather soon. I also think a loss really wouldn’t do Hanson and Rowe any favours, so I’m picking War Raiders to pick up the titles here.
Shayna Baszler(c) vs Bianca Belair
(NXT Women’s Championship)
I’ll be honest, I’m not really huge on this match.
I’ve talked about it plenty before, but Baszler and Sane were so perfect for a feud with each other, that anything else feels pretty wrong. This is amplified by the fact that this match is heel vs heel, so it’s kinda hard to get invested.
That said, I’m sure that match will still be great. The way Shayna attacks and beats down her opponent can make you feel sympathy for pretty much anyone who suffers it, and I expect Belair here to look properly victimised at some points in the match.
I don’t think there’s any real doubt of who’s winning though. Shayna Bazler is absolutely on fire right now and her momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing any time soon, so not picking her to win here would be a pretty silly decision. I’m not entirely sure what’s going to happen with the NXT Women’s title in the next few months, but whatever it is, the title needs to be over Baszler’s shoulder.
Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs Aleister Black
(NXT Championship)
I know we say this almost every time, but this could be one of the best Takeovers ever.
These two have got to be my two absolute favourite wrestlers in the world right now and I’ve been praying for this match for so long. Both men have this aura of invinsibility around them, everything they do seems so brutal and I just know this is going to be one hell of a fight. My only worry is that Gargano could get involved, I know they’ve been teasing a heel #DIY reunion for a little while now but I really just want to watch what happens when these two smash into each other at full speed for 30 minutes.
I would love to see Black win back the title here and reign over NXT forever, but I know realistically Ciampa needs to win here. I’m really not sure where this whole story is going, which is a wonderful feeling for me personally, but I know that Tommaso Ciampa has to win here to keep things rolling.
Thank you very much for reading my Takeover predictions, I’m not sure if I’m going to write a review of the show just yet, but if I do it will come out after my Royal Rumble review, so make sure you follow me on Twitter @10ryawoo for updates. Come back tomorrow for my Royal Rumble predictions, and I’ll see you there!
The Strong Style Smark 