The NXT roster is back at Full Sail University tonight for the beginning of the build to Takeover: Philadelphia. I’m @Parkman15Love, here to give Win Columns official WWE NXT Preview. So….
Just a fan of the Black Eyed Peas early work.
Tonight’s matches
Kassius Ohno vs Velveteen Dream
Three matches have been announced on the WWE’s official preview. All will act as qualifying matches for a Fatal 4-Way to determine the #1 Contender to Andrade “Cien” Almas’ NXT Championship. First match will pit Kassius Ohno vs Velveteen Dream. Both are coming off a “L” at Takeover: War Games (if you live under a rock, I had a full breakdown you can read here!) and have been entered in this qualifying match… for… reasons! This match should be a very good match, first of all. But for those who read the spoilers (Coming soon to Win Column Sports!!) will likely have some questions about this match. I, for one, am extremely excited to see how they get through this match. That being said, anyone who watched the Dream’s match with Aleister Black knows he can wrestle. Ohno has put on great matches with most opponents, so this should be fun.
Trent Seven vs Killian Dain
The second qualifying match will pit Trent Seven vs Killian Dain. The Beast of Belfast is probably one of the best men’s entertainers in NXT. He was a great heel during SAniTy’s early run, and has been very entertaining as a face. Please tell me you guys saw him eat the key after locking the cage at War Games.
That is commitment.
Trent Seven is great as well: I had little background knowledge on Moustache Mountain before the UK Tournament. Him and Tyler Bate have proven to be extremely entertaining and wildly innovative sports entertainers. The combination of Dain’s power vs the craftiness of Trent Seven should be a good way to spend a Wednesday evening.
Ruby Riott vs Sonya Deville
The final match is a rematch from last week: Ruby Riott vs Sonya Deville. WWE.com is promoting this as their final showdown, so expect a good way to go out for the two of these competitors. I wont lie, I’m not the biggest fan of these two: Ruby needs a bit more of a character development, and Sonya needs a bit more training in the ring. Being brought up in a group helps mask these deficiencies (I feel bad for even putting it that way), but they could use some more time at Full Sail. That being said, this match will be No Holds Barred. Will Riot be able to overcome the greatest barrier in WWE tonight: 50/50 booking? Or will Sonya get her win back and send them up to their respective rosters up as equals?
Will it finally lead to a sequel of the main event of WrestleMania 6? Let’s hope not.
The Championship Picture
WWE announced earlier that there will be a championship celebration for Andrade Cien Almas and his associate Zelina Vega. El Idolo will be given the night off, and I would expect a solid promo from him focusing on the injury he caused Drew McIntyre before taking the title off him. What is to be expected from him though with qualifying matches to determine his #1 contender taking place starting tonight? For the first time in World Wrestling Entertainment, will we see…… interference?
The Tag Team titles are in an interesting place right now. AOP hasn’t gotten a one-on-one rematch for the titles they lost, but it looks like Undisputed Era is next in line after pinning Eric Young. Will we be seeing another triple threat in Philly? How will GM William Regal solve this? Will the babyface team SAniTy give each team a shot individually? Lets check it out!
The women’s championship picture is fairly murky. After capturing the recently vacated Women’s championship, Ember Moon has a ton of potential challengers. Will we see someone step up to her in a backstage feature? Who will it be? Kairi Sane, Nikki Cross and Peyton Royce do still seem to be the leading candidates: I would expect a one on one match for any of these women in Philadelphia.
Thoughts, Predictions, etc.
- I do love seeing UK Superstars start to get opportunities in NXT. In an ideal world, Wednesdays would feature two solid hours of wrasslin: One for NXT, one for the UK Division.
- With their win at the first War Games in years, expect a quiet, classy celebration from Adam Cole and Crew.
- The Street Profits are getting close to an Asuka Level streak.
- Will we get anything from Johnny Wrestling tonight?
- I can’t wait for Ciampa to return. I cant wait for the DIY Feud to come full circle. It is getting close to early 2018 (the projected return date) for him…
All in all, It should be a great show tonight! The matches look good, the beginning of the reign of Almas, and the great story telling from NXT’s creative have gotten me interested in how the Philadelphia Takeover will be built.
As always, let me know your thoughts by tweeting at me @Parkman15Love!
We’ll see you next week!
To read some of my older predictions & articles:
This Week in Wrestling: December 1st
