NXT Preview - August 15, 2020
The final episode before TakeOver: Brooklyn IV comes tonight, headlined by a match between Tyler Bate & Roderick Strong. While tonight’s episode won’t have tons of wrestling, expect quite a few vignettes for the announced match-ups for TakeOver. With three of the five matches being a rubber match, excitement levels are still extremely high. You excited? I know I am.
A recap of last week’s episode:
- Nikki Cross def. Amber Nova
- Kassius Ohno def. Adrian Jaoude
- Ricochet is attacked during his entrance by The Undisputed Era.
- Keith Lee def. Marcel Barthel
- Tanyara Conti def. Vanessa Bourne to qualify for the Mae Young Classic.
- Johnny Gargano vs Aleister Black comes to a N/C when Tommaso Ciampa attacks both men. William Regal comes out to make the NXT Championship match a triple threat. However, Black is found unconscious in the parking lot after the episode, and written out of the match.
As always, I’m Parker Love – here with your weekly NXT Preview!
Note: Read at your own risk: Spoilers are available on Win Column Sports.
The Main Event
After an episode built around the NXT Championship Scene & North American Championship - the other two are getting some love tonight. Tyler Bate takes on Roderick Strong in 1-on-1 action in tonights main event. This is just a little preview of the barn-burner we’ll get in Brooklyn between Mustache Mountain & The Undisputed Era. While being two of the best tag teams in the world, these two are also two incredible individual wrestlers.
Other Segments
There’s room for only one Pirate in wrestling, according to Next US Champ @CodyRhodes. #G128
➡️ https://t.co/8n90d75Nfk pic.twitter.com/dZHvz65wv3
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) August 12, 2020
Everyone’s favorite pirate - including Cody’s - Kairi Sane is in action tonight ahead of her championship match against Shayna Baszler. Sane takes on a staple of the championship scene, Aliyah. This match comes after Aliyah said Sane doesn’t have the killer instinct to take down Baszler. Expect a cheeky rollup victory for Aliyah.
An extremely entertaining poolside summit led to Velveteen Dream getting thrown in a pool by EC3. Now, Dream is scheduled to “verbally respond” to Derrick Bateman’s former vessel. While these two have had an okay build to what should be a great match - who’s going to win? They both need a victory; Dream to get into the main event scene, and EC3 to get his first signature win to help NXT become NX3.
Finally, after distracting The Mighty and costing them their match against Heavy Machinery, we’ll see The Mighty take on The Street Profits. I can’t help but feel like these three teams are just stuck in a treadmill, taking on each other over and over again before someone needs to take on the War Raiders.
The Championship Scene
North American Champion Adam Cole “proved” to Ricochet that he’s not a coward last week by beating him down with three other men. Cole vs Ricochet should be one of the best matches of the weekend, if not THE best. The build has been fairly well done, though I am torn - who will go through and win this match?
This author sure isn’t going to complain about Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano III. A Last Man Standing match is sure to be absolutely brutal, and we all know the potential these matches have. Is it just me though, or does this stink of a non-finish? I would have preferred the rubber match to be inside of a cell, personally. I should really just shut up though. This Triple H guy can book a card. However, the build for this match has been perfect.
My Thoughts
- Who attacked Aleister Black? My heart says Kassius Ohno - I want to see the guy on a heel run, that’s just me. But my mind says Lars Sullivan, he should be suspect #1 after his broken jaw.
- I wrote an article last week on two potential NXT prospects - want to see them in NXT?
- Callups usually come after Summerslam, but my heart wants to see SAnitY get back Nikki Cross so badly. It’s just not the same without her.
That’s it for tonight! What do you think about tonight’s episode? Let us know by commenting, or by following us on FaceBook and Twitter! Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Last 5!
- Smackdown Live Preview: August 14
- Monday Night Hayden: A Preview of the RAW Before SummerSlam
- IIOY: World of Trios #16 – Like Knightrider, But On a Boat, Kinda?
- BREAKING: Two Stars Pulled From Independent Event
- ICYMI: More Names Announced for MYC