NXT Preview - August 22, 2020

NXT Preview - August 22, 2020 - TakeOver: Fallout

NXT’s TakeOver: Brooklyn IV has come and gone. While not quite at the levels of Philadelphia or New Orleans, this still was a fantastic PPV. We have two new title holders, a new tag team title feud, and the next chapter of Ciampa vs Gargano to look forward to. What happens next? Let’s find out together!

As always, I’m Parker Love – here with your weekly NXT Preview!

A recap of Brooklyn IV:

Velveteen Dream def. EC3
Undisputed Era def. Mustache Mountain (NXT Tag Team Championship Match)
Ricochet def. Adam Cole (NXT North American Championship)
Kairi Sane def. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship)
Tommaso Ciampa def. Johnny Gargano (NXT Championship)

The Main Event

The longest reigning champ in WWE, Pete Dunne, is in action tonight defending his UK Championship. His opponent? Zack Gibson. These two had a stellar match just a short while ago in London, so match wise - this will be good. However, Dunne is being advertised for a title defence this weekend at NXT UK tapings… so…

What I’m most excited for is the post-match tension between Ricochet and Pete Dunne though. If there’s one thing that gets the Bruiserweights’ attention, it’s belts based on geography. Could we see a Champion versus champion feud between these two? It wouldn’t need much build, and it would tear the house down.

Other Segments

As is usually the case for the post-takeover episodes, NXT will be fairly light on matches.

However, the women’s match should be a solid one. Bianca Belair returns to NXT TV tonight after her honeymoon with Montez Ford. She’ll be in one-on-one action with MYC competitor - and new NXT signing - Deonna Purrazzo. The real-life girlfriend of Marty Scurll, she likely won’t be bringing her boyfriend to NXT, unfortunately, but she is still a very methodical wrestler. Can she beat the -EST of NXT? Probably not, but we’ll see!

Other segments will likely include recaps of the matches from TakeOver, some backstage interviews, and maybe a few segments. Perhaps any updates on Aleister Black’s attacker or a thing on Matt Riddle. That would be lovely.

The Championship Scene

Ah, the in-depth part.

Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong defeated Trent Seven and Tyler Bate Saturday and were rewarded with an ass-kicking from War Raiders. As disappointed as we all were to see Hanson and Rowe instead of Tino Sabatelli and Riddick Moss, I’m pumped for this feud. My only question - assuming War Raiders win the belt - is who could realistically take the belts off them? However, the members of Undisputed Era are all SOB’s, and they’ve got a tight grip on the belts.

The New Women’s Champion, Kairi Sane, defeated Shayna Baszler after a match I wasn’t huge on but wasn’t bad at all. I think Baszler is set to head to the main roster, especially if WWE wants the Four Horsewomen of MMA up there. Sane has a ton of potentially great matches ahead of her, though - Belair and Lacey Evans come to mind for heels, or you could get Candace LeRae in there, or even Dakota Kai. I’m on board with the Pirate Princess. Maybe even… Io Shirai?

Ricochet has his first piece of hardware in NXT. He defeated Adam Cole in a fantastic match Saturday. If you don’t think it ruled, watch this.

Even thought I picked Cole to win, I’m not upset in the slightest. Making the NA Championship the workers’ belt gives the title a lot of credibility, and Ricochet is definitely one of the best workers in NXT, if not WWE. Adam Cole is sure to not just forget about this though; where do both these men go next from here?

Mega-douche Tommaso Ciampa continues to hold onto the belt, mostly cause Johnny Gargano does not think logically. Johnny went full on dumb babyface, a la Sting, and hurt his knee trying to get revenge on Tommaso Ciampa. He cost himself the match by becoming his enemy, a common theme. I still think we see a potential Cell match to close this out, but I did love the match, even though it was the worst out of the three they had. What will we see Ciampa do next? I’m always excited to find out. The man is gold.

My Thoughts

BROOOO. Welcome officially, Matt Riddle. Happy to have you here.
Where does EC3 go from here? I believe he makes a quick turnaround and heads to the main roster. Fingers crossed he’s a full-on heel though!
Speaking of EC3, he was eager to point the finger for Aleister’s attack at Lars Sullivan... Lars will probably just let that go.

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 Five:

NXT Preview - August 22, 2020 - TakeOver: Fallout

The WCSN

NXT Preview - August 22, 2020 - TakeOver: Fallout