WWE ‘NXT TakeOver Rival’ Match By Match Predictions & Analysis

– The time has come for the 5th NXT WWE Network special event ‘NXT TakeOver Rival’. This event marks a full year since the original NXT WWE Network special event (NXT ArRival) aired in February 2014. Since then we have got these NXT TakeOver special events about once every 2-3 months, making them seem a lot like back in the day when WWE only had their original big 4 PPV’s. They have worked very well for NXT in my opinion, making it more of it’s own separate brand, and less of just a weekly hour show.

So I thought I would take a look at tonight’s card and give a breakdown of what I believe will happen and why:

Match #1: Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

This match is pretty cut and dry in my opinion, Hideo should win over Breeze in a fairly quick and mostly one sided match. I like Breeze, I think his gimmick has potential and I think it does mostly because he plays it perfectly.

That said WWE knows they have pure wrestling talent in Japanese phenom Hideo Itami, and they are gonna want him to rebound quickly after losing to Finn Balor (who I think WWE likes just a little more) in the NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament.

Winner: Hideo Itami

Match #2 – No DQ Match: Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

This match is even more cut and dry then the last one. This “feud” has been more of just a burial of Dempsey, and I expect it to continue as WWE pushes the more complete package that is Baron Corbin. No DQ or not, look for this to be the quickest and most one sided match of the night.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Match#3 – NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy (c) vs. The Lucha Dragons

This is an interesting match to say the least, the Lucha Dragons went from a strong feud with the Vaudevillains (which I thought were gonna win that feud by the way), to randomly losing their NXT Tag Titles to Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy in a seemingly routine title defense on a weekly episode of NXT. To make things even more odd Blake & Murphy were used for the most part as jobbers up until the point in which they won the Tag Titles.

This seems to be a case where WWE is trying to use the Tag Titles to instantly elevate a tag team and it could work if done correctly. This should be a very well wrestled match in which Blake & Murphy come out on top, further gaining near instant credibility. Look for Kalisto to transition into more singles competition after this match.

Winners: Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy

Match #4 – NXT Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor

Here we have what could be an absolute classic match between an Englishman and an Irishman which is a rivalry that stretches back generations. However, more to the point we have a match between two of the international megastars that WWE has been signing left and right over the past couple of years.

Oh and yes these guys have indeed been in the ring together before. They were absolute magic together when they faced off as Pac and Prince Devitt for New Japan Pro Wrestling, so expect similar high flying fireworks under the NXT banner.

As for a winner I have to pick Finn Balor. I think Neville is VERY close to a call-up to the main roster, combine that with the fact WWE has no problem fast tracking talented guys into the NXT Title picture (Kevin Owens anyone?), and I think you have a pretty clear picture of Balor most likely pulling this match out.

Winner: Finn Balor

Match #5 – NXT Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Here’s a match I hope gets the time it deserves to be as great as it can be. We have a stacked card and 2 hour show, so this match might get the squeeze a bit more then it should time wise, but IMO it also should produce some excellent wrestling between some of the most talented ladies in Women’s wrestling today.

All these girls can go hard, all of them have Championship potential not only in NXT, but on the WWE main roster one day. Given that it’s very hard to pick a winner here, it really all comes down too whom WWE is calling up next and when. With Charlotte & Sasha Banks working WWE Live Events and RAW/Smackdown dark matches lately they seem like they are both on deck for a call-up.

However will that call-up come at the same exact time is the question. I personally don’t think so, look for Charlotte to move up first, with Sasha coming a few months after, but not until Sasha has her own NXT Women’s Title reign and a heated feud with Bayley.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Match #6 – NXT Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

At the last NXT TakeOver event Sami Zayn finally reached the NXT mountaintop defeating Adrian Neville to become NXT Champion and prove to everyone including himself that could indeed win “the big one”. To make the moment even better, his best friend, recently signed NXT superstar Kevin Owens was there to share the moment with him.

However, after a long post match celebration (in which WWE expertly lulled the crowd into a false sense of security), Owens did the unthinkable, he not only attacked Zayn, he power bombed him neck first into the ring apron. It was one of the most shocking moments in NXT history, and it set the stage for a instant heated grudge match NXT Championship feud.

That feud begins in earnest at ‘NXT TakeOver Rival’, a perfect name considering this Main Event, one that could be like many matches on this card a classic. So the question of course is… who wins? A match between two guys that know each other as well as these two both in and out of the ring almost always makes for a great one, it also makes for a match where anything can happen.

For that reason it makes this a very hard choice, does WWE take the Title off Zayn so soon after he finally earned it, just so he has to chase it all over again? I won’t lie, they very well could, but I don’t think so. I think Zayn retains, and this loss only serves to fuel Owens’ rage and contempt for Zayn, leading to more surprise attacks and more Title matches down the road in a feud that could become the best ever in NXT history if done right.

Winner: Sami Zayn

So there you have it, those are my picks and the reason’s why I made them. Tell me what you think and post your own ‘NXT TakeOver Rival’ picks in the comments below.