It’s weird, we’re just a day away from an NXT Takeover and for the first time in a year, I’m not too excited. This time last year Takeover: Brooklyn was arguably the best pay-per-view of the year and there was nothing but top notch anticipation going into it. But this year, with so many NXT Talents being drafted to the main roster and NXT only have about a month to introduce new characters and storylines… something is lacking. I don’t know if it’s this year’s Summerslam card being crazy stacked or what, but for the first time in over a year Takeover doesn’t feel like the must-see pay-per-view. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be amazing.
Let’s Break Down the Card to NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II (or Back II Brooklyn as Molly prefers).
MATCH #1 EMBER MOON VS. BILLIE KAY
Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:
Billie Kay – She’s Australlian, she dresses in dark blue, her entrance music is from Carmen and she was on Smackdown once. This is the extent of her character development so far. I can’t even tell you if she’s a heel or a face really.
Ember Moon – She formerly wrestled in the indies as Athena and I’m told she was amazing. Based on the vignettes she’s been featured on she’s potentially a cleric werewolf.
PREDICTIONS:
Matt Kelly – Ember Moon is going to win this. I know nothing about her but people so rarely lose in their debut match. If the impossibly popular Tyler Breeze lost to Justin Thunder Liger (in Ligers only NXT appearance) then the barely notable Billie Kay has no chance of survival.
Molly May – Ember Moon. Is it too much to ask for a 2nd or top rope ‘O-Face’ on Ember Moon’s debut night for the finish? I know we had to wait well over a year for Samoa Joe to hit a second rope ‘muscle buster’, but can you imagine if Ember comes in like, “I AIN’T WAITING, CHECK THIS COOL SHIT I CAN DO.”
Josh Jackson – Is there any chance that Billie Kay pulls through? No, didn’t think so. Ember Moon wins in a decisive way with whatever her finisher is going to be.
THE FUTURE:
Matt Kelly – Billie Kay will probably end up being the heel on NXT for a while now and Ember Moon I’m going to assume will be the person to eventually take the belt off Auska (but not right away).
Molly May – Once you’ve checked out the cool shit Ember can do, it’s fair to say she’s poised to be a big player for the women’s division and NXT as a whole. I wanna see her work her way up; put in some solid #1 contender’s matches against the likes of Billie and Peyton before she gets to the final boss, Asuka. You’ve probably caught that I hate the current NXT trend of foregoing character development in favor of assuming you know who these wrestlers are from their independent careers. Give Billie better reason to be evil than “I was on Smackdown once so I’m better than everyone here”. Let the crowd authentically fall in love with Ember so when she gets her match with Asuka, we don’t just care about that, but we cared about the journey she took to get there.
Josh Jackson – It’s obvious that Ember Moon IS the future of the women’s division, especially with the inevitable Bayley call up. I see her racking up the wins while the women’s division down in NXT rebuilds around her, since Asuka will be the only big star left… And that’s assuming her own call up won’t happen some time soon.
MATCH #2 NO WAY JOSE VS. AUSTIN ARIES
Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:
No Way Jose – Jose is a dancing machine. He looks like comedian Reggie Watts but with Andrew W.K’s flair for life. He’s awesome, trust us.
Austin Aries – Few wrestlers are easier to dislike than Austin Aries. He declares himself the greatest man who ever lived but doesn’t use the weezer song as his entrance music. Like I said, he’s easy to hate.
PREDICTIONS:
Matt Kelly – I want Jose to win because I love the shit out of him but I think story wise Aries has more to lose from losing. No Way is so beyond popular that a loss (and definitely not a clean one) shouldn’t have any negative impact on his career.
Molly May – No Way Jose, but it’ll be a DQ victory from Aries just beating the utter tar out of him.
Josh Jackson – This one is hard to call, because if Austin wins, then he’s right about Jose not being in his league. If Jose wins, then what the hell are they doing with a world reknowned talent like Austin? In the end, I give it the win to The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived via shinanigans. It’s the only way to protect both guys.
THE FUTURE:
Matt Kelly – Jose will continue to become more and more popular and eventually be the unexpected person to hold the NXT Title before going to the main roster where he will most likely get Breezed. Austin Aries should 100% form a tag team with Bobby Roode shortly after Takeover.
Molly May – This is the loss in the streak that’s gonna cause Aries to snap. He can’t believe he’s been made 2nd fiddle to Nakamura, and now he can’t even beat Jose? Aries is gonna start looking for a way to even out his wins/losses record again. And what better way to do that than to link up with an old friend who happens to be on fire and about to take NXT by storm in the form of Bobby Roode. GET IN, LOSER, WE’RE GOING WRESTLING. Aries and Roode rack up a series of tag team wins before their egos get the better of them and it leads to a match between them for bragging rights at the next Takeover.
Jose is just gonna keep being Dominican Andrew W.K. and that’s the best way to go through life honestly.
Josh Jackson – Aries just has to move on to something bigger. Like the previous match, I don’t feel like Joe has much longer in NXT, especially with the brand split creating so many new main roster spots. I feel like a main event push is in his future,while Jose moves on to a midcard feud with someone he can learn from. The loser of the Roode / Almas match, perhaps?
MATCH #3 ANDRADE ALMAS VS. BOBBY ROODE
Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:
Andrade ALmas – He was a former lucha wrestler and supposedly very good. Until about two weeks ago I forgot he even existed. He took off his mask, started dressing like Lou Bega and maybe wrestled three matches in as many months.
Bobby Roode – Bobby Roode has the greatest wrestling entrance theme in years. This is literally everything you need to know about him.
PREDICTIONS:
Matt Kelly – I’m keeping it short, simple and sweet. Booby Roode is going to win this. End of sentence. Sorry Almas but we all forgot you existed and your entrance song isn’t Glorious.
Molly May – Roode will reverse some sweet lucha shit into some sweet ground-and-pound shit for a victory.
Josh Jackson – This is Roode’s debut match on WWE TV, while Andrade has been a complete failure in the few months he’s been on the NXT roster. Is there any doubt that the former TNA champion won’t deliver with a glorious victory in his debut?
THE FUTURE:
Matt Kelly – Roode will continue to dominate and form a tag team with Aries for the upcoming Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They might even win it and decide that their combined powers make them so great that it’s glorious. Almas will continue to be under utilized until they find a good partner for him in the Tag Team Classic (maybe someone from CWC) and suddenly we will all be really into his character.
Molly May – Roode is destined to become the successor to Joe’s status as top heel in NXT. Even if you aren’t familiar with his TNA work or any of Roode’s previous career highlights, his introduction promo and face-melter of an entrance theme have established him as the perfect future corporate champion. Cien Almas, however, is just the latest victim of NXT’s “babyface him to death after we signed him for being an incredible heel somewhere else” schtick. I’m not saying turn Almas heel. I’m saying just tell people who the hell he is. NXT has been majorly lacking character development, which is what I believe made it special and unique compared to the main roster for so long. They’ve been relying on the hope that you know his past work as La Sombra, and while that worked for Joe and Nakamura, it’s what really took guys like Zayn, Owens, and Balor to the next level in their NXT runs. I desperately want Cien to take the torch as a top face in the absence of most of the men that made NXT. Pit him in blood feuds with Aries and Roode before you let him at Joe. But you need to tell us who Almas is and why he’s bothering with all this first.
Josh Jackson – I don’t see how Andrade doesn’t turn heel. Rejected by the fans, he has the perfect out to reinvent himself before he becomes permanently damaged. The suspenders and hat need to go, and he needs to sell himself as deserving better considering how big of a star he was in Mexico. Maybe he can be in that Jose feud I mentioned?
Meanwhile, assuming Roode doesn’t get the spot against Jose, I can see him either feuding with a returning Eric Young to play up their history, or gunning straight for the championship. Time will tell, but he’s going to be made into a big deal as one of the cornerstones of the brand going forward.
MATCH #4 THE REVIVAL (C) VS. JOHNNY GARGANO & TOMMASO CIAMPA
Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:
The Revival – This is our NXT Champions. They don’t look like much but they are crazy amazing and bringing back old school wrestling. Their catchphrase is no Flips Just Fists and if you just saw a picture of them you probably wouldn’t expect much but really, truly, honestly… the Revival is dope as fuck.
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa – A little under a year ago these two came to NXT as “Team Free Agent” for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They were just generic wrestlers in NXT for months but a handful of Promos and a Match of the Year worth CWC Match later they are the team you want to see succeed.
PREDICTIONS:
Matt Kelly – I know it seems too soon for the Revival to end their 2nd reign as Tag Champs but Gargampa are fire right now and need those belts. Smackdown needs a good team for American Alpha to throw around The Revival is that perfect team (who can always look like a threat).
Molly May – The power of friendship… which is generated best by excessive punts to the face and death valley drivers will allow Gargano and Ciampa the victory.
Josh Jackson – If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would’ve said that our indie darlings would have had a good shot at pulling off the win. After their Cruiserweight Classic match however, it seems like miscommunication will lead to a Revival retention, followed by Ciampa turning on Gargano.
THE FUTURE:
Matt Kelly – Ciampa and Gargano are going to be champions for a while. The Revival will get a “Pre-going to Smackdown” rematch and then these two will be unstoppable until Team Gloriously Great decides that a perfect duo like them deserves the belts to prove they live up the Tag Name I just made up for them.
Molly May – Gargano and Ciampa had one of the best matches of the Cruiserweight Classic so far (and that’s saying something; there are a LOT of worthy ‘best matches’ in that tournament) and it only made them stronger as a team. I love that that match showed what level of aggression they’re capable of unleashing on the Revival. Up until recently, while tag teams across the board have had some decent squash matches, none of them have had the backing that teams like Enzo and Cass, the Vaudevillians, and American Alpha had. I feel like the Revival has really come into their own as characters and as a team. They’ll be just as strong a presence without the belts (although I will miss “clink me”), and I feel Ciampa and Gargano have awesome title defenses against TM-61 and the Authors of Pain on the horizon.
Fingers crossed they #GloriousBomb Roode in the middle of his entrance.
Josh Jackson – The Authors of Pain can’t stay out of the title picture for much longer. No matter who wins, Paul Ellering’s new team will be gunning for the champions. Based on my prediction, I’m guessing Gargano and Ciampa feud with each other, while The Revival find themselves being out-heeled by bigger, badder guys. Does that mean they’re turning? Not necessarily, but I see them being the de-facto faces going forward.
MATCH #5 ASUKA VS. BAYLEY
Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:
Asuka – You know the Ring? Know how that made Japanese girls terrifying? Asuka is the Ring Girl… but with Rainbow hair. She’s the scariest gorgeous girl ever.
Bayley – Bayley is the definition of face. She loves hugs and wrestling and hugs. She was the former NXT women’s champion and she lost her belt to the brutal Asuka. She’s getting her rematch finally in a quest to be the first ever 2 time NXT women’s champion.
PREDICTIONS:
Matt Kelly – Last year was Bayley’s year and it really started in Brooklyn. If you haven’t seen Sasha Banks vs. Bayley from last year’s Brooklyn match… do so. It represents everything that makes wrestling great. But that was 2016. It’s 2017, it’s not Bayley’s year anymore.
Bayley is going to lose, she’ll put in a good fight but she is going to lose and find herself a new home on Raw or Smackdown.
Molly May – Both women do a lot of damage with their respective submissions, but Bayley eats a few too many roundhouse kicks for Asuka not to get the pin.
Josh Jackson – This one is another hard one to call. We know Bayley can’t be in NXT much longer, suggesting that Asuka will win. But if Bayley doesn’t get the job done, who can they have beat Asuka with next to no build? She would either be stuck in developmental for at least another year despite being one of the best wrestlers in the entire company, or the crowd would completely reject her challenger when they smell the bull crap all the way from Full Sail.
With that said, the only way I see this going is having Bayley win the match after a hard fought back and fourth with a belly to bayley.
THE FUTURE:
Matt Kelly – Asuka will continue to be the NXT Women’s Champ until someone steps up and stops her. Maybe that person will be Ember Moon or maybe someone like Liv Morgan or Billie Kay unexpectedly catches on and gets that moment. Either way, when Asuka loses it will be a BIG moment that means something. Bayley is going to the main roster where she will eventually be the WWE Women’s Champion, potentially by next Summerslam if not sooner.
Molly May – Bayley is off to greener pastures on the main roster. Even though she’s a good choice for first 2-time NXT Women’s Champ, there’s really not much left for her to do. Assuming this is Bayley’s last NXT match, laying down to let Asuka get the pin and continue to be the murder princess she is is the admirable thing to do. The women’s division is in good hands with the likes of Asuka, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Nikki Glencross, and so on. I’m hoping this will be the show stealer, ala Nakamura vs Zayn, that it deserves to be.
Josh Jackson – From there, they can either say that Bayley is hurt from the match, or even promise to take on all comers, only to be dethroned on NXT TV by someone unexpected. Ember Moon would be the only real option. From there, Moon would have to destroy the women’s roster to build to a match with Asuka, where if all goes according to plan, Moon can win without it seeming unrealistic.
MATCH #6 SAMOA JOE VS. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
Some things you might need to know about these wrestlers:
Samoa Joe – Envision a big dude who you can tell immediately has the ability to beat the piss out of you. Now envision that despite his size he’s super acrobatic. Now envision that this walking murder machine also is wired in a way where he can justify every terrible thing he wants to do to you as being 100% the right (and only) option of attack. Scared? you should be.
Shinsuke Nakamura – Nakamura is a wrestler who dresses and moves like a weird hybrid of Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury. Sounds awesome? Good because he fucking is.
PREDICTIONS:
Matt Kelly – Shinsuke and Joe will be a match that people will remember for years on end. It will also be remembered as the match that Shinsuke lost, or at least didn’t win the belt. This match will end with a DQ when Hideo (who should absolutely have had a match on this Takeover but someone remembered Andrade Almas existed instead) runs in and attacks Samoa Joe and reveals Joe to be who attacked him over a year ago.
Molly May – Hideo Itami interferes to pull Nakamura into a pin attempt on Joe. Joe still kicks out and defiantly gets Nakamura to tap to the “Coquina Clutch” while refusing to break the hold and staring Itami down.
Josh Jackson – Joe has been one of my favorite talents for years, long before he arrived in NXT. Which is why it pains me to say that I don’t see him walking out of New York with the NXT Title. Nakamura is on fire, and while someone with the credibility of Joe would be the only one who could beat him at this point, he has accomplished everything there is to do in NXT. I expect Shinsuke to take the win with a… KINSHASA!!! You know, except we won’t get Corey Grave’s awesome call.
THE FUTURE:
Matt Kelly – Vince wants that sweet Nakamura cash on his main roster and he wants it there bad and ASAP. Nakamura will leave NXT without ever being the champ, but that’s okay. He will be the biggest thing in the known universe this time next year. Meanwhile Joe and Hideo are going to feud it out and because he’s a bad bad motherfucker… Joe will destroy Hideo and continue to dominate until he loses to the unexpected No Way Jose (over 50% serious)
Molly May – Anyone else think it’s kind of weird how Hideo Itami doesn’t have a match at Takeover? I mean, he’s one of the names credited with building NXT to what it is today, he was in the title picture pre-injury, and his return got some pretty good hype. As much as I would LOVE the swerve of Hideo showing up to kick Finn’s ass at Summerslam for injuring him, I think it makes plenty of sense for him to get involved in the NXT Championship match. There’s enough history between him, Joe, and Shisuke for him to take a side, so should he come out and help Nakamura, it wouldn’t be a big surprise.
The surprise would come the next episode of NXT, when Itami reveals that it was Samoa Joe that attacked him before he debuted that night at Takeover: Unstoppable. Joe comes out to defend himself and tells Itami, “Wow, Hideo, I took you for smarter than that… You really think I acted alone?” 😉 DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN
Josh Jackson – Joe gets a rematch and loses on TV as his official goodbye, then moves on to take the main roster by storm, (hopefully with his sights set on a certain beast). Shinsuke on the other hand, will hold the title until Wrestlemania weekend, where Roode or Aries will take the title off his hands before his own main roster debut.
NXT TAKEOVER: BROOKLYN II is airing Saturday August 20th at 8:00pm EST only on the WWE Network.