Sunday will feature three big championship matches on the pay-per-view. Thus far, six matches are set for the card. As always, these are just our predictions with no insider knowledge. Let’s get started with the first match:
NXT Championship match: Finn Balor (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Let’s be honest here, this TakeOver is way too fast and unnecessary. Unfortunately, matches like the main event have not been given a strong chance to build up, thus its hard to really invest into the NXT title match. However, this is going to be a GREAT match. Hell, this could end up being an excellent match.
The crazy thing is, I can see Balor dropping the belt here. The former NXT Champion doesn’t particularly need the title at this point in his career and there’s more mileage you can get out of Kyle O’Reilly winning the NXT Championship. Other than the obvious feud between O’Reilly and Adam Cole, there’s plenty of fresh feuds for the former NXT Tag Team Champion. Matches against Johnny Gargano, Tommasso Ciampa, or Timothy Thatcher could easily be five-star classics and who knows, maybe Wade Barrett vs. Kyle O’Reilly can happen.
Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor is a match that WILL happen; however, there’s no word on how severe Kross’ injury is. According to my doctor (Google), the recovery time of a separated shoulder injury can take up 2 to 12 weeks without surgery. There were initial reports that the injury was actually worse than officials believed and that Kross would be out of action for some time.
I’m going to give a prediction that is 98% wrong, but for a strong reason. I don’t feel that the Undisputed Era is moving up the roster anytime soon. Adam Cole has been hyping up his good friend Kyle O’Reilly, which is usually a foreshadow of a heel turn. There are many ways to go with a rivalry between O’Reilly and Cole, with the former NXT Champion screwing him over at TakeOver Sunday. But, I’m going with O’Reilly winning, jealously brewing between Cole and O’Reilly, and the two finally clashing in January.
Winner: Kyle O’Reilly
NXT North American Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
The only way Priest is dropping the title is due to him moving up to either RAW or Smackdown. While I don’t expect him to be down in NXT for too long, I just don’t see Johnny Gargano pulling off the victory here. At this point, Johnny Gargano has essentially done it all in NXT, and while new talents have been spotlighted recently in the black-and-gold brand, there just isn’t much mileage out of a Gargano title run at this point.
Winner: Damian Priest
NXT Women’s Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Candice LeRae
Like Priest, the only way Shirai is dropping the belt is due to moving up to either RAW or Smackdown. That’s definitely possible as the NXT Women’s Champion is indeed ready; however, I can’t shake the feeling that NXT officials are still building towards Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley. LeRae and Shirai had an amazing match last year, and will no doubt have another great encounter, but LeRae will likely leave empty handed here.
Winner: Io Shirai
NXT Cruiserweight Championship match: Santos Escobar (c) vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
It’s clear that NXT officials are currently high on Escobar and I do see the NXT Cruiserweight Champion keeping the title for a bit. Eventually, creative will likely circle back to Drake Maverick vs. Escobar sometime in early 2021. Until then, Escobar will continue to build his name as a credible champion and unfortunately for Scott, the result will be a repeat of both their first encounter in Lucha Underground and their recent match on NXT.
Winner: Santos Escobar
Kushida vs. Velveteen Dream
I can’t get a strong read on where Dream stands with NXT officials at the moment. I won’t dive into the mess involving Dream outside of the ring, but his prominence within NXT has greatly diminished since the scandal surfaced.
Still, I do believe officials see value in Dream and will continue to push him in the mid-card/upper card slot. Kushida’s character has evolved a bit and while I do see him getting a win over the former NXT North American Champion eventually, Dream will likely get some type of heel victory that allows the feud to continue on for a bit. I wouldn’t count out Dream getting a clean win and moving on to Damian Priest as well. Either way, Dream gets my vote for the likely winner here.
Winner: Velveteen Dream
That’s it! Thanks for reading and feel free to put your predictions in the comment section.