It's kind of odd to me that WWE would have an NXT live special just days before their last pay-per-view of the year, but what are you going to do, right? Survivor Series and TLC are only three weeks apart anyway so it's not like there was that much time to have this special between the two any way (Well, last Thursday maybe would've been better) But in many ways this feels like a larger and more important show to me than anything WWE has done all year and especially WWE's TLC pay-per-view. I'll have my own thoughts/predictions for TLC soon enough but none of those matches really means as much as what will happen at this live special. Since there is so much to be said here, let's get right into it.
The pre-show has already announced that Corey Graves will have an announcement to makes. Corey Graves has suffered from at least one concussion and as such this might be his retirement but let's hope instead that he's been medically cleared by doctors and will be returning to the ring 2015. Right now the best case scenario is an in ring return while the worst case scenario is early retirement and becoming a manager for another talent or creating a stable. Graves has the potential to become the caliber of star in WWE like Edge and if he is forced into retirement it will be a shame, though I do not advise going against doctors orders in cases such as this.
If any of the other live specials are an indication this should be a two hour show though there are only four matches scheduled as of right now. Various websites are reporting that we could see Baron Corbin take on Bull Dempsey as both men are just dominant in their matches. This really doesn't do any good for either man right now so if this does happen I expect it to end in a pull apart brawl more than an actual decision. But, no, I am not in favor of this match happening this soon.
I wouldn't, however, mind seeing Tyler Breeze in action so let's give him and Marcus Louis another go around. Along with a squash match for either Corbin or Dempsey while the other watches on would fill out the card nicely.
We also have the debut of Kevin Owens, who was Kevin Steen on the independent scene. Whether he will come out to talk or actually wrestle remains to be seen. A squash of Dash Wilder would be the best scenario here, though I do have some other plans for Owens as well. I expect him to come out, maybe say a few words or just have a short match and then everyone will think he is done for the night but I won't think he is until the credits roll.
Charlotte is the current NXT Women's Champion and she will be defending the title against Sasha Banks who I really just do not care about but the whole WWE women's division (Yes, including NXT) just doesn't interest me because it has no consistency and far too many problems for me to get into here. Oh, and does anyone else remember when Charlotte lost last night on RAW to Natalya?
Prediction: I expect Sasha Banks to win, possibly because of mis-interference by Bayley, and after a rematch with Banks, Charlotte can go on to possibly face Bayley even (Though then the Banks-Bayley title match is inevitable) and then maybe depending upon what month it is it'd be about time for Charlotte to go up to the main roster with that stink of loss from last night finally worn off. Though if WWE wanted to fast track Charlotte to the main roster all they'd have to do is have her lose then debut on RAW and blame Natalya for the loss of her title because it wasn't even a title match or whatever. I don't know. I feel like I'm overthinking the women's division because thinking about it at all seems to do that with WWE.
The only match scheduled for R Evolution will see Finn Balor (No, I won't copy and paste his fancy dash) and Hideo Itami take on The Ascension. Based on the fact that Balor and Itami only recently debuted in NXT I can only imagine that they would win and send The Ascension packing, though really The Ascension would just end up going up to the main roster which should fully happen in 2015 some time... just not quite yet. You see, everyone expects Balor and Itami to defeat The Ascension and this could be one of the best matches in all of professional wrestling for 2014 up until the end.
Prediction: Finn Balor turns on Hideo Itami and the match is ruled a no contest. Balor goes off to do his solo thing, saying he's looking out for number one and doesn't want to be lumped in with a tag team, and thus providing a most excellent Balor-Itami feud because I really don't want to see these two as a tag team when they could shine so high in singles competition.
The second title match of the evening will see The Lucha Dragons defend the tag team titles against the Vaudevillains. This is the match I have the biggest trouble predicting because I love both teams. On one hand, if Balor and Itami don't split then they could somehow become tag team contenders and have a decent feud with the Vaudevillains. Heck, some Balor & Itami vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Vaudevillains matches would even be great. I just wonder why Sin Cara is on the occasional episode of WWE Superstars or Main Event but can't seem to find his way to the main roster in a more steady position. A few weeks back on RAW there was a gauntlet match to determine the number one contenders to the tag team titles and that would have been a good way to bring Sin Cara back to the main roster while also kind of introducing everyone to Kalisto. Though I suppose WWE might rather do a series of painful vignettes, perhaps explaining how Sin Cara has taken time away from the ring to go down to Mexico and bring back Kalisto with him. You know, something like that to rip off Lucha Underground (Which is where the original Mistico/Sin Cara might end up soon enough) So for whatever reason I just don't feel like it's time yet for the Lucha Dragons to come up to the main roster and as such I don't see a title change here.
Prediction: The Lucha Dragons retain while Vaudevillains somehow call shenanigans and want an eventual rematch for the titles. If Balor and Itami don't break up then adding them to this mix would only make it better.
That just leaves the main event with Adrian Neville defending the NXT Title against Sami Zayn. In a perfect world where everyone goes home happy, Sami Zayn would win this match and Adrian Neville would go onto the main WWE roster. But I don't see that happening here if only because it isn't WWE's best option... not when they have a debuting Kevin Owens. This match is going to be great, sure, but it most likely won't have a finish. So you know what, take back everything I said prior to this. Lucha Dragons win clean. Sasha Banks wins clean. Balor and Itami win clean. But this is the match where Kevin Owens comes down and just demolishes Sami Zayn. Just when you thought it was safe, he will then take out his frustration and rage on Adrian Neville as well. With both men down, Adrian Neville will somehow get the pin and the win.
Now what you have to realize is that this isn't a match where the stipulation is official that Sami Zayn retires or leaves if he loses. Zayn put that there himself and he can just as easily wipe it away if he should happen to lose because of someone else. It would actually set up a really good storyline with all of these men and really everyone else out there just wanting that NXT Title. If only the WWE roster didn't seem so scared of Brock Lesnar and they were all chomping at the bit to get his title. (Seriously, I love Dean Ambrose but the guy had the chance to pick the stipulation for a match against Seth Rollins. You make him put the briefcase on the line and you go for that title dammit)
So this will set up a number of different options here, but mainly the focus of tonight should rightfully be the debut of Kevin Owens. If WWE wants to make this a big deal- and they should- then this night should be the defining moment in NXT history as there will be all of that which has happened up until now (Pre-Owens Era) and all of that which will occur because of Kevin Owens. Do the right thing, WWE. It's time to build up another top guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment