WWE NXT preview (Aug. 22, 201: Open-ended
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Tonight’s show finds us in back at Barclays Center for highlights and interviews from
TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, and a couple matches performed before the event on Sat., Aug. 18.
Here’s what to expect.
The Headliner(s)
We’re gonna have a lot of questions coming out of last weekend’s big show. If you’re new to NXT, I’m here to tell you... you’re probably still gonna have them after you watch this episode.
There might be a few hints about things, maybe an injury update for which we aren’t 100% about it’s work/shoot validity. But in general, we’ll be getting recaps of the
TakeOver action and results, and segments filmed post-show. Some of the latter will have already been released online, too.
Wrestling you haven’t seen before (unless you were in Barclays last Saturday) will make up a decent chunk of the show. And the two matches should be good, but neither provides much suspense about its outcome.
It’s unclear what exactly the plan is for NXT UK, but Triple H is working toward something, because Vince keeps letting him film more shows. One of those tapings is coming up this weekend in Birmingham, and
is advertising a title defense for
United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne. Which takes a bit of intrigue out of the Bruiserweight’s appearance here - a rematch with
the winner of the second UK Championship tournament, Zack Gibson. But hey,
their last encounter was pretty great, and it’s not like you thought Dunne was losing in a dark match, right?
Our other announced match isn’t much more suspenseful, but should give Deonna Purrazzo a good chance to show off a bit before
the Mae Young Classic (MYC) starts airing in a few weeks. And it will bring Bianca Belair back from her “injury”/honeymoon, just when it looks like the babyface atop the division might be in need of a rival... Shayna Baszler didn’t sound willing to forego her rematch for the
Women’s Title when
she, after the show, claimed Kairi Sane didn’t beat her (because the Queen of Spades lost), but
a call-up might put the fourth match in that rivalry off for a while.
So, if The -Est is positioned as #1 contender, that’s the one answer we’ll get from this ‘aftermath’ edition of the black-and-yellow brand’s weekly show. The rest will have to wait until next week (or tomorrow, for the non-spoiler averse, when results start coming in from Full Sail).
The Title Scene
That injury update I alluded to? Thinking we’ll at least get Cathy Kelley reporting on
Triple H’s comments about a knee injury to Johnny Gargano - leaving out the bit about the finish being changed, of course. Gloating from
NXT Champ Tommaso Ciampa will likely wait until one of those epic no music/boo-fests at the taping.
While there might not be much doubt about the outcome of his match tonight, there was
a very interesting fallout video which made it clear Dunne would like to add another geography-based belt to his collection. It may have set the stage for more than a feud with new
North American Champion Ricochet, too, seeing as Undisputed ERA were there, and the next
TakeOver will require three teams of three for its main event...
Not much intrigue about future challengers for
Tag Team Titleholder Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly of UE. War Raiders crashed their party after they retained the belts over Moustache Mountain on Saturday, and it doesn’t look like Hanson and Rowe are waiting for their shot.
Other stuff to keep an eye on:
- Seriously, who attacked Aleister Black?
EC3 pointed a finger at Lars Sullivan and General Manager William Regal ruled out all four members of the ERA. But the list of suspects is long, and
the Dutch Destroyer is watching.
- Speaking of the One Percenter, he failed to stack a victory on top of of a victory when he lost to Velveteen Dream at
TakeOver. Now, there’s
lots of intrigue about
both men’s futures.