NXT preview (Aug. 28, 2019): Right the wrongs

NXT returns tonight (Aug. 28) with their second episode from the most recent set of tapings. It’s only three weeks until NXT moves to their live show.

Advertised for tonight:

• The Street Profits (c) vs. the Undisputed ERA for the NXT tag team championships
• Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee
• Io Shirai in action
• Pete Dunne exclusive interview
• A Johnny Gargano retrospective

As per usual, here are our five questions about NXT tonight:

1) Will the ERA finally get all that gold?

I was convinced TakeOver: Toronto would end with the image of all four men in the Undisputed ERA draped in gold. But that’s not how it went.

Only Adam Cole walked out with a championship as Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly along with Roderick Strong were unsuccessful in winning the titles to complete the set. But they all had legit excuses to get another match. The tag challengers pointed out that the illegal man was pinned in that match, resulting in the rematch tonight.

And Roderick Strong has made the case that he wasn’t pinned in that triple threat match for Velveteen Dream’s title. Pete Dunne was. Dream seems to get that, and it sounds like they’ll do it soon.

Undisputed draped in gold would be an intriguing way to start the new era of NXT (pun semi-intended) in a few weeks, if that’s something they were thinking about when they were booking this taping.

Bobby and Kyle are first up to try to get it done.

2) Does Keith keep losing?

Keith Lee has been on a losing streak. It’s to the point that it’s actually part of his story currently.

One of the reasons that Lee’s NXT run has seemed meandering is that his big feud with Dominik Dijakovic, one that could have pushed one or both higher from their midcard spot, never happened. First it was pushed due to a Lee injury and then due to a bigger Dijakovic injury.

Now both are finally healthy at the same time and we can finally have this match.

They did a very good job last week in putting a video package together getting fans caught up and making sure they know this is a big match. Unfortunately for Keith, now losing is part of the story and it would be very easy to continue that story and give Dijakovic a big win. But maybe returning to the point where it started going downhill will reverse the Limitless One’s fortunes.

3) Is Io Shirai really a heel?

The NXT preview on dot com discussed Io Shirai continuing her descend into darkness. But if you ask me, she’s a tweener.

She has a new look, new music, and a new attitude, but not much of that screams heel outside the attack on Candice LeRae that served as the catalyst. Her match with LeRae at TakeOver didn’t feature her acting particularly heelish. Just different.

So if she is descending into darkness, so far, it’s a darkness fans can get behind. Will she finally do something that makes her a heel or is creative cool with the dark, but still likable, Io Shirai?

4) What’s Pete Dunne have to say?

After TakeOver, my guess is that Pete Dunne would continue feuding with Velveteen Dream for the North American championship. But Roddy is right. Pete was pinned. That really paints him as undeserving of a rematch without earning it?

So what’s the Bruiserweight going to do from here? Is he going to try to earn that rematch? What’s he want to do here that took him away from his home base of NXT UK? He should be telling us tonight.

5) What’s the aim of this Gargano video?

Johnny Gargano is out of the title picture. There’s little for him left to do in NXT. But with the longer, live NXT coming our way going head to head with AEW in October, they’ll likely want to keep him there for star power.

Is that why we’re getting a video about his accomplishments in NXT tonight? To keep him on our mind while not putting him on TV? Or is an actual good bye because a “call up” is in the future?

We’ll see if we get answers to any of these questions to night at 8 ET on the WWE Network.

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