Tonight’s show comes our way from a variety of Texas locales, with matches taped on the road to Houston, and probably more highlights from during, and interviews filmed after, TakeOver: WarGames. Here's what to expect.
The Headliner(s)
The battle to determine Ember Moon’s first challenger for the Women’s championship starts here - even though the match was filmed before she won the title.
#MaeYoungClassic winner @KairiSaneWWE steps into the ring with The #VenusFlyTrap @WWEPeytonRoyce TOMORROW on #WWENXT, only on @WWENetwork! pic.twitter.com/zkPx2BkYB2
— WWE (@WWE) November 29, 2017
Kairi Sane and Peyton Royce - along with Nikki Cross - came up short in their quest to succeed Asuka at WarGames when Moon won the Fatal 4Way. Now the Pirate Princess and one of The Iconic Ones will try to start building momentum toward a one-on-one shot at the new champ somewhere down the line.
There’s a bit more backstory here, too. In the build-up to TakeOver, Sane beat Royce’s partner Billie Kay after the Mae Young Classic winner overheard one of their patented backstage gossip sessions. That will no doubt provide extra motivation for Billie to help Peyton hand Kairi her first singles loss on WWE television.
The Title Scene
Surprised we didn’t hear much from Zelina Vega last week. Look for her hype her associate Andrade “Cien” Almas’ NXT championship victory, and probably a bit more of an update on former titleholder Drew McIntyre’s injured arm.
We saw lots of clips from their brutal trios war, but not much in the way of story advancement. Look for WarGames winners Undisputed ERA to start making plans to come after tag team champions SAnitY.
NXT remains the place to look for WWE’s UK roster. Pete Dunne successfull defended his United Kingdom title against Johnny Gargano in a fun match last week. While Johnny Wrestling looks for answers (and his smile), The Bruiserweight received a challenge from his British Strong Style mates Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. It’s not clear if it will air this week or later on down the line, but the seeds have been planted for a tag match which finally addresses Dunne walking out on Moustache Mountain when they defended Wolfgang against Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly back in September.
Other stuff to keep an eye on:
- After they forced Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford into a music-less victory celebration after their last showdown, Street Profits will look to move to 2 - 0 against Tino Sabatelli and Riddick Moss tonight (and 6 - 0 on television... watch out Asuka!)
- Not sure what else we’re getting, honestly. They’re taping at Full Sail tonight, so they may have filmed a few things at The Performance Center in the interim to set things up for next week, but I’m expecting a lot of filler tonight. We’ll see if they can make it feel essential.
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See you tonight for NXT, Cagesiders!