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WWE NXT will be putting on their latest live special, TakeOver: In Your House, tomorrow (Sun., June 7, 2020). This will be the black-and-gold brand’s second Sunday event, as WWE continues to work to put them on equal footing with Raw and SmackDown. It’s also their first event since February, since the pre-WrestleMania one was scrapped when plans were re-worked due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As such, there’s some new names, and familiar ones in new roles, all over the card. But what’s coming our way at 7 p.m. Eastern should still be the usual high quality we’ve come to expect from a TakeOver - including numerous title tilts, lots of bad blood, and probably a surprise or two.
If you're new or someone who only checks out NXT for the live specials, we've got a full preview of the matches coming up for you between now and belltime. Right now, we've assembled a motley crew of Cagesiders who watch & love NXT to give us their thoughts & predictions on each.
Let's get to it.
WWE NXT TAKEOVER: IN YOUR HOUSE PREDICTIONS
Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole (c) for the NXT championship
Sean Rueter: Think he would have won if we’d have had a pre-’Mania show. Think it would have been better for all involved if he’d won the belt then, too. But don’t think Triple H & Shawn Michaels will back of from the long-term story of Dream outsmarting Undisputed ERA. It may only be a brief run, but they might want that run to take place without fans in the crowd. But I think they do the change now. Pick: Velveteen Dream
Kyle Decker: If I were picking this for TakeOver; Tampa, I’d have picked Dream easily. But his moment has seems stalled and I think matches against Finn Balor or Keith Lee are better options for him dropping the gold. Pick: Adam Cole
Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Adam Cole seems unstoppable at this point, possessing an epic-length reign that (one hopes) deserves an epic title change to put somebody new on top of the mountain who can really capitalize on that momentum. There was a time when Velveteen Dream could have been that guy, but that time has passed. Pick: Adam Cole
Stella Cheeks: While I’m not entirely sold on Cole holding the NXT title for much longer - seriously the length of some of these NXT title reigns is too intense - Velveteen Dream’s time to hold gold has come and gone. It’s not that I don’t think he doesn’t deserve the NXT championship, but his booking has been frantic and all over the place. Him winning the belt now would make zero sense. Hopefully, after this on-going feud with Cole comes to a close they can course correct their Velveteen Dream plans. That, or bring him up to the main roster. Seth Rollins and his tiny glove versus Velveteen Dream and his endless charisma sounds like a dream booking to me! Pick: Adam Cole
Henry T. Casey: I I don’t know what to believe about Velveteen Dream, but when I look at him I see a guy who doesn’t need the NXT Championship either way. It appears that one Dexter Lumis is going to play a role in this match, thanks to his art project, and this makes me think he’s going to get involved only for it to go wrong for Dream. Pick: Adam Cole
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai for the NXT Women’s title
Sean Rueter: The feud between The Queen and The Nightmare should continue past this, and doesn’t need the belt. The Genius of the Sky has become a tweener, and therefore the perfect person to hold the title as she takes on all comers. Pick: Io Shirai
Kyle Decker: So I wrote out this whole thing about how they protect Io Shirai so much and how this is the best position to get the title off Charlotte. But I didn’t believe any of it. Pick: Charlotte Flair
Rev. Claire Elizabeth: So for the story they told of Charlotte winning the title, I firmly believe the right choice is for Rhea, having learned a lesson and matured as a wrestler, to beat her to reclaim it. Granted, doing it in a three-way muddies that, because they can always cop out and have Rhea beat Io, but even so... Pick: Rhea Ripley
Stella Cheeks: It’s clear that no matter the outcome the bad blood between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley will remain. They can continue their feud without gold on the line and it’s potentially a feud that they could carry over to one of the other brands. God knows we don’t need Charlotte on all three and this could be a good opportunity to move Rhea up to the main roster. We already know she can hold her own there! Plus, Io strikes me as the type of champion that would rather fight someone new every week than get into a long running feud and that is something that the NXT women’s division desperately needs. Would 100% be here for Io taking on the entire women’s roster for a while. Pick: Io Shirai
Henry T. Casey: The Charlotte Flair in NXT experiment still feels too new to end. While my heart wants to see anybody but Ms. Flair, I don’t see recent NXT TV as positioning either Rhea or Io as the next champ. Maybe this is me still being confused about Rhea not winning at Mania, but I’m going with the safe pick here. Pick: Charlotte Flair
Keith Lee (c) vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American title
Sean Rueter: Wouldn’t be shocked to see The Limitless One drop the strap and move to Raw or SmackDown, but it also seems like a really bad time to have him lose - even or maybe especially if it means him getting screwed over. Pick: Keith Lee
Kyle Decker: Keith Lee is the man here, but I think he drops title gold. This is in order to move onto better things, whether it be a title program with Adam Cole or to a move to Raw or SmackDown. That would also solidify Johnny as a strong midcard heel for everyone to gun for. Pick: Johnny Gargano
Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Well seeing this matchup on the card just makes me miss Evolve. The real Evolve, not the shadow of developmental it’s become. Alas. Anyway, this is a tough spot to me because Johnny really should be beyond a midcard title like this... but so should the Limitless One. So all else being equal, I choose equilibrium and a title change at or on the way to the SummerSlam TakeOver. Pick: Keith Lee
Stella Cheeks: I literally hate everything they are doing with Candice and Johnny. I want to see Keith Lee YEET that tiny fool out of the building. Pick: Keith Lee
Henry T. Casey: As Cageside Seats’ resident Keith Lee superfan, it pains me to say this: I think the story is going to Johnny and Candice as simultaneous champs. I only see that starting here, though, because Keith Lee is the only potential challenger who is both over with all parties everywhere and would actually benefit from an NXT Championship reign. Plus, with Djiakovic going to Raw, and the NXT mid-card not having a bigger heel than Jonathan Wrestles, this feels like the time. No shame in losing to a guy mistaken for his action figure. Pick: Johnny Gargano
Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Sean Rueter: Ciampa’s role within NXT is interesting, but there will be time to think about his losing streak later. Because he’s definitely losing. Pick: Karrion Kross
Kyle Decker: Karrion Kross isn’t losing his first feud. And Ciampa is too bulletproof to be at all hurt from the loss. In fact, it’s allow him to explore who he is post babyface return. Pick: Karrion Kross
Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Yeah, your big shiny new signing that you’re pushing real hard out the gates is gonna lose. Yep. I believe that. Uh-huh. C’mon... Pick: Karrion Kross
Stella Cheeks: If Karrion Kross wins that means I get to see more of Scarlett and, honestly, that’s all I care about. Pick: Karrion Kross
Henry T. Casey: NXT loves him. Scarlet follows him. Ciampa is going to make him. Pick: Karrion Kross
Damian Priest vs. Finn Bálor
Sean Rueter: After this, the Archer of Infamy (whatever the f*** that means) can go to whichever main roster brand doesn’t get Dominik Dijakovic. Then they can continue doing their “guys who exist to give other guys impressive-seeming wins” thing on Raw and SmackDown. Pick: Finn Bálor
Kyle Decker: Damian Priest winning here would be an accolade he doesn’t deserve just yet. Pick: Finn Bálor
Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Ah, this is where me being out of touch with NXT gets me into trouble. Pick: Finn Bálor
Stella Cheeks: Damien has big “stop trying to make fetch happen” energy. Waiting for the day that he gets called to the main roster and we never see him again. Pick: Finn Bálor
Henry T. Casey: Can’t this match get cancelled? Eh, Bálor doesn’t need it, I guess... Pick: Damian Priest
Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel González
Sean Rueter: Seems like I’m picking mostly faces elsewhere on the card, and I doubt that want both the freshly turned Wrestlings to lose on the same show. Pick: Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel González
Kyle Decker: It feels like team villain has more to lose here. LeRae just had a big heel turn and Kai & González should be a more cohesive unit. Pick: Candice, Dakota, & Raquel
Rev. Claire Elizabeth: Well this should be a hoot, huh? Hype trios action to set things off, I’m gonna go ahead and call it for Team Babyface. Pick: Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart, & Tegan Nox
Stella Cheeks: I think that the baby face team can withstand a loss - especially if there shenanigans involved - in a way that they heel team cannot. Dakota & Raquel are still trying to mesh as a duo & Candice is still trying to make this whole “poison pixie” think work. A loss here would heavily derail their progress. Pick: Candice, Dakota, & Raquel
Henry T. Casey: In team based action, heels benefit more from wins, because they can be smarmy bastards together. Shotzi, in particular, will get her wins soon enough. Pick: Candice, Dakota, & Raquel
That's who we've got. Who are you taking, Cagesiders?