NXT TakeOver: Toronto and SummerSlam 2019 Predictions
NXT TakeOver: Toronto takes place from the Scotiabank Arena in (surprise) Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Pre-Show begins at 6:30 ET/3:30 PT, streaming live on WWE Network, WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook and twitter.
Main Card begins at 7:00pm on the WWE Network
The Finals Of The NXT Breakout Tournament Jordan Myles vs. Cameron Grimes (Unconfirmed)
Myles, formerly known as ACH is best well known for his time stints in ROH and Japan. Cameron Grimes competed under the name Trevor Lee in PWG and Impact.
A real clash of styles here as Myles is more of a high flying, high level striker while Grimes possesses more of a tedious and hard hitting mindset while also displaying technicality too.
Prediction: Jordan Myles
NXT Tag Team Championship The Street Profits © vs The Undisputed Era
The Street Profits claimed tag-team gold at NXT TakeOver: 25 in an epic ladder match defeated the Forgotten Sons, Birch and Lorcan along with the Undisputed Era.
Despite appearing weekly on Raw, there are reports that the Street Profits remain NXT talent.
The Undisputed Era have captured the NXT Tag-Team Championship on two occasions. It’s interesting to see Bobby Fish involved as he was a major factor during their first championship victory, but couldn’t enjoy the fruits of his labour since he was out during the reign with a torn ACL and MCL.
Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, formerly known as reDRagon remain one of the best teams in the world. They either legitimize the Street Profits or re-capture gold.
Prediction: The Undisputed Era to become the NEW NXT Tag-Team Champions
Candice LeRae vs Io Shirai
LeRae debuted under the WWE banner during the Mae Young Classic in 2017. She then quickly joined the NXT promotion in January of 2018. While she’s a popular, fan favourite, this will be Candice’s first major feud as part of NXT.
Long considered one of the premier female talents in the world, Io Shirai joined NXT in the summer of 2018 after previously competing in the second Mae Young Classic and losing to Toni Storm in the finals.
Io previously teamed with Kairi Sane before she departed to the main roster.
Many believed Io would be the woman to dethrone Shayna Basler, but ultimately came up short on two occasions.
After losing in a cage match to Shayna, Io viciously attacked Candice with a chair and turned to the darkside by claiming she doesn’t need anyone. Io’s transformation was not only limited to her attitude, but her overall look and entrance music too.
While Io’s demeanor has transformed, she has also brought out an aggressive edge in Candice.
Prediction: Io Shirai (I predict they will eventually position her in a similar way to Asuka where she remains a long-term heel champion)
The alternative scenario sees Candice win and challenging Shayna
NXT Women’s Championship Shayna Baszler © vs Mia Yim
Shayna Baszler is a two-time NXT Women’s Championship and has held the title for nearly 415 days combined.
She has shown very few signs of weakness during her current reign, but Mia Yim presents some unique challenges for the champ to overcome.
Yim is best well known for her time as Jade in Impact Wrestling along her two appearances in the Mae Young Classic. Since debuting for the NXT brand in October of last year (I was at those tapings by the way) she has quietly gained momentum and become a forerunner to defeat Shayna. Much of this is due to her aggressive and offensive minded approach.
Yim has already eliminated the numbers advantage by taking out Duke and Shafir in recent weeks.
But can she take out Shayna one on one?
I really like Mia Yim, but this feud has felt rushed and therefore, I have trouble believing that she will be the one to dethrone Shayna.
Prediction: Shayna Baszler retains
NXT North American Championship - Velveteen Dream © vs Pete Dunne vs Roderick Strong
The Velveteen Dream has been the reigning and defended NXT North American Champion since the February 20th taping of NXT television where he defeated Johnny Gargano. This also makes him the longest reigning champion in the short history of the title.
Pete Dunne comes over from NXT UK where he held the WWE United Kingdom Championship for a remarkable 685 days. One can imagine he’s thirsty for more gold.
Roderick Strong was a major part of Undisputed Era’s tag-team championship reigns and has really come into his own as of late and has become a viable contender.
Prediction: Roderick Strong (He has gained a ton of confidence and is capable of having great matches with anyone. Meanwhile, Dream moves up the food chain to the NXT Championship)
Two out of Three Falls Match For The NXT Championship Adam Cole © vs Johnny Gargano
At NXT TakeOver: New York, Johnny Gargano defeated Adam Cole to become the NXT Championship and NXT’s first triple-crown winner. Cole replaced Ciampa to earn the opportunity.
In the rematch at NXT TakeOver: 25 in Connecticut, Gargano lost the title to Cole which only made his reign 57 days long.
This is essentially a Three Stages of Hell match as Cole and Gargano choose the stipulation for the first two falls with Regal picking the third if it comes to that, which spoiler, it will.
Prediction: Adam Cole
A major question, will Tomasso Ciampa appear at the conclusion of the show while Undisputed Era celebrates? Reports indicate he’s still many months out from returning and we may not see him compete until the spring of 2020.
SummerSlam Predictions
SummerSlam place this coming Sunday, August 11 from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kickoff Show: 5pm ET
Main Card: 7pm ET
10 matches in total
WWE Cruiserweight Championship -- Drew Gulak © vs. Oney Lorcan
Oney Lorcan earned this opportunity after defeating Tony Nese, Akira Tozawa, Kalisto, Jack Gallagher and Ariya Daivari in a 6-pack challenge on Tuesday’s edition of 205 Live.
While Lorcan has still been teaming with Danny Birch on NXT house shows, he appears to be a permanent member of the 205 roster.
Oney’s aggressive style could potentially pose problems against Drew Gulak, but the Cruiserweight champion is an expert grappler who will look to slow down the action.
With Gulak starting his reign at Stomping Grounds on June 23rd, I can’t imagine it will end prematurely.
Prediction: Drew Gulak retains
Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus
Charlotte Flair is undoubtedly one of the best female performers of her generation and she goes up against arguably the greatest female performer of all-time in Trish Stratus. Trish also makes her illustrious return in her hometown of Toronto.
Trish teamed with Natalya on Raw, but wasn’t even tagged in. Perhaps this was done in an effort to keep her appearance on Sunday special, but why even advertise her for the Raw match? I digress.
While Trish will have the crowd firmly on her side, I would be outright shocked if she doesn’t pass the torch to Charlotte. The purpose of this match should be designed to make this very competitive with Charlotte coming out on top to further feed her ego on television.
Prediction: Charlotte Flair
United States Championship -- AJ Styles (c) vs. Ricochet
A battle between two of my favourite wrestlers. I’ve supported AJ since 2004 and Ricochet, in my humble opinion, is one of the best pure baby faces on the roster.
These two have already competed in a series of great matches.
How did we get here?
Ricochet defeated Samoa Joe at Stomping Grounds to capture the United States Championship. The next evening on Raw, The Phenomenal One defeated Ricochet.
The One and Only did earn his victory back during the July 1st edition of Raw. Following the match, Gallows, Anderson and AJ all proceeded to beat down the champ.
At Extreme Rules on July 14, AJ Styles pinned Ricochet following a middle-rope Styles Clash to once again capture the United Championship.
Ricochet earned his SummerSlam opportunity after winning a gauntlet match during the July 29th edition of Raw.
Don’t be surprised if Gallows and Anderson are banned from ringside to even the odds.
Prediction: AJ Styles retains (While I would love to see Ricochet have a length run as champion, I don’t see them ending AJ’s reign so quickly)
Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler spent weeks tearing down the Miz, Shawn Michaels and even Goldberg.
As Dolph signed the contract on Monday, the Miz noted he would looked forward to their match on Raw. Since Dolph didn’t read the fine print, his opponent will be Goldberg.
No word of a lie, when I originally jotted down some notes for these predictions, I had Goldberg replacing the Miz.
You can expect a short match featuring a with a spear and jackhammer.
Prediction: Goldberg
SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Ember Moon
Ember Moon essentially earned this opportunity after Bayley selected her as the SummerSlam opponent.
Bayley has really come into her own during this recent title reign as she has floundered in recent years. Lately though, she appears to be more serious and aggressive.
As for Ember, I’ve stated this on numerous occasions, but she possesses so much potential and I would be outright shocked if she wasn’t crowned a champion within the next 12 months.
I just don’t believe this will be Ember’s time
Prediction: Bayley retains
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon (If Owens loses, he quits WWE)
Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon has been at odds over the past couple of months, but their history against each other dates all the way back to August of 2017. This eventually lead to their Hell in a Cell match where Sami pulled Owens off the announce table as Shane leaped off the cage and crashed through it.
The roles have reversed as Shane is now playing the part of the obnoxious and narcissistic heel.
The stipulation is that if Owens loses, he is forced to quit WWE. It should be noted that Owens has already quit before, so I don’t expect him to quit again.
I’m sure we will see appearances from Elias and Drew McIntyre, but Owens will overcome the numbers advantage to pull out the victory.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor
The last time we saw Bray Wyatt compete on television was on the August 13th, 2018 edition of Monday Night Raw. The B-Team Dallas & Curtis Axel pinned Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy to become the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.
Several months ago, Bray Wyatt returned in the ultra creative Firefly Funhouse that depicted him as a Mister Rogers type character while allowing us to witness his terrifying transformation into The Fiend.
In one of the better returns in recent memory, Wyatt's "Fiend" character turned off the lights out, appeared in the ring and had Balor in Sister Abigail when the lights were fully restored.
This feels a lot like vintage horror movie storytelling where less is more and we aren’t quite clued into Bray’s intentions.
With Finn Balor requesting some time off, the outcome seems pretty obvious here.
Prediction: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Raw Women's Championship -- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya (Submission Match)
Similar to the Charlotte vs Trish match, this has been designed as the current champion with a long future squaring off against the talented veteran in her home country.
Unless we are being thrown a curveball, Natayla does not seem like a viable contender to defeat Becky, so the outcome seems rather predictable.
Prediction: Becky Lynch retains
WWE Championship -- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton
This feud dates back to 2010 where these engaged in a great feud before Kofi’s run quickly fizzled out. In reality, there were rumours of Orton using his influence to put the kibosh on Kofi’s rise to the top. With this recent feud, they have blurred the lines of reality and address it on live television.
Randy Orton earned this opportunity after he pinned Kingston on a recent episode of Smackdown.
Kofi’s championship reign as been great so far as he continues to overcome the odds and he will do the same here.
Prediction: Kofi Kingston retains
Universal Championship -- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins
In the headlining spot, this will be Brock’s 6th Consecutive SummerSlam main event.
How did we get here?
First, Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 35 by delivering a low blow and taking advantage.
Brock Lesnar then appeared at MITB and captured the briefcase.
After Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch retained their titles in the Winners Take All match at Extreme Rules, Brock Lesnar successfully cashed in to become the only 3-time Universal Champion.
Seth Rollins then gained his rematch opportunity at SummerSlam, but will he enter the event healthy? Recently on Raw, Brock Lesnar pummeled and punished Seth Rollins which ultimately weakened his opponent.
Everyone is essentially an underdog against Lesnar and this Sunday will see Seth attempt to get in some offense, but ultimately get dominated.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar retains (Furthermore, he may likely get drafted to Smackdown and appear on Fox since he has a big name and the UFC formally had a relationship with Fox too)
