NXT TakeOver: In Your House PREDICTIONS
It has felt like ages since the last NXT TakeOver. In fact, it transpired way back on February 16th, 2020 from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
I’m personally thrilled for the return of the In Your House branding that will act as a nostalgic kick to those who were around to experience these events throughout the 1990s. Is it wrong to hold out hope for a potential Todd Pettengill appearance?
Either way, this card features some very intriguing matchups and it should be more than enough to satisfy your professional wrestling craving.
I’m joined by Senior Contributor, Kyle Scharf as we make our predictions below.
Pertinent Details:
Event Date: Sunday, June 7, 2020
Kickoff Show: 6 pm ET
Main Card: 7 pm ET
Where: WWE Network
NXT TakeOver: In Your House predictions:
Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
Chris: Priest briefly targeted Keith Lee for the North American Championship but ultimately came up short. Since then, he has set his sights on The Prince, Finn Balor by attacking him.
I personally don’t foresee a scenario where Finn Balor doesn’t emerge with his arm raised while Priest moves onto yet another rivalry.
My Pick: Finn Balor
Kyle: Seeing as this match is essentially a placeholder for Balor until the pandemic is over and we can finally get him facing off against the almighty WALTER I see Balor going over but managing to make Priest look like a million bucks so that he can move onto a new feud. The real question is if they randomly decide to pull out the Demon to pop the Network replay views and YouTube hits.
Kyle’s Pick: Finn Balor
Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, & Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
Chris: Since turning to the dark side, Candice (with assistance from Johnny) has specifically tormented Mia Yim while the history between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai dates back to War Games. Shotzi and Raquel will both compete in their first TakeOver event to date, which will likely be far from the last.
In terms of momentum, I can’t imagine LaRae picks up the loss after radically altering her character and overall attitude. In fact, I believe she will be the one to pin Yim and earn the victory for her team.
My Pick: Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez
Kyle: In the grand history of In Your House, a few different feuds are all mashed together into one match to get a bunch of people on the card. The real story is undoubtedly Candice and Mia, and I expect some banter between Tegan and Dakota to continue their longstanding beef in the background, while Shotzi will surely do something crazy that almost kills her again like that Coffin Drop a few weeks back. In the end, I agree and see LeRae taking the W, most likely in some semblance of nefarious fashion.
Kyle’s Pick: Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross (with Scarlett bordeaux)
Chris: Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux have rapidly established themselves as arguably the most captivating pairing in all of professional wrestling. Their entire presentation feels reminiscent of a gritty Batman graphic novel which has been highly successful in standing out amongst the crowd.
As for Ciampa, he’s one of the most established veterans on the NXT brand and undoubtedly one of their perennial main event talents.
In order to establish Kross as a legitimate threat, having him defeat Ciampa would be the logical decision.
My Pick: Karrion Kross
Kyle: This one will be interesting. If they truly want to establish Kross as a killer (pun fully intended) then he needs to absolutely annihilate Ciampa. Doing so immediately cements him as more than a flashy entrance. And Ciampa is good enough to bounce back and recover easily. Going with Kross who moves immediately into title contention for either the North American or NXT Title.
Kyle’s Pick: Karrion Kross
NXT North American Championship: Keith Lee (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
Chris: Over the past 9 months, I have continually stated that Keith Lee is a certified main event talent and that applies to every show under the WWE umbrella. Yes, he’s really that damn good. Lee possesses the size, athleticism, charisma and promo abilities to go toe to toe with the very best WWE has to offer. Most importantly, he has formed an unshakable bond with the audience.
While Lee is unquestionably destined for bigger things, his current run as North American Champion has proven to be a successful one and he has remained unbeatable.
With his descent to the dark side, Johnny Gargano has quickly transformed into an opportunistic and arrogant villain who is willing to do anything and everything to win.
Can Johnny weasel his way into a second NA title run? Yes, but not quite yet.
My Pick: Keith Lee retains
Kyle: Keith Lee is far too good to be holding what is the mid-card title. With all the news of call-ups to the main roster leaking out Lee's name has been conspicuously absent. I'd like to think that HHH is holding onto him knowing he can build the entire brand around Lee. I'm going with Gargano winning with some outside help from his wife, which will likely also bring out Mia Yim tying everything together. This will cement Gargano's heel run and allow Keith Lee to move onto bigger and better things.
Kyle’s Pick: Johnny Gargano to become the NEW North American Champion
NXT Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai
Chris: How did we arrive here? Well, Charlotte originally defeated Rhea at WrestleMania 36 (one of my fav matches from the event) to become the NXT Champion. Rhea was soon forced to return home.
Meanwhile, Io Shirai became the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship by winning a six-way ladder match during an episode of NXT.
Note: This match was scheduled to take place at NXT TakeOver: Tampa
Io then faced Charlotte during the May 6 episode of NXT that ended in a disqualification after Flair utilized a kendo stick. A returning Rhea Ripley came to the rescue, but The Joshi Judas resented Ripley for sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.
While chasing a heel champion, Rhea is particularly intriguing, but I personally felt her title reign fell a bit flat without that pursuit. Charlotte has already established herself as one of the greatest female talents of all-time and can easily leap back to either Raw or Smackdown. As for Io, I consider her pound for pound to be the best female talent in the world and now would be the ideal opportunity to pull the trigger on a long-awaited championship reign.
My Pick: Io Shirai to become the NEW NXT Women’s Champion
Kyle: This seems like a make or break moment for Io to become the champion. While the storyline makes sense to have Rhea in there again with Charlotte, I'm guessing that Io takes the belt by defeating Rhea, freeing Charlotte back to the main roster and immediately building Io's first challenger in Rhea. Io is good enough that she can easily be the babyface or the heel depending on where they want to go with it, but regardless of how the match ends, Io needs to walk away with the title.
Kyle’s Pick: Io Shirai to become the NEW NXT Women’s Champion
NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) vs. Velveteen Dream (Backlot Brawl)
Chris: Upon returning from a back injury, the Velveteen Dream picked up where he left off with the Undisputed Era, but quickly moved on from Strong to turn his attention to Adam Cole.
At 24 years old, the Velveteen Dream is certainly mature beyond his years within the squared circle and checks off all of the boxes. Dream possesses a tremendous amount of charisma, smooth in the ring, compelling behind the microphone and has actually formed a true character, which is often lacking from performers in 2020. Much like Io, could this finally be his time to shine or will he come up short once again?
As for Adam Cole, he is the longest-reigning NXT Champion and has already defeated the Velveteen Dream along with conquering the likes of Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Pete Dunne, Matt Riddle, Daniel Bryan among many others. Also interestingly enough, with rumblings that Cole hasn't signed a new contract with WWE and that his current deal is up in August, could this be a red herring, a potential move to the main roster or time to switch to another promotion altogether? There are many unanswered questions here and the result this Sunday may not steer us any closer to an answer.
In my humble opinion, a loss for the Velveteen Dream would set him back and this will be his opportunity to take the ball and run with it while proving his worth.
My Pick: Velveteen Dream to become the NEW NXT Champion
Kyle: Maybe the most interesting match on the card, simply due to all the rumours flying around. Dream just hasn't felt the same since coming back from injury, and the absence of a crowd to work off has severely impacted him. Going with my heart on this one, I see Adam Cole walking away with the title once again following interference from the Undisputed Era and Dexter Lumis. Lumis' character seems more fit as a heel and he will turn on Dream costing him the title leading them into a feud, freeing Cole up to drop the title finally SummerSlam weekend to Keith Lee. That will allow him to move up to the main roster or even move over to AEW to reunite with his role model and yours, Dr. Britt Baker.
Kyle’s Pick: Adam Cole retains
