NXT Takeover New Orleans Predictions

   It's that time of year again, WrestleMania weekend!  There's a whole lot going on so I thought it best to separate it a little.  Tonight is the Hall of Fame but tomorrow is NXT's Takeover: New Orleans.  There's a lot at stake, including a new Championship and a grudge match many people are looking forward to.  Also, you never know who will be making an appearance in the crowd.  As we saw in Philadelphia, EC3, War Machine, Ricochet, and Candice LaRae were all in attendance. Tomorrow, I'll get to my WrestleMania predictions.

NXT North American Championship Ladder Match - EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dane vs. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet

   I'm torn about this one and not due to the match itself, which I know will be incredible. I'm torn on the fact that a new Championship has arrived.  With NXT's one hour format, as well as the occasional UK Title defense from Pete Dunne, I can't see having time for another Championship.  WWE has too many Titles as it is.  Then again, I can somewhat understand it, as not everyone will win the NXT Title and having a mid-card Title might be beneficial.  I feel like they might have to increase the NXT shows by a half hour.  When I think about it, this Title would have been perfect for guys like Tyler Breeze or Tyson Kidd, who weren't able to capture the NXT Championship.  The belt itself is an improvement overall from most WWE belts but I have some minor complaints.  I think it would look better if the strap was black instead of red/maroon.  Also, it would have been nice if the strap was more streamlined to the side plates like most others are.

   Now for the match itself!  We've got a who's who of names, representing many former organizations these men belonged to, including Impact, Ring of Honor, and Lucha Underground. EC3 used to wrestle in NXT a few years ago as Derek Bateman but since he went to Impact as Dixie Carter's nephew, his star has risen and he's a different man.  No one surprised me more than the Velveteen Dream.  I knew from watching Tough Enough that Patrick Clark had something but since his arrival in NXT, I was not happy with the gimmick.  His incredible match and feud with Aleister Black changed my mind.  Lars Sullivan is a mountain of a man and is quite the physical specimen. However, he doesn't really do anything for me at all.  

   Killian Dane of Sanity has been an unstoppable force.  His brute power and surprising agility for a man his size has made me a believer in the strapping Scotsman.  Adam Cole is definitely a strong candidate to win but now that Bobby Fish has been injured, he's pulling double duty tomorrow night, as he has to prepare for this match, as well as defend the NXT Tag Team Titles with Undisputed Era member Kyle O'Reilly.  Could Cole do the impossible and leave New Orleans with two Championships?  Of course, I can't forget about Ricochet!  His impressive move set and speed is sure to awe the audience.  He's been killing it on the Independents, as well as in Lucha Underground as his Prince Puma persona.  If I had to choose a winner here, I'm going with EC3.

NXT Women's Championship - Ember Moon vs. Shayne Baszler

   Their match at Takeover Philadelphia in January was some great story telling, with both incredible ring psychology from Baszler and fantastic selling on Moon's behalf.  I'm sure this one won't disappoint.  I'm going to have to go with the Queen of Spades walking out as the new NXT Women's Champion, since I don't see her losing a second time.  The only way I see this match ending with Moon still Champion is if it ends in disqualification.  I can see women who Baszler has injured, such as Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai getting involved, which could lead to a nice Fatal Fourway at the next Takeover. Ultimately, I'm going with Shayna Baszler.  It wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see Moon make an appearance in the Women's Battle Royal the next night at WrestleMania either!

NXT Tag Team Titles and Dusty Rhodes Classic Finals - Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain vs. Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne

   The finals to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic was a match between the 2016 winners the Authors of Pain and the makeshift, yet surprisingly well-gelled team of Strong and Dunne.  However, Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly of the Undisputed Era came down and attacked both teams.  By doing so, they were hoping to eliminate opponents at Takeover since Bobby Fish is injured.  However, NXT General Manager William Regal had none of it, announcing that the three teams would compete for not only the Tag Team Titles but also the Dusty Rhodes Classic trophy.  In fact, Regal gave Cole a choice to either drop out of the North American Title Ladder Match, have the Undisputed Era give up the Tag Team Titles, or compete in both matches.  Begrudgingly, Cole chose to pull double duty. This one is a tough call!  Since Dunne is already the UK Champion, I can't see him and Strong winning. The Authors of Pain have already been there and are likely to show up on Raw or Smackdown some time soon.  The Undisputed Era has a good shot of retaining and Cole can certainly sub for Fish until Fish is ready to come back.  Even though it's unlikely, I'm going with the Authors of Pain here.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

  This has been one of the best non-Title stories told in the history of NXT.  I was stunned at the breakup of DIY when Ciampa viciously turned on his best friend Gargano.  After their failure to regain the Tag Team Titles from the Authors of Pain at Takeover in that brutal Ladder Match, I still did not see it coming.  I likened the turn to the Rockers' break up, when Shawn Michaels turned on Marty Jannetty.  Unfortunately, the story had to wait as Ciampa had been injured during the match.  Since then, Johnny Wrestling fought his way to Championship opportunities.  At Takeover Philadelphia after his hard-fought loss to Andrade "Cien" Almas, coupled with his wife Candice LaRae trying to keep Zelina Vega at bay, Ciampa came out of nowhere and attacked Gargano with a crutch.  

   This is certainly a blood feud if I've ever seen one!  Gargano's loss in Philly meant he had to leave NXT but that didn't stop him from trying to get back at Ciampa.  William Regal decided the two would settle their differences tomorrow night in New Orleans with the stipulation that if Gargano wins, he's back in NXT and if he loses, he's outright banned from NXT.  I can see it going either way but I'm choosing Gargano to pull out the victory, if only to keep the feud going.  On the other hand, should Gargano lose, I can see a point in time where Ciampa puts his NXT career on the line in a match and comes to the main roster.  That way, they can have a rematch and ultimately the rubber match, possibly at this year's SummerSlam.

NXT Championship - Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Aleister Black

  For this match, I'm almost 100% sure that we will see a new Champion emerge.  I can't confirm this but I think that had it not been for Drew McIntyre's injury at Takeover: War Games, Almas was probably not planned to win the Title.  However, with the addition of Zelina Vega, Almas has really stepped up his game and has become a more credible Champion than I thought possible. However, I think his time in the sun will "Fade To Black" tomorrow night.  I'm also surprised that Vega isn't competing in her own match with rival Candice LaRea.  In fact, no matter the outcome for this match, along with Gargano defeating Ciampa, I can see a Fatal Fourway for the Title at the next Takeover, so Vega has to put her full attention towards LaRea in her own match.  Once again, I see the devastating Dutchman becoming the new NXT Champion.

   Not to sound cliche, but I'm really looking forward to this event.  All of these matches will deliver and I cannot see one bathroom break on the card so I might have to go light on fluids tomorrow evening.  I'm excited about the matches, as well as possible surprise guests.  Takeover has become an event wrestling fans can really get behind.  After all, many of these men and women are WWE's future stars.  

  If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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