NXT Royal Rumble?

   I've been thinking about this concept since the end of 2017 and I wonder what people would think about it.  For well over two years, NXT's Takeover events have been attached to the "Big Four" PPV weekends, as well as Money In the Bank.  NXT has been the brand to bring War Games to WWE and are set to do it again this year, the night before Survivor Series.  I thought it would be interesting to do an NXT Royal Rumble at Takeover the night before WWE's Royal Rumble in January.  It would be smaller in amount of wrestlers but the concept would be similar to the regular Rumble in that the winner would headline Takeover the night before WrestleMania.  With the way storylines have been going since last year, this would be the perfect scenario for NXT.

   For an NXT Royal Rumble, I'd think it would have to be 15 men, considering how much smaller a brand NXT is compared to Raw or Smackdown, which also share PPV's, by the way.  10 would probably be too little.  I'd have NXT, Women's, and Tag Team Title matches on the under card with the 15-Man Rumble as the main event.  With the way the Johnny Gargano/Tomasso Ciampa feud is going, this would be a great way to help bring the story full circle.  

   Before I get to the Rumble, I want to bring up how I think the storylines might go from now until then.  For Takeover: Brooklyn IV in a little over a week, we were expecting a Triple Threat Match for the NXT Title between new Champion Ciampa, former Champion Aleister Black, and Gargano.  However, recently Black got injured and he's likely to miss this match.  Whether Black makes the match or not, he should eventually get his one on one rematch for the Title.  Either way, I see Ciampa retaining in Brooklyn.  What I noticed is that NXT made Black's injury into a storyline.  After last night's NXT show, which by the way, was taped at least a week before, fans were under the impression that Black was attacked by either the unlikely Johnny Gargano or the four members of the Undisputed Era.  While a Gargano turn would be a shock, it would mess up his feud with Ciampa.  So, it makes for sense for UE to be the culprits.

   That actually leads me to War Games in November.  For this year's match, I'm predicting Ciampa and all four members of the Undisputed Era against Black, Gargano, Ricochet, and the War Raiders.  Ricochet is already challenging Cole for the NXT North American Title in Brooklyn and the War Raiders made things clear that after Brooklyn, they will be gunning for the Tag Team Championships.  Black's team wins here and he gets his one on one Title rematch with Ciampa.  In the mean time, here is where my NXT Royal Rumble comes into play.  My card would be Ciampa vs. Black for the NXT Title, the War Raiders winning the Tag Team Titles from the Undisputed Era, and an NXT Women's Title match featuring Kairi Sane, who I have either winning in Brooklyn or at the Evolution PPV, against Bianca Belair.  Now, we come to a 15-man Royal Rumble, where the winner goes on to headline with the NXT Champion at the Takeover the night before WrestleMania.

   My Rumble includes Adam Cole, Ricochet, Bobby Fish, Johnny Gargano, The Velveteen Dream, EC3, Keith Lee, Lars Sullivan, Kassius Ohno, Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Wolfgang, Danny Burch, and Dijak.  In a likely but deserving outcome, Johnny Wrestling takes the win and goes on to face Tomasso Ciampa for the NXT Championship and wins in a great Cinderella story.  However, I'm not done yet!  Ciampa will want to exercise his rematch clause and here's where it comes full circle.  I would have it be not only for the NXT Title, but an I Quit Loser Leaves NXT match, ending at Takeover: Chicago III, exactly two years since Ciampa turned on Gargano.  Not to pat myself on the back, but, that is damn good story telling!  With that being said, would anyone be interested in NXT doing a mini Royal Rumble on Takeover the night before the actual Royal Rumble PPV?  It would almost be a way for fans to get pumped for both the 30-man and 30-woman Rumble matches.

 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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