http://www.cheap-heat.com/educated-guess-nxt-takeover-brooklyn/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/educated-guess-nxt-takeover-brooklyn/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2015 15:50:56 +0000
Mark Adam Haggerty
Blogs
Apollo Crews
B+ Players Podcast
Baron Corbin
Bayley
Blake and Murphy
Brooklyn
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Field of Honor
Finn Balor
Jushin Liger
Jushin Thunder Liger
Kevin Owens
Ladder Match
NJPW
NXT
NXT Championship
NXT TakeOver
NXT Takeover Brooklyn
Prince Pretty
Pro Wrestling Syndicate
PWS
ROH
Samoa Joe
Sasha Banks
Tag Team Championship
Takeover
The Vaudevillians
Ty Dillinger
Tye Dillinger
Tyler Breeze
Uhaa Nation
Womens Championship
WWE
http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13675
Summer time is almost at an end, and soon we'll be privy to chilly autumn days and back-to-school shopping. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the last two weeks of the seasons! What's Crack-a-Lackin' everybody? My name is Mark Adam Haggerty, and tonight is NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn LIVE on the WWE Network! I will […]
Summer time is almost at an end, and soon we'll be privy to chilly autumn days and back-to-school shopping. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the last two weeks of the seasons! What's Crack-a-Lackin' everybody? My name is Mark Adam Haggerty, and tonight is
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
LIVE on the WWE Network! I will be one of the tens-of-thousands of people in attendance at the Barclay's Center, hoping against
hope
for an exclusive Jushin "Thunder" Liger t-shirt. But what about the card? What might we expect to go down when the men and women of
NXT
perform in front of 16,000 fans—40 times the size of the fledgling Full Sail fan base? I've got a few ideas. When other professional wrestling pundits are making
predictions,
I'm doing the due diligence required to form
Educated Guesses
.
Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
For someone that came into the WWE on a wave of momentum, Samoa Joe sure is jerking the curtain on an event that's set to break every record imaginable. Joe was part of TNA's tapings at the
Manhattan Center
, and made a name for himself with
Ring of Honor
in smaller venues across the city. This will
DEFINITELY
be the largest crowd Joe has ever worked in New York. It might even be the largest crowd he's worked in
America
, save for the dark match wherein he crippled Tyson Kidd. This is a tough one to predict; Baron Corbin is still undefeated as far as I'm aware—at least on television. One would assume Baron's toppling of the
Samoan Submission Machine
would cement him as part of the upper echelon of NXT. But Samoa Joe losing to Baron Corbin is a hard pill to swallow, especially when you've got almost twenty thousand blood thirsty New Yorkers who paid to see professional wrestling. You'd also have to guess that Corbin is due for his inevitable humbling sooner than later. Samoa Joe is the kind of
"living legend"
that can defeat Corbin at the end of a hard-fought battle, only to raise his hand in proverbial triumph at the end. Baron Corbin could lose the fight, but gain the respect of Samoa Joe—and in turn, the NXT fans.
Educated Guess: Samoa Joe
Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
With CJ Parker exploring the independent ranks of professional wrestling, there's a
hole
left on the roster. Parker was, for lack of a better term, "Jobber to the Stars"—the first stop for future
Superstars
such as Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens. Tye Dillinger appears to have adopted the mantle, as the "Perfect Ten" is booked to compete with the recently signed Uhaa Nation—debuting as "Apollo Crews." Listen—I get what they're doing with the name; Apollo like Creed and Crews like Terry, I get it. But a simple Google Image Search for "Apollo Crews" will yield nothing but group photos of NASA astronauts. Just wanted to make that known before its too late. I think it's safe to say Apollo will more than likely achieve victory. I'll be curious to see if they do the Titan Tron "fade out" with the name change, the way they did with KENTA into Hideo Itami and Prince Devitt into Finn Balor. I'm also wondering if he'll continue to employ his "Uhaa Combination";
most
independent stars are allowed to keep their finishing moves, with the exception of Kevin Owens' package piledriver.
Educated Guess: Apollo Crews
NXT Tag Team Championship
Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillians
This week's episode of the
Outsiders' Edge
features our official
preview
show for both NXT and SummerSlam. No one on the show could understand why the Vaudevillians are in contention for the titles, especially since Enzo Amore and Big Cass aren't even scheduled for the
main
show. They're in an eight man tag during the TV tapings! Enzo and Cass are more
over
than the Vaudevillians, they've got
history
with Blake and Murphy, and it's their hometown! Big Cass is from the City, whereas Enzo's from Hackensack—which is
THROWING DISTANCE
from Brooklyn! I made a really outlandish guess, and said
maybe
something happens to the Vaudevillians? Maybe they get attacked before the show, or perhaps they're defeated courtesy of some underhanded tactics. We very well could see the "Certified G," as well as the big seven-foot Italian. Getting back to
this
match—there's no way the Vaudevillians are winning the titles. If this is truly the match they're going with, then I have no doubt Blake and Murphy are set to retain.
Educated Guess: Blake & Murphy
Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Tyler Breeze
I write a column for Daily Wrestling News called "
Weights & Measures
," about the
"Excitement Factor"
going into an event. It's just your average percentage scale with 0% representing no interest whatsoever, and 100% being the
presumable
cap. I broke the rules this month and said this match was at a
500%
.
You heard me. FIVE HUNDRED PERCENT! I mentioned earlier that I'm looking forward to finding an exclusive Jushin "Thunder" Liger t-shirt, but there's so much more involved! This guy has been wrestling
professionally
since 1984; he was in the
OPENING MATCH
on the first-
ever
WCW Monday Nitro. He's wrestled everyone from Ric Flair to Daniel Bryan to Dalton Castle! And now he's come to the WWE for the first time in his 31-year career at the age of 50 to wrestle one of the brightest stars in the company! Tyler Breeze seems to have been left by the wayside in recent months—since
NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way—
and has been defeated in the opening match on the last
TWO
TakeOver specials. Tyler is destined for great things in the WWE and the business at large, he's just been submerged beneath a deluge of debuting independent darlings. His time will come; tonight will be a defining moment in the career of Tyler Breeze.
Educated Guess: Tyler Breeze
NXT Women’s Championship
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
I know everyone is enamored with how amazing the women of NXT are, and all of the Tony Schiavone-wannabes are bolstering hyperbolic boastings such as "Sasha versus Bayley will be match of the night." Guys—Kevin Steen is wrestling Prince Devitt in a fucking ladder match. Jushin Liger is making his WWE debut. Uhaa Nation is making his WWE debut. Samoa Joe is working his largest crowd in New York ever. Sasha versus Bayley will be an outstanding match—but it will
not
be match of the night. There's just no way. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch stole the show last month, which wasn't hard to do considering the main event never got started. Still, all scrutiny aside, I believe Sasha Banks is unquestionably the most talented in-ring performer the Diva's Division has ever had. Ever. Bayley is a fantastic sports entertainer and appears to have no trouble connecting with the crowd. I've said before that Bayley could very well be the WWE's female equivalent to John Cena—a smiling role model who wears bright colors and sells a ton of frivolous merch. But I don't think her in-ring ability is on par with Becky Lynch, or Charlotte, or Paige—let alone Sasha Banks. I think this is going to be a fun match, it'll be long with a lot of drama, and there will definitely be hugging and crying in the end.
Educated Guess: Bayley
NXT Championship
Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
I'm not a main event mark, believe it or not. I'm one of those people who saw Savage/Steamboat and has since said: "The best stuff is on the undercard." And quite often, that's very much the case. But tonight's main event is going to be special. I've been to
hundreds
of events in my life; I've seen WWE, TNA, ROH, NJPW, PWG, ECW, PWS, and dozens upon dozens of regional Indy promotions. This will be my first NXT event, and despite how long I've been attending wrestling live—this will also be my first
ladder match
. So no matter what happens, I'm going to be happy with the result. I think most people are going on the assumption that Finn Balor
has
to win this match because Kevin Owens is on the main roster. While I'm assuming Finn will win, I'm not so quick to assume Kevin
can't.
Kevin Owens needs to maintain some sort of constant presence in NXT until Sami Zayn returns. Not only is the rivalry ongoing, but with Zayn and Itami on the injured list, NXT is pretty scarce in terms of main event talent. I'm very much looking forward to this match. I think it'll probably steal the show, and could very well be the
"Match of the Weekend
" when all is said and done.
Educated Guess: Finn Balor
