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NXT spent this evening (Nov. 29) taping television leading into its next WWE Network special, Takeover: Philadelphia, which is scheduled for the night before Royal Rumble - Sat., Jan. 27, 2018, at Wells Fargo Center. The episodes filmed at Full Sail Live should take us into early January (they’re taping again on Jan. 4 in Atlanta), and the picture for the next live event already started to take shape.
One title bout was booked, and the direction for a few other matches seemed clear... even if we’re not yet quite sure how some of these rivalries will be presented in Philly.
Here’s the one we know for sure, based on spoilers (get them in full here):
- Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (c) for the NXT championship
Johnny Wrestling won a Fatal 4Way #1 contender match over Aleister Black (more on him in a minute), Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain. Gargano’s road back has already featured two losses to the new champ, and Zelina Vega’s been very willing to invoke Johnny’s old partner to get into his head. When is Tommaso Ciampa due back again (it’s supposed to be March, but...)?
Then there are several folks who seem to be on a collision course. A lot can change with another set of episodes yet to film, but...
- Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole
Gargano’s win came after Black had Lars Sullivan down, but interference in the form of an Undisputed ERA attack kept him from earning a title shot. The Stoic Satanist will probably want to address that with Undisputed’s leader, since the other two members of the team will probably have a title defense.
- Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly (c) vs. SAnitY for the NXT tag titles
This could get burned off at Center Stage in January, but Eric Young and company will have a rematch coming to them after Undisputed took their belts in Florida.
- Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce (or Billie Kay)
The Bannockburn Banshee saved Ember Moon from a beating by The Iconic Duo. Since not everyone can be in a title match, this has the feel of dark match in Philly, but we’ll see.
- Ember Moon (c) vs. Kairi Sane and/or Shayna Baszler for the Women’s title
Moon dealt with someone who won’t still be around come TakeOver in a title match tonight (Raw’s Sonya Deville). When the Mae Young Classic winner appeared for a staredown, the runner-up made her NXT debut to choke The Pirate Princess out. If Baszler is headed to a WrestleMania feud, this could be a way to quickly showcase her on the black-and-yellow brand without having her taking a pin.
Most of that is just one person’s interpretation of a list of results, so feel free to tell me where you think I’m guessing wrong below, Cagesiders.
At least we can all agree this has to change - there is a noticeable lack of Velveteen Dream.