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Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver set a high bar for those wrestling on the event's second night. WALTER retained his NXT UK Championship in a brutal fight while new title holders were crowned in both the women's and tag team divisions.
MSK won a back-and-forth triple threat contest to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. In the main-event of the first night of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Raquel Gonzalez dethroned Io Shirai as NXT Women's Champ.
Bronson Reed outlasted the other five participants in the Gauntlet Eliminator. He will challenge Johnny Gargano on Night 2 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Zoey Stark picked up her biggest win yet on the pre-show and Pete Dunne backed up his claim of being the best technical wrestler in WWE.
Even though those matches are in the books, there is no rest for the wrestling fan. Night 2 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will have a NXT Women's Tag Team title match and a NXT Cruiserweight unification bout.
Two of the biggest matches in NXT history will also grace Night 2. Karrion Kross looks to regain the title he never lost against Champion Finn Balor. In the night's other main event, the Undisputed Era explodes in an unsanctioned match between Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole.
What other suprises are in store for the remainder of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver? Here are five predictions for the rest of the card.
#5 Will Candice LeRae win her first title at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver?
Candice LeRae is one of the top women in NXT and she looks to prove that point at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Alongside Indi Hartwell, LeRae fell to finalists Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart during the Women's Dusty Classic.
After Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez defeated Moon and Blackheart in the finals, they were crowned the first-ever NXT Women's Tag Team Champs. Kai and Gonzalez would lose their belts to Moon and Blackheart, however, in their first title defense.
The two teams, as well as the former champs, seemed like the only viable pairings in the women's tag division. That says a lot about those six women, but a big change on Night 1 might factor into the bout's decision.
Raquel Gonzalez defeated Io Shirai. That means a heel is now atop the women of NXT. Outside of Shirai, Blackheart and Moon are currently the two other biggest faces. While it would be strange to have another quick title swap, the new Champ needs challengers. When asked about the match, LeRae had a simple answer.
Things are resetting a bit throughout NXT. Even though the titles were just introduced and there have already been two Champions, things might be switching again. It's a crime that LeRae hasn't already won a title in NXT.
Prediction - LeRae/Hartwell defeat the Fire Pit to become NXT Women's Tag Team Champs.
#4 The real NXT Cruiserweight Champion will emerge at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
Jordan Devlin and Santos Escobar have a ladder match that will determine the Undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. HBK himself made the decision easy for both Escobar and Devlin.
Devlin was forced to sit on the sidelines for much of 2020 due to the global pandemic. Because of that, Escobar and others vied for the Interim NXT Cruiserweight title. Escobar eventually won the belt and has held it since last June.
While that has been a long time, Devlin actually won his title in January of 2020 at Worlds Collide. The pandemic shut things down in March of 2020. Technically, he's held the title longer but has not been able to defend it as much as Escobar.
Both WALTER and Devlin came across the pond to NXT. Was it just for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver or for a permanent move like Pete Dunne and Toni Storm? That's what will make the outcome of this match interesting.
Escobar seems like a Superstar that transcends the division. He can fight stars of any size as he did with Karrion Kross earlier this year. He can handle bigger fights. It's not to say Devlin can't but Escobar could feasibly move up the card if not in the Cruiserweight division.
The fact that the showdown is a ladder match also makes things interesting. Legado Del Fantasma could interfere on the behalf of their leader. They failed to win the NXT Tag Team belts on Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Will they pull out all of the stops to make sure Escobar becomes the Undisputed Champ? The only way to ensure they won't is to ban them from ringside.
WALTER's move might have been for one match but Devlin seems like he could stick around much longer than WALTER. For that reason, he will climb the ladder to pull down both titles at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Escobar can move on to the North American Championship scene, especially if Bronson Reed beats Johnny Gargano. Whatever happens, ladder matches are always great spectacles and this one will be that for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Prediction - Jordan Devlin becomes Undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champ.
#3 Can Bronson Reed end Johnny Gargano's reign at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver?
Dexter Lumis seemed like the favorite and logical winner to come out of the Gauntlet Eliminator at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 1. Bronson Reed, however, earned a shot at Johnny Gargano instead.
The Colossal One took an extreme amount of punishment en route to winning the match. Alongside Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Reed put forth an impressive finishing sequence.
Leading up to his title defense on Night 2 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Gargano had trouble grasping how things would play out. While the steps to just getting a challenger were rather perplexing to some, Johnny Wrestling decided to instead focus on something else.
Once he found out just who he would be facing, Gargano wasted little time in coming out to face his challenger. Reed seemed more than ready to keep wrestling after his big win.
Two titles already have new holders. MSK won the vacant NXT Tag titles and Raquel Gonzalez ended the impressive reign of Io Shirai. Night 2 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver features four more title matches, so some will likely change hands.
Gargano is essentially bulletproof at this point in his NXT career. He can stand to lose the title and not lose much luster. There are many more established heels than faces that are ready to challenge for the title. It seemed like Reed or Lumis would win and then beat Gargano. Reed won so it can still happen.
If he does beat Johnny Wrestling, it opens things up for newer feuds over the title. Reed still has unfinished business with LA Knight and Swerve will continue to come after the title. If Escobar falls to Devlin, he could also go for the North American title.
Kushida already challenged for the title and lost, so that takes him out of the running. Reed winning would also allow Austin Theory to go after the title in Gargano's name. Dunne needs direction after NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver and Grimes is still a prominent name in the mid-card.
Ciampa tussling again with Gargano would produce good matches, but it wouldn't have the same luster as their previous encounters. The best option to move things forward is to have Reed win the title at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Prediction - Bronson Reed wins NXT North American Championship.
#2 Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly is the co-main event for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
The culmination of the break up of the Undisputed Era takes place at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. While Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong have been bit players in the ongoing implosion, Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly have continued to go at each other's throats.
Strong seemed like he wanted to back O'Reilly, but O'Reilly said TUE was over. He was left as a man on his own island. Instead of competing in the Gauntlet Eliminator Battle Royal last week, he simply walked out. Could he re-emerge at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver?
O'Reilly has excelled in his face turn. His matches with Finn Balor for the NXT title were classics and it was clear that Cole wasn't happy. Things came to a head when Cole brutally assaulted O'Reilly last month. It was thought that he'd be out for an extended period, but he reappeared quickly to build to this match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
With the caveat of being unsanctioned, any host of chaotic things could happen. Every weapon is at their disposal and outside interference could certainly play into the outcome of the match.
Cole has every right to be confident as he is one of the biggest stars in NXT history. He's also the leader of the most infamous faction in the annals of NXT, the Undisputed Era.
It seems like the loser of this match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will move up to SmackDown or RAW after WrestleMania. That week is usually the home for big returns and debuts from NXT. Io Shirai has dropped her title and is more than ready for a move to SmackDown or RAW.
Cole has done everything in NXT and he has won every title, except for the Cruiserweight Championship. O'Reilly is experiencing a huge singles push and needs this win more than Cole. It was the former NXT Champion who started the whole angle by betraying his group.
Since Adam Cole has done everything in NXT and seems ready to move on, O'Reilly looks like he'll come out of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver as the victor. There's more to do with him as a face, especially if Karrion Kross defeats Finn Balor. This could be Cole's last match and a send-off to the main roster. It is the biggest TakeOver ever.
Prediction - Kyle O'Reilly sends Adam Cole to the main roster with an emotional win.
#1 Karrion Kross looks to reclaim the belt he never lost at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
At NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, former Champion Karrion Kross comes for the title he never lost. It was only a matter of time before the two Superstars crossed paths. With NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver seeming like the biggest stage possible, it only made sense to postpone the inevitable showdown.
Balor and Adam Cole battled for the vacated title last summer with the Prince succeeding. During his second run with the belt, Balor has defeated Pete Dunne, Cole and O'Reilly. Kross will literally be his biggest challenge. Factor Scarlett into the equation and it will also be the strangest battle during this title reign.
The Prince returned to NXT at the right time. With Kross getting injured, it opened the door for Balor to both win the title again and reinvent himself. It's allowed him to be more serious and operate with an edge. While the edge has helped, it seems like it won't help him out at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Kross was a huge signing for the brand and he dethroned Keith Lee last summer. He was injured while winning the title but everyone knew that he would be back stronger. At the NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Global Press Conference on Tuesday, he made things simple.
It's difficult to know that had Kross not been injured, would he still have walked into NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver as NXT Champion? It could have very well happened. Things that were out of his control happened and the roads all led to NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Since Balor has had a decent run this time as Champion, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Kross will reclaim the belt he never lost at NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver.
Balor could retain, but Kross winning back the title seems like the way to move forward following NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. It would open up newer feuds for other stars and also allow NXT officials to see how Kross does as the focal point of a brand.
Prediction - Karrion Kross defeats Finn Balor to reclaim his title.
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