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WWE NXT had arguably its biggest episode ever, as the brand has completely transformed into something bigger since its move to the USA Network.
It was the final episode for the Black & Gold brand before two big events, TakeOver: WarGames and Survivor Series. While RAW and SmackDown focused on a single event, NXT had much more to do as they had their focus on two huge events for the brand.
Throughout the night, we saw some great segments and matches which were largely influenced by invasion angles from RAW and SmackDown. Even though there was a lot of chaos, the company continued to hint at a few interesting bookings and possibilities during the night.
In this article, we'll look at 5 things the company hinted on this week’s episode of NXT, and what it could mean for the Superstars and the brands involved.
#5 Fans can expect a Kairi Sane vs. Io Shirai rivalry down the line
After the match between NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray and Dakota Kai, an invasion from the SmackDown women’s roster followed by the RAW women’s locker room laid out almost every Superstar.
At the end of the brawl, only Nikki Cross stood tall after she took out everyone, including members of her brand.
However, the most interesting part of the segment was the short staredown between Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. The former friends who turned into bitter enemies can have a 5-star match on any given day, and the WWE Universe knew just that, as they gave a huge pop to both Superstars during the confrontation.
This could be a hint from the company that we might get to witness the two women go at each other sooner than later. Kairi Sane is already a part of Team RAW for the traditional Survivor Series match, and Io Shirai could join Team NXT in the coming days.
If that does happen, fans could get a great short battle between the two women during the event before Shirai moves to the main roster, where the company can give fans a full-on rivalry between the two extremely talented women.
#4 Rhea Ripley could become the next face of the NXT women’s roster
This week, NXT was visited by one of its greatest exports, Becky Lynch. The Man, who is also the RAW Women’s Champion, opened up the night and addressed the WWE Universe before calling NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler out for a match.
Instead of Baszler, Rhea Ripley answered Lynch’s call and took her on in a great match which showed how good and strong Ripley is.
It was an interesting choice by NXT to send in Ripley, who will be leading a team against Baszler at WarGames, instead of the NXT Women's Champion or one of her associates. This could be a clear indication that the brand is looking at Ripley as their next leader, and therefore they allowed her to battle in a big match against the face of the company.
The booking could see Ripley’s team defeat Baszler’s at WarGames, and Ripley could well become the #1 contender to Baszler’s championship and go on to beat her on a later date. This would allow Baszler to finally move up to the main roster, while Ripley could rule the women’s division on the Black & Gold brand.
#3 Matt Riddle has the upper hand
Matt Riddle is gearing up for the biggest match of his career, and he has his eyes firmly set on Finn Balor. Balor attacked Riddle a couple of weeks ago and laid him out with a Bloody Sunday on the ramp as Riddle was battling in a tag team with Keith Lee and Tommaso Ciampa against RAW’s premier faction, The O.C.
Riddle has been seen as one of NXT’s brightest Superstars, even though he’s failed at every championship opportunity he’s gotten to date. Defeating Balor at NXT TakeOver: WarGames will be no lesser than winning a championship, as Balor is one of the top Superstars in the industry today.
This week, Riddle battled against RAW’s Ricochet and defeated the super athletic Superstar with some great moves. He then fended off an attack from Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Roderick Strong, before taking out Balor who tried to sneak attack him.
This now leaves Riddle at the top in the rivalry, and it’s evident that he has the upper hand going into Saturday’s match.
NXT has hinted that Riddle is over in this rivalry as compared to Balor who hasn’t competed in a single match since his return to NXT, and this could help the creative cook up a great surprise for the fans on Saturday night.
#2 The real battle will be between RAW and NXT
The first invasion angle took place on the SmackDown after Crown Jewel, as NXT took over the Blue brand and dominated the night in a manner no one would have expected them to.
From then on, we saw several invasion angles take place on all three brands of the company, as the inclusion of NXT to the Survivor Series event sparked a fire within all three rosters.
This week on RAW, we had another interesting invasion from RAW where Triple H emerged for the second time since the first invasion and asked a RAW Superstar to turn on their brand. This was interesting to see, as he made no such offers to any Superstar on SmackDown. The O.C. from RAW was also the first team to take over NXT and make an impact.
This week on NXT, we saw a large number of RAW Superstars, especially Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, The Viking Raiders, Ricochet, and Drew McIntyre get individual spotlights on NXT, while none of the SmackDown Superstars got as much importance other than Nikki Cross.
This potentially hints towards RAW or NXT reigning supreme and being the focal brands during Survivor Series, as we’ve seen major segments between these two brands in recent weeks.
#1 Seth Rollins could have a change of heart
Seth Rollins was one of the biggest surprise entrants on NXT this week, as the Superstar appeared from nowhere to take out NXT Champion Adam Cole in the brawl after his ladder match.
After he took out Cole, he came face to face with Tommaso Ciampa and the two had a go at each other as the show’s transmission came to an end. However, they continued to throw punches at each other until The Undisputed Era entered the ring to wipe them out, but they seemed to work together to fend off the threat.
Afterward, Rollins didn't attack Ciampa again and left the ring as the NXT Superstar waved goodbye to him. This was an interesting segment, as it signaled a possible turn from Rollins in the coming days.
It seems like Ciampa is the best fit to captain Team NXT at Survivor Series, and he could be awarded the role any moment. If that’s the case, him teaming up with Rollins to take out The Undisputed Era was an interesting touch, especially after Triple H’s offer to Rollins a few weeks ago.
Rollins currently has no real direction on RAW and has done everything a Superstar can do on a brand. Hence, we could watch Rollins turn on his partners as the captain of Team RAW, and help Ciampa and his team to win the match at Survivor Series, pledging his alliance to the Black & Gold brand in the process.
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