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NXT TakeOver XXV will take to the air on Saturday, June 1st. It will be one of the few TakeOver's to take place without the main roster WWE PPV following it. The card is filled with its usual five matches and it will start at 7 p.m. EST.
The match card is as follows below:
Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong
North American Championship Match: The Velveteen Dream (c) vs. Tyler Breeze
NXT Tag Team Title Ladder Match: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits
NXT Women's Championship Match: Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Io Shirai
NXT Championship Match: Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Adam Cole
The card has a very Undisputed Era-centric flavor to it, so perhaps this is the night where some of the members start to win gold. Cole made the promise towards the beginning of the year, but every Superstar starts out a new year hoping to win a title.
Since they are so heavily featured on the card, the group might be draped in gold when everything is said and done. While Super Showdown is next Friday, this NXT TakeOver will have the weekend to itself.
Will that dwarf the fact that TakeOvers have been routinely better than the main-roster PPVs with which they share the weekend? They get the spotlight all to themselves this weekend so here are the matches ranked according to their buildup, from the worst to the best. They've all been done extremely well, but a few stand out more than the others.
#5 NXT North American Championship Match: The Velveteen Dream (c) vs. Tyler Breeze
Although NXT has plenty of Superstars under its banner, some main-roster stars like Breeze and Drew Gulak have showed up on the show recently. It gives them more exposure that they haven't been getting on the main roster. Their appearances also up the quality of the matches they take part in because they have already made their marks regarding NXT.
Breeze was extremely entertaining when he was a member of the Fashion Police with Fandango, but once the latter was injured, it left Breeze in limbo. He was primarily used as enhancement talent (when he did appear) and might have requested to go back to NXT.
He was a made man on the yellow brand and it's not a surprise that he not only targeted a title but also the man in NXT who is the most like him. Breeze always delivered in his TakeOver matches but usually in a losing effort.
Like Breeze, Dream has had more losses than wins at TakeOver events, but since he won the North American Title, he's been on a winning streak. The feud was basically built on an episode of NXT. So despite the potential for the match to be great, the buildup for it hasn't been done for nearly as much time as the other matches.
#4 Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong
As is usually the case, there is always one match on the card that doesn't involve a title. There are only four titles in NXT, hence only four title matches. This time, the honor goes to Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong.
The Undisputed Era has been doing its usual business of interfering in any match that they please. Lately, that has usually involved bouts featuring Matt Riddle and Johnny Gargano. Riddle and Gargano have had to join forces in order to stave off the numbers' game, but it's been too much at times.
Both men can throw some extremely stiff strikes and both men can put the technical in 'technical prowess.' Riddle is still looking for a title shot and Strong is a secondary player (albeit a great one) in TUE.
Strong basically attacked Riddle a few weeks ago in order to get back in the good graces of Adam Cole. The Undisputed Era always needs multiple opponents due to the group having four members and this is one of the side feuds that has emerged since WrestleMania weekend. Despite not having a title to battle over, this could be the match of the night. Or it could tie with another match on the card for that honor.
#3 Four-Team Ladder Match for the Tag Team Titles
If teams like Mustache Mountain or DIY were involved in this match, the outcome would be a lot harder to predict. But as it stands, unless the Forgotten Sons are getting a huge push, there are only two teams that have a chance to become the new NXT Tag Team Champs.
Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch are phenomenal talents but they are used as the relentless babyfaces who put over the heels. For that reason, I don't think they stand much chance of winning. They're always a reliable team that's waiting in the wings for a title shot.
The Forgotten Sons seem like an act that NXT Creative wants to be a big deal, but none of the performers are electric. They just sound like normal guys talking and seem just like 'guys' thrown together in a tag team. There's a reason why Wesley Blake is still in NXT and Buddy Murphy isn't - Murphy was the Shawn Michaels of the duo.
Although they've been treated as serious threats lately, the Forgotten Sons are too bland to be considered worthy of carrying the NXT Tag Titles. Each team in the match has staked a claim to the titles over the last month by either battling the Viking Raiders in the ring (Street Profits) or by attacking them outside of it (Forgotten Sons).
A lot of it could be linked back to the most recent Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag Team Tournament, but TUE had the last laugh at the end of the last NXT show before TakeOver XXV.
The Street Profits are extremely over with the crowd now and have been looking for that one big TakeOver match. This weekend's match is their opportunity to shine and the build has been great. They took the Viking Raiders to the limit but outside interference cost them a chance to win the belts. It seems like that match might have been a precursor of better things for the duo.
#2 NXT Women's Championship Match: Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Io Shirai
Like the matches involving Riddle and Gargano, this feud has featured a lot of outside interference from Baszler's friends, Marina Shafir, and Jessamyn Duke. They factored into a lot of Baszler's defenses and will likely play a part in the match Saturday.
During the go-home show this week, Candice LeRae said that she would be in Shirai's corner during TakeOver. That's all well and good, but it still leaves the challenger's camp a person short.
I could be looking into things a little too much, but I think there was a reason that Shirai came to the ring with a Kendo stick last week. I think this is the first match between Baszler and Shirai and for that reason, I have the champion retaining.
Shirai and Baszler have been at each other's throats ever since 'the Genius of the Sky' debuted in NXT. The feud didn't just emerge recently in order to build to a match at a random show. A lot of the feuds (Ember Moon vs. Asuka, Baszler vs. Kairi Sane) over the NXT Women's Title have spanned multiple TakeOvers, and this one has followed suit.
I expect it to drag out to at least SummerSlam. Shirai is the most logical person to dethrone Baszler due to her notoriety and her in-ring ability. Those two factors put her far above most of the other potential challengers.
#1 NXT Championship Match: Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Adam Cole
And now, we get what amounts to the fourth bout for the NXT Title between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole. Gargano is already up 2-1 due to his victory in the 'Best 2-out-of-3 Falls' match over WrestleMania weekend.
That hasn't stopped Cole in his pursuit to become NXT Champion. He's the biggest heel in NXT but has yet to be able to land the title over the rest of the roster. Although each member of TUE has a match on the card, it doesn't mean that shenanigans won't ensue in one of or all of the matches.
There will most certainly be interference, and if Cole wins due to some, it will give Gargano an easy excuse for a rematch, claiming that Cole needs his goons in order to win. It might be hard to top their match from WrestleMania weekend, but if there are two wrestlers that could do that, it's Gargano and Cole.
Gargano was likely supposed to win the title from Tomasso Ciampa and perhaps return the favor at a later TakeOver. But due to Ciampa's serious neck injury and the amount of time required to recover from it, that might not happen.
These two have battled over the title for most of 2019, so it will likely continue until Cole wins the title. The feud can be traced back to last year due to the Undisputed Era always sticking their noses in everyone's business. There is also a lot of great storytelling going on with Gargano's cathartic win over WrestleMania weekend and the fact that Cole is the best all-around prospect in NXT.
