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What’s the story?
Following this week’s episode of NXT, WWE has seemingly confirmed the news that the first Takeover PPV of 2018 will indeed be hosted in the city of Philadelphia.
In case you didn’t know…
NXT Takeover: Philadelphia will now be hosted during the same week as the 2018 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. This will also be the first time WWE NXT is hosting a Takeover event in Philly.
The heart of the matter
On this week’s episode on NXT; Johnny Gargano defeated four of NXT’s top superstars in the form of Aleister Black, Lars Sullivan, and Killian Dain, in a fatal four-way #1 contender’s match.
Following Gargano’s win, WWE posted an official update on their website which stated that the former NXT Tag Team Champion will now challenge for the NXT Championship when he steps into the ring with current champion Andrade “Cien” Almas on January 27th, 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
This will be Gargano’s second big title shot in NXT having been previously failed to capture the WWE UK Championship from “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne, several weeks ago.
What’s next?
As of right now, WWE has only announced one match for Takeover: Philadelphia (Gargano vs Almas), however, we can expect to see a few other stellar matches being added to the Philly card. There is a strong possibility of the likes of The Undisputed Era, Ember Moon, Aleister Black and others to get added to the Takeover: Philly card.
On the other hand, however, this will not be the first time Gargano and Almas will be squaring off against each other. The two men have shared the ring against each other on two different occasions, with Almas winning both matches.
Author’s Take
Andrade “Cien” Almas has been on the rise ever since the arrival of his business manager Zelina Vega, who has guided El Idolo to the very top of the NXT scene. However, Gargano, who was originally not even suppose to be involved in the #1 contender’s tournament, will have the chance to spoil Almas’ party by winning his first ever singles title in NXT.
Nevertheless, Takeover: Philadelphia truly promises to be another solid and great event, and NXT will be looking to kick things off in style in 2018.
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