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WWE NXT announced the NXT TakeOver: 31 event just a few weeks ago, and they have done an excellent job at building some top matches for the event. Five top NXT Superstars competed in a Gauntlet Eliminator Match a couple of weeks ago, and Kyle O’Reilly was able to outlast the other four men to win the match.
KOR will now challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Championship at the event in a match that may all well be the show-stealer. It will also be one of the biggest matches of KOR’s career as he has a chance at winning his first singles title in WWE.
Both men stand a good chance of winning the match since they are excellent performers. However, only one man will be able to walk out of NXT TakeOver: 31 with the title.
With that in mind, we have come up with five interesting potential finishes to the NXT Championship match at TakeOver: 31.
#5 Kyle O’Reilly wins his first singles title at WWE NXT TakeOver: 31
Kyle O’Reilly will be walking into WWE NXT TakeOver: 31 to seize the biggest opportunity of his WWE career. The NXT Universe, and Triple H, see O’Reilly as someone who is incredible in the ring and he deserves a run with a singles title around his waist in NXT before moving to RAW or SmackDown.
At TakeOver: 31, Finn Balor will be defending his title for the first time in his second reign, and he will look to take down KOR. However, O’Reilly is one man who can take Balor head-on and bring him down to take the title away from him.
At NXT TakeOver: 31, we could watch the technically perfect KOR put up a performance of a lifetime against The Prince and lock him in his signature submission hold. Balor could be forced to tap out for the first time in his NXT career and lose the Championship in his first defense.
While Balor is someone who can lead NXT for a long time, he could be looking to give some other Superstars a push on the Black and Gold brand. With that in mind, we could watch KOR defeat Balor and take the title off him, freeing him up to chase the NXT UK Championship once again.
#4 Finn Balor retains his Championship clean at NXT TakeOver: 31
While Kyle O’Reilly is a phenomenal performer who has proven that he is more than just a great tag team wrestler, he is only getting started as a singles Superstar in WWE. The title match against Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver: 31 will undoubtedly be his biggest test as a singles Superstar.
KOR has been doing well since his Ring of Honor days, but he has mostly performed in tag teams and will need some time to become a big singles performer. Only Roderick Strong and Adam Cole from the Undisputed ERA have won singles Championships in NXT, and KOR will need some time to come across as a real threat.
Finn Balor will be defending his title for the first time in his second reign and The Prince will likely retain his title at NXT TakeOver: 31.
With that in mind, Balor and KOR could put on a great match before Balor connects with the Coup de Grace followed by the 1916 on O’Reilly to retain his title.
This will allow KOR to retain his value and carry on the momentum following a great performance while Balor continues to be the leader of NXT.
#3 The Undisputed ERA’s distraction costs Kyle O’Reilly at NXT TakeOver: 31
On the go-home episode before NXT TakeOver: 31, Shawn Michaels hosted Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly for a face-to-face. Both men showed some respect to each other, but Balor mocked KOR when he asked him if his Undisputed ERA friends would help him win the match and the NXT Championship. KOR told The Prince of NXT that he is more than capable of finishing the job himself.
However, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish will be looking to do whatever they can to ensure that their friend becomes the new Champion at NXT TakeOver: 31.
During the match at NXT TakeOver: 31, we could see the two men slug it out before the remaining members of the Undisputed ERA make their way out to the middle to help KOR.
O’Reilly could then get distracted as he would not want any help to win the match, which could provide an opening for Balor to connect with his finisher and pick up the victory.
Not only would this allow Balor to retain the title while protecting O’Reilly, but it could also mark the beginning of the end for Undisputed ERA.
The faction has been phenomenal over the past three years, but NXT needs to look at the different routes they can take with the members of the faction to keep the storylines fresh and interesting.
#2 Karrion Kross returns to take out Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly at NXT TakeOver: 31
Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee to become the NXT Champion at NXT TakeOver: XXX. While there were great hopes attached to Kross, he suffered an injury during the match and he was forced to relinquish his title four days later. Kross suffered a shoulder injury, and there is no clear news on when he will be back in action. Finn Balor spoke to Newsweek recently and talked about how Kross’ injury is similar to the one that forced him to relinquish his Universal Championship after just one day. However, Balor noted that Kross could be back in action much sooner, which means we could see him as early as this coming Sunday at NXT TakeOver: 31.
"I think he's gonna come back better than ever and we had a good chat last Wednesday. He's a great guy, and I think he's gonna be fine. It's a slightly different injury, but I think he'll be back a little sooner than I did. Hopefully he'll come back a hundred percent and better than ever."
The Herald of Doomsday will come back for the NXT Championship as soon as he is cleared to compete again, and since he has been out for six weeks already, he could start building a storyline at NXT TakeOver: 31 if he is fit to compete.
We could watch Kross appear at NXT TakeOver: 31 and attack both Balor and Kyle O’Reilly, leaving them in a heap and ending the match in a no contest.
Kross was recently spotted training alongside John Morrison, and that could indicate that he is preparing to take to the ring sooner than later.
#1 Adam Cole costs Kyle O'Reilly the match and destroys him at NXT TakeOver: 31
Over the past week or so, Adam Cole has become the biggest advocate of Kyle O'Reilly ahead of the latter's match at NXT TakeOver: 31. While we know that the two men have been friends for over a decade now and have worked together on different promotions, The Panama City Playboy has never backed KOR as much as he is doing right now.
On the go-home episode before NXT TakeOver: 31, Cole competed against Austin Theory, who had a thing or two to say about KOR. Cole defeated Theory and then cut a quick promo putting over KOR once again.
While Cole could be genuinely backing his friend, we've seen Cole get jealous of his teammate's success a few times in the past. With that in mind, we could see Cole turn on O'Reilly during his Championship match with Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver: 31.
At NXT TakeOver 31, Cole could cost KOR the match, much like Johnny Gargano turned on Tommaso Ciampa and then attack him thereafter.
This will effectively break Undisputed ERA and shake NXT to its core as we will get something new and unexpected to look forward to.
If NXT is not planning to move Undisputed ERA to the main roster any time soon, it'll be great to create some intra-faction rivalries to build on some completely new storylines.
