With William Regal’s announcement confirming that the SummerSlam weekend’s token NXT event will commemorate the thirtieth TakeOver, we can only imagine the main card will be as stacked as ever. A huge Ladder match for the vacant North American Championship is already in the books, with Bronson Reed claiming the first spot, but what else could potentially come together for this historic TakeOver event?
It’s safe to say that we’ve got an NXT Championship hoss-off to look forward to, but there’s plenty of NXT superstars currently left without much direction. But with TakeOver 30 happening over one of the biggest weekends of the year, they can’t afford to not showcase their very best.
In this piece, we’re going to run down all the title feuds and grudge matches that could come to a head in just under a months time. Make sure you throw down your own fantasy matches down in the comments section below.
1. Keith Lee vs Karrion Kross – NXT Championship
Karrion Kross and Scarlett have made their intentions pretty clear for the coming weeks. Having thrown down the gauntlet after the champ’s title defence against Dominik Dijakovic, Karrion Kross has lined himself up one heck of an opportunity little than two months after his debut. There’s no doubt that Kross and Scarlett have become one of the highlights of NXT: their feud with Tommaso Ciampa turned heads and his entrance alone is enough to sell him as a main event attraction to any wrestling fan.
This heavyweight clash is a sure-fire booking for TakeOver 30, and will be a testament to who they have the most faith in carrying the brand forward from here on. Keith Lee has culminated one of the greatest runs in NXT history and Karrion Kross is ascending at an astronomical rate, it truly is the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object.
As far as a winner goes, I can’t honestly call it right now. My gut instinct is to say that Keith Lee is only just scratching the surface with his main event success, taking the title off him right now would be a huge anti-climax. All in good time, Mr. Kross.
2. Io Shirai vs Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox – NXT Women’s Championship
Io Shirai is tearing things up in the Women’s division and has rightfully claimed the NXT Women’s Championship from Charlotte Flair. After a successful title defence against Tegan Nox, Io was attacked by burgeoning heel star, Dakota Kai, setting up the challenge for a later date. Chances are, this will go down at TakeOver 30, but I doubt it’ll end up as a mere one-on-one match.
The feud between Dakota and Tegan never truly reached a satisfying conclusion, despite their Street Fight at the last TakeOver event. Seeing them both share the ring in a hotly-contested Women’s title match would not only bring their feud to an end but also complete the star-making process of showcasing them in a high-profile match.
Io should undoubtedly walk away with the win, as a ready-made feud with Rhea Ripley awaits her then after, unless of course NXT choose to shoe-horn ‘The Nightmare’ into this match for the sake of getting one of their marquee women on the pay-per-view. Regardless, Io is another star only just starting to take off, let her run with that ball.
3. Imperium vs Breezango vs Lorcan/Burch vs Undisputed Era
Fortunately for them, Imperium were unaffected by the travel ban and were two of the only Europeans to appear on NXT since the pandemic hit. This made them one of the few heel teams available to snatch the NXT Tag Team titles away from Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher, but since then, they haven’t really been given the spotlight. Even though Aicnher and Barthel managed to defend against Breezango, neither superstar was able to stand out and generate any momentum for the faction.
Perhaps if WALTER was around to beef up their ranks, they’d be making more of an impact, but for now they seem like caretakers for the titles. With that in mind, maybe it’s time for a new team to take the mantle? It seems that the Tag division is suffering a little as of late, with few teams ready to jump into the Tag title picture. Of course there’s the UE, but having already nabbed the titles several times, it would make sense for them to pass on the chance to either Breezango or the team of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
It would make for a true feel-good moment to see either team finally raise up the Tag gold at TakeOver 30. Just get the titles away from Imperium so I can care about them again.
4. Finn Balor vs Adam Cole
It seems like NXT has nothing to do with two of their biggest attractions: Finn Balor and Adam Cole. Since Cole lost the NXT Championship, he’s been absent from NXT TV, and rightfully so, Cole deserves some time to rehab after such an incredible run. But with TakeOver looming, UE needs to rekindle some of their reputation by entering into a marquee feud. The same goes for Finn Balor, who despite staking his claim at the North American Championship ladder match, kind of deserves better.
We’ve yet to see ‘The Prince’ re-debut his Demon persona in NXT, so what better opportunity than a pay-per-view match with Adam Cole to bring out the flash and flair of his alter-ego. Balor and Cole have indeed battled before in NXT, having an excellent title match in the fall of 2019 before being interrupted by Johnny Gargano. Maybe there’s still a slight grudge to exploit and set-up a big time match at TakeOver 30?
I certainly wouldn’t say no.
5. Santos Escobar vs Drake Maverick – NXT Cruiserweight Championship
The former El Hijo Del Fantasma has struck up quite the feud with Drake Maverick over the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. Even though it seems Escobar has got the upper band on the man that fought his heart out for a WWE contract, there’s still enough in this feud for one last grudge match at TakeOver30. The Cruiserweight Championship hasn’t really had many personal feuds, so this would make a nice change from the typical exhibition style title matches that are only used to showcase talent rather than storyline.
Even though I’m 99% sure that they want to try and make Santos Escobar and his cronies into the next Latino star they’ve been craving, this is a perfect opportunity for a match with a ton of emotional weight. Fans are invested in Drake’s story, and would be on the edge of their seats to see if Maverick can finally win the big one on the grand stage. Maybe this will be yet another crushing loss for the underdog star? But it’s about time they capitalise on his admirable story and finally let him overcome the odds.
With ‘The Irish Ace’ Jordan Devlin still sitting on his chance to reclaim the Cruiserweight Championship he never lost, putting the title on Maverick would make for quite the feud on NXT UK once it returns to production.
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