5 Positives And 5 Negatives Heading Into NXT TakeOver: Toronto
A major return, some notable absences, as well as a series of unfortunate events...
With all the hype surrounding Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg and the brand warfare of this year’s Survivor Series, it’s almost easy to forget about the fact that we’ve got an NXT TakeOver show to look forward to this Saturday.
But while the main roster hogs most of the mainstream attention, down in developmental they’ve been busy putting together a card that looks every bit as good as that of Survivor Series—in some ways, even better.
Some of the highlights include the two-out-of-three falls match pitting NXT Tag Team Champions the Revival against DIY, as well as the gloriously perfect showdown between Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode, and of course the main event that’ll see NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura continue his war with with Samoa Joe.
Safe to say there’s no shortage of positives to report on, but in the interest of telling the whole story, this article looks at both sides of the coin as we count down some of the positives and negatives ahead of NXT TakeOver: Toronto.
10. Negative — Injuries
We kick off with a point that isn’t necessarily anybody’s fault, but one that’s still been a notable blemish on the road to TakeOver: Toronto.
Various NXT stars have suffered injuries in recent weeks, including some of the brand's most established names. Back in September, Scott Dawson suffered a knee injury which forced the Revival to withdraw from the Dusty Classic, though luckily he’s recovered in time to make it Toronto. Others haven’t been quite so lucky though.
First, Hideo Itami was cruelly put back on the sidelines after injuring his neck at a live event, before Austin Aries then joined him on the shelf with what he described as a “broken eye hole.” Much like Dawson, both were forced to withdraw from the Dusty Classic and in doing so surrendered possible spots on the Takeover card.
Again, this isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault, per sé, and injuries can happen to anyone. But it does leave you wondering how the show might have looked had everyone been lucky enough to stay healthy.