6 Predictions For NXT TakeOver: San Antonio
4. Asuka Loses Without Truly Losing
No individual woman can stop Asuka at the moment. The Empress of Tomorrow has destroyed everyone within her path, and is just 8 days away from snapping Paige’s run as the longest reigning NXT Women’s Champion (308 days). She’s one of NXT’s marquee acts, and after dealing handily with Bayley, Nia Jax, and Mickie James, she’ll face-off against not one, but three opponents in San Antonio.
Few women have benefited more from the increased screen time afforded by Bayley’s departure than Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. NXT’s resident Mean Girls have taken over weekly television, and while both are still relative rookies, their cunning, scheming methods have seen them steal many a victory. More importantly, they’ve worked their way well under Asuka’s skin in recent weeks, and they’ll gang up on the reigning champion at every opportunity.
Nikki Cross is the match’s X-factor. Sanity’s resident savage might be the only woman who can match Asuka for ferocity, and their exchanges in this match should be nothing short of wild. The Scot has only been on NXT for a couple of months, but now has the opportunity to establish herself as the brand’s alpha female in the blink of an eye.
It wouldn’t make much sense for Asuka to take the pin to any her less established opponents on Saturday, but that’s the beauty of this match. The Empress is more than ready for a main roster call-up, but she has to drop the Women’s Title before she can do that. This four-way means WWE can have her lose the belt without being pinned or submitted: look for one half of the Kay/Royce double-act to do just that by pinning Cross.