9 HUGE WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2020 Predictions You Need To Know
Will The Demon Fall & Pray? And will it even matter after we've seen Shotzi Blackheart's NEW TANK?
Perhaps the biggest success story to come from NXT's year is that they stopped doing what had otherwise defined them for most of 2020.
Right around the time the show began building TakeOver: 31, the cloud of desperation that had existed over-top of it for months finally lifted. The Great American Bash had yielded two fabulously entertaining shows, but it was impossible to entirely separate the motivation from the in-ring magic. There was certainly stock in the former Champions booked to replace the injured Karrion Kross, but a 60 Minute Iron Man four-way was a bit f*cking much wasn't it? Failing to deliver a finish to try and pop a number the following week even more so.
Yet, with Finn Bálor's victory, some change that had been in the air since TakeOver: XXX appeared realised. Rather than losing sight of itself as it lost a wrestling war, NXT began getting its own house in order, getting its sh*t together, and getting wrestlers over.
Things happened that mattered ahead of that Takeover, which featured things that fed neatly into the build to Halloween Havoc, off which most of the WarGames stories spun. NXT is a wrestling show again. Can TakeOver follow suit and regain a sense of prestige lost in the wake of the ongoing global b*stard? There's no house, no gimmicks and not even a Heavyweight Title match.
There are, however two matches that'll feature two rings and two cages. And...
9. A Cruiserweight Championship Match, Probably
NXT has elected to promote the WarGames pre-shows by virtue of who they've on the panel.
Sam Roberts is a familiar presence across company KickOffs by this point, but he and co-host Wade Barrett will be joined by ESPN correspondent and wrestling fan Ariel Helwani. Fiercely respected for his MMA coverage, Helwani will hopefully be allowed to speak with relative freedom as Pat McAfee always did during his own stints on the show.
It's not all that common for them to force a match on at the last minute, but could this added bit of press be a ploy to convince viewers to make an effort to tune in? Santos Escobar has been short an obvious challenger outside of prior contender Jake Atlas getting one more craic, and this may be a cuter way to glue one last match onto the show without having to rush-promote it on a go-home episode.
Don't bet the house on a title change if the match is a late addition. Escobar's beaten everybody so far - it feels as though if he is going to lose, the result wouldn't be such a shock.
Winner - Santos Escobar