COOL POINTS: nXt TV August 5th-12th, 2020 (Road to TakeOver XXX)
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Welcome to the Cool Points.
With just over 2 weeks until TakeOver: XXX, it’s a good time to start gathering up the feuds and fights that will be showcased at nXt’s biggest show of the year.
Yes, there are those that will argue the April TakeOver, being on Wrestlemania weekend, is the peak, but TakeOvers didn’t start getting their name value until 2015 in Brooklyn. For 4 straight years, nXt’s annual road to Brooklyn was the highlight of the calendar year, boasting its biggest matches and culminating major storylines.
While this year’s summer TakeOver won’t be in Brooklyn and may prove to be an aberration due to Covid-19 restrictions, I maintain that this event, if only for its numerical value, will be the proving ground for many new nXt superstars against the old guard.
Read on for a look at the major feuds going into TakeOver: XXX, on August 22, 2020.
nXt Women’s Championship Picture
Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai (#1c)
Cool Points Preview
Absolutely the right call in the Women’s Division to go with Kai as the #1 contender. She’s been far and away the most dastardly heel the past few months and the most opportunistic, relying on the interference of allies and others alike to get her wins.
Since Shirai has become champion, she has definitely been praised for her competitive edge and even against a face like Tegan Nox, she has been cheered on. Another match against Ripley would’ve been another match between 2 women who were missing that extra layer of conflict, upon which so many feuds thrive.
So, Kai beats Ripley on August 5th, thanks to the interference of Mercedes Martinez, of the Robert Stone Brand and it becomes more plausible that Io Shirai could lose her title reign, simply because Kai will do or allow whatever is necessary to win. What may save Shirai is Rhea Ripley backing her up, if only because the Robert Stone Brand has seen it fit to do the same for Kai.
THAT makes things interesting for the multiple angles being mixed together, and THAT makes this feud intriguing.
Robert Stone Brand vs. Rhea Ripley
Cool Points Preview
Speaking of the Robert Stone Brand, the momentum of this managed group increases by the week. Stone is a fine comedic foil, taking on the brunt of the jokes (and beatdowns) from women like Shotzi Blackheart and Rhea Ripley.
It’s a great spot for Aliyah who may be the longest tenured wrestler on the nXt roster. She’s finally getting some staying power and is capable of handling a bit more of a dramatic role, even if her in-ring skills are not quite as good as her peers.
Adding Mercedes Martinez, or should I say, Martinez adding herself to the brand makes the group so much more threatening. Last night, Aliyah’s success would usually be more in doubt against Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter, but Martinez’s presence automatically makes their team competitive, no matter their opponents.
All that said, with Rhea Ripley having ascended and fallen from championship heights, a feud with the Robert Stone Brand keeps her on nXt TV and gives her a chance to fight the veteran Martinez. If a second women’s match is going to become a consistent part of TakeOver cards, that could be the one. The winner would be the de facto #1 contender, too.
nXt Championship Picture
Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross
Cool Points Preview
Talk about your old school push to the top. Karrion Kross was a highly touted nXt signee, joining the black and gold brand in February. He got mysterious vignettes promoting his arrival before receiving two squash matches to show off his power and aggression, and I suppose his very cool ring entrance with Scarlett.
Fast forward four months and he’s fighting Keith Lee for the nXt Championship. That’s a mighty quick ascension to the top, but it does have its comparisons to 1980s WWE where Hulk Hogan would defend his championship against a fast rising villain. They’d fight for a few months and then Hogan would hit the legdrop and pose, sending the villain down to the mid-card or out of the promotion.
With Kross being 6-0 and vanquishing the former #1 villain of nXt, the Blackheart, Tommaso Ciampa with ease, it would be easy to say that Keith Lee might not win on August 22nd. This could be the first championship feud, in years, where the title changes hands between the two men over the next two or three TakeOvers. There’s just too much riding on Kross’ push for him to lose so quickly.
Keith Lee, however, is a brand new champion, only just defeating Adam Cole last month. Cole’s run as champion lasted over a year and Lee’s victory cannot be spoken of without its symbolism and connection to the very pertinent Black Lives Matter movement that has taken over the world this summer. If Lee loses to Kross, is it too soon? I think so.
Since Survivor Series last November, Lee has looked like the next big thing and his nXt run, since then, has proven he is more than capable of wrestling main event calibre matches. He’s got the look, the charisma, the strength and the skill to dominate the championship scene. Even against a mysterious and dangerous opponent in Karrion Kross.
I HOPE Lee retains at TakeOver: XXX, but I think we’ll see the feud continue through to the fall, and maybe Lee needs to lose for that to happen.
North American Championship Ladder Match
The first triple threat, on July 22nd, was won by Bronson Reed, pinning Roderick Strong and stealing the moment from Johnny Gargano.
The second triple threat, on July 29th, was won by Dexter Lumis, forcing Timothy Thatcher to tap out, preventing him from submitting Finn Balor for a win of his own. Due to Lumis’ injury, however, he will not compete in the match.
The third triple threat, on August 5th, was won by Damian Priest, pinning Oney Lorcan and leaving the former nXt UK star Ridge Holland out of luck.
The fourth triple threat, on August 12th, was won by Cameron Grimes, pinning Kushida. The Velveteen Dream made his return to TV in this match and, after the match, beat up Kushida out of anger.
Dream will fight Balor for a spot in the ladder match.
Holland will fight Gargano for the last spot in the ladder match.
Cool Points Preview
The qualifying matches for the North American Championship Ladder Match have taken over most of the men’s division for the past month. It’s been great seeing all the wrestlers with a very tangible goal. It’s been great seeing GM Regal booking many of the newer roster members to get their TakeOver opportunity to shine.
Reed’s been quietly getting over, minus the loss to Kross, winning 4 of his last 5 matches. Lumis has had a feature role in antagonizing the Undisputed Era. Unfortunately, his injury will prevent him from further success at this point. Damian Priest got his first big TakeOver match in June against Finn Balor, and looked like he belonged there. There’s a chance we’ll see a reprisal of that feud if Balor wins his second chance match, which would be an interesting layer for the multi-man match.
So what we’ll see in this ladder match is predominantly newer talent with at least one veteran TakeOver general to try and overcome. I can’t help but think of Hamilton here… all these guys asserting that they’re not gonna miss their shot at gold, y’know? But who’s the favourite?
We’ll have to wait for those second chance matches to play out before the final prediction is given, but I’m leaning towards Priest or Balor, depending on what happens with Lee & Kross. Rare for nXt to have two villains as champs simultaneously.
If Lee retains, Balor’s victory would give him an additional purpose and edge since his return.
If Kross wins, Priest could get the win, being the most experienced newcomer in the match.
nXt Tag Team Championship Scene
Undisputed Era vs. Imperium….& Pat McAfee
Cool Points Preview
The nXt Tag Team Division has never been in a sadder state as it is now. A competitive and engaging title match last night notwithstanding, the main purpose of that match can be seen as two-fold: to keep the champs fighting just in case that 30/60/90-day title match clause gets brought up, and to advance a feud between Adam Cole and professional athlete and podcaster Pat McAfee.
Seriously. The Cole/McAfee feud ramped up a few weeks ago when Cole stormed out of an interview on McAfee’s show when his size was insulted. This was not the first time that McAfee had spoke about Cole being short or small. Cole took exception to it, reacting brashly, which has given way to sizable social media attention.
Now, it appears as though the two will engage in nXt’s first celebrity match at TakeOver: XXX. Both guys can talk the talk, and the immediate questioning of whether the spat on McAfee’s show was a shoot or a work grabbed the attention of many wrestling fans online.
And this is all fine and well. In this year of pandemic and quarantine, there is room for trying something different without a crowd of fans in the arena to please. But to not feature the Tag Team Championships on TakeOver and to basically cast the Tag Team Division since the Spring is criminal! If 2016 nXt could call in, they’d be screaming bloody murder!
With two weeks to go, it’s possible Imperium lands on the card but against who? The only team that would make sense is a rematch against O’Reilly & Fish, and maybe that’s fine, but it still leaves the Tag Division a sad, sad place.
nXt Tag Team/Cruiserweight Division
Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango & Isiah “Swerve” Scott
Cool Points Preview
The work of these Cruiserweight wrestlers has blended easily into the Tag Team Division as these two factions have spent the better part of the past month feuding. In the Legado del Fantasma, you have Santos Escobar, Cruiserweight Champion, leading Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. They’re building a reputation for kidnapping wrestlers and attacking wrestlers inside and outside of the ring. They could be built into a group who fights for singles and tag team gold, which would be a great idea for the Tag Division.
Breezango began enduring the wrath of this faction when they supported Drake Maverick at Great American Bash on July 8th. With Maverick elsewhere, Fantasma has not relented in targeting them and they found themselves being outnumbered the past few weeks until last night. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, another beneficiary of last summer’s Breakout Tournament, has built up a steady in-ring presence on nXt TV during the past year. Making the decision to get involved in this feud makes sense.
He can support Breezango and possibly get a TakeOver match, if nXt decides to go the route of the 6-person tag again like they did at In Your House. He can easily transition from this feud to a Cruiserweight Championship shot against Escobar, which would be good to keep the Cruiserweight Championship going.
IN CLOSING
What match is missing on the TakeOver: XXX card? Are you looking forward to the event or has it been hard to get excited due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Share in the comments below or tweet them to me.
Next week, I’ll be dropping the quarterly nXt Rankings column.
Peace!
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