WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 preview

Adam Cole (c) vs. Ricochet, for the NXT North American Championship

The story: According to “The One and Only” Ricochet, during a six-man tag team match between himself and Moustache Mountain against The Undisputed Era, he almost had Adam Cole (BAYBAY!) beat. However, when it comes to Adam Cole’s thoughts on the matter, “almost” doesn’t quite cut it — especially when it comes to actually being the NXT North American Champion and “almost” being able to even beat the NXT North American Champion. As Ricochet has yet to earn a championship match against Cole by beating him, he had to do it the old-fashioned way and challenge him. Then when that didn’t work, Ricochet simply called Cole a coward. Now Cole wants to prove to Ricochet that he is not a “coward,” a desire that brings out Cole’s (and the rest of The Undisputed Era’s) mean streak even more.

Prediction: Of all the title matches on this card, the ones with Undisputed Era members in them feel like they’re allowed to be more in flux. (Depending on how far you’ve followed Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish’s career as a tag team, you might consider Shayna Baszler an honorary member of TUE though.) It can go either way and we could see a new champion, but Adam Cole has proven he always has something under his sleeve, and it would be foolish to bet against him now. Sorry, Ricochet.

Velveteen Dream vs. EC3

The story: This is hardly a blood feud between the two NXT Superstars, but they might just steal the show at TakeOver. At this year’s WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament, Aleister Black and Ricochet took on the even more makeshift (and rather eccentric) team of EC3 and Velveteen Dream. The latter pairing proved to have too much ego for the Royal Albert Hall to contain, as Velveteen Dream ended up bailing on his tag team partner (something Velveteen Dream had previously done to Ricochet), leading to a victorious Black and Ricochet. In the following weeks, both EC3 and Dream had as passive-aggressive moments as two flamboyant characters could have, culminating in Dream inviting EC3 to one of his “facilities” for a poolside summit of sorts (a power move EC3 knows very well). Unfortunately for Dream, in his attempt to big league EC3 in this situation, he ended up getting hit by EC3’s finisher — right into the pool.

Prediction: After making a bigger name for himself with each NXT TakeOver performance he has, The Dream promises the spotlight will still continue to shine the brightest on him this time around — this time in the form of a win, at “The One-Percenter” EC3’s expense. Velveteen Dream may have spent his past TakeOvers stealing the show but still falling short when it comes to getting the W, but the difference here is that EC3 is probably one of those NXT (and WWE as a whole) characters who doesn’t need to win right now to still look like a threat. In that case, the up-and-coming star in Velveteen Dream might just get his first big TakeOver win this weekend in Brooklyn. 

The Undisputed Era (c) vs. Moustache Mountain, for the NXT Tag Team Championship

The story: While The Undisputed Era and Moustache Mountain/British Strong Style have technically been feuding for months — thanks to Roderick Strong’s betrayal of “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne and how contemptible TUE are — going all the way back to this year’s WrestleMania weekend, the simplest reason for this particular match only goes back to June. On that fateful day at the Royal Albert Hall, the second day on the United Kingdom Championship Tournament, Moustache Mountain shocked the world and won the NXT Tag Team Championship from TUE. Unfortunately for Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, that reign proved the shortest of the title’s history, as they lost it back to TUE just 15 days later on NXT TV. And they lost it in quite the demoralizing way, as Bate literally had to throw in the towel to prevent Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly from doing permanent damage to the Seven’s already injured leg.

Prediction: There has been a bit of back-and-forth with the title in this particular feud, so it should come as no surprise if Moustache Mountain get it back and get a lengthy run. There’s a sadness that would come from Kyle O’Reilly not being able to air guitar his title to his heart’s content though. However, that sadness probably won’t come, as the entire point of the United Kingdom Championship Tournament this year was also to introduce a new brand: NXT UK. That right there is pretty much the best reason to go with The Undisputed Era as the retaining champions. There’s a storm brewing with the rest of the tag teams in the division (Street Profits, The Mighty, Heavy Machinery), so whoever wins this title match will have new competition waiting for them. 

Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Kairi Sane, for the NXT Women’s Championship

The story: As Shayna Baszler has run roughshod over the entire NXT Women’s Division — and that counts double for what she’s done to poor Dakota Kai — the only person still in the division who has proved to be able to beat her in one-on-one competition is Kairi Sane, her inaugural Mae Young Classic Finals competition. However, on her road to becoming NXT Women’s Champion, Baszler got her win back (a point she wants everyone to remember), putting both women at 1-1. In July, Kairi faced off in a Triple Threat match against Nikki Cross and Candice LeRae to officially determine the No. 1 Contender, which is what has led to this particular matchup. Upon Kairi’s win, Baszler said, “It’s time to embarrass her in Brooklyn.” She also added that her killer instinct is what’s ascended her to the top of the division — a killer instinct which Kairi supposedly lacks. To that, Kairi made one thing clear: “I know it, you know it: I can beat you.”

Prediction: With this as the rubber match between Shayna and Kairi (as Shayna has been making clear), it’s the end of an era regardless. Shayna Baszler’s reign of terror still has a lot left in the tank though. While it would be joyous to see “The Pirate Princess” come out on top, Baszler’s entire reign has been about stomping out all of that joy. This is why it’s at least a good thing that NXT TakeOvers always deliver, even when the results involve a pirate princess losing to apocalyptic catch wrestlers.

Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano, in a Last Man Standing match for the NXT Championship

The story: This particular match was originally supposed to be a Triple Threat between Ciampa, Gargano and Aleister Black, and the story has been all about the interplay among the three ever since Gargano inadvertently helped Ciampa win the championship (in his obsession to stop Ciampa from winning the championship). Unfortunately for both Black and the story, Black suffered a legitimate groin injury during a house show, turning this into a Last Man Standing match (the original gimmick for Ciampa/Gargano at this year’s TakeOver: Chicago before it became a Street Fight). On the plus side for Black and the story as a whole, NXT has also transformed it into a “Who shot J.R.?”-type situation, with possible suspects ranging from Ciampa, Gargano, TUE, Ricochet, Shayna Baszler — anyone who was in the parking lot at the time.

But as for the title match itself, everything’s back to the one true story in NXT: the story of a friendship-turned-bitter rivalry and the absolute self-destruction that comes with it. Ciampa and Gargano are literally going to destroy each other once more, and NXT would have it no other way.

Prediction: You know, when Aleister Black’s theme said “no man is ever truly evil,” it clearly wasn’t considering Ciampa’s existence. Tommaso Ciampa is literally the devil, and you don’t bet against the devil. Sorry, Johnny Wrestling. While the TakeOver: Brooklyn series is so far two-for-three when it comes to the NXT Championship changing hands, it looks like this show will make it a proper 50/50.