NXT Takeover: Chicago II Predictions

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As the latest NXT Takeover airs from Chicago for a second time on Saturday 16th June there’s a lot to really get excited about. We’ll have three NXT Championship matches, the first-ever one-on-one battle between Ricochet and Velveteen Dream and the headline being the Chicago Street Fight.

The only bummer news is Mauro Ranallo won’t be calling any of the matches due to being double booked. Mamma Mia indeed.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Undisputed Era (c) vs Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch

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As always with WWE they can change in a moment, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the NXT tag title match kicked off the show.

Ever since Takeover: New Orleans the Undisputed Era have made the lives of WWE UK Champ Pete Dunne and the tag team of Lorcan and Burch a living hell. However, The three Brits have a six-man tag win over the faction.

Yet, before this feud, Lorcan and Burch were more of a jobber team as experience pros making the younger and newer teams look strong with their armbands, belt guitaring and hand signals Undisputed Era are the 2018 version of the New World Order and I can’t see them losing the straps this weekend.

This could be a dark horse of a match and all four wrestlers will put on a great show, but the British tag team underdog story will come to an end as Undisputed Era will want to go into the Royal Albert Hall on Monday as tag champions as they go up against Moustache Mountain.

Winner – Undisputed Era retain the NXT Tag Team Championship

Ricochet vs Velveteen Dream

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This match could also kick off the show but it’ll be a candidate for match of the night and potentially match of the year this is how great of a story these two stars have built. On one hand, you have the incredibly athletic indie darling in Ricochet and on the other the beloved self-obsessed Dream, this is a really hard match to predict.

The reason because both these men would benefit massively from a win but won’t lose anything if either one lost and they both deserve to be in a championship picture now and after the feud.

One thing I am sure of these two won’t become a tag team, they’re too great as singles competitors to put into that position. For that reason and the fact he has been on a roll since this match against Aleister Black, I’m going for a Dream victory.

Again, this defeat won’t hurt Ricochet, if anything, like Dream after his defeat to Black, this could make him even more beloved (if possible) in NXT. After this feud, Ricochet should go into a feud with North American Champion Adam Cole and battle it out for the belt at the next Takeover.

Meanwhile, even though he lost to Black, the Dutchman still said his name and now Dream could go for his belt and maybe put EC3 in the picture as well.

Winner – Velveteen Dream

NXT Women’s Championship Match – Shayna Baszler (c) vs Nikki Cross

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Before and since winning the title, Baszler has been the monster heel of the women’s division in NXT using fear and intimation to make sure one woman stands up to her. Until a little, crazy Scottish lady called Nikki Cross showed the former MMA badass she isn’t afraid of anything or anyone.

This match is an interesting one at an interesting time especially in Cross’ WWE career because she’s been great and if she loses clean what do they do with her? I can’t and don’t want her to reteam with SANITY even when they got “called up” without her and whenever make their Smackdown debut. If she wins then she’d be a great champion for the new women’s roster like Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane, Lacey Evans, Bianca Belaire and more.

Meanwhile, there are question marks over Baszler, she could have a great run with the belt and feuds with the same wrestlers, but then again could she get the call up to the main roster for Ronda Rousey reasons. Furthermore, it’s likely WWE will still want her to be champion going into the Royal Albert Hall to fight one of these four women;  Progress women’s champion Jinny, Toni Storm, Killer Kelly or Isla Dawn on this coming Tuesday (19th June).

TOP: JINNY & TONI STORM; BOTTOM: KILLER KELLY & ISLA DAWN

You could be seeing more from women as it's likely they could figure in the second Mae Young Classic. Jinny and Storm are rumoured to have signed WWE UK deals.

Anyway, for these reasons, I’m going to go for a non-finish or DQ win for the Queen of Spades as it protects both women, Baszler is still champ and Cross could feel cheated and it’d set up a rematch with a stipulation.

Additionally, this would be at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 during Summerslam a prefer time for Cross to become the new NXT Women’s champion and Baszler can get called up to Raw and partner up with Rousey.

Winner – Nikki Cross wins via DQ, Shayna Baszler retains the NXT Women’s Championship

NXT Championship Match – Aleister Black vs Lars Sullivan

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Let’s not beat around the bush this is a placeholder match for the NXT title and something to use to make Black look even stronger taking down the monster heel Sullivan.

This is in no way disrespectful towards Sullivan, but he isn’t main event ready and even though this loss won’t hurt him, it could help as he goes forward getting involved in the North American title picture or maybe form a monster tag team.

As for Black, this will help build for the next title defence at Takeover: Brooklyn 4 and hopefully be a rematch between himself and Dream or a triple threat involving EC3.

The match itself will be perfectly fine and fun but will be at the bottom. Which won’t be a bad thing if they included potentially two five-star classics.

Winner – Aleister Black retains the NXT Championship

Chicago Street Fight – Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa

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This has been the best feud on WWE for years and Ciampa has become the greatest villain in WWE and in wrestling general in years and what a beautiful way to end a story from where it began a year ago.

NXT Takeover: NOLA was an unbelievable match and will become a classic that’ll be shown for years to come with the cathartic joy of seeing Johnny wrestling picking up the win. However, even though I said it would be a beautiful end, this isn’t street fight isn’t going to end feud this will be the Empire Strikes Back/The Dark Knight of this battle.

This will be the time Ciampa gets one over his former friend driving Gargano into a dark place and become even more hated by the fans and let this story finish at Brooklyn.

So where do you go after an unsanctioned match and Chicago Street Fight? I’m not sure if NXT or WWE would take it that but the final battle between these two is a Deathmatch.

The story and the wrestlers this has a chance to become yet another five-star classic in the making.

Winner – Tommaso Ciampa wins