On Thursday September 11th, WWE’s developmental system, NXT, will present their third special event with Takeover: Fatal 4-Way. First came NXT Arrival, followed by NXT Takeover. Although this third event is also named Takeover, it will be highlighted by a fatal four way match for the NXT Championship.
Here is a breakdown of each scheduled match and who should be expected to leave the NXT arena victorious.
Mojo Rawley vs. Bull Dempsey
The hyped Mojo Rawley has appeared regularly on NXT, including a win against CJ Parker at Arrival. Now Rawley has the challenge of facing newcomer Bull Dempsey. The two superstars were partners in the tournament to determine number one contenders for the Ascension’s titles. Although they lost in the first round, these two both have bright futures ahead of them in WWE.
It’s already been seen that Rawley is a big part of this new NXT generation of superstars. If Dempsey is also going to be a key member, then look for him to win. My thoughts? I have faith in the newcomer.
Winner: Bull Dempsey
Hair vs. Hair Match: Enzo Amore vs. Sylvester Lefort
Enzo Amore has returned from injury and engaged in a good feud with Sylvester Lefort, who has had an inconsistent run in NXT. Lefort has spent time as a manager and a wrestler. Both superstars are also currently in tag teams – Amore with Big Cass and Lefort with Marcus Louis. I wonder why we didn’t get a tag team match here instead, but the hair versus hair stipulation has something to do with it.
Amore does crazy things with his hair, while Lefort has a lot of long hair. Which one would look better with a shaved head? My money is on Amore losing his hair and coming back with it in a creative way, which means Lefort would win.
Winner: Sylvester Lefert
WWE NXT Tag Team Championship: The Ascension (C) vs. Kalisto and Sin Cara
The Ascension have been unstoppable since winning the NXT tag titles. NXT has lacked any sort of competition for Konnor and Viktor. However, the last few weeks NXT has been pairing up random wrestlers in a tag team tournament to decide the number one contenders. At the last Arrival event, Kalisto was also involved in the tag title match, but with El Local (Ricardo Rodriguez). WWE has to like Kalisto as he is the full package and reminds fans of a young Rey Mysterio. Clearly, things didn’t work out with El Local since he was released.
Sin Cara, on the other hand, is a character WWE would love to succeed. He must do well in merchandising since WWE won’t let the character go. Perhaps pairing with Kalisto will be the answer WWE and fans are looking for to rival with the Ascension. Not that the Ascension isn’t great, but as we all know, competition is important. It would be great to see new tag team champions at Takeover.
Winners: NEW NXT Tag Team Champions Kalisto and Sin Cara
WWE NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte (C) vs. Bayley
As Charlotte continues to improve in the ring and as a character, the NXT division isn’t as deep as it once was. With Emma and Paige being promoted to the main roster, NXT needs stronger women. Charlotte isn’t bad, but she and Bayley are nowhere near the level of Paige and Emma. Bayley has a better character than Charlotte, but that doesn’t mean she will win. The challenger’s character is very childish and often the victim. Charlotte doesn’t have much of a character other than being Ric Flair’s daughter, but that seems to go a long way in WWE. Charlotte will probably win, but Bayley is the best option for her number one contender right now.
Winner: Charlotte retains
WWE NXT Championship: Adrian Neville (C) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd
The best outcome of this match is crowning a new NXT Champion. Adrian Neville has a lot of talent. He is a great high flyer and is rightfully called the man that gravity forgot. However, his mic skills are terrible. He seems like a better fit in a tag team.
All three challengers are very intriguing. Sami Zayn is an indy sensation with everything going for him. Mic skills, in ring talent and a general likeability to him. Tyler Breeze is the top heel in NXT and the perfect character for this generation. This is the selfie era and Breeze’s character speaks directly to it. Tyson Kidd has really impressed me. He has proven that he is better off as a heel. He talks better as a heel and is more interesting as a heel. If WWE wants to keep their champion a babyface, Zayn is the right choice. However, Zayn is a Daniel Bryan type where he plays the underdog and chaser well. Look for Breeze or Kidd to win. My final choice? The selfie sensation.
Winner: NEW NXT Champion Tyler Breeze
What are your thoughts on my predictions for Thursday’s NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way? Please share your thoughts and predictions in the comment section below.
Seth Guttenplan is a math and computer technology teacher for special education students in New Jersey. In his free time, Seth writes about wrestling. Follow Seth on twitter @sethgutt
– NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Bayley in what was said to be an excellent main event at the NXT live event in Citrus Springs, Florida on Sunday night. The reason the NXT Divas were in the headline match of the evening was because several of NXT’s top talents were on the road with the main WWE roster this weekend.
NXT Champion Adrian Neville defeated fellow NXT performer Tyler Breeze at the WWE live event in Dayton, Ohio. Sami Zayn defeated Tyson Kidd and The Ascension lost to Big E. and Kofi Kingston at the WWE live event in Hampton, Virginia.
– Speaking of NXT, several new promos for NXT Takeover 2 have been added to the official NXT Instagram account. The two newest additions feature Sami Zayn and Sasha Banks talking about the upcoming live WWE Network special. You can check those out at Instagram.com/wwenxt.
On tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network, William Regal was revealed to be the new NXT General Manager. As a result, Regal will be overseeing the upcoming NXT Takeover 2 live special on the WWE Network, which is scheduled for September 11th.
Additionally, new NXT GM Regal announced the main event for the Takeover 2 special, which will see Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT World Heavyweight Championship.
As of the July 25th episode of WWE Smackdown, Bo Dallas is undefeated after 17 straight wins. This of course does not include the brief time Dallas spent on the main roster after appearing in the 2013 Royal Rumble match. Dallas had a successful run with his “BOlieve” gimmick in NXT and is off to a great start with it on the main roster. WWE is clearly building up Dallas’ winning streak, which makes one wonder. Who will be the one to end Dallas’ undefeated streak?
One possible scenario could see another newcomer be the ruiner of Dallas’ streak. If WWE decides to give Rusev an even bigger push, the Bulgarian Brute could defeat Dallas on his path to the main event scene. However, Rusev is already doing his own thing right now. He and Lana are gaining a lot of heat in their feud with Jack Swagger thanks largely to controversial promos given by Rusev’s manager.
However, another newcomer, perhaps one from NXT, would be more interesting to end Dallas’ undefeated streak. Sami Zayn is the most likely in this scenario. Zayn and Dallas had a great rivalry in NXT and would give the WWE Universe a Kurt Angle-Tazz like scenario. If you recall, Kurt Angle was on an undefeated streak when he first debuted in WWE. However, that streak would end by another debuting star in Tazz at the 2000 Royal Rumble. Zayn is a fan favorite in NXT and it seems like it is only a matter of time until he reaches the main roster.
While having a similarly new superstar be the one to end Dallas’ nice run, WWE can also look at current or past veterans to do the dirty work. One past star who is well known for having a lengthy undefeated streak is Goldberg. While his streak occurred in WCW, a Goldberg return would certainly be welcomed by the WWE Universe. In fact, Goldberg is open to the return as well. He’s just not so sure Triple H, Vince McMahon and WWE want to see the return.
Goldberg is not the only veteran WWE should consider. Consider Sami Zayn Plan A and Goldberg Plan B. There’s always Plan C.
Brock Lesnar is Plan C. If you think about it, Dallas is coming close to a special number. Four more wins until 21. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see Lesnar become the one in 21-1 yet again. Of course it would mean something very different when defeating Bo Dallas versus doing it to the Undertaker’s historic WrestleMania streak. If Cesaro was still a Paul Heyman guy and he became the one in 21-1 against Bo Dallas, it would help light the flame in his own feud with Lesnar.
If I had to make a prediction, I would say that another new superstar debuts and ends Dallas’ undefeated streak. Dallas has a lot of momentum and the end to his streak has to live up to the hype. Let’s hope WWE doesn’t ruin it with someone like Kofi Kingston. No offense Kofi, but it was pretty disappointing when you ended Cesaro’s long reign as U.S. Champion. Dallas’ streak can be used to build up and give momentum to someone else. Use it wisely.
Who do you think will end Bo Dallas’ undefeated streak? Sami Zayn, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar or someone else? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Seth Guttenplan is a math and computer technology teacher for special education students in New Jersey. In his free time, Seth writes about wrestling. Follow Seth on twitter @sethgutt
The following are highlights of a new interview with NXT star Sami Zayn:
On feedback from Triple H after his match with Cesaro at “Arrival”: “It was awesome. If I’m being honest again, actually the first time that I got that kind of feedback from HHH was actually the two out of three falls match (with Cesaro), which had been about a year, nine months prior to the Arrival match. So we had this match, now has gotten a lot of talk, buzz or whatever it is. As I was in the ring and the crowd was like just going nuts, giving us this standing ovation, which was so cool. And as I was on my back, out of the corner of my eye, I kinda saw the replaying some of the highlights of the match and the crowd with each replay started getting louder and louder to the point by the time they were replaying the finish, it was another standing ovation. So it was actually one of the most incredible moments of my career. Just to lay flat on my back and just hear them continually getting louder way after the match. And they (crowd) start chanting match of the year, match of the year and I haven’t told anybody this on camera or anything like this. I really didn’t know how that reaction was going to go over. At this point, I was fairly new to the WWE system. I didn’t know if I overextended myself, if we had done more than they wanted, I don’t know. I really didn’t know. And then we came back and I had no idea what to expect, I really didn’t. I thought I’d get chewed out over like what the hell are you doing out there? I really didn’t know. And I got back there and HHH was the first one to pull us aside. He said that was awesome. He gave us a very candid speech. That was the first time I got insight into his mind and the way his mind works. I was so happy because yes, its not gunna be this like, I have my vision. the office has their vision. It was this guy who likes good stuff and he appreciates good stuff. And it was an amazing experience and amazing thing validated by a guy who is not only your boss, but as one of the most accomplished and greatest professional wrestlers/WWE superstars of all time. It was really cool to have him on your good side for sure.”
On KENTA signing with the company and training soon at the Performance Center: “I’m very excited. There’s a lot of good talent coming in, a lot of my kind of guys, world traveled, workrate, nose to the grindstone, gritty sort of passionate guys, which is what I personally believe in. Its great to see these guys get an opportunity. KENTA’s just been busting his butt for so long and killing it for so long. Its great to see him get an opportunity like this. I am really looking forward to hopefully wrestling him because I actually never have. I was supposed to wrestle him once, but he went down with a knee injury. I teamed with him a couple of times, but I’ve never actually had a one on one match with him. I look forward to that opportunity.”
– Some of Santino Marella’s students from his Battle Arts Academy school were used as “Rosebuds” for Adam Rose on last week’s WWE SmackDown and WWE Superstars shows. Additionally, Randy Reign and Hornet received tryouts prior to the SmackDown television taping last Tuesday and could potentially become the first Battle Arts Academy students to get WWE deals.
– NXT Diva Sasha Banks confirmed that she will be at RAW and SmackDown this week. As noted previously, additional NXT talents, such as Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and Charlotte are also expected at this week’s WWE TV.
The main event for this coming Monday’s RAW will be a six-man tag-team match, as John Cena, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose will team up to take on the trio of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Kane.
Also scheduled for Monday’s RAW are Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Adrian Neville, who are expected to work dark matches, as well as the return of Ric Flair.
– Sami Zayn, Charlotte and Adrian Neville of NXT are all scheduled to work the WWE RAW and SmackDown television tapings next week in Richmond and Fayetteville, likely performing in non-televised dark matches. Ric Flair is also booked for the WWE TV shows next week.
– WWE has added Jeff Jarrett to their Alumni roster.
– WWE U.S. Champion Sheamus was said to be banged up after his “Last Man Standing” match with Alberto Del Rio at this week’s WWE Main Event. Sheamus had a number of welts on his back and shoulders after the bout.
– NXT stars Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn have been added to the upcoming WWE tour of Japan.
– Ric Flair and Chris Jericho have been added to the upcoming WWE tour of Australia in August.
– There will be no RAW post-show this coming Monday night. Instead, the debut edition of “The Monday Night War” weekly series will air following RAW on the WWE Network.
Here are some highlights of what Dolph Ziggler said during a recent interview with Alex of the Journey Of a Frontman website:
How He Prepares For His Matches: “I’m not one of those guys that has to, one of those guys that walks around with their Beats headphones on and get in the zone and bounce around. I do the opposite of that. I sit around in a corner and I focus on a game plan or psychology going into the match so I can get all my focusing in, think of everything I can that I can possible use against my opponent out there. So I like to sit and plot quietly. I listen to music on the treadmill every morning, little bit of a mixture of pop music and mostly hair bands and rock.”
Doing Stand Up Comedy: “Mick Foley has some stand up things going on also, so he’s giving me an opening invite if I ever have a day off. I can speak on stage with him and get a couple minutes in. Whenever I have a free minute, which is very rare, I am looking for mic time one way or another. Just know that a lot of my set has to do with Chipotle in a positive way. A lot of Chipotle talk!”
Who He Hopes to Face at Summerslam: “I would like to face Bad News Barrett at Summerslam. That guy, he’s come back from an injury, he’s come a long way. He’s found a way to recreate himself on The JBL and Cole YouTube show and actually bringing that over to television. He brought it over to television and it’s great. I love hearing him talk. He’s good and he knows what he’s doing. We’ve only been in the ring maybe two times together and we tore it down. I would love to get out there with him and put on a match that nobody else could follow.”
Could Sami Zayn Be The Next Paul Heyman Guy?: “I actually got to have a match with him overseas and it went really well. I think he could be next to hit the roster and maybe he will be a Paul Heyman Guy. When you walk through the door and you become a Paul Heyman Guy, there’s dollar signs around you. It makes you a main player in the game.”
If He’d Want To Be RAW General Manager: “I would hate that! That’s like having an office job. I need to be out there, I need to be out there in the ring. I would go crazy if I was GM.”
His All-Time Favorite Match: “One of my favorites for sure was me versus Edge at the 2011 Royal Rumble. We were the opening match for the World Heavyweight title. Edge was someone I had rode with and he’s been a mentor to me. It was cool to be in the ring with him and me being the bad guy. The crowd understands I’m good at my job. And I was able to hang in the ring with him. In the last ten minutes of that match, everybody was on the edge of their seats. It was a real special time for me. It was a great match. Edge was awesome, I hung in there with him and definitely held my own. We tore it down that night.”
The following are highlights of a Huffington Post interview with Jack Swagger:
We have home-grown Divas, US and Intercontinental Champions but we’ve never had a British WWE champion nor a PPV in some time – aren’t they overdue? “Absolutely. Being a Real American I can admit that the British talent roster is amazing. It keeps getting deeper and deeper every year and I think we have more UK superstars on our roster than ever before. I think it’s only a matter of time before there’s a British WWE champion.”
Hulk Hogan is in the UK for your Smackdown television taping at the London O2 arena, which WWE Hall of Famer or legend would you like to face and why? “That’s a good question. I have always been a fan of Scott Hall (Razor Ramon). He’s always been one of my favourites and he has one thing that you just don’t get on TV anymore… and that’s chest hair! I think we need tons and tons more chest hair. I can’t grow any so don’t expect it from me. But seriously, I think a Scott Hall/Razor Ramon and Jack Swagger would have an unbelievable match.”
Adam Rose from NXT is new to the main roster and has been causing you trouble in recent weeks. Are you worried that he might make his name at your expense – like divas champion Paige did with AJ Lee – or do you see this as a tribute to you as a ‘guy to beat’? “I don’t really see this as him making his name at my expense, rather I see this as about the future. WWE is going to continue to develop young talent from NXT and that will be driving the competition up on the main roster. I’m always a firm believer that competition makes everyone better, makes our product better, makes our roster better and it’s going to make the matches and what we deliver even better – so only good things can come from such competition.”
Who should we look out for at NXT as a future WWE star? “They’ve got so much amazing talent down at NXT. The one I’m most familiar with is Sami Zayn. I’ve been in the ring with him personally and was very impressed by his talent, athleticism and charisma- so he’s going to be one to look out for.”
– Top NXT star Sami Zayn is now working on the WWE European tour live events. He defeated Damien Sandow in a singles match at the Rome live event earlier today.
– The following is a video of The Shield in the building prior to making their entrance through the crowd at RAW in Greenville, South Carolina this past Monday night.
– The dark match prior to Tuesday’s Main Event and SmackDown tapings from Greensboro, North Carolina saw Adam Rose defeat El Local in a very short match.
Two of the members of Adam Rose’s Rosebuds group at Tuesday’s tapings were local indie women’s wrestler Chastity Taylor and Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard.
– The dark match after main event and before SmackDown taping saw Tyson Kidd defeat Sami Zayn with a blockbuster.
The following are results for the WWE NXT episodes that will air on May 1st, May 8th, May 15th and May 22nd. All four episodes were taped on Thursday night at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
Dark Match
– Alexander Rusev def. an unknown wrestler in a dark match to open up the tapings.
Spoiler Results for May 1, 2014
– Tyson Kidd def. Bo Dallas in the first television match of the evening.
– Sasha Banks (with Charlotte) def. Bayley in an opening round match of the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Adam Rose def. Danny Burch. After the match, Camacho appeared during Rose’s big after-match party.
– Natalya def. Layla in an opening round match of the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Mojo Rawley def. Oliver Grey. After the match, Aiden English came out and cut a promo on Rawley.
– Adrian Neville def. Brodus Clay in a no-disqualification match to retain the NXT Championship in a what that served as the main event for this episode.
Spoiler Results for May 8, 2014
– This show kicks off with Triple H in the ring for a promo. He talks about how NXT is the future and is taking over wrestling. He pushes the NXT Takeover special, which will take place live on the WWE Network on May 29th. Additionally, he announces a battle royal to determine the new number one contender to the NXT Championship.
– Charlotte def. Emma in a second round match in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Kalisto & El Locale (Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask) def. The Legionnaires (Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louise).
– Camacho def. Captain Comic from Adam Rose’s party group. After the match, Camacho came out and had a confrontation with Rose.
– Alexa Bliss def. Alicia Fox in another match in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Next up was the battle royal announced by Triple H earlier in the show to crown the new number one contender to the NXT Championship. The participants were Xavier Woods, Brodus Clay, Baron Corbin, Curt Hawkins, Aiden English, Jason Jordan, Danny Burch, Oliver Grey, Marcus Louise, Sylvester Lefort, Big Cass, Camacho, Mason Ryan, Kalisto, El Local, Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyler Breeze, Bo Dallas and Tyson Kidd. In the end, Breeze, Zayn and Kidd were the final three and all were eliminated at the same time. This leads to Triple H coming back out and announcing that the three will compete in a triple-threat match to determine the official number one contender to the title.
– The Ascension def. Buddy Murphy and an unknown wrestler in the main event of this episode.
For results of the May 15, 2014 edition of WWE NXT TV, as well as the May 22, 2014 edition of the show, click ahead to page two …
The following matches are scheduled to take place at the NXT Takeover special, which will air live on the WWE Network on May 29th at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
NXT Championship
– Adrian Neville (c) vs. Tyson Kidd
NXT Women’s Championship
– Charlotte vs. Natalya
Number One Contender Match
– Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze
The first two matches were announced during the NXT television tapings, which took place on Thursday night. The number one contender bout was not yet officially announced, but is listed on the event poster.
We are a little over a quarter of the way through the year. With WrestleMania behind us, the WWE will now begin its summer programs and hope to build toward its second biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam.
With that said, I felt it would be interesting to look at the top five matches from the first quarter of 2014. I included full match videos and highlights where possible, but WWE licensing restrictions made it difficult at times. (I also apologize for the terrible music in a few of the videos.)
5. John Cena vs. Cesaro (February 17 Raw) – Say what you will about John Cena’s in-ring ability, but he has put on some great matches so far this year, with none better than this matchup with Cesaro. There were a number of amazing spots during the contest, with Cesaro’s counter of the AA certainly ranking near the top. It appears the WWE is going to push Cesaro hard, and this was the week where his push began after he defeated Randy Orton and pushed Cena to the limit.
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania) – After weeks of begging for a match with Triple H, Daniel Bryan finally got his wish at WrestleMania. He took full advantage of it during the opening contest of the night. Both superstars really shined during the match and it was, in my opinion, the highlight of the show. It also ranks as quite possibly the best opening match in WrestleMania history, with only Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania X giving it a run for its money.
– NXT star Sami Zayn will be wrestling on WWE’s upcoming tour of Saudi Arabia later this month (4/17-19). is being advertised for WWE’s tour of Saudi Arabia on April 17th, 18th and 19th. He is scheduled to face Alberto Del Rio.
Other advertised matches include John Cena, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. The Wyatt Family and Dean Amborse defending the US title against Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes in triple threat matches.
– Brie Bella has been teasing a physical altercation with Stephanie McMahon on Twitter, calling the Authority “completely annoying” and saying she’d love to “slap the crap out of them!”
I find Triple H and Stephanie completely annoying. I would LOVE to slap the crap out of them! Who else!!???? -B #RAW
– Sheamus vs. Christian has been announced for Friday’s SmackDown.
– WWE.com has published a feature looking at NXT star Sami Zayn’s quest to defeat Cesaro. The two will square off at next week’s NXT: Arrival live event on the WWE Network in a rematch of their 2013 Match of the Year candidate match.
– Here is the latest Black History Month video that aired on RAW highlighting the legendary career of Ron Simmons:
The following are highlights from a recent WWE.com interview with Sami Zayn:
On his first match with Cesaro: “A lot of it has to do with the fans’ feelings toward the first match we had. I still hear about the match all the time from fans, from people at the WWE Performance Center, even from WWE Superstars on Raw and SmackDown. The larger the reputation of the match grew, the more disappointed I became with the fact that I lost. It’s hard for an athlete to accept that the thing you are most known for is a loss.”
On his rematch with Cesaro at NXT “Arrival”: “Another shot at Cesaro at the most important NXT event ever? What more incentive do I need, really?”
On the status of his knee: “I spent a lot of time focusing on getting my knee to 100 percent. I’ve done a lot of rehab exercises, but to be honest, most of my preparation has been mental. I won’t get into the nitty gritty of my mental preparation because some of it is a bit weird, but I’m in the zone and I will be ready.”
On wanting to prove himself: “I want to prove that I am the best NXT has to offer. I want to prove that to Triple H, Shawn Michaels and my boyhood hero, Bret Hart, who will be in attendance that night. I want to make John Cena, the guy at the top of our industry, see that Sami Zayn is going to be the guy out of NXT to keep your eye on. I want to prove it to the fans who’ve believed in me all along. I want to prove to the people that never believed that I even belonged here, just how wrong they are. Above all else, I not only want to prove it to Cesaro, I need to prove it to myself.”
Two of NXT’s top stars are currently out of action dealing with injuries.
– NXT Women’s Champion Paige has been out of action for almost 2 months, but the nature of her injury is unclear. She did not wrestle at Thursday night’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University (airing 1/15-2/12), so the soonest we’d see her back on the NXT TV show is the special February 27th taping that will air live on the WWE Network.
Triple H announced during Thursday’s NXT TV tapings from Winter Park, Florida that the February 27th NXT taping will air live on the WWE Network – head-to-head against TNA Impact Wrestling on Spike TV.
Two of the main events announced for the live NXT show on the WWE Network are:
* Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville (Ladder match for the NXT Championship)
* Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro(Best of 3 Falls Match)