Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialeWN's Round Table Preview of NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff

eWN’s Round Table Preview of NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff

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Welcome to another edition of eWN Round Table, where we gather some of the most active writers here on eWrestlingNews and share the platform to answer some questions surrounding a centralized topic, upcoming event, etc.

This is meant to showcase the potential for both a wide range of perspectives as well as how sometimes, there can be a group consensus no matter what your viewpoint is, so we also invite all of you to join in on the discussion by answering these questions yourself in the comments section below.

For this particular volume, we’ll be focusing on this Saturday’s upcoming NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff event.

Participants for this round = Anthony Mango, Richard Staple and Kyle Dunning.

1) “With the announcement that NXT will have an extra hour every week on USA, would you like to see more talent from NXT UK incorporated into the brand, or would you rather prefer 205 Live or just more focus on the regular NXT crew?”

MANGO: They have their crossovers as it is, but it would be totally okay with me if both NXT UK and 205 Live were incorporated even more into NXT, along with maybe some main roster folk going down. That would help get more exposure for people, bolster the roster and freshen things up. To be honest, I’d even be fine with Main Event, 205 Live and NXT UK being cancelled entirely to make up for this extra hour.

STAPLE: WWE has kind of backed itself into a corner. By incorporating UK into the USA network, they are basically acknowledging that they aren’t a big enough presence to survive on its own. Between 5 hours of RAW/SD, I won’t have enough focus to pay attention to BOTH NXT and UK, and that’s not even counting 205 Live. I’d say NXT should just focus on their roster. Too much and they may lose the Wednesday Night Wars.

DUNNING: I feel like WWE is so overloaded with talents on all its brands, that there wouldn’t be much point sharing UK or 205 Live talent with NXT. If anything, they should be bringing in higher main roster talent (Finn Balor, Natalya for example) to have one-off matches with the guys/girls to shine a brighter spotlight on them.

2) “Should any of the 3 titles change hands at this show? If so, which and why?”

MANGO: There’s no chance WALTER drops the belt to Tyler Bate, so that title change is out of the equation. If Toni Storm were up against Jazzy Gabert, I’d consider it a possibility, but I don’t think Kay Lee Ray is in a strong position to be the champion and focal point. However, Grizzled Young Veterans are an afterthought as champions, so I could see Gallus taking over that role.

STAPLE: I think there’s more potential for Storm and WALTER probably shouldn’t drop the title until I’m eligible for social security. I wouldn’t mind seeing a tag title change.

DUNNING: I’m a big fan of the champions except Toni Storm, who I think should be brought down a peg so we can see how she fairs chasing the title. The NXT UK Women’s division has suffered somewhat, as Toni’s not had much competition. With all the mind games, it would kinda suck if Kay Lee Ray didn’t find a way to claim it. As far as the other titles go, I love Tyler Bate, but Walter needs another big win to show he’s the leader of the brand. And for the tag titles .. I guess if they were going to change? Gallus should get it, because they’ve earned it. Otherwise I’d rather Grizzled Young Veterans keep ’em a while longer.

3) “Assuming Tyler Bate comes up short against WALTER, who do you think should be the next in line to challenge for the United Kingdom Championship?”

MANGO: It has to be Dave Mastiff. A win over Joe Coffey would put him in a good position to step up as the next challenger, and I can’t imagine anyone else being in the same running. Ilja Dragunov doesn’t have the same momentum right now, even though I do think he might be the next champion. Other babyfaces like Travis Banks have already lost their title shots. If it’s not Mastiff, I’ll be extremely shocked.

STAPLE: Without Pete Dunne, there really isn’t a lot of people that I look at on the UK roster and can feasibly say they could beat WALTER in a fair fight. Maybe Trent Seven could be up next.

DUNNING: Depends on who wins between Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey. Their Last Man Standing match should be a #1 contenders as well. If Joe does win, he and Gallus would have to turn face, as we’ll get stable warfare between Gallus and Imperium. Dave Mastiff could beat Walter I think, but being on his own means he’s fighting five guys on his lonesome.

4) “Which match are you most excited to see on this pay-per-view?”

MANGO: Funny enough, Dave Mastiff against Joe Coffey. It’s perhaps the fourth (or, at best, third) most important match, but I rank it at the top of the potential fun list. I have a feeling they’ll try harder to steal the show than anybody else, and the Last Man Standing gimmick could open up room for some hardcore spots that are always fun to see.

STAPLE: WALTER and Bate are gonna tear it up. Bate’s strength is highly underrated, and I’m fascinated to see how he fares against a man of WALTER’s size.

DUNNING: Can’t go wrong with any Tyler Bate match in singles competition. Much like Walter and Pete Dunne did before, Walter & Bate are going to tear the house down. Otherwise, I think the Last Man Standing will surprise fans.

5) “Which superstar do you feel is the biggest omission from this card?”

MANGO: Jordan Devlin or Pete Dunne. At least with Dunne, we know he’s been placed on NXT lately, which excuses his absence. Devlin has just been in a spot where he’s not as noteworthy.

STAPLE: Biggest omission? I suppose we can say Alexander Wolfe, although I don’t see WWE doing any thing productive with him for a while.

DUNNING: Jordan Devlin. Like he said, what does he have to do to get noticed? He took it to Finn Balor, and had several wins lately, yet he’s not further towards the main event spot? With only five matches announced, I really hope he gets some kind of impromptu match. Maybe against Cesaro? That would be sweet.

6) “If you could add one more match to this card, what would it be?”

MANGO: Either the Jordan Devlin vs. Kenny Williams match that took place this week on TV, or some kind of way to round out the Rhea Ripley vs. Piper Niven feud a bit more. I feel like that hasn’t had a definitive finale, so at least they’re getting another match next week. Then again, if this Cesaro thing plays out with a match, maybe Cesaro against Jordan Devlin is the way to go.

STAPLE: None. NXT Takeover cards are perfectly spaced out as is.

DUNNING: Devlin vs. Cesaro. Dragunov vs. Cesaro. KASSIUS OHNO vs. CESARO! Ok, definitely the last one. I want to see Kings of Wrestling reunited as opponents. Make it happen WWE! Or if not that .. have Ohno & Cesaro team up against Imperium’s Aichner & Barthel.

Big thanks to everyone who took part in this edition!

Those are our thoughts, but what do you have to say about these issues? Keep the discussion going by chiming in via the comments section below!

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