The next special event coming to the NXT 2.0 brand will be the upcoming In Your House show on June 4, 2022. That is the day prior to WWE Hell in a Cell, so it will be a busy weekend for the company.
Strangely, for the second time in a row, this was announced by Cameron Grimes heading to the ring, cutting a promo about how he’ll be facing someone at (insert show name), rather than any formal announcement on WWE.com, the social media accounts or even the commentary team. At that point, he mentioned he would defend the North American Championship against Carmelo Hayes (again). So far, that’s the only thing semi-confirmed for this event.
That means the rest of the card is up for speculation. This is a bigger show than NXT Spring Breakin’, but it’s still not something as grandiose as what the TakeOver events used to be.
What matches might be on the lineup? Which Superstars are in positions to be featured and which might be left on the sidelines?
Let’s toss out some early predictions and try to guess what the In Your House card might be.
NXT North American Championship Match
As stated, this match seems rather locked in. I’m the type of person who thinks you shouldn’t run the same two people against each other in repetition unless it really justifies it. This isn’t the type of feud that calls for it. It almost feels like they wanted to do Sikoa winning the belt already, but decided it was too early, tried to stretch it a few more weeks and fall into this “someone can only win the championship on their second or third try” booking that has been happening A LOT in NXT and NXT UK as of late.
Carmelo Hayes is still hovering the belt, though. Sikoa has the next match, meaning they’re just going back and forth between these three fighting over and over. Since Hayes winning it back not only cuts off the Sikoa/Grimes thing ahead of time, but means all of this was for nothing and we’re circling back to the previous champion, I’d imagine Grimes retains. There’s a good chance Hayes is only still feuding with them because they have nothing else for him to do and don’t know any other way to have two babyfaces going against each other without a heel to prove neither one has turned.
NXT Championship Match
Speaking of running things back, despite retaining his title, it doesn’t seem as though Bron Breakker is finished with Joe Gacy. Someone on the writing team only really seems to like two things: kidnappings and ineffective pranking. Gacy is the former, so he just keeps kidnapping Breakker as a hook to end each show before they start the next one with “But he’s okay.”
It’s incredibly lame and I would have much rather seen a new challenger built up. That’s asking too much, apparently. Now, I have to just hope that this is a gimmick match. It needs a stipulation to spice it up. If they just fight in a regular match again, this is pointless double-dipping.
Breakker is going to retain at In Your House no matter what. At least put it inside a steel cage or something.
NXT Women’s Championship Match / NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Unless something random happens next week to convince me otherwise, I’m starting to think Toxic Attraction could sit this event out.
Wendy Choo was the closest thing to a No. 1 contender. However, they JUST had her lose a tag team title shot alongside Roxanne Perez. That gets me to believe Choo’s been pushed aside and they’ll be moving on to something new after this.
If Mandy Rose defends her title, it will have to be against Indi Hartwell. The champion made fun of Hartwell’s heartbreak with the departure of Dexter Lumis. Maybe there’s something there and this will be a rush job to a title defense.
The tag team titles will only be defended if Natalya and Cora Jade continue that respect angle and bump into Toxic Attraction backstage or something.
NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Final
This could be the real replacement for either of the women’s titles, as this has stakes and allows WWE to stretch things out a bit longer.
As it stands, Nikkita Lyons and Fallon Henley will face off in the semifinals and there are two first-round matches left to go before determining the other semifinal. Roxanne Perez or Kiana James will face Lash Legend or Tatum Paxley. AKA, Perez vs. Legend, coming soon.
I’d imagine those two matches will take place on May 17th with the semifinals on May 24th. Then, NXT’s May 31 edition, rather than featuring the final, could just have some sort of tag team match or stare down promo segment involving the finalists. The tournament ending at In Your House is a bigger deal.
As far as winner predictions go, it wouldn’t shock me at all if this comes down to Lyons against Legend yet again. If not, it will be Lyons vs. Perez. In any case, Lyons is my pick to win, and once Rose dispatches of Hartwell, we’ll know who the No. 1 contender will be.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Pretty Deadly won the tag titles much earlier than I’d imagine WWE originally intended, due to the MSK breakup after Nash Carter’s release. Since then, the tag titles have been sidelined. Clearly, there aren’t significant plans in place and WWE is trying to stall for time.
The obvious match here is The Creed Brothers getting a shot. They’re essentially babyfaces now, upset with how their victory over The Viking Raiders was tainted by Roderick Strong interfering. Maybe we get an official split of Diamond Mine with Julius and Brutus against Strong and Damon Kemp, or The Creed Brothers beat Erik and Ivar and become No. 1 contenders. Or, maybe WWE tries to ignore this a little longer and these belts aren’t defended at all.
Another roundabout way to kill time would be if Nathan Frazer and Wes Lee suddenly earned a title shot. It seems they’re hinting that Frazer is Carter’s semi-replacement. Lee lost the belt without actually losing it, so he’s somewhat entitled to a rematch in spirit. That way, Pretty Deadly can retain and avoid The Creed Brothers just a little longer.
Other Non-Title Feuds
Take your pick on any number of other feuds going on right now that might still be a thing by the time In Your House hits. Some storylines seem to last only one episode, while others go on for months.
For example, Legado del Fantasma is feuding with Tony D’Angelo’s crew. We know we’re getting D’Angelo in singles competition against Santos Escobar next week, but maybe a three-on-three match will happen at In Your House? Escobar, Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde against D’Angelo, Stacks and Two Dimes sounds plausible.
There is no way pay-per-view time is dedicated to Von Wagner destroying Ikemen Jiro. That will take place on a regular episode of NXT.
Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton already had their mixed tag team match against Sarray and Andre Chase. What else is there to do with them? I don’t think they’ll be on the card.
Keep your eyes out for Jordan Devlin. He lost a Loser Leaves NXT UK match this week while they trademarked the name Rip Fowler. Maybe that’s his new ring name and he’ll be joining the NXT roster. If so, I would be shocked if he doesn’t have a match here against someone random just to spotlight him. In fact, this might even tie into the whole thing where Waller lost to Frazer in his debut match for the brand. Maybe Waller decides to “bring in” someone to beat Chase and show him the same humiliation. Devlin vs. Chase could be a filler match, for sure.
Judgment Call: Card Predictions
The way I see it, this will likely be the lineup for In Your House:
Gimmick Match for the NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Joe Gacy
NXT North American Championship Match: Cameron Grimes (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Mandy Rose (c) vs. Indi Hartwell
NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Final: Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend or Roxanne Perez
Legado del Fantasma vs. Tony D’Angelo, Channing Lorenzo and Troy Donovan
Pre-Show: Jordan Devlin vs. Andre Chase
What matches do you think will happen at NXT In Your House? Drop your predictions in the comments below!
