Unlike normal WWE pay-per-views, the NXT TakeOver events are usually much harder to complain about whether or not someone hasn’t been booked for the card. The size of the rosters just don’t match up and there’s always a bigger opportunity for more people to be pushed aside for an event like TLC than TakeOver: London.
However, just because most of the wrestlers who are a focal point at the moment are already booked for London doesn’t mean that there aren’t still a few stragglers that would have been interesting to watch or at least make sense to appear in some capacity.
Thus, here we are with the last event of the year and the final “Superstars Missing” article for 2015. Let’s get into it.
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable / The Vaudevillains
For a while, the tag team division in NXT has been confusing. A team like Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady continually has been pushed aside in favor for duos like Blake and Murphy, The Lucha Dragons, and now Dash & Dawson. Team SAWFT will be getting their rightful title shot at this event, but that still leaves two noteworthy teams on the sidelines.
No team has had more momentum going for them out of the blue than Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. These two were haphazardly thrown together in a way that could have been just as pointless as Jordan’s team with Tye Dillinger (who has proven to be much better off on his own, making their split a win for everyone involved). Somehow, Gable and Jordan have far surpassed their potential and even turned babyface in the process. They’re now arguably the favorites to defeat Dash & Dawson for the titles despite Enzo and Cass not having lost their match yet!
And then there’s The Vaudevillains. These guys were given the championship around a time where Enzo and Cass could have easily taken the belts, but have since dropped down the hierarchy. Since losing the titles, you would think Simon Gotch and Aiden English would have remained near the top of the division as perpetual contenders. At the very least, it would have made sense to give them a new feud to transition into, which seems to have happened after they refused to shake Jordan and Gable’s hands on December 2nd, but there’s no follow-up seen at this event.
Time constraints prevent this from being a possibility, but in theory, it still would have been cool to see Jordan and Gable face English and Gotch just to get all four of these uber talented guys out there for the fans to watch. I have no doubt that they’ll be wrestling in some capacity for the crowd, but we just won’t be able to see it at this particular show.
Eva Marie
It was previously reported that Eva Marie may not be appearing on this event. I know, I know….why is she on this list? Who cares? She’s a terrible wrestler, etc etc etc.
Despite her obvious need for improvement, it would be quite odd if she didn’t show up in some capacity. The build for this feud between Nia Jax and Bayley has been largely about Eva Marie more so than it’s been Nia Jax, who just made her debut not that long ago and is already getting a title shot. Doesn’t it strike you as strange that someone so much bigger than Bayley would be rushed to this position so quickly?
Some might argue that’s because Bayley will be dropping the title and WWE will want to go with the underdog story, but I’m hoping that’s not the case. Underdogs work extremely well, but not if you go overboard with them. Fans don’t seem to be bored with Bayley’s run yet, so why change it up? It’s not going to make Nia Jax look any more dominant than she’s already appeared by beating Bayley, considering the size difference. Sure, winning a championship does boost her credibility, but everyone will just be waiting for Bayley to win the belt back so they can have more fun rather than going through the stress of her challenging again so soon after winning the belt from Sasha Banks.
On the contrary, I think Nia Jax is losing this match, and if that happens, something shady has to go down. Bayley defeating Nia Jax clean will have the complete opposite effect of what’s in the previous paragraph. Jax should theoretically destroy Bayley, so if she loses, there goes your monster heel. Instead of being the champion or being someone who is “in line for the championship”, she’ll be someone who is in need of rehab over the next few months to build her back up to be a worthwhile challenger.
However, if Eva Marie were to get involved, that could be the X-factor. Eva and Nia have been linked together, so one could assume she’d be ringside to cheer her on, similar to how Dana Brooke will be accompanying Emma to the ring to watch her get destroyed by Asuka. The heat magnet here is Eva, not Nia, and the easy out for how to book this match is to make Eva the glory hog who gets in the way. She could try to cheat on Nia’s behalf and get her disqualified or she could get carried away with stealing the spotlight and distract Nia long enough for Bayley to get a random roll-up (how, I don’t know).
Eva should have been on the UK tour wrestling some matches to get more practice and she definitely should be showing up in some role at TakeOver.
Sami Zayn
Vignettes have been airing saying that he’s returning to NXT, but since no matches have been announced for him at TakeOver, it can be assumed that he’ll be wrestling for one of the tapings that will air at a later date.
In a way, that makes sense. Sami can make a quick appearance at TakeOver just to say that he’s back and that he’ll be wrestling the next week or something along those lines, perhaps setting up who his opponent will be (my guess is someone like Tommaso Ciampa).
Still, knowing that he’s able to compete and he isn’t scheduled to wrestle for the special event itself is a bit disappointing. Sami Zayn is a big enough name that he could just go straight to the main roster, and I would argue that he would be a great opponent for Kevin Owens at WrestleMania if he wins back the Intercontinental Championship. You can’t cram too many people onto the card, and keeping Zayn off it because he has nothing set up to be a worthwhile enough match isn’t something that I would argue with WWE on, but when I look at a match like Emma vs. Asuka, I can’t help but feel I’d rather see Zayn against anybody rather than just an Asuka squash, however good she is. Hell, for that matter, I’d rather see Asuka vs. Zayn—but don’t hold your breath on that one.
So obviously, things aren’t as crazy for TakeOver as they were with Survivor Series and TLC, which is a great thing. These special events have a great track record of being awesome from top to bottom, so the people that are indeed on the card will have it on their shoulders to carry on that lineage. Coming up soon will be the breakdown of my predictions for who will be the top stars of the night for those people, so stay tuned to EWN for that.
For now, what do you think about this list? Are there other people that you would like to see compete that aren’t scheduled, like The Hype Bros and BAMF? Is there a noticeable absence from the lack of Bull Dempsey or Peyton Royce? Leave your comments below!
