While WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year for the main roster, NXT doesn’t truly have their own version of a top TakeOver event on the calendar, although the one before WrestleMania has to be at least in the running along with NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, which many could consider the yellow brand’s true moment in the spotlight.
With that being said, since there are only four TakeOver events in the year, it is crucial to try to secure any spot you can on the show if you’re a superstar who wants to make any kind of decent impact in developmental so you can catch on and work your way up to the major leagues. However, not everybody can be crammed in and some superstars will unfortunately have to wait in the wings for a few more months before they get another shot.
There is still time with the final episode of NXT on Wednesday to add something else to the card, but between spoilers and the already pretty much stacked deck as it is, it seems like these following superstars are going to be missing NXT TakeOver: Orlando…
Kassius Ohno / Elias Samson
This is the strangest case of them all. Kassius Ohno just made his return and was pushed straight into an NXT Championship match against Bobby Roode, but he’s not scheduled for the TakeOver card at all.
It’s understandable why Nakamura was chosen over him as it’s the bigger match, the rematch, and it could be a sendoff for The King of Strong Style, but it’s curious why WWE chose to book Ohno in a Loser Leaves NXT match against Elias Samson on NXT rather than at TakeOver. The whole feud came out of nowhere and kicking Samson out of NXT should have been a bigger deal than what it seems like it’s being handled as. At the very least, you’d think WWE would want to have Ohno on the card, right?
When it comes to Elias Samson himself, it wouldn’t make any sense for him to wrestle at TakeOver after losing that “loser leaves” match, would it?
Of course, this doesn’t exclude him from making some kind of an appearance with a run-in, hanging out in the crowd, or even showing up under a mask doing the El Vagabondo gimmick, but even if that happens, it’s more likely to be on the regular NXT episodes than at TakeOver itself.
NXT Women’s Division
Ember Moon and Asuka have a good chance of having a fantastic match to represent the women of NXT and it’s virtually a guarantee they will serve that purpose well. There’s also Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot in their mixed tag team match, so it’s good to see more than two ladies on the card.
As far as those who aren’t so lucky, the four big players are Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Liv Morgan and to a lesser extent Aliyah, while even further down on the hierarchy are Daria Berenato and lastly, Mandy Rose, who seems to be kept at arm’s length and not really making much progress lately.
We’re due for an influx of talent with the women’s division in NXT very soon as Macey Estrella, Danielle Kamela, Kimber Lee, Sarah Bridges and a handful of others are on their way in the coming months.
Hideo Itami
He’s said that he’s ready to return, he popped up on a live event and supposedly had no issues getting physical in the ring, but nothing was set up to promote him in any way whatsoever for making his return before TakeOver, so it’s no surprise that he’s not scheduled for it in any way.
This is the best thing for Itami. Either it means he’s going to be making his main roster debut at WrestleMania in the battle royal (which he did once before), or the Raw or SmackDown to follow, or the most likely scenario, which is that his return to NXT is being held off until the April 5th or April 12th edition of the show.
Assuming people get called up to the main roster and he isn’t one of them, NXT is going to need to replenish the roster a bit. Itami will be a great person to help fill the gap left by someone like Shinsuke Nakamura or Tye Dillinger, who have to be two of the potential names to be leaving.
Don’t be surprised if he either makes an appearance at the taping that goes down before TakeOver or if there’s an announcement during the event itself that points to him coming back, but as far as showing up in any other capacity, it’s highly doubtful.
The United Kingdom Carryovers
I’ve already broken down most of what is going on with this situation in a previous article dubbed Road to WrestleMania 2017 Oversights, with the short version being that Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne, Wolfgang, Trent Seven and the United Kingdom champion himself, Tyler Bate, are all seemingly members of the NXT roster as of late, but aren’t factored into the card for TakeOver: Orlando.
This isn’t the biggest surprise in the world considering Orlando is not only not the United Kingdom, but it is also filled up with people who have made bigger presences on NXT over a longer period of time (save for Ruby Riot).
Given the nature of their status as outsiders who don’t appear to be truly signed to the NXT roster similar to the other names here, it makes sense to keep them off the card, although they will be appearing at Axxess, so that’s something at least.
The B-Squad
The B-squad is essentially the backup folk who are still in a lower section of the developmental system where they’re not quite on the roster yet, but they’re certainly in the closest class to that level. They’ve been used from time to time, here and there, mostly as jobbers or people to fill in a gap for things like the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but since they aren’t actually regulars, it makes sense for them to not be scheduled for an appearance on the special event.
Keep in mind that all of these men have a chance at wrestling throughout WrestleMania weekend at Axxess or on the television taping scheduled to record right before TakeOver, but that doesn’t count as being on the actual TakeOver card itself.
The names in this group we’ve seen the most of—at least recently—are Patrick Clark, the Ealy Brothers, Oney Lorcan and HoHo Lun. Heavy Machinery has some promos airing about them, which is a good sign for their future. Steve Cutler, Tino Sabbatelli, Riddick Moss and Kona Reeves appear to be on the backburner for now, but fans of them shouldn’t fret. All of these guys will get some time to shine in 2017 unless they give WWE a reason not to trust in them.
The Island of Misfit Toys
This is a much nicer way of saying “losers with nothing to offer and clearly viewed as having some sort of handicap that prevents WWE from caring about them” isn’t it?
While the B-squad at least has an excuse of being relatively new, these are people who have been around long enough and used before in the past, but have actually downgraded in their career. Somehow, they’re actually lower on the totem pole than the people who aren’t even considered normal members of the roster.
For example, the two members of TM-61 were a somewhat prominent tag team, albeit still struggling a bit, when both of them were healthy. Ever since Shane Thorne went down with an injury, though, Nick Miller has been MIA just the same. Whether this is a case of them being tag team partners for so long that they feel each other’s pain and Miller’s going through the same recovery process or the more likely scenario that he has no personality and WWE doesn’t want to put any focus on him in a solo capacity doesn’t matter, as it all boils down to Nick Miller not being in the running for this show.
The same is applicable to Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake. They were tag team champions and when they split up, they basically stopped existing. I don’t think anybody is really complaining about that, though.
The less said about Angelo Dawkins, the better. He’s been on the potential release list for long enough that it shouldn’t be a surprise that he isn’t on this card. At least his former tag team partner Sawyer Fulton is injured, which is more of an excuse, even though he might receive a pink slip in the coming future just the same.
Do you think these men and women deserve to be booked on the card? If so, how would you utilize them? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
