To counteract the upcoming rundown of the superstars missing from NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, let’s talk about the lucky few who will be booked to not only perform, but likely steal the show in some fashion.
This could be in a scripted or non-kayfabe sense when factoring in everything from pure wins and losses to how much emphasis someone is given, to their momentum carrying over after the event, match performance quality and pretty much everything that could get people to talk about these particular men and women more than anybody else.
When looking at the card currently scheduled for the pay-per-view, this is my shortlist for the superstars who will stand out at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4.
Johnny Gargano / Tommaso Ciampa
To be honest, I have no idea what WWE is going to do with these two, and I like that.
For a long while, I had the Triple Threat in mind, and when that was confirmed, I stuck to my guns that Ciampa would walk out with the title by pinning Black, setting up a match against Gargano in Los Angeles.
Now that that’s not happening, I’m 50/50 on what I think WWE will do, as I can see this going down two different ways: a) they cut to the chase, put the belt on Gargano, have a Triple Threat at WarGames where he retains and that’s it, or b) they go with Ciampa retaining and have a singles match between he and Black at WarGames, where Gargano goes off and does something else.
As such, I don’t know which one of these two I’d go with for stealing the show. Instead, I think they’re going to be sharing the spotlight in having a fantastic match, and whoever the winner is will have a slight advantage. It’s a bit of a cop-out answer, but hey, that’s the best I can give.
Shayna Baszler
There’s pretty much no way Kairi Sane wins the NXT Women’s Championship.
While she’s certainly no slouch, the momentum isn’t in her favor. Shayna Baszler is the pet project, a dominant heel champion, and someone who has already lost to Sane in the Mae Young Classic finals from last year.
This is a means to put on one of the bigger women’s matches the roster can call for and to even the odds between the two with Baszler winning, making it 1-1.
She’ll be retaining the championship and adding time to her title reign’s length.
Ricochet
There’s a good chance Adam Cole retains the North American Championship, but I’m leaning much more favorably toward Ricochet, if not just because every champion right now in NXT is a heel.
Ricochet isn’t some undefeated monster or anything along those lines, but he’s obviously a priority to a certain extent and someone who is being positioned as a noteworthy star to pay attention to.
As such, winning the North American Championship will seal the deal on him being one to watch and a major player for the brand, solidifying his position on the next few cards to come, as he probably wouldn’t be losing the title until the TakeOver before WrestleMania or, at the earliest, in Phoenix before the Royal Rumble.
The Undisputed Era
Moustache Mountain has absolutely no shot whatsoever in regaining the NXT Tag Team Championship. If they do, I’ll be completely shocked.
The Undisputed Era dropped the titles temporarily just to give Trent Seven and Tyler Bate a boost for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship down the line and to make it seem like the recent tournament wasn’t a complete bust, as no other titles changed hands.
With WarGames coming up, War Raiders are likely going to take the titles from The Undisputed Era, more so than any other outcomes happening, and for that to happen, Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly need to retain here.
Shared Glory: EC3 and The Velveteen Dream
There is a very good likelihood that this match between The Velveteen Dream and EC3 ends up stealing the show, based not only on TVD’s track record of having a great showing at each TakeOver, but also EC3’s potential.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they end up being the biggest talking point at the end of the night even if they’re the opening match.
Gun to my head, I think EC3 is the one that will be taking the win here, so if I had to give the edge to one over the other, it would be him, but as history has shown, even when The Velveteen Dream fails to win his match, he still ends up being one of the standouts of the show.
Those are my picks, but who do you think will end up being the primary focal points? Drop your predictions in the comments below!
