Notable Superstars Missing from the Card
Note: This is not a full list of everyone on the roster who is not scheduled for the show. It excludes jobbers, injured talent, people who wouldn’t have normally been expected to appear on the show for some fashion, those who are unable to perform due to travel restrictions and so on. It also should be noted that much of the information regarding COVID-19 pandemic regulations and precautions is not public knowledge, so there’s no telling if anyone on this list or elsewhere is not going to be on the card due to those factors.
Dominik Dijakovic = Dijakovic was written off with the beating he suffered by Karrion Kross. Had he returned before Keith Lee and Kross fought, it would undermine a lot of that driving force of that feud. Plus, he may be part of Retribution, so he may not return to NXT at all.
Finn Balor / Timothy Thatcher = After being in the same qualifying match together and Thatcher screwing Balor out of his second chance, it seems these two are going for a feud. I’m surprised they didn’t have both in the ladder match or on a match for this card. Then again, there’s still potential time for it to be added, but I guess that’s just going to play out on the regular NXT episodes, instead. (Update: When this was originally posted, WWE hadn’t announced a match between the two. The following day, they were added to the card.)
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott / Santos Escobar = After all the weeks of heading in the direction of Scott getting a title shot against Escobar, they decided not to put it on the card. Having it on TV doesn’t feel as important. That’s a shame. I would have preferring not to see the tag title No. 1 contender’s match and to have replaced it with this Cruiserweight Championship opportunity. Then again, maybe they think Scott vs. Escobar is a draw for ratings. I like both guys, but I doubt that will boost the viewership.
Kushida and Ridge Holland = Both Kushida and Holland lost their opportunities to be in the ladder match. I’m not shocked about Kushida (but that’s not a jab at him; I like the guy just fine) but I am surprised about Holland. For them to consider him one of the next big things and have him lose two matches in a row – one of which wherein he takes a pin – seems counterproductive. Hopefully, WWE has plans to give both Holland and Kushida something decent going forward to make up for skipping out on this card.
Tommaso Ciampa = We haven’t seen Ciampa since his match with Kross. It wouldn’t have made sense for him to return prior to this event. However, you know what would make sense? If Ciampa were to interfere and cost Kross the match. There’s a decent chance that happens, as it could allow Lee to retain without Kross looking too bad. Then, at whatever the next TakeOver event is to come, Ciampa vs Kross II happens.
The Robert Stone Brand (Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez) / Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart = I had figured there was a good chance this match would take place on this card, but it happened on the go-home episode leading up to it. I’ll take it. If there were more matches on these cards, typically, then I think we definitely would have gotten this or Ripley vs. Martinez solo.
Candice LeRae / Tegan Nox = These two are definitely in a feud. Rather than have a match, though, Nox just said she needs to look into how to fix her friendship. In the end, it’s not the biggest deal it was left off the card. This storyline isn’t as high priority as some others.
Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) = While it’s a shame we once again don’t have the tag titles on the line, we’re at least getting a #1 contenders match. That’s worthy enough compensation.
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