Welcome to another edition of WWE Heat Index, wherein we discuss the interest level for the various feuds heading into the pay-per-view events. This time around, we’re focusing on NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia coming this Sunday night.
The way this works is a pretty simple three-way breakdown of Hot, Lukewarm and Cold. If you like something and you’re very interested in how WWE is setting up the program, it’s Hot (aka Good). If you’re a bit on the fence about it and see some problems, but it’s not awful, then it’s just Okay or Lukewarm. The ones that are the most problematic that you have no interest in are Cold (aka Bad).
Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section to let everyone know what your thermometer reads for each feud as I tell you what my thoughts are below!
Without further ado, let’s get started!
NXT Championship Match: Andrade “Cien” Almas (c) vs. Johnny Gargano = Hot
This is one of those scenarios where I’m so intrigued by what WWE has planned after this match that I’m excited to see it just because of the ending.
Don’t get me wrong—Almas vs. Gargano is going to be a ton of fun and I would be excited to see it regardless of the other variables that I’m even more interested in—but what moves this into the Hot territory with no uncertainty is the utter uncertainty that I have about what the decision is going to be.
Almas just won the title at the last TakeOver event, so it would be strange for him to drop it so early, wouldn’t it? However, this is Johnny Gargano, who could very easily take that top babyface spot and run with it immediately, so if WWE decides to put the belt on him, I wouldn’t be shocked at all.
With that in mind, I still think Almas is going to retain the title, but through interference by Tommaso Ciampa, who will screw his former tag team partner out of the match and set up a fight between the two in New Orleans.
This will be a great match with a ton of buzz around it to end the night, and you can’t ask for much more than that.
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Ember Moon (c) vs. Shayna Baszler = Hot
Similar to the situation with the men’s title, the NXT Women’s Championship is in serious doubt in my mind and I’m really excited to see which direction WWE chooses to go.
There are so many ways the outcome of this match can influence what happens at the women’s Royal Rumble that I can see equal chances for both Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler leaving with the title in their possession.
Plus, they are perhaps the two most capable in-ring performers in the women’s division in NXT at the moment, so this is arguably the best possible one-on-one affair we could have seen booked for this show, and I really want to see what their plans are for how to fuse their intensity into the scope of the match itself.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The Undisputed Era (c) vs. The Authors of Pain = Lukewarm / Cold
To be perfectly honest, I’m not feeling this match as much as I thought I would a few weeks ago when the tapings originally happened.
The tag team matches on TakeOver events were amazing in 2017, so I should be looking at this through a more optimistic perspective, but I can’t help thinking that this is going to be underwhelming if I go into it with any expectations for it to be on par with those fights.
Maybe it’s because Akam and Rezar are so much more physically imposing than Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish and I don’t think their styles will necessarily work as well in a regular match, or maybe it’s because I’m already walking in assuming the titles will stay where they are because putting them back on AOP will just be backwards, but this just isn’t really getting me hyped.
I’m still not full-on Cold about it, but I’m leaning more that way than even Lukewarm, and I’m hoping that I’m wrong and they put on an awesome performance.
Extreme Rules Match: Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole = Lukewarm
This might seem like blasphemy, but even this match isn’t reaching the Hot level for me right now, despite how I have all the faith in the world that it will be entertaining as hell.
On paper, this is awesome. They had a really solid match together before, so pairing them up again while opening up the possibilities with the No Disqualification stipulation just makes it better.
And yet, I kind of want there to be more to this feud that just isn’t there, which makes me feel like this is a match that I need to shut my brain off for and just enjoy the way it is when we reach showtime rather than reflecting on the setup and build.
This is a Hot as far as potential, a Cold as far as my interest in the storyline itself, and they balance out to a Lukewarm where I could very easily be writing up my review and talking about how this was my favorite segment of the night, so I still have high hopes.
The Velveteen Dream vs. Kassius Ohno = Cold
Don’t get me wrong—I think this match will be better than whatever we would have gotten out of Killain Dain, Lars Sullivan and Roderick Strong if they would have gone that route—but the complete lack of a story to this means I’m not into it for any reason other than seeing The Velveteen Dream perform and hopefully get a victory.
This match is happening because of one quick backstage video of TVD being pushed by Ohno. Lame “build” in my mind. This is a filler match as far as storylines go and I can’t imagine it would serve any purpose other than giving TVD a win to offset his recent losses.
Assuming that happens and they’re able to put on a good match, I’m sure I’ll end up reviewing this event and giving them props, but going into the event, I don’t think anybody would really disagree with me in saying that this isn’t going to sell the show to anyone who wouldn’t already be watching.
Those are my thoughts, but how do you feel about these particular feuds? What’s hot and what’s cold in your mind?
Fill us in on your point of view in the comments below!
