NXT Takeover: Toronto airs this Saturday, August 10, live on WWE Network. NXT’s 26th live special features matches for the NXT, NXT Women’s, Tag, and North American Championships, as well as Candice LeRae making the crazy mistake of stepping into the ring against the evil version of Io Shirai. Make sure you’re here this weekend for our full coverage, live thread, and results. Here’s the complete card.
NXT TakeOver: Toronto (2019) Card:
1. 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the NXT Championship (first fall is a classic match, second fall is a street fight, third fall stipulation will be decided by William Regal if necessary): Adam Cole (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
2. NXT Women’s Championship Match: Shayna Baszer (c) vs. Mia Yim
3. NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Street Profits (c) vs. Undisputed Era
4. Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai
5. Triple Threat Match for the NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream (c) vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong
As always, we’ve got your complete rundown of the card and analysis below, featuring predictions for all five matches. Make sure to drop a comment and let us know who you think’s winning, and be here on Saturday night to see if you’re correct.
Here’s what we think will go down at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, 2019 edition.
Triple Threat Match for the NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream (c) vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong
What You Need To Know: Velveteen Dream is the North American Champion and is so arrogant about holding it that he’s taking matches by appointment. Taking one of those appointments was Roderick Strong, lowest ranking crony in the Undisputed Era (but still very good in the ring) (especially when he’s doing chops and backbreakers). Joining the fight is Pete Dunne, who’d be the baddest man on the planet right now if he hadn’t gotten scared out of his home promotion by a gigantic Austrian murder baby and his grappling gestapo.
What Will Happen: So, here’s how this TakeOver shakes out. You either have to assume that it’s going to end with every member of the Undisputed Era holding championship gold, or none of them. Why else would Roderick Strong and Fish and O’Reilly have championship matches, when they could’ve just run Dream vs. Dunne and Street Profits vs. Burch and Lorcan or whatever instead?
As much as I’m afraid it’ll throw off my predictions for the entire night when I’m wrong, I think it’s the Era’s night. Strong seems like he’s in this match and losing to Pete on weekly TV because Dream and Dunne are gonna destroy each other and Roddy’s going to steal the win. I don’t like it, but it makes too much sense.
Staff Picks
Raj Prashad – Going to go ahead and say this is the match I’m most excited about this weekend. I’ve got Dream retaining, but wouldn’t be surprised if Pete Dunne claimed the belt here.
Emily Pratt – Pete Dunne needs to win this so he can come hang out in the paradise that is Winter Park, Florida, instead of the wasteland that is NXT UK. And he should do it by pinning Roddy so they have an opening to do a Dunne vs. Dream mano y mano rematch.
Elle Collins – Once again the possibility exists of hanging all the gold on the Undisputed Era, and this time I think they might do it. Dream’s great, but he’s so over he doesn’t really need a belt. I love that Pete is here, but it’s hard to imagine a hooligan from Birmingham as the NXT North American Champion. I think Roddy takes it, probably in a sneaky heelish manner that makes him a target for both these guys down the road.
Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai
What You Need To Know: Io Shirai lost her best friend and the woman who was keeping her kind-hearted, Kairi Sane, to a Four Horsewomen beatdown and a main roster call-up. Good-hearted Candice LeRae tried to fill that gap in Shirai’s heart, but when she was unable to help Shirai defeat the Horses, Shirai was like, “screw it, I’m going to go it alone and kill everyone I see.” Candice requested this match to get a little revenge, but oh man, she has no idea what she asked for.
What Will Happen: Candice …
The only way this ends with Candice LeRae winning is if the referee stops it and disqualifies Io for spending an entire quarter-hour attacking Candice’s unconscious body.
Staff Picks
Raj Prashad – I’ve got LeRae getting revenge on Shirai in this one.
Emily Pratt – Io Shirai will either win or lose by disqualification after destroying Candice with a kendo stick. Either way, we will all win for seeing two women’s matches on a TakeOver and seeing this match specifically.
Elle Collins – Candice LeRae is great, and I’m really glad she’s finally being given stuff to do beside being Johnny’s wife. As great as Candice is, Io Shirai is going to destroy her. Io’s new persona is entirely about destruction, and this is where she proves how good at it she is. I’m sure Candice will put up a hell of a fight, because that’s what she does, but she’s going down.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Street Profits (c) vs. Undisputed Era
What You Need To Know: Instead of winning the Tag Team Championship from the War Raiders like they should’ve when the Raiders got called up to Raw, the Raiders vacated the belts and the Street Profits had to win it in a ladder match. As soon as they won, Raw was like, “also, we want the Street Profits,” so now they’re on Raw more than they’re on NXT. Now they’re in a weird position where the only way to predict the title match at TakeOver is to ask yourself whether or not the Profits are getting called up for real, whether they’re any good to the NXT roster if they’re just backstage cheerleaders on Raw, and if they get the same “win the match, vacate the titles” courtesy as the Viking Experience.
What Will Happen: Sigh. Going along with my previous predictions, I’ve got to give this to Undisputed Era. Whether the Profits are getting “called up” or just hanging out in a cameo role, WWE appears to think they’re more important to Raw than to NXT. So here we are. The good news is that this match is going to RULE, even if it plays a lot like that Ricochet and Aleister Black vs. War Raiders TakeOver match where everyone said goodbye to prestige wrestling at once.
Staff Picks
Raj Prashad – Going with Undisputed Era to knock off the Street Profits just so we can get Kyle O’Reilly air guitaring his title belt again.
Emily Pratt – Oh no, I just realized Street Profits could lose their titles very quickly here because they’re hanging out backstage at Raw! Wait, maybe they’re bad champions because they’re hanging out backstage at Raw? I guess I’m okay with Undisputed Era winning? This match should bang.
Elle Collins – I’d love see the Street Profits have a really long run with the Tag Titles, but they already have one foot on Monday Night Raw, and giving factions as many belts as possible is a major trend right now, so I think the Undisputed Era is probably going over here.
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Shayna Baszer (c) vs. Mia Yim
What You Need To Know: Shayna Baszler is a dickhead Fonzie who has a stranglehold on the NXT Women’s Championship thanks to a combination of MMA violence and running with some shoot-fighter subordinates who do whatever she says. Mia Yim is out for street justice, and has already taken out both of Shayna’s lesser Horses.
What Will Happen: This one presents a similar problem to the Street Profits match, as, like, Shayna’s gotta get called up at some point, doesn’t she? A lot of that depends on whether or not Ronda Rousey’s coming back, which could randomly happen this weekend, or could not and keep Shayna in greener pastures for another few months. Ultimately, I don’t think it comes down to that … I think that if they’re gonna go the “Undisputed Era wins everything” route and Io is clearly going to fuck up Candice LeRae’s Christmas, they’ve gotta let at least ONE babyface win, don’t they?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Yim wins. It goes against everything my brain tells me, and against my diehard Shayna Baszler fandom. That said, I think Mia’s only going to win it long enough to lose it at the very next set of TV tapings to Io Shirai. Evil Io should be NXT Women’s Champions sooner rather than later, and I don’t see them running Top Heel vs. Top Heel. A transitional champion, but well deserved.
Or Shayna just chokes her the hell out and retains, I’m fine either way.
Staff Picks
Raj Prashad – Nothing like Mia Yim beating the hell out of the Four Horsewomen for weeks on end. Picking Yim to knock off Baszler just in time for her to move on up to the main roster.
Emily Pratt – Mia Yim, I love you, but you are extremely doomed, because Evil Io obviously needs to level up just a little higher and be the one to dethrone Shayna. I am looking forward to this match though.
Elle Collins – I feel like I’ve predicted that it was time for Shayna to drop the title a bunch of times before, and she always keeps it (except for that one time, but she got it right back). And don’t get me wrong, Shayna’s awesome. She’s a perfect heel champion, but she’s had that belt for more than half as long as Asuka did, and that’s a really long time. The entire NXT women’s division feels painfully bottle-necked with Baszler stuck at the top, and at this point I really, really think it’s time to move on, so once again that’s my prediction. I hope that wherever Shayna goes she finds success (not to mention TV time), and I hope Mia gets at least a month or two with the belt before Io Shirai hits her like a moonsaulting ton of bricks.
2 out of 3 Falls Match for the NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
What You Need To Know: Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano wrestled a 2-out-of-3 falls match for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver New York. Cole won the first fall fair and square, but lost falls two and three because he lost his cool and started trying to cheat. Gargano had planned for that, and could retaliate. He couldn’t plan for Cole just being a better wrestler than him. They had a rematch at TakeOver XXV where Cole, at least on that night, proved it. Now they’re going 2-out-of-3 falls again, with each man getting to pick the stipulations for the falls. Cole is picking a “classic match” for the first fall again, because he knows he can win it. Gargano’s picking a street fight for the second fall, because he’s spent most of the past two years having street fights and Last Man Standing matches with the Kevin Owens to his Sami Zayn, Tommaso Ciampa. If it goes to a third fall, which it 100% certainly will, William Regal will pick the stipulation for it.
What Will Happen: Oh man, what if Ciampa returns at the end of the third fall, acts like he’s going to help Johnny, but then costs him the match?
Now that I’ve typed that energy out into the world, I think Gargano’s winning the “classic match,” and Cole’s winning the street fight. I think that’s just how it’s meant to be. For the third fall, Last Man Standing seems like the obvious choice, but maybe they’ll throw us a curve ball. Ladder match, maybe? Steel cage, to keep out the Undisputed Era? Maybe Regal will make it a Duchess of Queensbury rules match. Regardless, I think some horrible fate is befalling Johnny Wrestling, and Cole’s pushing through him to cement his reign as NXT Champion. Johnny got his moment, he can move on to something else.
(Like actually ending the Ciampa story.)
(In fire and blood.)
Staff Picks
Raj Prashad – This one is certainly going to a third fall, right? My guess is some kind of Last Man Standing, and for that, I’ve got Cole retaining with some help from his buddies.
Emily Pratt – It is very funny to me that these two had the chance to pick any stipulation for a fall in their two-out-of-three falls match and one of them picked NORMAL MATCH. It’s so funny that I don’t think I can take this seriously unless one of them pulls a Blue Demon Jr. during the street fight fall and wins the match with a cinderblock to their opponent’s head. I trust NXT, so I predict that Gargano will win the NXT Championship by cinderblock to Adam Cole’s head.
Elle Collins – It really seems like NXT has moved profoundly from the time when Johnny was champ, so I can’t imagine him taking it back here. Obviously he’ll win one fall, and look strong and heroic throughout, but Adam Cole’s not letting that gold go.
DANGER
There you have it. That’s what we think will go down at NXT TakeOver Toronto Dos. The hour-long “pre-show” episode they’re taping before it should be killer as well, as it’ll feature Jordan Myles vs. Cameron Grimes in the finals of the NXT Breakout Tournament, probably Breezango reuniting to take on the Forgotten Sons, and more.
Drop down into the comments section to let us know what you think will happen, and make sure you’re here all SummerSlam long for our complete coverage, including an open discussion thread, results, and more. Happy TakeOver weekend!
