NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Match Card Predictions

Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, and Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir

This was a hard match to project, primarily because Triple H and the gang could take this 3-on-3 feud in several directions.

They could easily book another Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler match for the NXT Women’s Championship considering Sane popped her shoulder up twice during what was the deciding pinfall in their 2-out-of-3 falls match at TakeOver: WarGames II. Of course, the writers would need to add another stipulation to the match since going back to a standard singles match would make little sense (a 30-minute Ironwoman match fits best, but time could be an issue on this show).

They could also go back to Baszler vs. Dakota Kai and finally pay off that, “Will Kai overcome Baszler’s bullying” storyline, but with Kai oscillating between NXT and NXT UK, that may be a tricky proposition.

Baszler vs. Io Shirai for the title could work too, but the writers may wait for a few call-ups to take place before going all in on a proper push for her. For now, she is positioned as a secondary character in the Sane vs Baszler feud.

There’s a very good chance that this match happens on an episode of NXT as opposed to the TakeOver show, but Baszler and her goons have to be getting called up sooner rather than later, there seems to be a much clearer path to that long-rumored “Four Horsewomen vs. Four Horsewomen” match and at age 38, keeping Baszler in developmental is a waste of time at this point.

If that happens soon, like after the Royal Rumble soon, it makes sense to move the title off of Baszler. It just depends on when the writers want to pull the trigger.