NXT TakeOver: New York Match Predictions

Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano- 2 out of 3 falls match for the vacant NXT Championship

Before you watch TakeOver, do yourself a favor and watch the video embedded above as the training montages more than make up for the understandably basic build to this match. It goes to show that pro wrestling doesn’t need a bunch of wacky angles to draw people in. All you need is an affable babyface, a detestable heel, and a story that upholds wrestlings prime directive: promote two (or more) competitors who want to prove they’re the best.

Needless to say, the planned Gargano/Ciampa match would’ve made for a worthy main event given the storyline history and the prospect of seeing Gargano finally vanquish his archnemesis to capture NXT’s richest prize, but a best-of-three falls match with NXT’s resident “cool heel” should be an amazing encounter as well.

Given the stipulation, it’s all but guaranteed that this one will take up the bulk of the show’s runtime, which is fine — there are worse ways to fill ring time than with Gargano and Cole.

Before Ciampa took his leave, Gargano winning the title in Brooklyn seemed like a DeAndre Jordan-sized slam dunk, but now that plans have changed, that scenario is still up in the air.

Considering the lack of heat in this feud, giving the title to Cole and having Gargano chase for a few months makes all the sense in the world, but given Gargano’s past failures in big matches, would a loss to Cole forever paint Gargano as a choker in the fans’ eyes?

It’s a tricky predicament and you could make strong cases for either man winning the gold, so I’ll pick the outcome that creates the easier story to write, which is Cole winning and Gargano spending the next few months fending off Cole’s Undisputed Era flunkies in pursuit of the title.

Prediction: Adam Cole beats Johnny Gargano 2 falls to 1, wins the NXT Championship