WWE NXT TakeOver XXV Match Predictions

Velveteen Dream (c) vs. Tyler Breeze- NXT North American Championship

Honestly, bringing back Tyler Breeze to put over a burgeoning NXT star in a 16-18 minute standout match is the perfect way to commemorate the 25th TakeOver event. And who better to put over than the Velveteen Dream, a man who could be the biggest star in the company, provided he isn’t typecast on the main roster (stop laughing!).

Given how hastily the writers had to put this feud together — this was supposed to be Dominik Dijakovic’s spot before his knee injury — they effectively eschewed the obvious “your gimmick is kinda like mine” gimmick to present Dream as the LeBron James to Tyler Breeze’s Kwame Brown.

Dream is the cocky, young upstart destined for greatness while Breeze experienced the same accolades in developmental only to bomb on the main roster (through no fault of his own).

Our own Joe Anthony Myrick offered a compelling argument for Breeze winning the North American Championship, noting that Dream’s dismissal of Breeze as a viable challenger means that he has to beat Dream lest he affirms everything Dream said about him.

While there’s definitely a compelling case for Breeze winning here — it would be a nice payoff to all of the high-profile losses Breeze compiled during his first NXT run — it isn’t necessary, at least not yet.

The tenor of the story certainly calls for Breeze to get the big win at some point, but with the NXT roster thin on big names, the writers could stretch this out for a little while. A competitive outing by Breeze followed by Dream recognizing that Breeze wasn’t as washed as Dream thought he was should be enough to position Breeze as the versatile upper midcard gatekeeper he was the first time around, especially since he’s sticking around Full Sail full-time now.

That said, Breeze will likely get some sort of phantom pin-fall to plant the seeds for a rematch.

Prediction: Velveteen Dream pins Tyler Breeze, retains North American Championship