WWE NXT: Predicting the three stips for Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Fall 3 (If Necessary): Steel Cage Match

The vast majority of any sort of Best-of-Three Falls matches go the distance, so the disclaimer above is a formality. Plus, assuming the writers use this stip, it would be a jerk move to have a crew erect a cage with no plans on using it, though doing so would work in the sense that the cage was built in the event of the match reaching a tiebreaker.

Even if heavy interference in this match isn’t the plan, the specter of UE run-ins makes the cage match stip a no-brainer. Yes, this would mark the fourth time since Money in the Bank last May that WWE has used this type of match and sure, the company has chipped away so much of the match’s credibility that no one buys it as a deterrent to outside chicanery (even NXT has reused some of these cage match interference tropes).

But given the possible extracurricular activity that could be afoot in either of the first two falls, we likely won’t see the writers and the producers bog the final fall down with more nonsense at what should be the most climactic moment of the match.

Or, they could swing the pendulum in the other direction and foreshadow the interference early on to set up Cole’s pals helping him win the deciding fall. Helmsley and company’s proclivity to deliver clean finishes at these TakeOvers – a refreshing one, by the way – likely means the latter option won’t happen, but you never know.

No matter how they choose to outline the final fall, don’t be surprised if it goes down inside of a cage.