WWE: 5 matches that must happen at NXT TakeOver WarGames III
NXT North American Championship Match: Roderick Strong vs. Velveteen Dream (or Matt Riddle)
After originally coming up short of winning the NXT North American Championship at TakeOver: Toronto II, Roderick Strong bested Velveteen Dream to take the title on the Sept. 18 edition on NXT. In doing so, he fulfilled Undisputed Era’s prophecy of every member holding gold.
As cool as it was to see Strong finally claim his first singles championship, it’s also important to note that the bout between Dream and The Messiah of the Backbreaker that night was absolutely exceptional. Their terrific chemistry left fans anxiously awaiting a rematch.
They were set to meet once more with the gold up for grabs on this week’s NXT, but a backstage attack to Dream (courtesy of Undisputed Era) caused him to pull out. It’s possible the back injuries suffered by Dream that were reported by WWE Now last month are for real, and if so, it’s unknown how long he’ll be out of action for.
Assuming he is cleared to compete in time for TakeOver: WarGames III, Dream invoking his automatic rematch clause for the championship on that show would make the most sense. TakeOver isn’t for another month, so that should (hopefully) be plenty of time for him to heal up.
In case Dream isn’t good to go by then, Matt Riddle should be on standby as Strong’s opponent for the event. They have history from when Riddle beat Strong at TakeOver: XXV in June, which could be used as the logic for Riddle getting another shot at the strap.
Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor
Had you told anyone three months ago Finn Balor would return to NXT and he’d potentially be facing Johnny Gargano in a dream match of the ages at TakeOver: WarGames III, you would have been called crazy.
Sure enough, Balor made his shocking comeback to the black-and-gold brand on the Oct. 2 episode, confronting NXT champion Adam Cole and making it known that he intended to stick around for a while. As if that wasn’t enough, he teased aligning with Tommaso Ciampa and Gargano on this week’s NXT and proceeded to betray them by blindsiding Gargano with a picture-perfect pele kick to the head.
Balor’s vicious assault on Gargano turned him heel for the first time in his WWE career. Seeing as how he proclaimed on Friday’s edition of WWE Backstage that “the Prince is back,” it definitely looks we’ll be getting a more aggressive Balor than we’ve ever seen before.
Gargano has largely floundered since losing to Adam Cole at TakeOver: Toronto II and a feud with Balor is a brilliant way to get him back on track. Additionally, TakeOver: WarGames III would be the perfect place to host such an epic encounter.
We’re bound to find out soon enough why Balor did what he did to the heart and soul of NXT, but in the meantime, let’s look forward to what should be a stellar bout between them. If their TakeOver track records are anything to go off of, Gargano vs. Balor could be a Match of the Year contender.