NXT TakeOver WarGames 2019: Full show preview and predictions

Finn Balor vs. Matt Riddle

Riddle is ostensibly taking the injured Johnny Gargano’s place in this special singles match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, meaning we are in store for one hell of a consolation prize match while we wait for the Gargano vs. Finn Balor dream match.

The creative team should also get credit for heating this match up in a relatively short period of time; a couple of brawls were all this feud needed to push past the time-filler midcard match threshold.

It will be interesting to see how well these two world-class workers mix with one another once the bell rings, but the end result is much less in doubt. Balor just turned heel several weeks about, so having him lose in not only his first match as a villain but also his first match back in NXT would require a level of stupidity reserved only for promoters who get okey-doked by Scarface cosplayers. Meanwhile, Riddle is Riddle: He isn’t getting a super aggressively pushed, but the bookers have protected him well enough to where a loss to Balor won’t hurt him.

So, expect a great match filled with counters and stiff-looking offense, but one that ends with Balor picking up the needed clean win.

Prediction: Finn Balor pins Matt Riddle

Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain – Triple Threat Match, winner gets an NXT Championship Match at Survivor Series

No disrespect to Damian Priest and Killian Dain, but Pete Dunne feels like the easy choice to win this and challenge Adam Cole for the NXT Championship at Survivor Series. After all, he’s the only babyface in the match and the only wrestler of the trio who profiles as a viable challenger to Cole’s belt.

But there are good reasons to doubt what feels like a formality. For one thing, Dunne vs. Cole is a match that could headline an NXT TakeOver in the near future. It seems silly and shortsighted to waste a premium match like that on a show where they would get, at the most, 12 minutes to put on a great match. It would harken back to those ROH World Championship matches at past NJPW Wrestle Kingdom shows: Just another match on a loaded PPV.

Plus, Cole is probably retaining at Survivor Series, so does WWE really want Dunne, a man the company has protected like few others, losing a mundane match in the middle of the PPV? I mean, McMahon, who probably thinks the fans will forget about the match as quickly as he will, likely doesn’t care, but it would still be a dumb move.

So, Dunne probably won’t eat the pin here, but look for one of the monsters in this match to score the upset win. It will set up a heel vs. heel match with Cole on Sunday, but the fans will probably cheer Cole, so it won’t feel that weird.

Prediction: Damian Priest pins Killian Dain