NXT TakeOver XXX Predictions: Does Io Shirai retain?

Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship

Here we are at what will most likely be the main event.

Kross has run roughshod since arriving in NXT, decimating Ciampa and choking out Reed as key examples. Many thought he was on course for a battle with Cole, but then Cole just had to go and lose the NXT Championship to Lee. Now, we have a titanic clash to determine who reigns atop NXT.

The added wrinkle to this story has been the presence of Scarlett and the presumed involvement of Yim on Lee’s behalf to mitigate Scarlett’s potential benefits to Kross. Scarlett was the one to present the shattered hourglass to Lee to symbolize his reign was nearing its end, after all.

This means there will likely be shenanigans involving Scarlett and Yim during the match, possibly leading to the finish. I have a feeling it will be more of a situation where the referee ejects them from ringside partway through the match.

With Lee, he just became Champion and I find it hard to believe he would lose it so soon. Then again, Kane was once WWE Champion for 24 hours or so. Lee has what RuPaul would say are “Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent,” and he has them in bundles. As much as they repeat it over and over again, he truly can do things that belie his size, and he speaks in such a different manner (even for wrestlers); it’s like a better mix of Damien Sandow and Aiden English.

Kross has been hyped as the next big thing since his signing was announced. Capturing the NXT Championship so soon would be an accurate representation of his anticipated impact. Is it the right move, though?

If Lee loses, he becomes the second top champion in a year in WWE who is Black and had a transitional reign (Kofi Kingston). He’s also the first Black NXT Champion since Big E some eight years ago. When virtually everybody who’s won the NXT Championship has had a decent length of a reign in the past five years or so, it would just not be advisable to have Lee drop the title after recently winning said NXT Championship.

Then again, this might be the time to see if Kross is more than a snarling face, doomsday Saito suplex, and Kross Jacket finisher, or if he’s the next iteration of a Five Moves of Doom-type wrestler. I mean, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; Brock Lesnar has made a career out of using only two moves, a German suplex, and his F5 finisher.

Still, is it too early for Lee to drop/Kross to win the NXT Championship?

Prediction: Lee wins by pinfall after countering a Kross Jacket into a Big Bang Catastrophe

A few weeks to go and I really wouldn’t be disappointed if NXT TakeOver XXX played out as I predicted, and not just because it would feed my ego. I think each match presents intriguing possibilities coming out of the event, but am also interested in just how some matches will both be formed and executed.

What are your thoughts? Who do you want to see as the TBD and TBAs for the ladder match qualifiers? What about Shirai vs. Kai? How excited are you for Lee vs. Kross?