NXT New Year’s Evil Match Card Predictions

Finn Balor (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the NXT Championship

So we have our first of the two title matches I’m expecting to see at NXT New Year’s Evil, and this match is the only title bout announced thus far. Finn Balor is going to have an awesome reign as champion, just as he did the first time around for the Black and Gold brand when his reign very much helped build the brand’s foundation.

The first match between Balor and Kyle O’Reilly was so hard-hitting that it quite literally broke Finn’s jaw. A few fans were worried Balor would have to relinquish the title immediately after Karrion Kross also did due to injury, but, thankfully, that’s not been the case.

As awesome as Balor vs. O’Reilly was the first time, I wouldn’t be surprised if the familiarity and added story around the broken jaw led to an even better second match between these two experienced competitors. There will be a lot of violence and technical wrestling, much like Timothy Thatcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa presumably earlier in the show.

Balor is winning this match, though there’s a small part of me that would love to see an O’Reilly upset and a babyface title run from him. Maybe there will be some fallout involving a certain faction to add another twist, but all that speculation aside, I’m just looking forward to another damn good match between these two talented men.

Prediction: Finn Balor