NXT TakeOver Vengeance Day: Full match card and winner predictions

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) vs. Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake)

In the first of two Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals matches at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, we have a returning duo. Grizzled Young Veterans, consisting of Zack Gibson and James Drake, actually reached the finals of last year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Unfortunately for them, that attempt came up short, as The Broserweights (Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle) came out with the win and took home the Dusty Cup in 2020. Grizzled Young Veterans get another shot this year, but they’re up against a very different tandem.

Whereas Dunne and Riddle were tossed together for the tournament itself, MSK are more than established as a tag team. Even as NXT newcomers, MSK have been champions since long before their arrival in NXT. This should be a great clash, but MSK needs to take the win here and chart a course to challenge NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.

Prediction: MSK win the Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

NXT North American Championship Match: Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Kushida

Despite his best efforts to get out of the match, Johnny Gargano will indeed defend his NXT North American Championship this Sunday against Kushida. This week on WWE NXT, Gargano tried to claim he had a broken arm as a result of an attack by Kushida the week before, but NXT General Manager William Regal quickly put an end to those shenanigans.

The issues between Kushida and Gargano have been building for weeks, and Kushida is looking to capture his first championship in NXT. While he was a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling, on top of multiple tournament wins, Kushida has yet to match that success since joining WWE NXT.

The odds will likely be stacked against him, as Austin Theory, Candice LeRae, and Indi Hartwell may all find themselves at ringside in an attempt to help Gargano escape with his title. However, they will likely only delay Kushida’s crowning moment, as he will overcome the odds and get his first taste of gold in NXT.

Prediction: Kushida is the new NXT North American Champion