For the first time since NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2020 back on Dec. 6, WWE’s Wednesday night brand is back on pay-per-view this Sunday with NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. This will be the 33rd installment of NXT TakeOver, and only the third available for purchase on pay-per-view in addition to being on the WWE Network.
While this is the first event to use the specific “Vengeance Day” name, WWE is actually repurposing branding from the WWE Vengeance pay-per-view that first aired in December of 2001. There were eight total WWE Vengeance events from 2001 to 2011, but it’s been retired since then.
WWE NXT is now using it to put a wrestling twist on an event scheduled for Valentine’s Day, and it’s a show with a lot of potential to deliver. While not the most consistent event in WWE history, Vengeance has delivered some gems in the past such as the unification match between Chris Jericho and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 2001, a few great Triple Threat Matches, and 2005’s clash between Batista and Triple H inside Hell in a Cell.
With NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day just a few short days away, what can we expect on the card, and who is poised to walk out with an important victory?
Like most NXT TakeOver events, Vengeance Day is currently scheduled to feature five matches on the card. That’s become the standard in NXT, and it tends to provide a compact night of high-quality action.
A few of the matches have been confirmed for some time, but we saw the finals of each Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic get set after this week’s episode of WWE NXT. There could even be WrestleMania implications, as Edge has floated the possibility of choosing to challenge the NXT Champion after this event at WrestleMania 37, but who are the superstars most likely to pick up a Vengeance Day victory?
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
Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart
While the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has existed since 2015, this is the first year that the women of NXT are getting in on the action. Eight teams rounded out the bracket, and after three weeks of action, the field has been dwindled down to our final two.
Of the two teams, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez have the experience edge as a pairing; Kai has teamed with Gonzalez as early as February of 2020 when NXT was still on the road for non-televised live events. They’ve picked up some big wins since then, including being on the winning side of a women’s WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames last December.
On the other hand, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart seem to be on a roll like no other pairing in NXT. They first joined up for WarGames, and that pairing reunited for the Women’s Dusty Classic. No outcome here would be disappointing, but I’m expecting the fresh pairing of Moon and Blackheart to carry their momentum into a win this Sunday.
Prediction: Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart win the first-ever Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
NXT Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match: Io Shirai (c) vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez
In what could be the match of the night, Io Shirai will defend her NXT Women’s Championship in a Triple Threat Match. While some champions — usually heel champions — would be reluctant to defend in that environment, Shirai emphasized in the build to this clash that she’s anything but scared.
As the champion pointed out, she won that title in a Triple Threat Match that included Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley. Shirai seems to thrive on that kind of chaos, and she gets the chance to do so again against two formidable opponents this Sunday. Former NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm is the youngest competitor in this match, but still brings 12 years of experience with her.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Martinez may be newer to NXT, but she has a significant experience edge with two decades since her in-ring debut. This will be a magnificent contest, and Storm may end up eating the fall for a new champion as Mercedes Martinez captures her first NXT championship.
Prediction: Mercedes Martinez is the new NXT Women’s Champion
NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day Main Event for the NXT Championship – Finn Balor (c) vs. Pete Dunne
In what will be the main event of the night, though the women could easily carry that position if given the opportunity, Finn Balor will put his NXT Championship on the line against “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne. When it comes to the many matches at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, in some ways this is the simplest.
Balor is a two-time NXT Champion, and his current reign stands at over 150 days and counting. Adam Cole may have the longest single reign, but a few months ago, Balor passed Cole for the most cumulative days as NXT Champion between both of those runs.
At 39 years old and with just shy of two decades of in-ring experience under his belt, Balor is in his prime. Meanwhile, Pete Dunne is only 27 years old and has a solid decade of experience despite his age. While he’s yet to capture the NXT Championship, Dunne is no stranger to gold in WWE.
He’s currently one of only three men to have held the WWE United Kingdom Championship, which is now called the NXT United Kingdom Championship, and Dunne has the record for longest reign at 685 consecutive days. He was also NXT Tag Team Champion for 86 days and won last year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
While the issues between Dunne and Balor stem from interactions over the last few months, in reality, this is just an absolute dream match between two competitors who have never been in the same match together. They’ll share the squared circle for the first time this Sunday, and while it’ll be a great contest, look for Balor to walk out with the title and continue his reign.
Prediction: Finn Balor retains the NXT Championship