NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night Two Predictions

NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver is a two-night event, poised to be another contender for the card of the year across the professional wrestling industry. With so much on the line, it is understandable why this showcase was built into a two-night function. With night two set to stream exclusively on Peacock, here is a look at some predictions as to how the night will go down and who will have their hands raised at the end of the evening.

Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart versus The Way – NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles

This is a tough match to look forward to, due to the booking that has been done around the women’s tag team division. The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles were an opportunity to elevate the talent across the WWE brands, but instead, it has become another issue within the booking of the women’s division. Introducing the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles does not help the situation, but at least it creates another chance to feature the women as this division is very deep with talent.

Moon and Blackheart are already facing individuals they have defeated in the past, but Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell are an intriguing team. LeRae is seen as one of the best workers in the WWE, and it has been a shame that she has not had a title placed around her waist. Hartwell has improved considerably under the tutelage of LeRae and Johnny Gargano, looking better each time she is in the ring. Moon and Blackheart seem best positioned as individual competitors, chasing after someone like Raquel Gonzalez, which supports the idea of them losing the titles to LeRae and Hartwell in this match.

Winners: The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell)

Adam Cole versus Kyle O’Reilly

This is the match that everyone knew was coming, and it is finally here. As O’Reilly was slowly being elevated into the main event picture, everyone was waiting for the moment that Adam Cole would turn on him. As members of the Undisputed Era, they ruled over the NXT brand, but that is long behind them. Now, this implosion feels as emotional as the Mega Powers falling apart, Bret and Owen fighting, or even the destruction of the Rockers. In fact, it feels even more impactful, as if there is more on the line that could ever be embodied in a title.

This will be an excellent wrestling match. Cole and O’Reilly are great technicians in the ring. Cole has the bigger personality of the two, but do not sleep on O’Reilly’s character work – which should also shine in this match. The match is going to see multiple changes in pace, from grappling to quick counters and probably some high-risk maneuvers as well. This match is going to have it all. While Kyle O’Reilly should get the victory, do not think this feud will be over with one match, as they will continue to battle for months to come.

Winner: Kyle O’Reilly

Johnny Gargano versus TBA – NXT North American Title

Recent booking pushes the idea that Dexter Lumis will come out of the Gauntlet Eliminator to face Johnny Gargano on the second night for the NXT North American title. Even when KUSHIDA was facing Gargano, it was clear that the creative team had plans for Lumis, as he was a central part of that storyline. If these two face off on the second night of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver, it should be looked at as the moment in which Lumis is elevated with a title win. However, even in defeat, it would be hard to see the feud being over as the mid-card for NXT still needs some fleshing out to find a contender worthy of taking that title from Gargano and moving the belt forward.

Winner: Dexter Lumis (if he wins the Gauntlet Eliminator), if not Lumis, expect Johnny Gargano to retain

Jordan Devlin versus Santos Escobar – Ladder Match for the NXT Cruiserweight Title

The introduction of the ladder match by Shawn Michaels was a thing of perfection. Two champions, both with a legit claim to the title, fighting it out to determine who is the true champion. This should be an excellent match. Jordan Devlin and Santos Escobar are two of the best on the NXT roster, regardless of weight class. It will be interesting to see how they innovate on this match, as it has been done frequently in WWE and especially in NXT.

This match should be looked at as an opportunity to elevate both men at the same time. Devlin is the exact archetype that WWE likes to build cruiserweight divisions around. He can work with any opponent put in front of him. Escobar is just as important of a character and a performer, but his run with the cruiserweight title has left something to be desired because he feels like a bigger deal than that. His feud with Karrion Kross, although brief, created the idea that Escobar could easily work as a main event heel in NXT, especially with the other two members of Legado del Fantasma by his side. If he were to lose the title in this match, do not be surprised if Escobar is in the main event picture for the NXT title shortly after.

Winner: Jordan Devlin

Finn Balor versus Karrion Kross – NXT Championship

Finn Balor’s second run in NXT has been a thing of excellence. He has reinvented himself in such a way that his main roster run, where he was the NXT Universal champion briefly, is looked at in more disbelief than anything else. But, Karrion Kross has been the shadow hanging over his title run ever since that belt was strapped on his waist. And WWE has played into that fact, using it as a bit of the story in building this match.

Kross and Balor should be a banger of a match. Kross has not done much selling for individuals in one-on-one matches. When he battled all three members of Legado del Fantasma, it took all of them to even put any damage on him. So how will Balor do against Kross on his own? That is the thing to watch for because it sets the tone for this match and perhaps what will come next. Balor dropped a line about the Demon during a promo last week, and he has not used that character in two years. Is it time to bring it back? Perhaps, but to get there, Kross must walk out of this match with the NXT championship around his waist.

Winner: Karrion Kross

NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver has a lot of momentum heading into the event starting Wednesday. Fans should not miss either of the two-nights of action, as there is a lot on the line and this card is set up to deliver in every way.