NXT Minus 6: Takeover 31, Before

Get ready for NXT Takeover 31 as Bradley Jay presents his pre-show rankings! What is he most–and least–excited for?

Here’s the dillio. Before the show, I rank the matches based on how excited I am to see them. After the show, I’ll re-rank them and see how they compare. 

6. Io Shirai versus Candace LeRae: I’m still struggling with heel Candace. I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body. This match will probably get lost in the shadow of their first epic encounter (possibly one of the 10 best Takeover matches ever). And to be quite honest, I’m a little bitter that Shirai isn’t facing Xia Li or Raquel Gonzalez.  

5. Swerve Scott versus Santa Claus Ice Cream Bar: As much as I love Swerve, that’s how little I think of Ice Cream Bar, the world’s largest cruiserweight. I’m still waiting for him to do anything that excites me. Fighting for the honor of lucha doesn’t cut it. I fully expect Swerve to account for 3 ½ of the 4 stars this one can achieve. 

4. Finn Balor versus Kyle O’Reilly: Is this really O’Reilly’s time to shine? From tag team guy to main event in 3 weeks? The build was random at best. I get the feeling it’s less about the match and more about some angle with Undisputed Era. It’s a tv show missing the first 7 minutes and was filmed for the sole purpose of the spinoff. I really hope I’m wrong.  

3. KUSHIDA versus Velveteen Dream: I know I say this about a lot of wrestlers, but KUSHIDA has had a great 2020. He was the MVP of the Cruiserweight tournament. He has brought a new aggressive edge to his rivalry with VD. As for VD, he’s so much better as a heel, but for me this match is all about KUSHIDA. I am super pumped for his Takeover debut and am entirely confident he’ll deliver. 

2. Damian Priest versus Johnny Gargano: The 2020 Wrestler of the Year versus Johnny Takeover. The guy who has been as good as anybody this year versus the guy who has been as good as anybody on the planet for the past 4 years. This feels like a changing of the guard type moment. I hope they pump in the crowd noise & crank it to 11. I want a big fight feel. Priest and Gargano deserve every chance to hit 5 stars.  

1. It’s a shame the tag team titles aren’t being defended. I wonder if that’s how little faith they have in Fandango or the division as a whole right now. Despite that, I do like the 5 match format. Less is more and give them time to do their thing. Like I always say, good things happen when you let wrestlers wrestle. I’m expecting good things Sunday night.