NXT Takeover War Games: Preview and predictions

The Allstate Arena in Chicago is hosting NXT Takeover War Games. Four matches are on the card, two with War Games stipulations. Here we’ll predict who comes out on top.

Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain

NXT Title No. 1 Contendership

A triple threat between three guys who can’t stand each other, and now the stakes have been raised. This feud began between Dunne and Priest in their first encounter on the NXT debut on the USA Network. Dunne had a brief encounter with an exiting Killian Dane which gave the Beast of Belfast a score to settle.

Priest, not to be outdone, is looking to avenge his first career loss. Now the winner of this match will go on to face Adam Cole for the NXT championship at Survivor Series. A case can be made for either competitor, but the money should be on Dunne. Since losing the NXT UK title and ultimately moving over to NXT, he’s needed to re-establish his previous dominance. A program against Cole will do that, plus he has previous experience against the Undisputed Era from last year’s War Games. The Bruiserweight will win.

Prediction: Pete Dunne wins and becomes No. 1 contender

Finn Balor vs. Matt Riddle

This matchup is a dark horse for the match of the night, despite there being two War Games matches. Balor’s first time back in the ring since returning to NXT, now fully debuting his dark alter ego. Simply put, Balor has been the most controversial part of the show since NXT moved to USA. With Johnny Gargano out with injury, Riddle became a target. Riddle made his debut at last year’s War Games. He quickly became a top performer for the brand. This contest will leave everyone on the edge of their seats with close calls and amazing feats of athleticism. Picking a winner here is easy because the story of Balor being back is still being told. Finn will claim his first victim at Takeover.

Prediction: Finn Balor wins

Women’s War Games

Team Baszler (Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair & Kay Lee Ray) vs. Team Ripley (Rhea Ripley, Candice LaRae, Mia Yim, & Teagen Nox)

The women are set to make history again. This match could very well be the main event. Shayna Baszler has ruled over the women’s division with little opposition. Enter the first NXT UK women’s champ Rhea Ripley.

Ripley has seemingly struck fear into Baszler when the two have encountered one another. However, this match gets tricky once the teams were built. Ripley built her team out of old foes of Baszler whom she tormented. While Baszler built her team out of past opponents that pushed her plus a current champion. On paper, it looks very one-sided and you still have to account for Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke. There’s also a chance we could see Dakota Kai, who was alienated from Team Ripley, align with Baszler. Kai will certainly impact the match in some form. Team Baszler has the match advantage thanks to Ray and Shirai. Ripley will have her day versus Baszler and might be the one to finally dethrone her. Takeover War Games will see more dominance from Shayna Baszler.

Prediction: Team Baszler wins War games

Men’s War Games

Undisputed Era vs. Team Ciampa (Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominic Dijakovic & mystery partner)

The Undisputed Era enters their second consecutive War Games on a busy weekend for the team.

Last year they came up short against the Viking Raiders, Pete Dunne, and Ricochet. This year they face off against the NXT champion who never loss, two behemoths, and a partner to be determined.

Adam Cole and the gang have the match advantage and experience, yet they seem to be at a huge disadvantage. Ciampa has been front and center for NXT during the invasions. Lee and Dijakovic could be a future tag-team once the dust settles. Then you have the mystery partner which is being kept secret. It won’t be Johnny Gargano who was determined out the entire weekend on WWE Backstage. Perhaps it will be a returning Velveteen Dream looking to settle a score with the Undisputed Era. This match will be incredible from the start and expect Keith Lee to be the biggest highlight. As for winners, it’s hard to bet on the Undisputed Era when they’ve been so strong during the invasions. There’s no way they drop two consecutive War Games and this is a weekend where NXT is expected to be big winners.

Prediction: The Undisputed Era wins