[WR] NXT Takeover: Cardiff Preview, Predictions And Thoughts

[WrestlingRumors.net]

WrestlingRumors.net

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NXT Takeover: Cardiff Preview, Predictions And Thoughts

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 01:02 AM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nxt-takeover-cardiff-preview-predictions-thoughts/


How can they go seven months between major shows for a promotion these
days? Somehow they’ve managed to do it around here, though in this case the
company has done a lot of growing up in between. The card is rather stacked
and one that I could go for almost anything on the show. There are some
interesting looking matches around here so let’s get to it.
Travis Banks vs. Noam Dar

Ok so they can’t all be winners. This feels pretty tacked on for the sake
of getting both guys on the card and it’s not like there is anyone else who
needs to be on the show (certainly no Irish Ace). Dar is a rather nice
smarmy heal (as I continue to go back and forth on him) and Banks is
someone who looks like he could be a big deal but is trying to get out of
the blocks.

The man has some confidence:

[This post contains video, click to play]
Since they both need a win, I think I’ll go with Banks here, but I’m
already not the most confident. Dar is someone they really like to push and
I can get why, but Banks seems to have a lot more potential as a top star.
This feels like a match used to let the crowd come down from a bigger one
later, though it still seems like it would be better suited as a dark match.
Dave Mastiff vs. Joe Coffey

These two are victims of some bad timing as they get to have a big man hoss
fight three days after Keith Lee and Dominick Dijakovic tore the roof off
of Full Sail. This is a Last Man Standing match to give it some flavor and
there is actually a decent history here. They fought to a draw earlier,
though what you might not remember is Coffey defeating Mastiff in last
year’s #1 contenders tournament, which I believe is Mastiff’s only
televised pinfall loss in the company. They’ve protected the heck out of
him and that could pay off here.

The previous battle was a big one:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I think I’ll actually go with Mastiff here as Coffey can bounce back better
from a loss. Mastiff is someone they have treated like a special monster
and under the right circumstances, he could have a big time TV match
against Walter for the UK Title down the line. Giving him a win over Coffey
here would go a long way towards that and I don’t think they’re going to
pull the plug on Coffey just yet.
Tag Team Titles: Grizzled Young Veterans(c) vs. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark
Andrews vs. Gallus

This match doesn’t feel like it has much of a story but at the same time, I
have no idea who wins here. You have the heat magnet champions, the young
home country stars and then the established team who could become monster
heels if they win the titles. While the Veterans have a great point that
Webster and Andrews got into the match by winning singles matches (which is
weird), this really could go any of the three ways.

Fight before the fight:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll takedang I’m not sure here. Uh….Webster and Andrews I guess, though I
don’t have much confidence in it. They seem like they would be transitional
champions (maybe dropping the titles to Gallus or Imperium) at best and
that’s fine, but give the fans something to cheer for here with the
improbably win. It would make the most sense, and hearing Zack Gibson rant
about how they got cheated out of the titles could be some great stuff.
Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Kay Lee Ray

This has had a nice build, though I’m still wondering what was up with that
weird promo where Storm seemed to be drunk or whatever it was. Ray has done
a good job of getting inside Storm’s head, though I still don’t feel like I
know anything about her. She isn’t really developed in any way and that’s a
bit of a problem (although that’s the case with a lot of people on this
roster). Storm isn’t much better but she’s an established star.

How did Ray get here:

[This post contains video, click to play]
We’ll say Ray wins here to give us another new champion, though I’m not
sure where that leaves Storm. She’s easily the top star in the women’s
division and doesn’t have many real challengers, though she could be used
to help bring some new talent up (without putting them over that is). Ray
needs the title more than Storm does at this point and while I expect to
see Storm in regular NXT by this time next year, I think she loses here as
she needs to be away from the title for a bit.
United Kingdom Title: Walter(c) vs. Tyler Bate

Walter is the undisputed monster champion of the promotion and that means
he needs someone to slay him. Who better than the former champion and
eternally undersized Bate? These two had an instant classic in London for
Progress with Bate coming this close to winning the Progress World Title
and sending the fans into a full on riot but can they do that again here?
And with a different ending?

Behold the Big Strong Boy:

[This post contains video, click to play]
In short, yes and no, as I think the match is great but Walter wins in the
end. It’s going to take someone very special to take the title from Walter
and while Bate is special, I don’t think Walter has had enough of a reign
to drop the title just yet. Bate is going to fight his heart out but come
up short in the end. That is going to give us some incredible near falls
though and that is going to carry the whole thing.
Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the less sure I am of the whole thing. Bate’s
push towards the title should be good and the Welsh guys winning the Tag
Team Titles could be a great moment, but the rest of the card looks a
little shaky. Now if they do put Cesaro vs. Pete Dunne on as rumored,
things will be that much better in a hurry, because those two will beat the
fire out of each other. The card should be good, but it is far from a
guarantee of a great show.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post NXT Takeover: Cardiff Preview, Predictions And Thoughts appeared
first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Hang On A Second. Big Update On Enzo Amore And Big Cass Returning To NXT,
WWE Says Its Not Happening.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 09:46 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/hang-second-big-update-enzo-amore-big-cass-returning-nxt-wwe-says-not-happening/


Maybe later? There are a lot of wrestlers in the world but only so many of
them can actually make it into WWE. The company may be large but there are
a lot more wrestlers not on its roster than on. That makes the spots very
valuable and you never know when you might get such an offer. It seemed
that two people were going to get their second shot, though that might not
be the case.

On Thursday, a story broke that Enzo Amore and Big Cass were in discussions
for a return to WWE as a top act in NXT. Later in the day though,
PWInsider.com reported that there was nothing to the reports and the two
sides had not been talking. Even later in the day, Dave Meltzer, whose
Wrestling Observer Newsletter originally broke the story, said that there
was no interest from WWE and the returns are not happening. Of course
there is the chance that WWE is lying and the team could return in a
surprise.

WWE says no interest in Enzo & Cass at this time. So looks like thats not
happening.

- Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) August 29, 2019



If they aren’t returning, they can keep fighting. Check out Amore vs. Big
Cass:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: While this may not be the same thing, it is the second time that
Amore and Big Cass have been mentioned as being brought in for a bigger
wrestling company with nothing coming of it. Maybe that is a sign and for
some fans, that will be the best possible result. Amore and Big Cass
certainly do have some value but at the same time, a lot of the fans might
not be the most thrilled with them. If they never come back to any major
company I wouldn’t be surprised, though I also wouldn’t be surprised to see
them back for a short time.

Do you think the team will come back to WWE? Do you want them to? Let us
know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Hang On A Second. Big Update On Enzo Amore And Big Cass Returning
To NXT, WWE Says Its Not Happening. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Its Another Way To Compare The Two. How Do The AEW And NXT Pay Scales
Compare?

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 08:53 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/another-way-compare-two-aew-nxt-pay-scales-compare/


The pay gap is more than you might expect. With All Out only a few days
away, the wrestling world is changing again and it is only going to get a
lot bigger. As AEW debuts weekly on television in just over a month,
things are going to get that much different. One of the changes is going
to be the pay scale, and some of the numbers are quite a bit surprising.

According to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live, AEW talent at the
level of Marko Stunt is making more money than a run of the mill NXT talent
who appear on television. While no specific numbers are given, a talent at
such a level in AEW would make more money than an NXT talent at the
moment. It should be noted that when an NXT talent moves to the main
roster, their pay dramatically increases, as does their exposure.

You might need to get used to Stunt. Check out some of his highlights from
before AEW:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I can’t say I’m surprised by something like this. AEW has a
fortune behind it so having the money flying all over the place isn’t the
biggest surprise. I’m not sure how well this is going to work, but part of
the problem might be how much higher the talent can go. NXT wrestlers do
make less money, but there is a lot of room to expand from the starting
point. If you are already debuting on the major AEW shows, how much higher
can you go?

What are you expecting from AEW? Will they get in trouble for having such
big contracts? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Its Another Way To Compare The Two. How Do The AEW And NXT Pay
Scales Compare? appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Here Comes The Judge(Ment)? An Interesting UFC Lawsuit Could Change The
Way WWE Works.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 07:37 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/comes-judgement-interesting-ufc-lawsuit-change-way-wwe-works/


The fight for justice. Wrestling seems to be changing every day but at the
same time, things are staying the same for a lot of wrestlers. No matter
what they do, the wrestlers are always going to get the short end of the
pay scale and in a way, that makes sense. The wrestlers can be replaced,
though it’s a bit harder to replace the owners. Now though, something might
be changing in the wrestlers’ favor.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a current UFC lawsuit could
change the way things run in WWE. The lawsuit claims that UFC fighters are
underpaid compared to how much the organization makes and seeks to change
the system. For example, UFC fighters made about $626 million from
September 1, 2011 thru August 31, 2017. Floyd Mayweather Jr. made $634
million on his own. Should the fighters’ point be proven in court, the same
precedent could apply to WWE. It is not clear how WWE would fight back
against such an idea, or if WWE would fall under the same category.

WWF and UFC have mixed before. Check out one star going to the other
company:


Opinion: I’m sure the wrestlers will be watching this, but I don’t know how
well it would go with WWE. At the end of the day, they will be able to find
a way around having to pay so much, or at least they will balance out the
costs somewhere else. WWE has survived this long on their own and has
stockholders to answer to. That is of course assuming that the UFC fighters
win the case in the first place.

Do you think the case will hurt WWE? Will it go anywhere at all? Let us
know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Here Comes The Judge(Ment)? An Interesting UFC Lawsuit Could
Change The Way WWE Works. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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How To Get Ready. Why Some NXT Stars Could Appear On Monday Night Raw Soon.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 07:32 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/get-ready-nxt-stars-appear-monday-night-raw-soon/


Nice to meet you. The wresting landscape has changed a lot in the last few
months with shows moving all over the place in a battle for the best spot.
One of the bigger moves was NXT to the USA Network as WWE tries to fight
off AEW. That kind of a move is going to raise some eyebrows, but it also
opens some doors for a lot of younger talent. It turns out that one of
those doors is going in a different direction.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is considering bringing
some NXT talents up to Monday Night Raw before NXT moves to USA on
September 18. The idea would be to give the NXT names some exposure, but
at the same time they could be seen as secondary talent. Triple H is
currently trying to play defense to prevent Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn
from messing with NXT’s status as a third brand.

I mean, it worked before. Check out one of the best examples ever of NXT
stars coming to Monday Night Raw:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: You have to know this is coming. Despite being in the same time
slot that SmackDown is currently in, NXT will be viewed as a minor league
show (hopefully they don’t get minor league pay forever) and that is going
to become a problem. Maybe some things will change in time, but I don’t
see that happening anytime soon. Just please don’t kill it. Please?

Do you like the move to USA? Will it go badly for NXT? Let us know in the
comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post How To Get Ready. Why Some NXT Stars Could Appear On Monday Night
Raw Soon. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Top Of The Charts. Seth Rollins Joins An Impressive List By Going To The
Top Of An Impressive List.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 07:16 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/top-charts-seth-rollins-joins-impressive-list-going-top-impressive-list/


Someone has to be on top of the list so make it Rollins. Wrestling fans
have been debating the sport since it began. Everyone has an opinion of
their own and everyone has a favorite wrestler. While that can’t really be
proven right or wrong, it’s a little bit easier to rank wrestlers based on
their success. You can look at what a wrestler did over the years and have
a decent amount of confidence in who had the best year. As is an annual
tradition, that has been done again.

According to Wrestlinginc.com, Seth Rollins has topped this year’s PWI (Pro
Wrestling Illustrated) list, making the second time that he has earned the
top spot. The list covers June to June of a year rather than beginning in
January and takes into account wins and losses, quality of competition, the
wrestler’s level of prominence in their promotion and various other
factors. Rollins is the fifth person to win the honor twice, along with
Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H and John Cena. The remainder of the top
five (in descending order) were Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston and
Kazuchika Okada.

Rollins did have a big year. Check out his biggest win:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: This works just fine as Rollins certainly had a strong year. He
won the Royal Rumble and defeated Brock Lesnar at the biggest show of the
year for the Universal Title. Couple that with cutting the list off before
we got stuck in the full on Rollins vs. Baron Corbin vortex and there
aren’t many in his league. It isn’t a runaway for Rollins but it would be
hard to find anyone flat out better.

Who would you have at the top of the list? Where would you rank Rollins?
Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Top Of The Charts. Seth Rollins Joins An Impressive List By Going
To The Top Of An Impressive List. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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One More Time. WWE Planning Another Draft.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 04:37 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/one-time-wwe-planning-another-draft/


They’re on the clock. In just over a month, SmackDown Live will be moving
over to FOX, turning it into the WWE’s new top show. That is quite the
change of pace for WWE as Monday Night Raw has dominated the wrestling
landscape for the better part of twenty six and a half years. However,
with such a change to the television schedule comes a change to the company
structure as a whole.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is considering another
Draft to split the rosters again. This would repair the issues that were
caused by the Wild Card Rule which was put in place back in May. Since the
Rule was put into place, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live talents have
moved back and forth freely. There is no word on when the Draft would take
place.

The Superstar Shakeup was a big day. Check out how things went behind the
scenes:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: And how long is this one going to last? The idea of keeping the
same rosters permanently is something that doesn’t quite hold up as
sometimes you need some fresh names on either show. I’m sure we’ll get the
Superstar Shakeup after WrestleMania again, but that doesn’t exactly make
for the most exciting shows. One show always gets left in the dust and
that isn’t a good thing, no matter how stacked the other is.

Do you want to see another Draft? Who would be the #1 picks? Let us know
in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post One More Time. WWE Planning Another Draft. appeared first on
WrestlingRumors.net.


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Get Your Passports Ready. WWE May Be Planning A TV Taping In A Unique
Location.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 03:53 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/get-passports-ready-wwe-may-planning-tv-taping-unique-location/


They are the worldwide leaders. WWE is the most global wrestling company
of all time. Not only do their shows air on television in most countries,
but they even have promotions in different parts of the world and run shows
all over the place. That keeps them on their toes, and now they might even
be bringing their TV cameras to a show that is pretty far out of their
normal terrain.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there has been talk of
running a WWE television taping in Colombia at some point next year. WWE
ran an event in Bogota, Colombia over the weekend, which was said to be
very well received with a hot, sellout crowd throughout the event. There
is a chance that the show could even be turned into a pay per view.

WWE had a big show in the country last weekend. Check out one of the
matches:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: Sure why not. These foreign markets are almost always going to
offer hot crowds as they very rarely get live wrestling, at least at this
high of a level. If WWE can make money and put on a cool atmosphere out
there, why not go down there and see what they can do? It works very well
over in Europe so maybe South America can be another big market. If it
doesn’t work, they tried something and they don’t do it again. Why not see
what happens?

Do you like the idea of a show in Colombia? Where else should WWE go? Let
us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Get Your Passports Ready. WWE May Be Planning A TV Taping In A
Unique Location. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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That Would Make A Splash. WWE Considering Bringing Back Two Controversial
Stars For NXT.

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 09:21 AM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/make-splash-wwe-considering-bringing-back-two-controversial-stars-nxt/


What are they doin? WWE is in a very interesting place at the moment as
for the first time in nearly twenty years, they seem to have some serious
competition. With AEW going live every Wednesday night and likely growing
from there, WWE is going out of their way to fight back against the upstart
promotion. This includes bringing back some talent, no matter how
controversial they are.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is considering bringing
back Enzo Amore and Big Cass to make them two of the top stars in NXT. The
two sides have been in discussions and it seems that a deal is possible
should Amore and Big Cass accept. The two were both let go from the
company in 2018 due to backstage issues and have performed infrequently on
the independent circuit ever since.

They do know how to talk. Check out Amore and Big Cass’ main roster debuts:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I have a bad feeling about this. NXT has changed a lot since
Amore and Big Cass were down there and I’m not sure how well they would fit
in now. I understand why WWE would want to bring them back in as they
certainly have star power, but at the same time they’re the kind of people
who are going to turn off some fans. The NXT fans would likely welcome
them back with open arms, but I’m not sure about the rest of the audience.

Do you think the two of them will be back? Do you want them to be? Let us
know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post That Would Make A Splash. WWE Considering Bringing Back Two
Controversial Stars For NXT. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.