With WrestleMania week already in full swing, the event that will kick off an extremely busy weekend is almost upon us. NXT TakeOver: New York. A five-match card, as is customary for TakeOver events, jam-packed with matches that are absolutely can's miss. With gold on the line in every single one, this show is guaranteed to see new champions crowned. Remember, TakeOver: New York takes place on Friday, April 5, 2019. Don't get confused and tune in on Saturday as by then, you will have missed out. You can catch the show live on the WWE Network at 7 pm EST, with the pre-show starting at 6 pm EST.
Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NXT Championship
As terrific as this match is inevitably going to be, it is one that is tinged with sadness. The main event of TakeOver: New York was supposed to be contested between Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. However, the latter needing neck surgery resulted in a reshuffle and a vacant NXT Championship. Gargano understandably kept his spot while Adam Cole went about earning his via a breathless Fatal 5 Way match. Cole has already threatened that Undisputed ERA will be in the vicinity, but it won't be the first time Gargano has had to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.
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Shayna Baszler vs Io Shirai vs Bianca Belair vs Kairi Sane for the NXT Women's Championship
This match is absolutely packed with talent. What's more, each of these Superstars brings something unique to the table. The clash of styles in this one will make for a pretty incredible match. Similarly to Cole, we also can't imagine Shayna Baszler's cronies not getting involved in this one. Fatal 4 Way matches are no disqualification after all. Nevertheless, we can't see The Queen Of Spades walking out of New York with her title still in hand this weekend. However, if you were to ask us which of her three opponents is going to take the gold from her, we could not give you an answer.
Pete Dunne vs WALTER for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
If our calculations are correct, when Pete Dunne defends his UK Title against WALTER this Friday, he will have been champion for 685 days. That is an incredible run by anyone's standards. However, his opponent at TakeOver: New York is the biggest threat to that impressive reign to date. Fans of European wrestling have been eagerly awaiting WALTER's arrival in WWE for a long time, and he might well win gold this coming Friday having only been with the company for a matter of months. If he does, perhaps we could see The Bruiserweight move on over to the main roster. If Dunne retains, we look forward to celebrating day 700 of his reign in a little more than two weeks.
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The War Raiders vs Aleister Black and Ricochet for the NXT Tag Team Championships
Aleister Black and Ricochet might well be the hardest working Superstars in WWE right now. Not only have they been splitting their time between Raw, SmackDown Live, and NXT recently, but they will be performing double duty this weekend. By the time WrestleMania comes to a close they could have two sets of Tag Team Titles. First up, a match against the extremely intimidating War Raiders. Black and Ricochet earned their shot by winning this year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Make the most of this one as we are fairly certain this will be the last time you see the recently called up duo in NXT.
Velveteen Dream vs Matt Riddle for the NXT North American Championship
As always when it comes to TakeOvers, there is no "worst match" on the card. Just because we have left this one until last, that by no way means it is least. In fact, this might well be the match we are most excited for on Friday night. Not only is it guaranteed to be incredible between the ropes, but the two men bring more charisma to the ring than anyone else in NXT right now. When it comes to the result, we see it as WWE having two options. If Velveteen Dream is main roster bound after WrestleMania, then Matt Riddle should win this one. If not, then the North American Title deserves to have its first long term champion, and that champion should be Velveteen Dream.
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