NXT has a loaded card for its 30th “TakeOver” special.
WWE’s 30th “NXT TakeOver” special won’t be the kind of spectacle the company expected it would be when it booked Boston’s TD Garden to hold the event but the show still has the potential to deliver.
The main card for NXT TakeOver XXX checks in a taut five matches, which fans have come to expect from TakeOver events. (A sixth match, a Triple Threat tag team affair to crown the No. 1 contender for the NXT tag titles, will air on the pre-show.) Of those, three are title matches.
One match garnering all sorts of hype is the ladder match for the NXT North American Championship. Keith Lee relinquished that title after defeating Adam Cole on June 25 to win the NXT Championship. The ladder match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans to crown the inaugural North American champ (won by Cole) was an instant classic, regarded as among the greatest in the history of NXT.
Cole may not have a title around his waist but his match at this TakeOver is still highly anticipated. Cole faces Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter and current WWE pre-show panelist, in a singles match.
During a conference call with the media on Wednesday, NXT boss Paul “Triple H” Levesque heaped praise on McAfee, saying he looks like “a natural” in his in-ring training videos. It remains to be seen whether the match will be a one-off for McAfee or if he’ll appear in the ring again in the future, Levesque said.
Full match card
- Pre-show match for the NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 contendership: Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde)
- Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
- Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher
- Ladder match for vacant NXT North American Championship: Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream
- NXT Women’s Championship match: Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai (with Raquel González)
- NXT Championship match: Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross (with Scarlett)
How to watch
Date: Saturday, Aug. 22
Location: Full Sail University — Winter Park, Fla.
Start time: 7 p.m. ET
Live stream: WWE Network