By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
WWE’s NXT brand holds its Battleground premium live event tonight in Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center. As is usually the case with NXT, the brand has maintained itself as a solid, watchable show, and this one looks to be no different. I’ve enjoyed the brand’s partnership with TNA thus far, and I think that we’ll see that partnership get taken to the next level at this show. More on that later. I’m also intrigued by the NXT men’s championship match as they’re going a little bit outside of the box to see if they have something. And the NXT women’s title match has the potential to be one of the standout matches of the entire weekend. That said, let’s run down the card!
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jordynne Grace for the NXT Women’s Championship. I’m curious to see if this match ends up main eventing the show. I’m high on both women, and I think either will become a top player on the main roster in due time. This promises to be great, and it looks like the plan is to get Vaquer onto the main roster in short order, particularly with WWE Draft coming up soon. A title change here makes sense, and Grace is definitely the right person to take over the reins of the division.
Don Predicts: Jordynne Grace wins the NXT Women’s Championship.
Joe Hendry vs. Trick Williams for the TNA Championship. As I said in the opening, I think this is where we see the NXT/TNA partnership taken to the next level with a title change that puts a TNA belt on an NXT talent. This is interesting on two levels. It’s clear that they’re working to make Williams a heel, but like we’ve seen with other former babyfaces, the fans still want to sing along to entrance music and chant familiar catchphrases. We’ll see if that changes tonight if Williams defeats the popular Henry. In addition, Hendry took a quick loss to Randy Orton at WrestleMania and now may lose his title. He’s still considered a top act in TNA, so it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. There are rumors he’s WWE main roster bound, so I’ll be interested to see how that shakes out.
Don Predicts: Trick Williams wins the TNA Championship.
Oba Femi vs. Myles Borne for the NXT Championship. I’ve liked Borne since his days on NXT Level Up, and I like that the creative team is trying something a little bit different. I think Femi retains how he retains will tell us if the brand has bigger plans for Borne moving forward. He’ll likely be protected by having a great showing and coming up just a bit short. And there’s always the chance that Borne’s teammates in the No Quarter Catch Crew play a factor in the finish.
Don Predicts: Oba Femi retains the NXT Championship.
Sol Ruca vs. Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. As I mentioned, with Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer headed to the main roster, I’m confident in Jordynne Grace leading the charge with the main title. That said, the North American Title could use an infuse of credible challengers. Jordan is fine, but there’s no reason to believe she’s winning the title. A feud between Ruca and her current partner Zaria for the title could be fun. I also see Jaida Parker being positioned for a run with the title before advancing to the main NXT Women’s Title.
Don Predicts: Sol Ruca retains the NXT Women’s North American Championship.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Stacks. This will likely be the swan song for the D’Angelo family and perhaps the end of D’Angelo in NXT. Both have talent, but have characters that I don’t think would work on the main roster. I think the best play here would be to have Stacks go over strong and see what they have while D’Angelo takes some time away from TV and comes back repackaged and refreshed. They could also have Adriana Rizzo turn heel and join Stacks, but again, I would tone down the mafia gimmick to really see what they have.
Don Predicts: Stacks defeats Tony D’Angelo.
Josh Briggs and NXT Tag Team Champions Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs. “The Culling” Shawn Spears, Brooks Jensen, and Niko Vance. I’m surprised this made the main card and not the pre-show. This will be fine for what it is, but I’d rather see Hank and Tank defend the titles. The Culling really doesn’t do it for me, and from what I’m seeing in the story they’re telling, this may be the journey to reunite Briggs and Jensen down the road. That’s not going to blow the doors off the tag division, but they were a decent act in the first run, so I’d be OK with a second one.
Don Predicts: Josh Briggs, Hank Walker, and Tank Ledger defeat “The Culling” Shawn Spears, Brooks Jensen, and Niko Vance.
Join John Moore for his live review of NXT Battleground.
Are we even sure there will be a WWE draft this year? They usually have it around the same time as the NFL draft and that has already passed.
Time will tell. There are differing reports.