<NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler
Both look like trannies, who cares.
>NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed ERA vs. The Authors of Pain
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly will mark their first TakeOver as NXT Tag Team Champions with the toughest assignment imaginable : A title defense against former champions The Authors of Pain.
AOP won the right to challenge The Undisputed ERA at TakeOver : Philadelphia after defeating the previously unbeaten Street Profits. Since then, Paul Ellering has his bad-tempered monsters focused on annihilating Fish & O’Reilly and reclaiming the titles they lost last August.
Whether Akam & Rezar succeed in their mission remains to be seen, but this much is obvious : A fight is going to BREAK out in The City of Brotherly Love.
Simply put, Undisputed ERA and AOP are four of the toughest Superstars on a roster overflowing with top-credentialed combatants. Fish & O’Reilly’s irreverence sometimes overshadows the practical danger of their in-ring attack; both Superstars have extensive training in a variety of grappling arts, not to mention years of experience teaming together. The massive Authors of Pain, meanwhile, are arguably the most dominant tag team in recent history, and at one point went undefeated for many months.
The NXT Universe got a sneak peek of what’s in store for TakeOver when the two units crossed paths during the unforgettable return of WarGames last November. Undisputed ERA prevailed in that nine-Superstar brawl, but will that be the case when the NXT Tag Team Titles are on the line on Jan. 27? Or will The Authors of Pain, who Ellering has ominously dubbed the “judge, jury and executioner,” take back the championship by force?
>Kassius Ohno vs. Velveteen Dream
Velveteen Dream will find out if he made a grave mistake disrespecting Kassius Ohno when he faces The Knockout Artist at NXT TakeOver : Philadelphia.
The ostentatious Dream first insulted Ohno by suggesting Johnny Gargano’s win over Ohno was far from an impressive achievement. Following Dream’s own loss to Johnny Wrestling Wednesday on NXT, Ohno confronted Dream in the locker room and pointed out that defeating Gargano is no easy feat. With no shred of humility to be found, Dream took yet another potshot at Ohno, claiming he still "looked better" than Ohno. Ohno responded by shoving Dream to the floor.
The clear takeaway is that Dream doesn’t consider Ohno a worthy Superstar — a notion many NXT fans might find laughable considering The Knockout Artist’s incredible track record and decorated history. Ohno, meanwhile, sees it as cause for a fight. Though Ohno normally maintains an even-keeled temperament, there is no surer way to get his indignation than by questioning his talent inside the ring.
Will Kassius Ohno put Velveteen Dream in his place and send him to dream street with one of his many knockout strikes? Or can the pompous Dream back up his trash talk? Watch NXT TakeOver : Philadelphia tonight at 8 ET/5 PT on taima the award-winning WWE Network.