X-Pac opens today’s show by previewing this weekend’s NXT Takeover event.
X-Pac says he’s really looking forward the UK Title match between Pete Dunne and Walter and he thinks it’s going to be a great match. Dunne is the longest reigning Champion in WWE right now, and probably one of the longest reigning Champions of all time so it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep that reign going here.
X-Pac is interested in seeing how the chemistry is between these two men, and he notes that it’s probably too early into Walter’s WWE career for him to be losing. He doesn’t see how either of these men should lose cleanly at Takeover, but he thinks we will see a clean finish one way or the other.
In the Tag Team Title match between The War Raiders and Aleister Black and Ricochet, X-Pac thinks The War Raiders will retain their Titles. He’s really looking forward to this match, adding that he loved the final of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and he doesn’t see how this match could disappoint either.
He points out that Hanson probably delivered the most out of anyone in last year’s War Games match, and the War Raiders never fail to deliver when they’re in a big match like this.
X-Pac says he’s a big fan of Oney Lorcan and can see him becoming a big star at some point. He thinks Lorcan needs to develop his character a bit more, and show more of his personality in the ring. If he does those things, the sky is the limit for him.
X-Pac disagrees entirely with the idea that Aleister Black and Ricochet should solidify their tag team by wearing matching gear. He points out that their tag team is working right now because they’re two singles guys who have developed chemistry as a team and that makes them unique. They shouldn’t become just another run-of-the-mill team.
X-Pac predicts a Title change in the Women’s Title match. He thinks Kairi Sane might pick up the victory here, but he doesn’t think we should discount the idea that Bianca Belair can will as well. He notes that Belair has tremendous upside and will continue to get better, but there’s no reason for WWE to rush her. He thinks she’s a great performer and her personality shines through when you meet her in person.
X-Pac thinks the Matt Riddle/Velveteen Dream match is a standout match on this card. He’s really looking forward to this match and he thinks Riddle will win. He doesn’t think Dream will be called up to the main roster soon though, instead, he thinks Dream will begin battling for the NXT Title.
X-Pac says he overheard some interesting things while working as a guest coach at the Performance Centre recently, and notes that from what he heard we should expect some cool entrances at Takeover on Friday night.
X-Pac says he had a nice, long talk with Ciampa recently. Ciampa is in good spirits and will be okay in X-Pac’s opinion. X-Pac had a similar neck surgery in 1997 and was able to come back and have a lot of success after that. He suspects Ciampa will do the same. He thinks this was a terrible situation, but WWE has been able to make the best of it with their recent booking of Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano. He notes that he can’t even predict a winner in the NXT Title match.
X-Pac thinks this is going to be a great show from top to bottom. He points out that he’d hate to work in any slot other than the opening match on a Takeover show, because every match one-ups the one before it and tries to steal the show.
He says he’s getting very excited about his WWE Hall of Fame induction this weekend. He has a conference call soon to discuss the changes they’ve made to induction speeches this year, and he’s intrigued to find out what those changes are. He says he’s a little bit nervous, but he’s trying to put that aside so he can enjoy the rest of his weekend.
That sums up this week’s episode of X-Pac 1, 2, 360. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
