NXT TakeOver: XXX Betting Preview, Odds and Predictions

On Saturday, August 22^nd, WWE’s NXT brand will be live from the Full Sail University for TakeOver XXX, which features an NXT Championship match for the main event as Keith Lee defends his belt against Karrion Kross.

Also on the card is a women’s world title match, a huge ladder match for the North American title, a grudge match between Pat McAfee vs Adam Cole, and more. TakeOver XXX begins at 6:30 PM ET with a Preshow and a 7PM ET start time for the main card. Both segments will air on the WWE Network.

WWE betting sites have released odds for the announced matches. Let’s take a closer look at these lines courtesy of 888Sport.com, identify potential value, and roll up these predictions into a small package for the pinfall.

Pre-Show: NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Match

• Legado del Fantasma (-133)
• Breezango (+160)
• Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (+350)

The winner of this triple threat #1 contenders match will earn a title shot against current NXT tag team champions Imperium at a later date.

El Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza) comes into this bout as the betting favorites. They’ve been involved in a storyline with Breezango for a bit, which adds some layers of intrigue to this match. Lorcan and Burch are the wild cards for this bout as they’re being overlooked by many.

NXT could go with any of these teams to win, but Legado del Fantasma is the favorite for a reason. They’ve received a nice push as of late and appear to be ascending the proverbial ladder, not the one in the North American Championship match, to the top of the tag division.

I think it makes sense to give Wilde and Mendoza a big win on Saturday and set them up for a feud with Imperium that could be entertaining both as a storyline and in-ring work. The other two teams in this match are talented, but not as ready as Legado del Fantasm for NXT gold.

NXT North American Championship Ladder Match

• Damian Priest (+120)
• Johnny Gargano (+275)
• Bronson Reed (+325)
• Cameron Grimes (+500)
• Velveteen Dream (+500)

On the July 22^nd episode of NXT, Keith Lee announced that he would relinquish his North American title after a brief stint as “champ champ.” He stated that his focus will only be on the NXT Championship that he won by defeating Adam Cole in a solid match two weeks prior.

This announcement led NXT GM William Regal to make a series of three triple threat matches where the winners would qualify for a five-man ladder match for the vacant title at TakeOver.

Bronson Reed and Damian Priest won their triple threat matches and advanced. Dexter Lumis won his match, but was later ruled out from competing at TakeOver due to an ankle injury. So, GM Regal held singles matches to determine the three remaining competitors.

Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano and the recently returned Velvet Dream would go on to win their respective matches and qualify for this ladder match at TakeOver XXX.

Right now, I don’t see Dream or Gargano winning this belt again. They’re in this match for star power, but not to win. The goal for this ladder match is to establish another competitor as a star in the company.

With that said, I believe this match will come down to Damian Priest and Bronson Reed. The two men have jawed back and forth and even had a singles match due to their differences. Priest kept saying Reed’s wing against Gargano and Strong was an upset. Reed would defeat Priest in their singles match.

Everything is pointing toward Reed winning the ladder match as he certainly offers value at +325 odds. Yet, Priest is the favorite for a reason. He’s been unsuccessful in past opportunities to win the North American title, which means he’s due for a win.

Furthermore, Priest is popular with the fans and has also received praise from others in the company for his in-ring work. He’s been with NXT for almost two years and has yet to win any titles. That will change on Saturday. Take Priest to win in a jaw dropping match between five great workers.

NXT Singles Match

• Pat McAfee (+225)
• Adam Cole (-345)

About a month ago, Adam Cole and Pat McAfee got into a heated altercation on the former NFL punter’s radio show. McAfee kept saying that Cole hid behind fellow members in his faction and that’s why he held the NXT title for so long.

This confrontation led to an appearance by Pat McAfee on the August 5^th episode of NXT as a guest commentator.

Eventually, the two men would have another altercation, but this time on TV. As Cole was being restrained, McAfee punted the former champ in the head. The next day, Triple H went on ESPN’s Get Up! and challenged McAfee on behalf of Adam Cole.

This match is nothing more than a creative way for WWE to draw in casual wrestling fans who follow McAfee on the radio and ESPN. It also gives Cole something significant to do as he was directionless without a shot at the NXT title.

I really don’t see how McAfee wins this match. There’s no way that the WWE would embarrass Cole further by losing. It would make sense to have all of the Undisputed Era come out and beat up McAfee. Perhaps, the WWE can introduce other wrestlers or athletes to help McAfee survive a beat down.

Either way, the smart play is on Cole to win the match. McAfee isn’t worth a flier.

NXT Women’s Championship Match

• Io Shirai (-1250)
• Dakota Kai (+550)

Shirai enters this title match as the biggest betting favorite for the entire NXT TakeOver XXX event. Shirai captured the women’s title by defeating Rhea Ripley at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. She ended Ripley’s reign in a triple threat match with Charlotte Flair also participating.

This victory was a big moment for Shirai as she was now established as one of the top stars in NXT. On the July 15^th episode of NXT, Dakota Kai attacked Shirai after the champ defeated Tegan Nox in a title match.

A few weeks later, Kai would take on Rhea Ripley in a #1 contenders match. In this contest, Mercedes Martinez interfered, which allowed Kai to beat Ripley.

Although Dakota Kai has been a credible contender in the women’s division for quite some time, I don’t see the WWE taking the belt off Io Shirai anytime soon. Shirai will win this match and move on to another feud in September, so make sure to take here when betting on this WWE event.

NXT Championship Match

• Keith Lee (-150)
• Karrion Kross (+105)

Kross joined the WWE in February, but didn’t have his first official match until early-May. He entered a feud with Tommaso Ciampa and beat the former champ at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. Following the win, Kross began to turn his attention toward NXT champ Keith Lee.

As mentioned, Lee was the North American champ and defeated Adam Cole for the NXT world title in July. Lee became a “champ champ” and then relinquished the NA belt to focus on the world title.

Kross saw this as an opportunity to inject himself into the world title scene. He beat up Dominik Dijakovic, who Lee highly regarded as a friend and a foe. Then he challenged Lee to a match, which the champ accepted.

Now, there’s a “spoiler” going around that Kross will win the belt. WWE Shop released an ad for Kross merchandise that showed Karrion carrying the NXT world title. It was quickly deleted, but not before wrestling fans captured the image and spread it across social media.

Would the WWE really have Lee lose the belt six weeks after winning it? That’s the question many fans and pundits are asking.

The other question is whether or not the WWE would have Kross lose in his first world title match considering he’s one of the top stars in NXT and was highly sought after when he became a free agent earlier this year.

The WWE has put themselves in a corner here. One that will possibly force them to book a finish where nobody wins the match. But, it’s also added a lot of intrigue to this NXT title match.

Lee has been rumored to go to RAW or SmackDown for a while now. Could a loss to Kross mean that Lee is heading there soon?

I can’t see the WWE having Lee lose the title so soon, especially after making history by holding two belts at the same time and ending Cole’s long reign.

If this match doesn’t end in a DQ or count out then I’m going with Lee to retain the title in a great match.