NXT Takeover: In Your House, the first true Takeover event since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. This event takes place on Sunday, June 7th, at 7 P.M. EST, exclusively on the WWE Network.
Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream in a Backlot Brawl for the NXT Championship
In what could be the final fight of Adam Cole’s record setting NXT Championship reign, he defends against what could be his most unique challenger yet in The Velveteen Dream. The seeds of this rivarly were planted in October of 2019, when the Undisputed Era viciously attacked The Velveteen Dream, subsequently taking him out of action for multiple months. When Dream returned in February of 2020, he immediately turned his attention towards the men who injured him. His first target was Roderick Strong, who he taunted by putting images of his wife and son on his tights. Dream would defeat Strong, only to face him again a few weeks later in a Steel Cage match. Strong would end up winning that match, but only because Dream allowed him to escape in order to lock himself in the cage with Adam Cole, proceeding to attack him. This would start a wild goose chase of Dream wanting a championship opportunity, although Cole didn’t believe he was worthy enough. Dream would go on to defeat Undisputed Era member Bobby Fish, but would only be deemed worthy enough for a championship opportunity when he pinned Adam Cole in a tag team match. His opportunity came on the April 29th episode of NXT, where he unsuccessfully challenged Cole for the NXT Title due to interference from Undisputed Era. Dream would continue to push for a fair championship opportunity, but was routinely denied by Cole. In a sit down Zoom meeting with NXT General Manager William Regal, Cole would agree to give Dream another championship opportunity, on the condition that if Dream lost, he could never challenge Cole for the NXT Title again. Regal agreed to that stipulation, and the match was later made a Backlot Brawl. Will Velveteen Dream finally be able to capture NXT’s biggest prize? Or will Adam Cole shatter Velveteen’s NXT Championship dream?
Charlotte Flair vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship
This convoluted rivarly dates back to January, when Charlotte Flair won the Royal Rumble match, giving her a shot at a title of her choosing at Wrestlemania. In a groundbreaking announcement, Flair revealed she would challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship, becoming the first Rumble winner to challenge for an NXT championship. Flair would go on to defeat then champion Rhea Ripley at Wrestlemania, winning her second NXT Women’s Championship in the process. After her loss, Ripley disappeared from NXT, leaving Flair without a challenger. This was rectified when Io Shirai won a ladder match and became the number one contender to Flair’s championship. However, her title opportunity went up in flames when Flair attacked her with a Kendo stick, causing the match to be a DQ, thus allowing Flair to retain her title. As Flair continued the attack, Rhea Ripley made her return to NXT, saving Shirai from a further beating. However, Shirai wasn’t happy with Ripley getting involved in her business, leading to a brawl backstage after the rescue. This lead to a number one contenders match between the two, which Flair interfered in, attacking both to cause a no contest. Due to this, it was announced that both women would be receiving a championship opportunity at NXT Takeover: In Your House. Following the announcement, Ripley and Shirai would team up to face the duo of Flair and Chelsea Green, only to come up short when Flair rolled up Shirai. With Flair seemingly having both women’s number, will The Queen retain her NXT Women’s Championship? Or will Ripley or Shirai finally be able to overcome Flair and walk away with the gold?
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett
In NXT, rarely does a relatively new superstar walk into their first Takeover and face one of the greatest superstars in NXT history. It takes a special superstar to do so, and if you ask Tommaso Ciampa, that is exactly what Karrion Kross is. In early 2020, vignettes began airing on NXT television teasing the arrival of a brand new superstar. Fans began speculating that it would be the recently signed Killer Kross, a long time independent standout. Their suspicion was confirmed on the April 15th episode of NXT, when Killer Kross, now renamed to Karrion Kross, attacked Ciampa from behind during a backstage promo. Kross would then debut on the May 6th NXT episode, destroying Leon Ruff in less than one minute. Kross would annihilate another opponent on the May 20th episode, only to be confronted by Ciampa, who would then announce that they’d face at NXT Takeover: In Your House. A week later, Ciampa would defeat Leon Ruff, while Kross’ valet Scarlett watched on. The following week, Kross would attack Bronson Reed after his match with Cameron Grimes, sending one final violent message to Ciampa before their match at Takeover. With both as dominant as ever, will Ciampa be able to overcome the sadistic newcomer? Or will Kross knock down one of NXT’s pillars in his first Takeover outing?
Keith Lee vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship
After a monumental but cheap victory over Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano’s career was reinvigorated. Both him and his wife Candice LeRae had a new attitude, and they began displaying it during segments in which they talked over dinner. It soon became clear through the conversations who Gargano’s next target would be: North American Champion Keith Lee. To get at Lee, Gargano would assist his wife in attacking Lee’s girlfriend, Mia Yim. Lee would make the save as expected, and would later challenge Gargano to a North American Title match at In Your House, which was soon accepted. Over the next few weeks, Gargano and LeRae would attempt to make Lee and Yim’s life as difficult as possible, eventually leading to a one on one match between Yim and LeRae. This match soon turned into a mixed tag team match where Lee and Gargano teamed with their respective significant others. LeRae would roll Yim up for the win. Now that Lee and Gargano will go one on one, who will walk away with the North American Title? Will Lee retain or will Gargano pick up his second North American Title?
Finn Balor vs. Damien Priest
Finn Balor’s return to NXT in late 2019 sent shockwaves throughout the professional wrestling world. Since then, Balor has reestablished himself as a main event player in NXT, defeating the likes of Matt Riddle and Johnny Gargano. After those major victories, it seemed as if Balor had his sights set on NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER, but that rivarly was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Balor kept his sights straight forward though, getting himself a match with a top contender for the NXT Championship, The Velveteen Dream. However, before the match could take place, Balor was viciously attacked by an unknown assailant backstage. Balor would vow to find the identity of this assailant, but he would not need to look for long, as during Balor’s match with Cameron Grimes, Damien Priest revealed himself as Balor’s attacker. Not long after, it was announced that Balor would face Priest at In Your House. Will Priest be able to live forever off Balor’s name, or will The Prince be able to knock off The Archer of Infamy?
Shotzi Blackheart, Mia Yim and Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez
This is a conglomeration of many different feuds going on in NXT at the moment. Perhaps the most prominent is the feud between Candice LeRae and Mia Yim, which started at the same time Johnny Gargano and Keith Lee’s feud began for many of the same reasons. Due to this, LeRae and Gargano would attempt to ruin some of Yim’s matches. On the other side of this feud, Shotzi Blackheart faced Raquel Gonzalez on the May 27th episode of NXT. This match broke down when Dakota Kai, Gonzalez’s friend, got involved, which lead to Tegan Nox making the save. The following week, during Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, LeRae began viciously attacking Yim near the stage. Nox would come out and stop her, which then lead to Kai and Gonzalez to come out and attack Nox, which lead to Blackheart coming to save her. A great big brawl ensued, which ended when the four girls not in the match fought to the backstage area, and the match between Yim and LeRae was turned into a mixed tag team match with their respective significant others. LeRae would achieve the win when she rolled up Yim. The match was announced not long after that. With all of this bad blood in one match, who will come out on top?
