NXT
Next week’s episode of NXT will feature Drew McIntyre versus Roderick Strong, with Strong getting a future NXT Championship match if he wins.
Tonight’s show saw Strong interrupt Roode and McIntyre’s face off, demanding to fight Roode, and Roode seemed to agree. Roode said he had no problem fighting, and tried to say he’d face Strong after Takeover if he beat Drew next week, but Regal stepped in and said he still makes the matches. Regal weighed the options, even listening to Roode trying to egg him on to book the match, and said Strong would in fact face Roode after Takeover if Strong won next week.
Takeover
WWE has confirmed Andrade Cien Almas will face Johnny Gargano at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III next week after Almas’ associate Zelina Vega laid out the challenge. WWE.com posted the following:
Intent on making a fresh start as a singles Superstar in NXT, Johnny Gargano offered to take on anyone and everyone at TakeOver: Brooklyn III if it meant being part of NXT’s summertime tradition.
Luckily for Gargano, Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega were listening and all too happy to oblige. Vega, the mysterious woman who now appears to be calling the shots for Almas, accepted the open challenge on her associate’s behalf, paving the way to what will surely be a technical masterpiece in Brooklyn. Though no championship nor title opportunity is on the line, both Gargano and Almas are in a state of reinvention, and both Superstars are searching for a tone-setting victory in what will be a high-stakes bout at TakeOver.
Now that Gargano has returned from injury, he is eager to forge his own path and move past the heart-wrenching betrayal by his former best friend and tag team partner, Tommaso Ciampa, at TakeOver: Chicago last May. The beloved Superstar declared that TakeOver will be the “birth of Johnny Wrestling.” With the help of Vega, meanwhile, Almas has seemingly refocused his attention on his in-ring career after a series of costly losses.
Will Vega’s influence be the difference-maker in Brooklyn? Or will Johnny Wrestling — vowing to begin anew, on his own — get back on track with a win against the third-generation luchador? To find out, be sure to watch NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III when it streams live on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 8 ET/5 PT, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
