{"id":103525,"date":"2020-08-28T12:46:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T17:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=103525"},"modified":"2020-08-28T12:46:40","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T17:46:40","slug":"feud-tracker-nxt-tracking-the-length-and-key-developments-with-the-nxt-title-rhea-ripley-drake-maverick-bronson-reed-breezango-balor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/28\/feud-tracker-nxt-tracking-the-length-and-key-developments-with-the-nxt-title-rhea-ripley-drake-maverick-bronson-reed-breezango-balor\/","title":{"rendered":"FEUD TRACKER &#8211; NXT: Tracking the length and key developments with the NXT Title, Rhea Ripley, Drake Maverick, Bronson Reed, Breezango, Balor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2458955744\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><hr \/>\n<h3><b>TOP TIER FEUDS<\/b><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>(1) Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Finn Balor<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>New Developments: <\/b>With Kross relinquishing the NXT Championship due to injury, big changes had to be made on short notice.\u00a0 The Four-Way Iron Man Match for the NXT Championship takes place next Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>This should be an incredible, Takover-worthy match.\u00a0 While there wasn\u2019t any build between these four leading up to the match, most of them have long histories over the last few years in NXT.<\/p>\n<p><b>Start of Feud: <\/b>August 26, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction: <\/b>Ciampa\u2019s revamped brutal persona is the most in line with what NXT would have been with Kross as the champion, so it could be a relatively easy swap to put Ciampia into that role on short notice.\u00a0 Balor would also be a good choice for the champion, as his return to NXT seems to be building toward another great title reign.\u00a0 Whoever walks away with the title will probably have to deal with the three losers in the near future until Kross eventually returns to try and take back the title.<\/p>\n<p><b>(2) Io Shirai &amp; Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai &amp; Raquel Gonzalez<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>New Developments:\u00a0 <\/b>Excellent tag match between these two teams on NXT.\u00a0 Everyone looked strong, with Ripley continuing her rebuilding phase through the roster as Gonzalez got the pin on Ripley after Ripley had been attacked by Mercedes Martinez during the match.\u00a0 While not a true tag team feud, it continued many plot threads that have been established over the summer across so many players in the Women\u2019s Division.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>The match was great and laid the groundwork for the next few months of feuds at the top of the Women\u2019s Division.\u00a0 This match helped push Io, Ripley, and Gonzalez forward to their next chapters, but it seemed to leave Dakota as the odd woman out.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-977772502\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><b>Start of Feuds: <\/b>August 5, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction: <\/b>This match set up feuds between a combination of the five women involved.\u00a0 While this will most likely lead to a Takeover match between Io and Ripley, we will most likely move toward Io vs Gonzalez and Ripley vs Martinez first.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>MIDDLE TIER FEUDS<\/b><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>(1) Breezango vs. Legado del Fantasma<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>New Developments: <\/b>Breezango captured the NXT Tag Team Titles from Imperium to start off the August 26 NXT.\u00a0 Later in the evening they helped stop Wilde and Mendoza from interfering in the Cruiserweight Championship match between Escobar and Swerve Scott.\u00a0 A six-man street fight was announced for next week\u2019s NXT with Breezango and Swerve taking on the three members of Legado del Fantasma.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>This has been a good feud to establish the credibility of Breezango within the NXT Tag Team scene.\u00a0 Both Breeze and Fandango have shown fire and intensity throughout their battles with Legado del Fantasma.<\/p>\n<p><b>Start of Feud: <\/b>July 8, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction:\u00a0 <\/b>While it\u2019s been nice to see Breezango become a serious team in NXT, it feels like they were made champions just to eventually lose to Wilde and Mendoza in order to continue to build up Legado del Fantasma.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>(3) Damian Priest vs. Timothy Thatcher<\/b><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3868710896\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><b>New Developments: <\/b>During an attempted backstage interview, Priest said that the celebration was still going on.\u00a0 Thatcher approached Priest and said that he was an embarrassment of a champion, but Priest didn\u2019t seem to care.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>This seemed like a weird way to start the feud, as there didn\u2019t seem to be any real tension between Priest or Thatcher.\u00a0 I wish there was more of an angle than Thatcher being upset that Priest was still partying and celebrating four days later.<\/p>\n<p><b>Start of Feud: <\/b>August 26, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction: <\/b>This should be a quickly resolved first feud for Priest to establish his reign as North American champion.\u00a0 Once he finishes with Thatcher, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see one of his previous opponents from the ladder match show up to challenge him one on one.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>(3) Candice LeRae vs. Tegan Nox<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>New Developments: <\/b>A video package highlighted the history and friendship between LeRae and Nox.\u00a0 The narration was given entirely by LeRae, allowing her to start to justify her frustration at Nox\u2019s unwillingness to do \u201cwhatever is necessary\u201d to win.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>Good start to the feud with enough old footage and photographs that shows the history that the two women have together through NXT and the Indies.<\/p>\n<p><b>Start of Feud: <\/b>August 26, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction: <\/b>This will most likely end up playing out over a few weeks on NXT TV, due to the fact that there is no title on the line and NXT rarely features women\u2019s matches on Takeovers that don\u2019t involve the Women\u2019s Championship.\u00a0 I\u2019m excited to see what these two can bring to the feud, as they are both incredibly talented and LeRae hasn\u2019t been involved in a serious feud in quite some time.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>LOWER TIER FEUDS<\/b><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>(1) Undisputed Era vs. Drake Maverick (and Killian Dain?)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>New Developments:\u00a0 <\/b>Good match between O\u2019Reilly and Drake where Drake ultimately tapped out clean.\u00a0 Fish and Strong joined O\u2019Reilly in the ring after the match to engage in a beat down of Drake.\u00a0 Killian came out seemingly to stop the attack and cleared UE out of the ring before he clotheslined a thankful Drake<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>This feud feels like it\u2019s below Undisputed Era, mostly because it started with UE stopping a match between Drake and Killian and threw them out of the ring like it was nothing.\u00a0 The match between O\u2019Reilly and Drake was good and could be used to help establish O\u2019Reilly as a singles star, but it could also lessen UE\u2019s overall status within NXT by being involved in lower tier feuds.<\/p>\n<p><b>Start of Feud: <\/b>August 12, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction: <\/b>This might eventually lead to a team-up between Drake and Killian or it might just lead to a match between the two without interruption.\u00a0 If Undisputed Era is going to eventually turn on Cole, establishing O\u2019Reilly as a credible singles threat now is a good move.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>(2) Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>New Developments: <\/b>First interaction between these two happened during a backstage interview with Reed.\u00a0 Reed started to build his case that he should be the Priest\u2019s first challenger for the North American Title when he was interrupted by Austin Theory.\u00a0 Theory bragged about being on Wrestlemania at 23 and said that Reed wouldn\u2019t be on WrestleMania until he was in his 50s, which earned him a hard slap in the face from Reed.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highs &amp; Lows: <\/b>Theory was unlikable in his bragging, especially after having not been on tv for a while.\u00a0 Reed didn\u2019t really do much to continue his momentum after really standing out during the ladder match at Takeover.<\/p>\n<p><b>Start of Feud: <\/b>August 26, 2020<\/p>\n<p><b>Forecast &amp; Prediction:<\/b> This will probably conclude with a TV match in a week or two.\u00a0 A win over Theory can help build Reed back up after the loss at Takeover to a point where he can eventually challenge Priest for the North American Title in a one-on-one match.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>CONCLUDED, DORMANT, &amp; FORGOTTEN FEUDS<\/b><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross \u2013 CONCLUDED<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee \u2013 CONCLUDED<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher \u2013 CONCLUDED<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/27\/8-26-nxt-on-usa-tv-report-hustwaites-alt-perspective-report-on-karrion-kross-title-situation-ciampas-return-and-cruiserweight-championship-match\/\">8\/26 NXT ON USA TV REPORT: Hustwaite\u2019s \u201calt-perspective\u201d report on Karrion Kross title situation, Ciampa\u2019s return and Cruiserweight Championship match<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2697930151\"><div id=\"pwtor-2515579356\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>TOP TIER FEUDS (1) Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Finn Balor New Developments: With Kross relinquishing the NXT Championship due to injury, big changes had to be made on short notice.\u00a0 <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/08\/28\/feud-tracker-nxt-tracking-the-length-and-key-developments-with-the-nxt-title-rhea-ripley-drake-maverick-bronson-reed-breezango-balor\/\" title=\"FEUD TRACKER &#8211; NXT: Tracking the length and key developments with the NXT Title, Rhea Ripley, Drake Maverick, Bronson Reed, Breezango, Balor\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6447,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-feud-tracker","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/04\/ColeAdam_3x2_600WK.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103526,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103525\/revisions\/103526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}