Isenberg Reacts: NXT Takeover Chicago Predictions, Who Walks Out of The Windy City as New Champion?

May 18, 2017

NXT Tag Team Championship

550 pounds of pain take flight in a Ladder Match. The Authors of Pain will face #DIY for the NXT Tag Team Championships. As much as I think Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa should win, I think the Authors of Pain will win. I cannot see The Authors of Pain losing for the first time against these guys because #DIY is already established. They are fan favorites who are so damn talented. I love their combination of striking and air assault, as well as how simple and effective they are as characters. Sometimes, there is not a need to over book teams and matches. As we have seen, #DIY works with all sized of competitors and really puts on the best matches on a consistent level.

When this match is all said and done, we will still have NXT Tag Team Champions in Rezar and Akam. My biggest question will be “what is next for Johnny and Tommaso?” Will they stay together? Will they move on? The options are very limited if they want to continue to be a tag team, which is what they are best at right now.

NXT Women’s Championship

With the injury to Ember Moon, Asuka will now defend the championship against Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross. Two of the younger, but still really good women in NXT, will try to defeat Asuka.

Ruby Riot is really fun to watch, but is still fresh to most of the NXT and WWE crowd. Her attractive punk rock look is different than most and her ability in the ring is very AJ Lee and Lita. She has technical abilities and uses some flash and design from the top rope. She would be a fun fit as champion, but not right now.

Nikki Cross is insane. Her promos are effective and she lives her gimmick. This is a great thing to see and she is going to be really good in future storylines. This storyline with Ruby Riot makes both women feel more important, but none important enough to defeat Asuka.

Asuka is going to win this match, but I want to see how. Will she cheat to win? Will she become that dastardly heel that will do whatever it takes? I think that her turn needs to happen completely and not balance between both. With the depth in NXT with women, I am not sure which woman will end up taking the place of Asuka. Expect it to happen in Brooklyn, not in Chicago.

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.

Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.

Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.

His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.