NXT

In his pay-per-view debut for WWE, Karrion Kross beat Tommaso Ciampa at NXT TakeOver: In Your House on Sunday night.

While it wasn't an entirely one-sided match, Kross was in control for most of the bout, which was an impressive feat considering what Ciampa has achieved in his numerous TakeOver encounters.

Upon getting locked in the Kross Jacket, Ciampa was unable to escape.

After several weeks of hyping his NXT debut, Kross finally made his presence felt on April 15. While Ciampa was cutting a backstage promo to concede Johnny Gargano was the better man following their final match the previous week, Kross jumped him and left him laying on the floor.

Kross made his in-ring debut on May 6 and left fans in awe due to his captivating entrance, complete with hardcore music, smoke, red lights and the presence of his girlfriend and manager, Scarlett.

After winning a couple of squash matches, he was confronted by Ciampa, who demanded a fight against Kross at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. The NXT newcomer quickly obliged due to his desire to put himself on the map in the brand in short order.

Ciampa acknowledged Kross is a special talent, but he reminded his rival that he is special, as well. The Blackheart played up to the notion that a match between them at TakeOver would be a spectacle, and that is precisely what it was.

Kross and Scarlett attempted to play mind games with Ciampa in the weeks leading up to the PPV. Kross even sent Scarlett on a scouting mission as she stood on the ramp and watched Ciampa during one of his tune-up matches.

Scarlett's presence actually seemed to shake Ciampa at first. Enhancement talent Leon Ruff got in some offense and took the fight to him, but The Blackheart eventually snapped out of it and won in dominant fashion.

While Ciampa's primary focus upon returning from a neck injury last year was the NXT Championship, Gargano knocked him off his path, and then Kross distracted him from resuming his pursuit of the title, as well.

Sunday's match was huge for both Superstars for different reasons. For Ciampa, a win could have gotten him back on track and put him on the path to go after the NXT belt once again.

Meanwhile, Kross simply needed to make a strong first impression and score a victory over one of NXT's biggest and most accomplished stars in order to prove he is a force to be reckoned with.

Unsurprisingly, Kross picked up the win at TakeOver: In Your House, which suggests he is poised to be a top heel for the brand in the coming months.

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Adam Cole beat Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in a Backlot Brawl on Sunday to retain the NXT Championship, meaning Dream cannot challenge for the title again as long as Cole holds it.

Cole didn't come away from the bout unscathed. Dream pushed him off a ladder and onto the windshield of a car.

Still, he remains the champion after delivering Panama Sunrise onto a pile of steel chairs.

The match was among the most unique bouts in NXT history as the two men did battle outdoors inside a ring, surrounded by NXT Superstars and with their vehicles' lights shining brightly on the two combatants. The only rule was that the pinfall had to occur inside the squared circle.

Cole and Dream have been embroiled in a rivalry for the past couple of months over the NXT title, and Sunday's match marked their second meeting with the belt on the line. They previously had a match on NXT TV on May 6.

The match devolved into chaos when Bobby Fish, Roderick Strong and Dexter Lumis all got involved, and Lumis inadvertently cost Dream the match, allowing Cole to retain the title.

NXT general manager William Regal expressed his belief that Dream deserved another title shot based on the way the first match went down. Cole wasn't happy with the decision, but he agreed under the condition Dream not be able to challenge for the title again in the event of a loss for as long as he holds it.

Regal agreed to that stipulation and then added one of his own by promising that the spotlight would be on two of the most egotistical Superstars in NXT history.

Dream is a former North American champion and one of the most popular NXT performers ever, but he entered TakeOver: In Your House having been unable to win the big one. Meanwhile, Cole had a yearlong title reign hanging in the balance.

While Cole is an elite talent, there is no question that his Undisputed Era stablemates played a significant role in helping him hold the title for more than a year. Because of that, there was some expectation that they would get involved Sunday.

Lumis has also had a hand in the rivalry between Dream and Undisputed Era as an unofficial ally of the former, so one of the big storylines entering Sunday's match was what role he would play.

Amid all the bells and whistles, Cole retained the belt yet again, which means Dream must now find his purpose in NXT without being able to challenge for the NXT Championship until the titleholder loses it.

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Keith Lee defeated Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: In Your House on Sunday to retain the North American Championship.

Lee hit Gargano with a Spirit Bomb. Wanting to leave no doubt about the outcome, he connected with another powerbomb and held onto Gargano to lift him into position for the Big Bang Catastrophe. That put Gargano down for the count.

The highly anticipated encounter between Lee and Gargano started to build several weeks ago when Gargano and his wife, Candice LeRae, talked trash about Lee and his girlfriend, Mia Yim, during a segment called "Dinner with the Garganos."

Their rivalry reached another level when LeRae and Gargano confronted Yim after she won a match against Santana Garrett. Gargano helped Candice take out Yim by pulling the rope down, which led to Lee running out and chasing Johnny Wrestling off.

Lee and Yim later spoofed "Dinner with the Garganos" with a comedic version of their own, and that infuriated Gargano and LeRae, which led to LeRae vs. Yim on Wednesday's NXT and Gargano vs. Lee at TakeOver.

Gargano was already a Triple Crown champion in NXT entering Sunday's match, but his reign with the North American Championship was the shortest in the history of the title. Meanwhile, Lee carried a 130-plus-day reign into TakeOver: In Your House.

Ever since turning on Tommaso Ciampa, Gargano has become a delusional and narcissistic heel, and his previous failure as North American champion fueled his desire to win the title back and become the first two-time North American champion.

He had a massive challenge on his hands for a number of reasons, however. For starters, Lee was on a lengthy winning streak entering TakeOver and has been one of the most dominant Superstars in NXT since late last year.

Also, Lee has a significant size advantage over Gargano. Since Lee is the babyface and Gargano is the heel, that made for a unique dynamic that isn't seen too often in wrestling.

While Gargano and Lee look like polar opposites standing across the ring from each other, there was a great deal of excitement surrounding their match among NXT fans since they are two of the best in-ring performers NXT has to offer and had never faced each other in a televised singles match before Sunday.

NXT TakeOver: In Your House looked like a stacked card on paper, but most fans likely considered Gargano vs. Lee the top candidate to steal the show, and they very well may have done precisely that.

Although Lee retained Sunday, there may be more matches to come between them since their rivalry is seemingly only beginning.

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Karrion Kross has made a huge impact in NXT over a short period of time, but he needs to deliver in his first big match at NXT TakeOver: In Your House against Tommaso Ciampa on June 7 in order to truly be viewed as a main event player by fans.

Kross had his debut match on NXT TV on May 6 and was the talk of the wrestling business at the time because of his entrance.

The music, smoke, red light and overall presentation alongside Scarlett made it clear that NXT had big plans in place for the former Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling star.

Even before that, they made a brief appearance following Johnny Gargano's win over Ciampa on April 8, and then Kross took out The Blackheart with a sneak attack a week later during a backstage promo segment.

Kross has remained relevant in recent weeks by winning squash matches and cutting promos on Ciampa, but the true test regarding whether he can be a top heel in NXT over the long haul is how he performs in an actual match against The Blackheart on the TakeOver stage.

Ciampa is one of the most successful Superstars in NXT history, and fans of the brand take notice of everything he is involved with. The mere fact that Triple H and the brand's other decision-makers think enough of Kross to have him feud with the former NXT champion immediately says a lot about where they see him going.

A cool entrance and dominant squash wins can keep the fans' interest in a character for a certain amount of time, but long-term investment isn't achieved until that person shows they can talk and perform well in longer matches as well.

Kross has already shown off his promo ability, which comes as little surprise to anyone who has followed his career, as his promos in Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling fit his character perfectly and helped him rise up the ranks quickly.

The in-ring work is a bigger question mark. He has the ideal look and size of a top heel, but he isn't necessarily known for putting on five-star classics. Not everyone has to do that in order to be successful, but NXT is very much known for its elite in-ring work.

If Kross doesn't show that he can hang with a guy like Ciampa at TakeOver, then fans are more likely to gravitate toward the likes of Adam Cole, Gargano, Keith Lee, Finn Balor and others with long track records of spectacular matches in NXT.

Kross made a good first impression as far as his entrance goes, but there is only one first impression when it comes to wrestling on a pay-per-view, and falling short of expectations on that stage may be impossible to come back from.

Perhaps the in-ring work wouldn't be quite as important if fans were allowed to be there since they would be enthralled by the entrance and potentially more forgiving of any missteps otherwise, but since the coronavirus pandemic is still preventing them from attending, there will be a great deal of focus on the match itself by those watching at home.

Kross has the benefit of an ideal dance partner in Ciampa. He has had some of the greatest matches in NXT history, and he will recognize the value a monster heel will have to the NXT brand if he is built up in the right way.

Ciampa will do everything possible to get Kross over, as will Triple H. The best way to do that may be to make the match a hardcore-type bout to hide any potential deficiencies until the newcomer is fully established.

The rivalry between Kross and Ciampa is already personal enough to support that type of environment, and it would allow the former to get as vicious as he wants to be, which is perhaps the biggest key to getting the NXT fanbase to embrace him as a main event heel.

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All eyes in the wrestling world will be on NXT TakeOver: In Your House this Sunday, as it will mark the first TakeOver event since the coronavirus pandemic started.

Fans of the black-and-yellow brand have eagerly anticipated a TakeOver for the past couple of months, and WWE is preparing to deliver one that could go down as one of the best ever thanks to matches such as Charlotte Flair vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross, and Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream in a Backlot Brawl.

The matches should be great, and the angles coming out of them should be compelling as well. With that in mind, here are three feuds that could come to fruition in the days and weeks following NXT TakeOver: In Your House.

Charlotte Flair vs. Chelsea Green

Charlotte is scheduled to defend the NXT Women's Championship against Shirai and Ripley at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, and the rules of a Triple Threat match could open the door for some shenanigans to take place.

On the penultimate episode of NXT before TakeOver, Charlotte chose a mystery tag team partner to face off against Shirai and Ripley. Flair went with Chelsea Green, and the pairing was victorious in the match, which led to Green firing manager Robert Stone.

Now that Green is calling her own shots, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see her get involved in the NXT Women's Championship match in some capacity.

When it comes to the NXT women's division, there is no bigger fish to pursue than Flair. She is a two-time NXT Women's champion and is already the most decorated female Superstars to ever set foot in a WWE ring.

Costing The Queen the NXT Women's title would be akin to Green firing a shot across the bow and making it clear that she wants to use Charlotte as a stepping stone in order to reach the next level in NXT.

In such a scenario, Ripley and Shirai could branch off and feud over the NXT Women's Championship, with Flair and Green providing fans with a quality secondary storyline in the women's division.

The ideal endgame would be to have Green beat Charlotte in a Loser Leaves NXT match, which would allow Flair to go back to Raw on a full-time basis and establish Green as a true title contender for the first time in her WWE career.

Velveteen Dream vs. Dexter Lumis

Velveteen Dream has had something of an unspoken alliance with Dexter Lumis over the past several weeks, as Lumis has helped even the odds during Dream's rivalry with NXT champion Adam Cole and the rest of Undisputed Era.

Lumis stepped in to team with Dream in a winning effort against Cole and Roderick Strong about a month ago, and he has been part of several melees involving Dream and Undisputed Era since then.

When Dream and Cole did battle for the NXT Championship on NXT TV a few weeks back, Lumis tried to fight off Strong and Bobby Fish outside the ring. He inadvertently threw one of them into Dream, though, which cost him the match.

While there is seemingly no bad blood between Lumis and Dream, the seeds of a potential issue were planted in the first title match, and they could manifest themselves Sunday in the Backlot Brawl between Dream and Cole.

Whether Lumis purposely or accidentally costs Dream the match against Cole, it would be a huge blow to Dream's career because of the stipulation that he cannot challenge for the NXT title again for as long as Cole has it if he loses at TakeOver.

The Dream and Lumis gimmicks seem like a perfect fit for a program against each other, and that rivalry would undoubtedly generate a lot of interest coming out of In Your House.

Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor

If Dream and Lumis branch off into a feud following TakeOver, then Cole will be left in need of a new challenger for the NXT Championship.

Potential contenders like Ciampa and Keith Lee may well continue in their current programs after the pay-per-view, which would leave Finn Balor as the most obvious candidate to attempt to end Cole's yearlong title reign.

Balor challenged Cole for the NXT Championship back in December, but a returning Johnny Gargano cost Balor the match. As a result, Balor has some unfinished business when it comes to his rivalry with the leader of Undisputed Era.

Also, Balor was scheduled to face Dream several weeks back in what had the makings of a de facto No. 1 contender match. Damian Priest attacked Balor and rendered him unable to compete, though, so that opportunity went by the wayside.

If Balor beats Priest at TakeOver: In Your House as expected, he will have momentum on his side and could stake claim to a title shot.

Balor never officially turned babyface, but he has essentially been playing the antihero role in feuds against Priest and Imperium. Because of that, he can be the fan favorite in a program with Cole that would undoubtedly capture the attention of the WWE Universe.

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Should Velveteen Dream succeed in dethroning Adam Cole as NXT champion at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, it would be the perfect opportunity to wind down Undisputed Era's historic run on WWE's developmental brand.

With NXT's transition to USA Network last September, many fans wondered if the traditional pipeline from Full Sail University to Raw and SmackDown was shifting. To some extent, that has proved true.

Charlotte Flair is the NXT women's champion, Finn Balor is a member of the NXT roster, and the pair of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have probably stayed far longer than they would've before.

Having said that, the hierarchy largely remains the same.

Matt Riddle is moving on to SmackDown, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer (via Wrestling Inc's Robert Gunier) reported Dominik Dijakovic looks headed to Raw. At a certain point, it's time for some wrestlers to move on.

As a collective unit, Undisputed Era have largely achieved everything they can in the yellow-and-black brand.

Cole has held his title belt for more than a calendar and is the longest-reigning NXT champion ever.

At various points, the stable also held the NXT North American (Cole and Roderick Strong) and tag team championships (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). The quartet have enjoyed a reign of dominance unlike any other in NXT, an empire that grew almost from the moment Cole, Fish and O'Reilly debuted at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III in August 2017.

Together, they've done it all, and Cole losing to Dream on Sunday would serve as a symbolic marker of their downfall—at least in NXT—since he's the last member with any gold.

A heel group with a defined hierarchy works best while it sits atop the promotion and lords over the rest of the roster. Once the leader is bested at a major event, some of the magic can start to wear off, compounded by the sameness that settles in over time.

The New World Order is one of the most legendary stables of all time, and even it couldn't maintain its red-hot momentum for more than a few years.

Splintering Undisputed Era off in different directions would be one way to freshen up their on-screen characters, but it would be unnecessary because they remain entertaining and compelling. All they need is a change of scenery, which would allow them to interact with a new set of wrestlers.

Raw and SmackDown are lacking in factions that are more than simply tag teams, especially units that could be considered a credible threat. That list is almost exclusively limited to The New Day, and they've been without Xavier Woods since last October.

The Forgotten Sons are still finding their footing, and the combination of Seth Rollins and his acolytes aren't all that imposing right now aside from The Monday Night Messiah himself.

The departures of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows ended any hopes of a true Bullet Club facsimile with Anderson, Gallows, AJ Styles and Finn Balor. While WWE gave The Club/The O.C. a try, fans understandably agitated for the addition of the Irishman to make things more interesting.

The path forward for Undisputed Era can be relatively easy to chart, and NXT's more limited pay-per-view schedule could be of benefit. After In Your House, the next TakeOver isn't until August 22, leaving two-plus months for the NXT creative team to build toward a big send-off in Boston.

Wrestling is often at its best when it's blurring the line between reality and kayfabe, but not everybody was on board with Drake Maverick collecting a contract at the end of WWE NXT on Wednesday night.

Maverick lost to El Hijo del Fantasma in the final of the NXT cruiserweight title tournament. As Maverick was walking up the entrance ramp following the match, Triple H presented him with a new contract.

For some, it was a heartwarming moment. Former WWE star Lio Rush didn't fully see it that way:

Rush's frustration is understandable.

WWE announced April 15 it was planning to make a number of cost-cutting measures amid the coronavirus pandemic, which included releasing some wrestlers from their contracts. Rush, Maverick, Rusev, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were among those initially let go, and more departures trickled out in the ensuing days.

In a video he posted to Twitter, an emotional Maverick said WWE was still allowing him to compete in the cruiserweight tournament and that the fans watching NXT would "have my all."

Assuming Maverick's release was official and that WWE didn't initially plan to bring him back, this wouldn't be the first time the promotion shifted course because of a wave of public momentum. But it's one thing to insert Daniel Bryan into the main event of WrestleMania XXX; it's another to use the real-life story of wrestlers losing their jobs to pay off an angle.

With several big-time matches on the card, Sunday's NXT TakeOver: In Your House is shaping up to be the latest in a long line of successful TakeOver events and perhaps the best wrestling show of 2020 to this point.

Every match has show-stealing potential, and the star power is apparent throughout the pay-per-view. With that said, there is no question that a select few performers would benefit more than others from winning on the biggest stage NXT has to offer.

Ahead of Sunday's huge event, here are a few Superstars who will gain the most from a potential win at TakeOver: In Your House.

Karrion Kross

Although Karrion Kross has had a couple of squash matches since making his NXT debut on May 6, Sunday's meeting with Tommaso Ciampa at TakeOver will be his first true challenge as a member of the black-and-yellow brand.

His star power is already apparent, as his entrance has gotten people talking, his look stands out and the presence of Scarlett alongside him adds to the overall presentation as well.

As promising as Kross is and as good as he could be in a monster heel role moving forward, it will be difficult to reach that level if he doesn't perform well and score a victory over Ciampa on Sunday.

Ciampa is one of the greatest Superstars in NXT history, as he is a former NXT champion and NXT Tag Team champion. He has headlined multiple TakeOvers and put on classic matches, primarily against former friend Johnny Gargano.

There is perhaps no better measuring stick in all of NXT for Kross than Ciampa. If the newcomer can go step-for-step with The Blackheart and show he is on a similar level, then it will be all the proof WWE fans need to embrace him as a top star.

Winning is also key since a loss in his first big match would likely halt all the momentum he has built thus far. Because of that, it can be argued that nobody needs a victory more than Kross at TakeOver.

Damian Priest

Damian Priest is perhaps the longest shot to win at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, but there is no doubt it would be precisely the type of launching pad he needs to take the next step with the brand.

The Archer of Infamy is an impressive talent who has played the heel role well, but he tends to lose all of his big matches. He is coming off a defeat to Keith Lee in a North American Championship match and immediately transitioned into a feud with Finn Balor.

In terms of star power, the Irishman is arguably the top guy NXT has. Due to the fact that he spent so much time on the main roster and even won the Universal Championship, he has cachet, and beating him could be a career-defining moment for anyone.

Balor has been in a no man's land lately to some degree since he was about to enter into a feud with United Kingdom champion WALTER. However, the coronavirus pandemic led to travel restrictions that have left the UK titleholder stuck in Europe, which forced their rivalry to be put on hold.

NXT ran a mystery-attacker angle with Balor in order to move him into a holdover feud with Priest, and it will finally come to a head at TakeOver.

Conventional wisdom suggests Balor will win in order to keep him hot for the angle with WALTER whenever it is able to happen, but Priest is clearly the one who needs the victory more in order to be a main event player in NXT.

Io Shirai

The Triple Threat NXT Women's Championship match between Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai has the potential to steal the show at TakeOver: In Your House.

They are three of the best women's wrestlers in the world, and the NXT creative team has done a quality job of building up tension between them leading up to the match.

An argument can be made for any of the three Superstars to win, but it is clear that Shirai would benefit most from becoming NXT women's champion.

Charlotte is the champ and already the most decorated woman in WWE history. A loss won't damage her much at all since it would allow her to go back to Raw on a full-time basis and open up a top spot for others on the NXT roster.

Ripley lost the title to The Queen at WrestleMania 36 and winning it back would be a big moment in her career, but she has "franchise player" written all over her regardless and she is still just 23 years of age.

Meanwhile, Shirai is the only one among the trio who has not held the NXT Women's Championship yet. She has come close on a few occasions only to fall short, and if she misses out again, fans may start to view her as something less than a top star.

There is no question Shirai has the in-ring ability and character needed to be a great champion in NXT, and if she wins on Sunday, there may be no limit for The Genius of the Sky.

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