Photo Credit: teamwwechile.com
NXT 2.0’s “Heatwave” Event comes to us Live this Tuesday, August 16th, 2022, from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando at 8 pm on USA Network. Here are who the Experts on the Eastern Observer’s “Essential Wrestling Podcast,” sponsored by ProWrestlingPickem.com, are Picking for this event.
Photo Credit: wwe.com
**NXT Championship**
**Champion BRON BREAKKER vs JD MCDONAGH**
“I’ve got the champ retaining here, but he definitely won’t come out of this match 100%.” – John Smith, EWP Senior NXT Correspondent.
Pick: BRON BREAKKER
“I don’t see this as easy to pick today as it would’ve been two weeks ago. Everything is changing now. Since this was set up to happen in the ‘Old Regime,’ maybe they’ll stick to the original plan, which I’m assuming Breakker retains. Maybe Breakker wins here, but McDonagh did some serious lingering damage (potential post-match attack) where if there’s a rematch, McDonagh will win it then? I would guess that any plan of calling Breakker up to the Main Roster is now over. As fun as Breakker is, he still needs some work. McDonagh will get called up before Breakker does.” – Al Karl, EWP Host.
Pick: BRON BREAKKER
“This is a real ‘head vs. heart’ match for me. My head says that Bron Breakker is being made into the NXT version of Roman Reigns, so he will continue his reign (pardon the pun) by winning against a new, talented opponent. My heart says that the reason for Jordan (sorry, JD McDonagh) being brought over to 2.0 was to make him a credible heel here and potentially on the main roster. (And no, I’m not being biased here… well, maybe a little.) JD has been involved in a rivalry before on NXT, as the real Cruiserweight Champion against Santos Escobar, so I don’t think he’s been brought over this time to make up the numbers. Head or heart… head or heart. Irish singer Feargal Sharkey said, ‘A good heart these days is hard to find!’ So I’m going with JD to win the title. Yea, I said it!” – Gary Mehaffy, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: JD MCDONAGH
“I love the work they’ve done to build to this match, and I would hate to see JD lose in another title opportunity so soon. But if Bron weren’t ready to move to the main roster a couple of weeks ago when I called his move in time for SummerSlam (and was dead wrong), then I would think they’ll hold off a while longer…maybe around Rumble time. So I think Breakker retains here.” – John D’Aconti, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: BRON BREAKKER
Photo Credit: wwe.com
**NXT Women’s Championship**
**Champion MANDY ROSE vs. ZOEY STARK**
“Mandy’s historic reign should continue here, with the help of Gigi and Jacy. Look for Zoey on RAW or Smackdown full-time very soon. “- John Smith, EWP Senior NXT Correspondent.
Pick: MANDY ROSE
“While I don’t think Zoey’s a bad choice to take the title from Mandy, I think they’ve got more work invested in Roxy & Cora…so I’ll say Mandy retains here.” – John D’Aconti, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: MANDY ROSE
“Zoey has two irons in the fire at the minute. This match with Mandy Rose and the WWE Women’s Tag Championship Tournament. I think Mandy will lose the title soon, as she will likely be moved to the main roster in the next few months, but I don’t think that this is that time. I think Roxanne Perez will be that woman. So, that being said, I think it’s fairly obvious that I’m going for Mandy to win this, by hook or crook.” – Gary Mehaffy, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: MANDY ROSE
Photo Credit: wwe.com
**NXT North American Championship**
**Champion CARMELO HAYES vs. GIOVANNI VINCI**
“More heel-on-heel action (my favorite type of action!) at a PLE for Melo. He got it done last time against Grayson Waller, but I don’t think he’ll be so lucky this time. He’s been focused on that North American title since his debut, time to move on. Also, how great is this Giovanni Vinci gimmick?! AND NEW!” – John Smith, EWP Senior NXT Correspondent
Pick: GIOVANNI VINCI
“This match will be amazing. Like, genuinely fantastic. Assuming they’re given the time, that is. I was worried for Giovanni Vinci when his friends (let’s call them Gunther and Ludwig) went to play on SmackDown that he would flounder and find himself on the ‘Future Endeavor’ list regardless of how good a wrestler he is. But he has turned it around. He’s used his in-ring talents to negate the new, silly persona. I find this hard to pick, as Carmelo is equally talented in the ring. I’m looking at my other picks, which I’m letting influence this one (a bad idea, I know!). But after not so careful consideration, I’m going for Carmelo Hayes to get the W.” – Gary Mehaffy, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: CARMELO HAYES
“Been saying for weeks now that Wes Lee will be the one to beat Melo for the title eventually. So I’ll take Melo to keep going.” – Al Karl, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: CARMELO HAYES
Photo Credit: wwe.com
**Street Fight (Legado Del Fantasma’s Freedom vs. Santos Escobar’s NXT Career)**
**SANTOS ESCOBAR vs TONY D’ANGELO**
“Tony D has had the upper hand on Santos for months; it’s finally time he got what’s coming to him. Escobar will take back what’s rightfully his and free Legado del Fantasma from the D’Angelo Family once and for all.” – John Smith, EWP Senior NXT Correspondent.
Pick: SANTOS ESCOBAR
“This got very interesting with Escobar’s NXT Career being at stake here. Does Hunter want Escobar on the Main Roster? The answer is probably yes. But the catch with this is that the rest of Legado would stay in NXT under Tony D’s rule. I’m not too fond of that. It’s been fun for a while, but the plan had always been for Santos to win all of their freedom. So I’ll take Santos here. Maybe eventually setting up Santos to beat Breakker down the line? I like Santos as the NXT Champion.” – Al Karl, EWP Correspondent
Pick: SANTOS ESCOBAR
“The smart money would say that Tony D. Angelo (does he have the same middle name as JD McDonagh? Oh, it’s D’Angelo. My bad!) will win, meaning that Santos Escobar will be forced to leave NXT and be free to turn up on Raw or SmackDown. Other people would say that I’m thus inclined to stick it to John Smith by giving JD McDonagh a win and Santos a loss. Either way, I’m picking Tony D to win what will be a perfect match. Thanks to Santos being so good and helping the less experienced D’Angelo through it!” – Gary Mehaffy, EWP Correspondent
Pick: TONY D’ANGELO
“I could see Escobar moving to the main roster, but Legado works so well together that I’m hoping he won’t make a move alone. So give me Santos winning to earn freedom for Legado from the D’Angelo Family.” – John D’Aconti, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: SANTOS ESCOBAR
Photo Credit: wwe.com
**ROXANNE PEREZ vs. CORA JADE**
“I’m not the only one who loves ‘Bad Girl’ Cora, am I? Roxy doesn’t need this win as much as she may want it. On the other hand, Jade needs to solidify her new heel persona by taking out her former best friend. Cora Jade wins the grudge match.” – John Smith, EWP Senior NXT Correspondent.
Pick: CORA JADE
“It’s a grudge match, and the cowardly heel cost her former best friend a title shot. I don’t know what does if this doesn’t have babyface win written all over it. Hopefully, this is setting Roxy up for another shot at the title in the foreseeable future. Only a couple weeks are remaining before Mandy passes Io Shirai for 3rd longest NXT Women’s Title reign.” – John D’Aconti, EWP Correspondent.
Pick: ROXANNE PEREZ
“Cora hasn’t been doing well since her heel turn. She tried to cheat her way to a Win in the Battle Royal and failed. She tried to cheat and get a win against Zoey and failed. She needs to start getting some success since it seems like she’s Main Eventing NXT every week. Cheat to win against her rival, who’s very popular, and she will start to get the boo’s she got when she turned.” – Al Karl, EWP Host.
Pick: CORA JADE
Photo Credit: Eastern Observer
Be sure to catch the “Essential Wrestling Podcast” on Tuesday Evenings at 5 pm on all of the Eastern Observer Platforms, and join the EWP Public Pool on ProWrestlingPickem.com to Play Against our Team of Experts!
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