# NXT TakeOver: New York preview, April 5, 2019: A new NXT Champion will be crowned

* Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole (NXT Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls Match)
* NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane (Fatal 4-Way Match)
* WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne vs. WALTER
* NXT Tag Team Champions The War Raiders vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet
* NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle

# Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole (NXT Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls Match)

* History will be made, and a new NXT Champion will be crowned when Johnny Gargano battles Adam Cole in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the newly vacated title at TakeOver: New York.
Gargano was originally earmarked to challenge arch-rival Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Title at TakeOver, but a neck injury forced Ciampa to relinquish the coveted championship, necessitating a change of plans for New York.
In light of that development, WWE COO Triple H revealed on March 20 that the NXT Championship would instead be decided in a match between Gargano and the winner of a Fatal 5-Way Match held later that night between Cole, Ricochet, Aleister Black, NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream and Matt Riddle, which The Undisputed ERA leader won. To ensure that TakeOver: New York’s main event has a definitive outcome, Triple H additionally announced that the match will be contested under 2-out-of-3 Falls rules, meaning the first Superstar to claim two falls will be the victor.
Capturing the NXT Title would truly be a fairytale ending for Gargano, whose tumultuous history with The Blackheart resulted in numerous crises of conscience. Through it all, however, Johnny Wrestling proved to be the valiant hero he always claimed to be. The only hurdle remaining between the beloved Superstar and the NXT Championship — the one title that Gargano has yet to win on the black-and-gold brand — is Cole.
Cole, meanwhile, began 2019 with the bold promise that he and his Undisputed ERA cohorts will all be champions this year. A victory against Gargano at TakeOver: New York — inside the very building where Cole made his shocking NXT debut two years ago — would put The Undisputed ERA back on track to accomplish their goal, as well as in control of the top prize in the land.
Find out who will be crowned the new NXT Champion when Gargano and Cole face off in a 2-out-3 Falls Match at TakeOver: New York!

# NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane (Fatal 4-Way Match)

* Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Although no one knows that age-old saying better than NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, she, too, will be reminded of that adage when she takes on her toughest challenge yet at TakeOver: New York. As announced by NXT General Manager William Regal, The Queen of Spades will defend her coveted crown against Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Kairi Sane in what is sure to be a heated Fatal 4-Way Match.
Baszler has held the title since October at WWE Evolution, where she defeated Sane to become the first-ever two-time NXT Women’s Champion. Since then, The Submission Magician has been hellbent on guarding her lofty prize, as displayed in her underhanded tactics in championship bouts against Sane at TakeOver: WarGames II and Belair at TakeOver: Phoenix. Now, she’ll have to face them both, plus Shirai, in a match where she doesn’t have to be pinned or submitted to lose her title.
Shirai has had her sights set on the NXT Women’s Championship since she scored a pin over Baszler during the Feb. 6 edition of NXT, which saw her team up with Sane and Belair in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match against Baszler, Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir. But Shirai’s golden ambitions are nothing compared to the sheer animosity that Sane and Belair both have toward the champion. Where The Pirate Princess is eager on getting retribution, The EST of NXT is intent on snatching The Queen of Spades off her throne.
Can Baszler escape the Big Apple with her NXT Women’s Title? Or will the NXT Universe witness the dawn of a new era?

# WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne vs. WALTER

* At NXT TakeOver: New York, WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will go head-to-head with WALTER, already one of Europe’s most destructive heavyweights and one of the most dangerous threats that the NXT UK locker room has seen since the brand’s inception.
The Austrian Anomaly made his surprise debut at the end of the historic first-ever NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool event, laying out Gallus’ Joe Coffey with a big boot before coming nose-to-nose with The BruiserWeight. His reign of destruction has not slowed down since, with victories over the likes of Gallus’ Mark Coffey and Kassius Ohno.
WALTER teamed with Dunne against The Coffey Brothers on the March 13 edition of NXT UK, and although the two powerhouses proved to be an extremely effective tandem, the competitive tension between them was deafening. Their post-match staredown, meanwhile, made it clear that a showdown between the two was inevitable.
So, it was not a surprise the following week when, moments after NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint and Assistant to the General Manager Sid Scala announced that Dunne would defend his title at NXT TakeOver: New York, The BruiserWeight interrupted with three simple words, “Give me WALTER.”
Dunne has held the United Kingdom Title for over 680 days. He has made NXT UK his brand by conquering every challenger in one memorable battle after another. WALTER is feared around the world for his pulverizing in-ring style, including brutal knife-edge chops that leave opponents’ chests sunken and discolored. Standing 6-foot-4 and tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds, the immense competitor simply lays waste to everything in his path. Will the same be true when WALTER steps into the ring with The BruiserWeight inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center?

# NXT Tag Team Champions The War Raiders vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet

* It will be a game of thrones when The War Raiders defend the top crown in the NXT Tag Team division against Aleister Black & Ricochet at TakeOver: New York.
On the March 27 installment of NXT, Black & Ricochet were knighted as winners of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic after defeating The Forgotten Sons. In notching the milestone victory, the fast-and-furious duo earned themselves an NXT Tag Team Championship Match against Hanson & Rowe at TakeOver. After surviving formidable tandems like Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner, #DIY and Forgotten Sons, the Dusty Classic winners now will meet their toughest challenge yet when they face off against the battle-tested War Raiders.
It was at TakeOver: Phoenix that Hanson & Rowe pillaged The Undisputed ERA’s championship reign and cast a menacing cloud over the Tag Team division. Since then, the rough and grizzled pair’s intimidating rule welcomed the targets of eight teams vying for the throne – all before it became just one.
Can Black & Ricochet topple the champions and snatch the NXT Tag Team crown, or will the mighty Hanson & Rowe continue to tighten their rule with an iron fist? Find out who will hold court in the end when NXT TakeOver: New York streams live tonight on WWE Network at 7 ET/4 PT.

# NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle

* A closer look was all Matt Riddle wanted when he came across the NXT North American Championship hoisted at the hands of Velveteen Dream on the March 6 edition of NXT.
Almost a month to that date, The Original Bro will get a chance to “experience” the coveted prize under the bright lights of TakeOver: New York. As announced by NXT General Manager William Regal on Twitter, Dream will defend his lofty NXT North American Title against Riddle in a showdown guaranteed to bring new meaning to the Big Apple’s famous “City That Never Sleeps” moniker.
The rivalry between the two dynamic and athletic Superstars brewed shortly after Dream’s emphatic victory over Johnny Gargano on the Feb. 20 installment of NXT. It wasn’t long after the enigmatic provocateur’s championship win that The Original Bro threw in his bid for a chance at the spotlight.
After dismissing Riddle with a snap of the finger (and two words: “Dream over”) earlier in the month, Dream got a trace of Riddle’s championship desire firsthand on the March 20 edition of NXT, when they faced off amongst three other Superstars in a hard-hitting Fatal 5-Way Match to determine a No. 1 Contender for the NXT Title. The high-impact slugfest between them prompted Regal to make Dream vs. Riddle official for TakeOver: New York.
After having battled some of the best among the black-and-gold brand, Dream’s first title defense finds him up against a new sensation with an undefeated record in one-on-one competition. Can Riddle seize the NXT North American Championship, or will The Dream paint the New York City skyline with his purple reign?
See which Superstar takes the spotlight when they collide at TakeOver: New York, streaming exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.