NXT Advent Calendar Day 15: Takeover London preview

Takeover London finishes up the NXT event calendar for 2015, but much like R Evolution last December, it looks to send out the WWE's top brand with a huge end of the year event.

Image credit: WWE.com.

The card is shorter than most recent Takeover cards, shortened from the usual six matches to five despite a longer showtime of 2 hours 30 minutes. This could mean an added match or it could mean an extended Sami Zayn return segment or it could really mean just about anything. But with only five scheduled matches, I would expect each of the announced contests to get at least ten minutes of in ring time, certainly up from a lot of match times at recent NXT supercards.

TakeOver blows away SummerSlam in an amazing weekend of wrestling!

There is no doubt about it: with two straight nights of network specials, WWE outdid itself at the Barclays Center this weekend. But what hurts the main brand in comparison is how much stronger the NXT matches were.

Don't get me wrong, the six matches on NXT's weekend shot had the advantage of not being marred by shady finishes like the two big matches at SummerSlam were, but even a comparison of the the twin main events from both shows makes it clear that NXT is a stronger brand overall in wresting terms.

Cesaro and Kevin Owens put on a great battle before the SummerSlam
main event. Image credits this page: WWE.com.

Who will main event NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn?

There is no doubt that NXT will present the biggest event in their history when the stars of WWE's developmental brand play in front of a sold out 13,000 person arena. But on a packed card, it remains to be seen if the powers behind the brand will play it safe on Saturday night or if they will continue to push the Divas Revolution forward with a bold move. 

The show has been advertised repeatedly as having a double main event: Finn Balor and Kevin Owens in a Ladder Match for the NXT Title and Sasha Banks vs. Bayley in a NXT Women's Title match. Both matches promise to wow fans, but only one could create an incredible marketing and news coverage push for an already intriguing brand. 

Image credit: WWE.