# NXT TakeOver: Toronto preview, Aug. 10, 2019: Epic NXT Title rivalry culminates in Toronto

* In arguably the most important NXT Title Match in history, champion Adam Cole will face off against Johnny Gargano in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, completing their incredible trilogy of TakeOver battles. The final chapter of this epic rivalry will feature a classic wrestling match for one fall, a lawless Street Fight for another, and if Cole and Gargano are tied after that, then NXT General Manager William Regal will announce a special stipulation for the third and final fall.

* NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (2-out-of-3 Falls Match)
* NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim
* NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong (Triple Threat Match)
* NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed ERA
* Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

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

* No rivalry in 2019 has featured NXT the kind of ill will that exists between NXT Champion Adam Cole and former champion Johnny Gargano. From their epic 2-out-of-3 Falls Match at TakeOver: New York to their unforgettable rematch at TakeOver: XXV, Cole and Gargano have added an incredible new chapter to the NXT record books.
At TakeOver: Toronto, on the eve of SummerSlam, The Panama City Playboy and Johnny Wrestling will reprise their classic duels once more, but this time, it’s with a twist.
With their hostilities showing no signs of slowing down after Cole’s deeply personal verbal attacks on Gargano’s family and friends and Gargano’s fiery retribution, NXT General Manager William Regal ruled that the two enemies will fight in an NXT Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls rubber match in Toronto. Unlike their duel in New York, however, Regal empowered Cole and Gargano to each choose a stipulation for one fall of the match.
On the July 24 edition of NXT, the competitors announced their stipulations, with Gargano opting for a Street Fight for his fall and Cole invoking a “classic, old-school wrestling match” for his. If the champion and challenger wind up locked in a stalemate after two falls, Regal will decide the stipulation for the third and final fall.
Don’t miss the hotly anticipated final chapter of this stunning rivalry when Cole and Gargano collide at TakeOver: Toronto, streaming live this Saturday at 7 ET/4 PT, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.

# NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim

* Like an uprising from the streets that’s ready to storm the castle of an oppressive overlord, Mia Yim will challenge NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler for the crown at TakeOver: Toronto.
Once upon a time, The Queen of Spades ruled the NXT Women’s division with an iron first, viciously snuffing out any and all opposition with the help of her running mates, Marina Shafir & Jessamyn Duke.
Then came The Head Baddie in Charge. Swearing to defend those who need protecting, Yim used Baszler’s own ruthless tactics against The Submission Magician and her foot soldiers, wiping out Shafir & Duke with outside-the-ring-vigilante strikes that not only left the NXT Women’s Champion crying foul, but also in the unfamiliar position of operating without backup.
Baszler has since claimed that The HBIC’s attacks were the actions of a “street rat,” and she intends to turn out Yim’s lights in Toronto. Her disparaging remarks, however, have done little to intimidate Yim: The HBIC told Baszler that she’s bringing a fight for which The Queen of Spades can’t possibly prepare.
Will Yim bring an end to #ShaynaTwoTime’s reign of terror? Or will Baszler prove that Yim is no match for her?

# NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong (Triple Threat Match)

* NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream will have to deal with not one, but two potent contenders at TakeOver: Toronto, when he faces Roderick Strong and the newly returned Pete Dunne in a Triple Threat Match.
Strong has been hot on Dream’s trail since pinning him in six-man tag team action in June and appeared to be in line for a one-on-one title opportunity until The BruiserWeight reared his head (and snapped Strong’s fingers) in his monumental return to the black-and-gold brand on July 24. With Dunne, a former WWE United Kingdom Champion, making his North American Title aspirations clear to all, NXT General Manager William Regal thought it only fitting to insert him into the picture, paving the road to TakeOver: Toronto’s explosive Triple Threat Match.
It might not be the title opportunity that Strong envisioned, but The Messiah of the Backbreaker no doubt remains mission-focused on helping The Undisputed ERA fulfill its prophecy of being “draped in championship gold.” Dunne, on the other hand, is hungry to capture his first title since losing the WWE U.K. Championship to WALTER in January.
Then there’s the defending champion, Velveteen Dream, who is arguably under the greatest pressure of all. Defending the title against either Strong or Dunne would be a tall task in its own right, but fighting both Superstars in a Triple Threat Match — where there are no disqualifications or count-outs and the champion doesn’t even have to be involved in the decision to lose the title — makes title retention an exceedingly difficult proposition.
Which Superstar will emerge as champion when the dust settles? Tune in to NXT TakeOver: Toronto to find out.

# NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed ERA

* The Street Profits’ NXT Tag Team Titles will be at stake at TakeOver: Toronto when Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford face challengers Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly of The Undisputed ERA.
The showdown comes at a pivotal time for The Undisputed ERA, as the controversial quartet marches their way toward a future “draped in championship gold,” a prophecy foretold by Adam Cole at the start of 2019. Since then, Cole has captured the NXT Title from Johnny Gargano, leaving the NXT Tag Team and North American Championships as the only boxes left unchecked.
Fish & O’Reilly plan to do their part at TakeOver: Toronto, but to succeed, they’ll have to make it past the red-hot Street Profits, who, lest Undisputed ERA need reminding, prevailed over not only Fish & O’Reilly, but also The Forgotten Sons and Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan to capture the titles in a Ladder Match at TakeOver: XXV.
Although Dawkins & Ford have arrived on Raw in the wake of their championship triumph, don’t think for one second that The Sultans of Swag have taken their eye off the black-and-gold brand. In accepting Fish & O’Reilly’s challenge on a special edition of Street Talk, The Curse of Greatness borrowed a line from Undisputed ERA, saying he and Ford will leave Toronto as the champions, “and that is undisputed.”

# Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

* Candice LeRae has one objective in mind at TakeOver: Toronto: to make Io Shirai suffer.
LeRae has been searching for payback ever since The Genius of the Sky betrayed her in June. Shirai used a steel chair to obliterate LeRae immediately after Shirai lost to NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler in a Steel Cage Match for the title. Following the attack, Shirai showed no remorse; instead, she’s declared her independence from LeRae — the one Superstar who had Shirai’s back during her war with Baszler and the Horsewomen — and made clear that she doesn’t need, or want, any friends.
But if Shirai thought her lashing would put LeRae in her rear-view mirror, then she’s not familiar with “Tenacious C.” LeRae sent Shirai packing with an ambush on the June 24 edition of NXT. LeRae intended to fight fire with fire, reaching for a chair during the melee, but Shirai escaped before she could receive her comeuppance.
There will be nowhere to run, however, when LeRae and Shirai finally square off at TakeOver: Toronto.