Bálor may have to defend his title against Kross very soon

NXT returns tonight (Dec. 9) from the Capitol Wrestling Center (CWC) in Orlando, Florida. This is the fallout from TakeOver: WarGames.

Advertised for tonight:

• What’s Finn Bálor’s next move?
• WarGames fallout

As per usual, here are our five questions about NXT tonight:

1) Is Kross vs. Bálor in our immediate future?

It looks very likely that Karrion Kross will be returning to TV soon. There was a video at TakeOver: WarGames teasing it. Meanwhile, it sounds like Finn Bálor is healthy and ready to go. He also had a video that played during WarGames, talking about how tonight, all eyes are back on the champion.

If Kross is indeed good to go, I don’t see how they put off a title match for too long. He had to relinquish his title immediately after winning it at TakeOver: XXX. He’s undefeated in the promotion. There’s no reason to wait.

NXT has a television special on Jan. 6 called New Year’s Evil. With a name like that, it feels like a perfect place for a Kross to get an opportunity to win his title back. Maybe they wait on his return until that show, allowing someone like Kushida to get a title shot first, but it won’t be long until Bálor has to defend his gold against Kross.

2) Is Pat McAfee still coming by?

Pat McAfee and his boys were unable to defeat Undisputed ERA inside WarGames. McAfee claims he’s not done with Undisputed. But given how much the man has on his plate, one has to wonder what his role is now that he’s played his part in the WarGames angle.

Hopefully his role as the leader of the Kings of NXT will continue. He’s just too good at it to leave. NXT would be worse off because of it. More importantly, the group he put together would be worse off because of it.

He’s the glue that holds them together. It’s his money that’s keeping them a unit. This is something that the announcers put over on Sunday. And, yes, Pete Dunne would be OK on his own. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan would do OK without him. They do hold the tag team championships after all. But they will be in a larger spotlight with Pat McAfee standing in the middle of the ring, cutting an awesome promo putting them over. None of those guys can get a promo like Pat Mac can.

Whether or not he feels he still has unfinished business with the Undisputed ERA is besides the fact. He’s such a big presence that Wednesday nights on USA are better off with him.

3) Does Raquel González get the next shot?

Raquel González scored the biggest pin in her career on Sunday when she pinned NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai inside WarGames. That means she has to be on the short list to face the Genius of the Sky for her title.

With NXT booking towards big show in less than a month with New Years Evil, this seems like the caliber of title match that would work for that show. González feels like a big deal, but it’s not time to pull the trigger and put the gold on her. Instead, a strong showing that helps elevate her further in a loss is the way to go.

There are bigger matches for Io that need a bit more time, such as a match against Toni Storm or Ember Moon. They can start planting the seeds for future programs now as Raquel gets the more immediate title opportunity.

4) What could be next for Undisputed ERA?

While I predicted Undisputed ERA would win WarGames, I was kind of hoping they wouldn’t.

We’ve seen Undisputed on top. Sure they were heels and now they’re babyfaces, but they’re still a cocky team riding high. The intrigue was in a loss, leaving them reeling after losing to Pat McAfee of all people. Seeing how this group navigated a huge failure was more interesting to me than them doing well.

But they won. And with that likely comes a tag title shot. But after that, I can’t imagine what they could do as a unit that I’d be interested in because I can’t imagine anything that would feel fresh.

5) Are there other Ghostfaces full time?

Johnny had maybe seven Ghostfaces help him win his North American title match last Sunday. Only one revealed himself – Austin Theory.

So what of the other six? Were they just a one night thing for him? Or does Johnny slowly unveil more guys who have joined the Gargano family?

We’ll look at that as we wait and see if Johnny Gargano can breathe some life in the talented but often dull Austin Theory.

---

We’ll see if we get any answers to these questions tonight at 8 PM ET on USA Network.

**For Original Source – Click Here**