16 men entered the NXT Championship Tournament, all with visions of grandeur, and now, only 4 remain. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, "The Swiss Cyborg" Cesaro, "The Architect of the Future" Seth Rollins and "The Destroyer" Samoa Joe. Hello, I'm Henry Keys, and with the semi-finals set to begin, I'm here to breakdown and preview these two high stakes match-ups. If you would like to see these matches in the form of an image, the link is here. Enjoy!
AJ Styles vs Cesaro
AJ Styles had a relatively stress-free quarter finals, as he was able to get past Roderick Strong with a decisive win. But while Styles has mostly had an easy run thus far, it gets a lot more difficult going forward. The best of the best is in the semi-finals, and Cesaro has certainly proved how good he is. With the odds mostly against him, the tag team specialist out-lasted Roman Reigns, one of the favorites of the tournament, to survive and advance. Cesaro is battle hardened, and has never reached the top of the mountain in professional wrestling, making him hungry for another huge win. He's the underdog once again in this match, as Styles is a popular pick among both the oddsmakers and the fans. You can never discount the upset potential however, making this a very hard match to call.
Favorite: AJ Styles
Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins
Speaking of hard matches to call, this is perhaps the most even match yet we've seen in the tournament. Samoa Joe has had a dominant run, defeating Akira Tozawa and Hideo Itami thus far. Itami did push Joe a little bit in their match, perhaps exposing some flaws in Joe's game that other competitors can use in the future. Overall, Joe is fresh and eager for competition, which Seth Rollins is certainly prepared to bring. Rollins has done nothing but put on match of the night winners, week after week, with two fantastic matches with Kassius Ohno and Neville under his belt. Rollins has been the favorite through his first two matches, but for the first time, he will be fighting from beneath this week. In what might be considered a shock, Samoa Joe is a major favorite this week, having the best odds to advance out of all four finalists. The fans seem split in terms of general opinion, but there's no doubt that Joe will be coming in with the confidence of a champion.
Favorite: Samoa Joe
AJ Styles vs Cesaro
AJ Styles had a relatively stress-free quarter finals, as he was able to get past Roderick Strong with a decisive win. But while Styles has mostly had an easy run thus far, it gets a lot more difficult going forward. The best of the best is in the semi-finals, and Cesaro has certainly proved how good he is. With the odds mostly against him, the tag team specialist out-lasted Roman Reigns, one of the favorites of the tournament, to survive and advance. Cesaro is battle hardened, and has never reached the top of the mountain in professional wrestling, making him hungry for another huge win. He's the underdog once again in this match, as Styles is a popular pick among both the oddsmakers and the fans. You can never discount the upset potential however, making this a very hard match to call.
Favorite: AJ Styles
Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins
Speaking of hard matches to call, this is perhaps the most even match yet we've seen in the tournament. Samoa Joe has had a dominant run, defeating Akira Tozawa and Hideo Itami thus far. Itami did push Joe a little bit in their match, perhaps exposing some flaws in Joe's game that other competitors can use in the future. Overall, Joe is fresh and eager for competition, which Seth Rollins is certainly prepared to bring. Rollins has done nothing but put on match of the night winners, week after week, with two fantastic matches with Kassius Ohno and Neville under his belt. Rollins has been the favorite through his first two matches, but for the first time, he will be fighting from beneath this week. In what might be considered a shock, Samoa Joe is a major favorite this week, having the best odds to advance out of all four finalists. The fans seem split in terms of general opinion, but there's no doubt that Joe will be coming in with the confidence of a champion.
Favorite: Samoa Joe
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