WWE NXT TakeOver 31: Io Shirai vs Candice LeRae – Match Prediction and Preview

Published 10/04/2020, 7:30 AM EDT

Last week’s NXT saw Candice LeRae becoming the number one contender for Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship. This won’t be the first time Io Shirai and Candice will face each other at NXT TakeOver. In fact, the duo were friends first before they turned bitter.

Shirai betrayed LeRae on a June 2019 episode of NXT before beating her in an exceptional match at TakeOver: Toronto II. They faced off two months later in a rematch on NXT that was also won by ‘The Genius of the Sky.’

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However, since becoming NXT’s ‘Poison Pixie,’ LeRae has experienced a career resurgence. Her last rivalry saw her beating Mia Yim, who later became Reckoning in the dark group RETRIBUTION, but that is a different story.

Although Shirai might have won the previous match of their rivalry, this time LeRae is different. She has won some impressive matches on her own. As an added advantage, she will have her husband Johnny Gargano in the building, who will fight Damien Priest for the NXT North American Championship.

Even though NXT is currently focusing on long storylines and title reigns, they might change it up for LeRae. Many fans believe that if NXT focuses on long title reigns, Shirai will retain her title. However, if the NXT creative decide to experiment, LeRae and Gargano might both win.

Double win at NXT TakeOver 31

It doesn’t happen often in WWE, but there is a possibility of the married couple ending the evening as champions of their divisions. LeRae played a major role in Johnny’s rise to the top in 2019, but they were not paired until this April when they both turned heel. Needless to say, LeRae’s championship win is closely tied to Gargano’s.

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If we focus on facts, we can see that Shirai’s fury in the ring is unmatched. With the brand draft incoming, both Shirai and LeRae have the potential to go up to the main roster. LeRae has already appeared in the 2019 and 2020 women’s Royal Rumble matches as well as in the annual WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal in 2019.

Even if LeRae moves to the main roster, Shirai will have Shotzi Blackheart to fight. Blackheart has also established herself as a great performer.

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We will have to tune into NXT TakeOver on 4th October, live from Full Sail Campus, Florida.

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Angana Roy is a WWE and AEW author for EssentiallySports, having published more than 800 professional wrestling articles. She is currently pursuing higher studies in English language and literature from the University of Calcutta and has over three years of experience in journalism. As a life-long fan of the sports entertainment brand of pro-wrestling, her work consists of live coverage of weekly shows, PPVs, speculating the future course of storylines and everything in between.

WWE NXT TakeOver 31: Io Shirai vs Candice LeRae – Match Prediction and Preview

Double win at NXT TakeOver 31

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