WWE NXT Battleground 2024 Predictions: Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners
This Sunday, "WWE NXT" takes over the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, bringing Battleground to the home of the ultimate fighters. The show is slated for six matches, five of which will be contested for championships — including a ladder match to determine the inaugural NXT Women's North American Championship — while the last takes place inside "NXT Underground." It's also the most star-studded "NXT" premium live event in some time, with a card that includes main roster stars Shayna Baszler, "Michin" Mia Yim, and The OC, as well as TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and former AEW star Ethan Page, making his "NXT" in-ring debut. It's the rare show where it legitimately feels like anything can happen, which makes it a particularly interesting challenge to predict.
It's truly said that the only power that can defeat Wrestling Inc.'s PPV/PLE predictions is the Wrestling Inc. staff itself. Our record in 2024 has been perilously close to perfect, and the last time we came together to make picks, we didn't get a single match at AEW Double or Nothing wrong. We did, however, fail to come to a consensus on two matches, meaning our overall record now stands at 55-5-2. Don't love to see numbers in the draw column, but hey, that's still pretty good considering we're almost halfway through the year! This show could hurt us though, because unlike many PLEs, there's not a ton of agreement backstage at WINC about who will emerge victorious on June 9. For every match whose result seems obvious, there are two matches that could easily go either way — and much to our chagrin, there's even another 50/50 split. Because of course there is.
On that note, let's get to the picks!
NXT Women's North American Title Six-Pack Ladder Match: Sol Ruca (43%)
In December 2022, the ever-athletic Sol Roca debuted an exciting finishing maneuver, titled Sol Snatcher, on "WWE NXT Level Up." Ruca's new backflipping-cutter captured the attention of not only the fans, but also WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who stated that Ruca's future in WWE was "so bright."
18 months later, Ruca, along with five other women, now have the opportunity to make history as the first-ever NXT Women's North American Champion. This secondary singles championship was first introduced by "NXT" General Manager Ava at the 2024 Stand & Deliver premium live event. In the weeks following, the "NXT" women's roster (and some additional main roster representatives) participated in a combine, in which the top 12 performers would advance to a series of qualifying matches on "NXT" television. The winners of those respective qualifiers would then earn one of the six spots in the NXT Women's North American Championship ladder match set for NXT Battleground.
After three weeks of intense qualifiers, the official field for the NXT Women's North American Championship bout boasted the likes of Fallon Henley, Jaida Parker, Lash Legend, Michin, Kelani Jordan, and Sol Ruca. In assessing the field, Wrestling Inc. staff took note of the in-ring experience leveraged by Henley and Michin, as well as the strength advantage of Legend. 43% of us, however, believe that the future of Ruca is so bright that this inaugural honor will ultimately be bestowed to her.
Trailing behind Ruca in the Wrestling Inc. polls is Legend with 21% of the vote, followed by Fallon and Jordan, who tied for third place at 14%. Main roster star Michin garnered just 8%, while Parker, the freshest face of the field, received no votes.
Written by Ella Jay
NXT North American Championship Triple Threat: Oba Femi (93%)
Given how well received the triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship at NXT Stand and Deliver was, it was only right that Shawn Michaels decided to throw two more opponents Oba Femi's way for Battleground. However, his two challengers on June 9 will offer different obstacles this time around.
To start there is Wes Lee, the former NXT North American Champion who will make his first appearance at a Premium Live Event since July 2023. Lee went down with a serious back injury towards the end of 2023 and has only had one thing on his mind since returning to action; reclaim his NXT North American Championship. Shortly after Lee returned, he was assaulted backstage (along with Josh Briggs and Ivar) by Joe Coffey and Gallus, leading to Lee, Coffey and Briggs competing for a shot at Femi at Battleground, which resulted in both Lee and Coffey walking away as joint winners.
Both Lee and Coffey have the experience edge over the champion who only made his in-ring debut less than two years ago, but it is going to take a lot to take down the 26-year old Nigerian behemoth. Since dethroning Dragon Lee in January, Femi has made five televised defenses of his crown, with a further 10 defenses taking place at "NXT" house shows throughout the year. Femi has gotten the better of some of "NXT's" best and brightest, and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
As much as people would love to see someone like Lee get the title back given the severity of the injury he just came back from (Lee earned 7% of the vote from the WINC staff; Coffey earned none) now isn't the time to take the belt off of Femi, and it's starting to become difficult to see who realistically could take it from him.
Written by Sam Palmer
NXT Underground: Even (50%)
Lola Vice is someone WWE has clearly earmarked for big things, and her upcoming match against Shayna Baszler inside NXT Underground appears to be a serious test of the former MMA fighter's meddle. While Vice has combat sports experience, her tendency to dance and wear colorful costumes has drawn the ire of "serious" fighters like Baszler — at first aligned together, Baszler looked to mold Vice into a similarly stern warrior, but Vice put an end to that when she kicked Baszler and then proceeded to literally twerk on her haters.
Vice is seemingly someone to watch in WWE at the moment, and there's a strong argument to be made that Baszler is just an obstacle on her road to glory, meant to be overcome. However, Baszler has reinvigorated herself by returning to "NXT," where she still owns the record for most combined days as NXT Women's Champion, and it remains to be seen whether Vice has reached a level that would see her topple a second main roster star after dispatching Natalya at "WWE NXT: Spring Breakin." In that match, the NXT Underground stipulation seemed to favor Vice and her MMA background, but unlike Natalya, Baszler's MMA background is even more extensive. Baszler has another PLE match coming up less than a week from Battleground, when she travels to Glasgow, Scotland to participate in a women's tag team title match at Clash at the Castle; is she really going to lose to an "NXT" performer immediately prior to her title shot?
To be clear, this match will almost certainly be about elevating Vice — one way or another. The WINC staff as a whole just can't decide if she's actually going over the former champ, or if she's going to pass out in the Kirifuda Clutch rather than tap out.
Written by Ross Berman and MIles Schneiderman
NXT Tag Team Championship: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (71%)
The unlikely pairing of Axiom and Nathan Frazer have proven to be quite successful, having boasted victories over the likes of The D'Angelo Family, The Authors of Pain, and The Wolf Dogs, the latter of which earned them the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships in early April. In recent weeks, however, the reigning tag team titleholders have found themselves at the center of attacks from a notable main roster duo — Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, collectively known as The OC.
One week after assaulting Axiom and Frazer on the May 21 episode of "WWE NXT," Anderson and Gallows challenged them to a title match at NXT Battleground on June 9. In response, Frazer and Axiom issued a counter assault on The O.C. before accepting their aforementioned challenge.
Heading into Battleground, it is clear that The OC yield more WWE television experience, and thus, could utilize it to further elevate the NXT Tag Team Championships. In assessing the lineage of the titles, though, there is a glaring theme of short reigns (less than 100 days) across the last year of "NXT" programming. By the time of Battleground, Axiom and Frazer will reach day 62 of their respective title run, which is still over a month short of the 100-day mark. With this in mind, 71% of Wrestling Inc. staff believe Axiom and Frazer will continue the path to potentially break this NXT Tag Team Championship trend, while simultaneously repeating history, with a win over Anderson and Gallows at NXT Battleground.
Written by Ella Jay
NXT Women's Championship: Roxanne Perez (64%)
For many people, this is the match they are tuning into "NXT" Battleground to see. WWE has opened up its own version of the Forbidden Door (or Prohibited Portal or whatever people are calling it these days) to TNA Wrestling, and TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace is the first to step through and state their claim as being a genuine threat to the WWE roster.
While Grace has ruled the TNA Knockouts division since the start of the year, Roxanne Perez has proven week in and week out that she is every bit of a champion that Grace is, as proven by her three televised defenses of the NXT Women's Championship against the likes of Tatum Paxley, Chelsea Green, and Natalya. In fact, half of the reason why Grace is the one challenging Perez is simply because Perez has already been so dominate as champion since defeating Lyra Valkyria at "NXT" Stand and Deliver. The other half is that this match is very likely to steal the show — but that's not what makes picking a winner tricky.
The result of this match is tricky because it's the only bout on the card that hinges on things happening outside of the ring. How strong is the relationship between WWE and TNA? Would WWE be happy having one of their hottest rising stars lose to someone who isn't even part of the company? Would TNA happily feed their top female star to someone in a different promotion? There are so many questions surrounding a match like this, but with the idea that this match will eventually happen again later down the line, most of us here at Wrestling Inc. are going with the "safe" option of having Perez walk away victorious, but don't be surprised if the result goes the other way.
Written by Sam Palmer
NXT Championship: Trick Williams (86%)
Trick Williams is the man of the moment — so much so that the literal man of the moment currently doesn't stand a chance against him on Sunday.
By all logic, this should be Ethan Page's weekend. He debuted with great ceremony and was instantly granted a shot at the top star in the brand. If he were challenging any other champion, this would feel like a crowning moment for Ethan Page, but this is not Ethan Page's moment. Fans have been deeply invested in Trick Williams as a champion. The former NXT North American Champion was catapulted from side man to superstar and crowned king over WrestleMania weekend, and "NXT" fans don't seem to be anywhere ready for the after party to end.
Page showed up in such a fashion, drawing the ire of the entire Meta Four with a series of backstage attacks, that it is not unreasonable to expect Page to lose the title match and spiral into a feud with any of the Meta Four members he assaulted. The reception Page received in his "NXT" debut is probably better than any championship anyhow. While most are given milquetoast introductions, Page has been portrayed as every bit a star. It will serve him well following the loss to the well-liked champion — or at least, so says the majority of the Wrestling Inc. staff.
Written by Ross Berman