Adam Cole Heavily Favored to Beat Pat McAfee at WWE NXT TakeOver XXX

• WWE NXT TakeOver XXX will take place on Sunday, August 22
• Adam Cole vs Pat McAfee is one of the top promoted matches on the card
• Do the odds at all favor McAfee pulling off an upset victory? Find out below

WWE NXT Superstar Adam Cole and former All-Pro punter Pat McAfee have been at odds on and off for well over a year. At NXT TakeOver XXX on August 22, however, they’re set to take their rivalry to new heights when they go one-on-one in what will be McAfee’s first-ever match inside the squared circle.

Their once-friendly feud escalated considerably in the span of a few weeks, starting with Cole’s appearance on McAfee’s talk show last month. McAfee belittled Cole for taking every shortcut in the book to hold onto the NXT Championship for as long as did, which resulted in Cole going off on McAfee before storming out of the studio.

Although they appeared to put their differences aside prior to NXT this past week, their bad blood bubbled back up to the surface when McAfee continued to take shots at Cole on commentary. A brawl between the two ensued soon after and ended with McAfee punting Cole straight in the skull when the Undisputed Era member was least expecting it.

The next day, a match pitting them against each other was made official for the upcoming installment of TakeOver over SummerSlam weekend on Saturday, August 22. Odds are already available for the highly-anticipated bout, as seen below.

Adam Cole vs Pat McAfee Odds

Odds taken August 8th

Cole being the heavy favorite going into the event should come as no surprise to WWE fans who are aware of the success he’s had on the black-and-gold brand over the last three years. He’s fresh off losing the NXT Championship to Keith Lee following a year-long reign and didn’t have any obvious opponent for TakeOver until McAfee came along.

The odds aren’t bound to change much in the coming weeks, and if anything, Cole may be favored even more than he is at the moment come showtime. Despite his decorated history on the gridiron, McAfee has zero wrestling experience and will likely need to be carried to a competent contest by Cole.

The matchup may not be overly exciting for fans who aren’t familiar with McAfee’s appeal and background, but McAfee shouldn’t be counted out whatsoever. He’s thrived at virtually everything he’s done since retiring from football three years ago and is more of a die-hard wrestling fan than most of the celebrities the company usually brings in, so there’s no reason to think he won’t be giving this latest venture his all.

As far as his +575 odds are concerned, he’ll be the ultimate underdog but will apparently be positioned as a heel. NXT was smart to transition Cole into a babyface role for this match as viewers don’t have much of an incentive to cheer for McAfee, not to mention that Cole is long overdue for a run as a fan favorite.

I am going to hurt this chump.

Then I’m going to make sure he stays out of pro wrestling forever. You aren’t welcome, and you never will be. https://t.co/3SDPH2WUEn

— Adam Cole (@AdamColePro) August 8, 2020

It is worth noting that Cole is presumably nearing the end of his NXT stint and should be moved to the main roster, along with the rest of Undisputed Era, in the not-too-distant future. It’s typically tradition for wrestlers to lose on their way out and that could be the case with Cole if the plan is for him to debut on either Raw or SmackDown immediately following TakeOver.

The only issue is that McAfee, who isn’t an active member of the roster, has nothing to gain from beating Cole and therefore that would be the wrong outcome. NXT tends to do the right thing more often than not and this match shouldn’t be any exception.

A victory for Cole at TakeOver XXX is all but guaranteed, but look for McAfee to put forth a commendable effort and exceed expectations with his performance.