WWE NXT Takeover III: Full Preview, Rumors and More for December 11

Welcome to Bleacher Report's preview of NXT Takeover: R Evolution, airing live on the WWE Network on December 11.

This is the fourth live special put on by WWE's developmental system, but it feels like the biggest. Some future world champions are scheduled to wrestle, and a major debut is set to take place.

As of this writing, only four matches are scheduled to take place, but NXT tends to add a few during the show to keep people on their toes.

Kevin Owens

Former Ring of Honor champion Kevin Steen will be making his NXT debut this Thursday under the new moniker Kevin Owens.

No match has been announced for the most recent NXT acquisition, but there is a good chance he will see some kind of action if the recent talent debuts are anything to go by.

"

4:30 am. Sitting in a rocking chair, trying to put my baby girl back to sleep...and telling her how tonight, I change everything. @WWENXT

— Kevin Owens (@FightOwensFight) December 11, 2014"

Owens is one of those wrestlers who is a brawler in every sense of the word. He doesn't have a physique cut from granite, and he certainly won't win any technical awards, but he will punch you square in the mouth if you rub him the wrong way.

It would be great to see him wrestle, but we will probably have to wait a week or two before he has his first official match.

Finn Balor and Hideo Itami vs. The Ascension

The only nontitle bout we know of will see former NXT tag champs The Ascension battle two men who have been taking NXT by storm in Hideo Itami and Finn Balor.

Better known around the world as Kenta and Prince Devitt, respectively, Itami and Balor will not let the larger Konnor and Viktor push them around.

This all started back at the last live NXT special in September. Itami made his debut and was immediately attacked by the men who had lost their titles earlier in the night.

Itami drove them off, but that did not keep them from continuing to attack him on an almost weekly basis for a long time.

With The Ascension likely making their main roster debut around the beginning of 2015, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them lose this bout.

People who get called up tend to have one big loss right before they head to Raw or SmackDown. Itami and Balor need the win to cement themselves as real competitors in NXT. The Ascension have already proved they are a force to be reckoned with, so losing won't hurt them much.

Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks (Women's Championship)

NXT Women's champion Charlotte will be defending her title against her former BFF and current ratchet Sasha Banks.

These two have either been friends or rivals since NXT moved to the WWE Network, which makes them two of the people with the most history between them in the division.

Charlotte made her Raw debut Monday against Natalya in a losing effort, leading many people to believe she will be moving up to the main roster soon.

It's not a guarantee, but if she is being eyed for a push in the Divas division, we could see a new NXT Women's champion Thursday.

It's not a rule that someone has to lose his or her title before being called up, especially since Paige won the Divas title while holding the NXT Women's Championship, but that's usually how it works.

Banks is not the most technical wrestler, but she is entertaining because of her over-the-top personality. Having her as champion would definitely make for some good storylines.

The Lucha Dragons vs. The Vaudevillains (Tag Team Championship)

Sin Cara and Kalisto will take on The Vaudevillains in a Tag Team Championship match that will see the biggest clash of styles during the show.

Cara and Kalisto are your basic high-flyers, while Aiden English and Simon Gotch look like those bodybuilders from black-and-white films from the 1940s.

It won't be the first time these teams have wrestled each other, but it will be the first time a title is on the line.

English and Gotch would make great tag team champions due to their entertaining characters and their wrestling ability, but it seems too early for The Lucha Dragons to lose their belts.

NXT tends to have longer title reigns, and with only three months as champions, Sin Cara and Kalisto would have one of the shorter reigns if they were to lose.

This doesn't have to be the end of the road for The Vaudevillains. They can always get more title shots. If Sami Zayn can get several dozen, they can get at least one more.

Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville (NXT Championship vs. Career)

Speaking of Sami Zayn and his endless number of title shots, he will be in the main event against Adrian Neville in what should be a candidate for the best match of the year.

If Zayn wins, all his hard work will be validated. If he loses, he has promised to leave WWE for good. The stakes couldn't be higher for the popular grappler.

Adrian Neville has had a great run as champion, successfully defending his title against some of the best NXT has to offer, but it looks like his time with the belt is coming to an end.

The problem with matches like this is that when someone who obviously isn't going anywhere puts his career on the line, it makes the outcome too predictable. The upside is that it adds drama for those of us who choose to let the story suck us in.

Regardless of who walks out as champion, this is going to be a clinic. Both men have real wrestling skills and some of the most exciting high-flying offense in the entire company. It's going to be something special.

The three previous live specials were outstanding pieces of entertainment, and this one looks like it will continue that trend.

Which match are you looking forward to the most at NXT Takeover: R Evolution? 

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.