by Josh McCrohon @JoshMcCrohon57NXT has been apart of the WWE family for many years now, dating back to the absolutley awful game show days. However, it transformed into a developmental wrestling show in 2012 where Seth Rollins became the very first NXT Champion. Since Rollins, there has been 12 reigns and the 13th belongs to Drew McIntyre. But who will beat McIntyre? Here’s 10 wrestlers who can dethrone the chosen one. 10. Adam ColeThe only 3 time Ring of Honor champion made his debut only a few months back but that doesn’t mean he’s not a contender. He is currently scheduled to fight McIntyre the night before Takeover: War Games. Will the title change hands? Probably not. But that doesn’t exclude Cole from winning the title another time. Perhaps the weekend of the Royal Rumble; Cole as the NXT champion has a ring to it... 9. Aleister BlackThe undefeated wrestler, Aleister Black is likely to succeed whether that’s in NXT or if that’s in the main roster - why not both? Just watching his Black Mass makes me take a local trip down to my dentist to see if my jaw is still intact. Black could easily be the future of NXT and the WWE: they clearly feel the same as he has been booked incredibly strong thus far. Are we looking at the next NXT Champion? 8. Donovan DijakThis one might be slightly unfamiliar to some of you which is pretty upsetting as Dijak is a great wrestler, is over the 6’5 mark and isn’t afraid to do flips and all that good stuff. Dijakak is signed to NXT but is yet to make his television debut but if booked the right way he’ll be a key player in the NXT championship rankings once he debuts, which is apparently imminent if the live shows appearances are to be believed. 7. RicochetIf rumours are to be believed, then Ricochet will be heading to WWE sooner rather than later. Question is though does he go to NXT? If he does, will he capture the gold? Ricochet is one of the best wrestlers on the planet today so it only makes sense for him to at some point capture NXT’s top prize before eventually moving up and dominating either RAW or Smackdown. 6. Tomosso CiampaThe psycho killer himself, Tommaso Ciampa has had a bumpy 2017 to put it mildly. Him and Gargano lost their fairly new tag team titles to the Authors Of Pain in January and then lost the triple threat tag team match along with The Revival. They had yet another shot at Takeover: Chicago in the Main Event in a ladders match which they also lost. After the match Ciampa not only broke up #DIY but he also broke our hearts. I miss #DIY, I really do. But after Ciampa splitting from Gargano, it was revealed that he’d have to undergo surgery and will return in March 2018. When he returns, maybe, just maybe, we’ll see Dr. Thomas as the new NXT Champion. 5. Marty ScurllMarty Scurll (whoop whoop) is a fantastic wrestler with a fantastic nickname along with a fantastic theme song. He may also have the best English accent I’ve ever heard. God, I love Marty Scurll. He might not be NXT champion for a good while considering he’s the newly crowned IWGP Junior heavyweight champion but after he loses that belt, I’m sure he might receive a FaceTime from Paul. 4. Andrade ‘Cien’ AlmasWhere do I start? Andrade Almas is a good wrestler who has been in NXT since November 2015. Almas hasn’t felt like he’s accomplished much in his run though he has had notable victories over the likes of Johnny Gargano, Tye Dillinger and even No Way Jose, all coming since his incredibly fruitful partnership with Zelina Vega. Andrade (unlike anybody else on this list with the exception of Adam Cole) actually has a match for the NXT title, making him one of the more realistic choices on this list. 3. EC3The former NXT wrestler Derrick Bateman (or the current EC3) didn’t have a very good NXT run, however that was in the gameshow days and if on the roster, Carter could very much be NXT Champion. Carter was released from NXT years back due to unknown accords back in 2013, but if he were to foray back into WWE, Ethan Carter Vs. Drew McIntyre the day before Mania? Sign me up. Add to this the wild rumours that Carter could be on his way out of Impact at the end of the year due to disagreements over recent decisions, and this could be an even more realistic addition to this list! 2. Will OspreayThere are 3 definite things in life: Grass is green, sky is blue and will Osperay is a bloody good wrestler. Osperay is still only 24 aswell, despite seemingly being on the Wrestling scene for years, so he has many years in which he could perform in WWE and if he plays his card right, he could easily be WWE champion before he’s 30. What my point is, that Osperay could easily be the man to base NXT around whether he’s face or heel. 1. Eric YoungThe former TNA champion and the current leader of SAniTy is one half of the NXT Tag Team champions alongside Alexander Wolfe, but maybe Killian can slowly take the Tag belt instead of Eric, Nikki can win the women’s title at Takeover: War Games and Young can sneakIly beat McIntyre for the golden belt. What I’m trying to say is….look out for SAniTy in 2018 as you never know where they could be... And that’s my list! Feel free to comment any other wrestlers I could’ve put on this list and talk to us on twitter, me @thedynmatic44 and Wrestling & More @WAMPodcastUK Disclaimer: I was going to put Cody on this list, but he recently signed a multi-year deal to ROH. I’ve been Josh and I’ll be back soon! Comments are closed.
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