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NXT is currently in the middle of finding its next North American Champion. Keith Lee vacated the title after winning a Championship versus Championship match against Adam Cole last month.
What was the solution? First, there would be five Triple Threat matches. Each winner would then be placed into a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX, the winner of that match finally being crowned the new North American Champion.
So far, we have two of the competitors revealed. Bronson Reed defeated both Roderick Strong and Johnny Gargano two weeks ago, giving him the greatest win in his career so far. He was followed by Dexter Lumis last week, who was able to knock off two favorites in Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher.
This week, Oney Lorcan, Ridge Holland, and Damian Priest will face off. However, we've already been given two of the names of the wrestlers competing next week. Cameron Grimes and Kushida will take on a yet-to-be-revealed third man.
Now, NXT's roster is loaded with some incredible Superstars, but as mentioned above, an NXT UK star has crossed over for the opportunity of a lifetime. If that's the case, could we see more UK wrestlers taking a shot at the gold? Who will join Kushida and Cameron Grimes next week? We'll go through some likely contenders.
#5 Killian Dain is still the rampaging beast of NXT
The Hound of Ulster has had two runs in NXT so far. The first saw him team up with Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and his wife Nikki Cross as the dreaded group known as SAnitY. After the group fizzled on the main roster, he returned to the Black and Gold brand, ready to prove himself.
Since then he's battled with the toughest competitors NXT has to offer, and even gave Matt Riddle a serious run for his money as his first real threat in NXT. Killian Dain is an absolute beat of a man who, unfortunately, hasn't had the opportunity to grab any singles gold so far in his run with the company.
Though, if he found himself in one of these Triple Threat matches, one has to wonder if there would be anyone that could stop him.
#4 Isaiah "Swerve" Scott could make NXT "Swerve's House" and the North American Title "Swerve's Title"
Anywhere Isaiah "Swerve" Scott goes is Swerve's House, even NXT. While he didn't exactly have a great start to his career on the Black and Gold brand, falling out of the NXT Breakout Tournament in the opening round, Scott has since pulled out some incredibly impressive wins.
In fact, if it wasn't for Tony Nese, Swerve might be the NXT Cruiserweight Champion right now. Don't worry, they've made up since and are now a tag team. Scott even has a win over Santos Escobar, actually the only pinfall loss the current champion has, so Scott has the ability to back up his talk.
While he's busy working with Tony Nese to quell the invasion of Legado Del Fantasma on 205 Live, he's also an NXT Superstar. In fact, he's 4-1 in his last five matches on the brand, with that one loss belonging to first-ever NXT Grand Slam Champion Johnny Gargano.
Scott is one of the best and brightest Superstars that NXT, and all of WWE, has to offer. It would be a shame if he wasn't in one of these Triple Threats, and putting him in the match with Kushida and Cameron Grimes just seems like a perfect fit.
#3 Kyle O'Reilly deserves a shot at some NXT singles gold
Adam Cole and Roderick Strong have had their chances. It's time for the greatest air guitarist in NXT, Kyle O'Reilly, to get a shot at singles gold. O'Reilly initially came into NXT as a singles competitor, facing Aleister Black in a hard-hitting contest, a match that was recently brought up on NXT's official Twitter page.
Prior to NXT, along with his success in a tag team with Bobby Fish as ReDragon, O'Reilly is also a former ROH World Champion. The swift striking O'Reilly has proven time and time again that he's not just a tag team specialist.
Recently, O'Reilly fired up the Undisputed Era, leading to the group going after Imperium on the last episode of NXT. This week, O'Reilly and Fish will challenge for the NXT Tag Team Championship once again.
With K.O.R. finally back in the ring, let's get him on screen as much as we can. One way to get that done is for NXT to put him in this match.
#2 Ilja Dragunov could rock NXT with a surprise appearance
Ilja Dragunov rocks. Let's be honest, he is a straight-up stud. We've seen Dragunov take on some of the stars of NXT UK, and even take Finn Balor to his limit at Worlds Collide 2020.
One of WWE's greatest workhorses, Cesaro, faced off against Dragunov as well back at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in a show-stealing match. It was a match made in heaven between two guys known for brutalizing their opponents.
Prior to COVID-19 putting a hold on the NXT UK brand, Dragunov was in the middle of a feud with Imperium, specifically NXT UK Champion WALTER. With that feud on hold, and the brand waiting to restart, Dragunov has some time to kill.
It was rumored prior to his debut on that brand that he was destined for NXT anyway, so there were clearly plans to bring the giant-killer to the United States very soon regardless.
Dragunov seems set to do whatever he wants "regardless of what anyone is thinking." Not sure what that means, exactly. Then again, when it comes to Dragunov, no one is certain. Still, if we're looking to promote the NXT UK brand ahead of its return, why not bring one of its top talents to NXT for a little while?
#1 Pete Dunne could finally return to NXT
It's been a long time since we've seen the Bruiserweight on this side of the Atlantic, but it's hard to imagine another NXT Superstar more loved by the WWE Universe than Pete Dunne.
The longest-reigning NXT UK Champion in the title's short history, holding the belt at 685 days, Dunne was one of the most dominant competitors on any brand from 2017-2019.
Dunne knocked off a who's-who of challengers, including Tyler Bate, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and more. His no-nonsense brawling and joint manipulation style has managed to impress both the fans and the locker room.
Recently, Dunne held the NXT Tag Team Championship with Matt Riddle, a team known as the BroserWeights. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dunne was unable to get to the United States, and Riddle lost the belts to Imperium a short while later.
Though the pandemic is still on the rise in the United States, more NXT UK stars seem to be making their way over to the U.S. If that's the case, Pete Dunne could make it to NXT in time to throw his hat into the NXT North American Championship picture.
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