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The Velveteen Dream has been chasing the NXT Championship for quite some time now and at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, he once again failed to capture the title, falling short to reigning champion Adam Cole in a Backlot Brawl match.
Despite the loss, there is no doubt that Dream still remains one of the top Superstars in NXT and has a bright future ahead of him. However, as it stands, he won't be eligible to challenge for the NXT Championship, as long as Adam Cole is the champion.
With that being said, the question remains, what's next for The Velveteen Dream in WWE?
Like aforementioned, The Dream is still regarded as one of the best Superstars in WWE right now, and being a former NXT North American Champion, he could possibly shift his focus on a different championship, with the exception of the NXT Title, of course.
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There have also been talks of Dream possibly moving up to the main roster and in this article, we'll take an in-depth look at the 5 possibilities for The Velveteen Dream after his loss to Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
#5 Velveteen Dream moves on from The Undisputed Era
The likeliest option for The Velveteen Dream, at this stage, would be to move on from The Undisputed Era. After being unable to dethrone Adam Cole as the NXT Champion, it would make sense for The Dream to completely focus on a different goal, while Cole is still the champion.
A feud against a certain Karrion Kross could be on the cards for Dream, given the former dismantled Tommaso Ciampa at TakeOver: In Your House. With Ciampa being a former NXT Champion, maybe Kross could set his sights on another top name in the form of The Velveteen Dream and eventually take out the former North American Champion.
#4 Sets his sight on other Undisputed Era members
Adam Cole has held the NXT Championship for more than a year now and there is no secret to the fact that his fellow Undisputed Era members have played a vital role throughout his entire reign so far.
Cole, often with some assistance from Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong, has retained the NXT Championship, throughout the past year. Therefore, it would make all the sense in the world for The Velveteen Dream to seek revenge by taking out the other members of The Undisputed Era.
As per the current stipulation, The Dream will not be able to get another crack at the NXT Championship with Adam Cole at the top of the realm. However, the former could end up causing Cole the NXT Championship to someone else if he decides to take out Fish, O'Reilly, and Strong, one by one.
With some assistance from Dexter Lumis, who has also had his fair share of issues with The Undisputed Era, Dream could team up to eliminate the dynamic duo of Fish and O'Reilly. Whereas, this could also lead to a singles match between Dream and Strong, considering the latter also hasn't had a proper feud since dropping the North American Championship to Keith Lee.
#3 Challenge for the NXT North American Championship
Speaking of Keith Lee and the NXT North American Championship.
The Velveteen Dream is a former NXT North American Champion himself and as it remains, that's the only title he has won in the black and gold brand so far. Dream's first and only reign as North American Champion saw him beat Johnny Gargano for the belt, who ironically enough, unsuccessfully challenged for the title at TakeOver: In Your House.
Throughout his reign as the NXT North American Champion, The Dream retained the title over the likes of Matt Riddle, who was handed his first loss in NXT by the former. The dream then went on to beat the likes of Murphy, Tyler Breeze, Roderick Strong, and Pete Dunne to retain the title against them in respectable singles matches.
Much like The Velveteen Dream, reigning North American Champion, Keith Lee is also enjoying a dominant run as the secondary champion of NXT, having retained the title over the likes of Damian Priest, Dominick Dijakovic, Cameron Grimes, and Johnny Gargano, over the past few months.
Therefore, this perfectly sets up the stage for a North American Title clash between Lee and Dream, with the latter stepping up to the plate and challenging the reigning champion at the next NXT TakeOver event. A match between The Dream and Keith Lee would be highly interesting, especially if the former decides to turn heel once again...
#2 The Dream goes heel once again
At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, The Dream pulled off another amazing cosplay when he walked out for the Backlot Brawl as Negan from The Walking Dead. Now, for all those who don't know Negan's nature, the man is brutal and ruthless and prefers taking out anyone for his own survival.
Considering The Dream started out as a heel in NXT, this would be the ideal time for him to switch from his babyface character, because it certainly hasn't worked out for him like he would've hoped for.
As Dream is cosplaying Negan at TakeOver: In Your House, maybe he could take a page out of the latter's book and follow his ideology in NXT, in order to reach the top and finally win the NXT Championship.
A heel turn would also give Dream's character a major boost, as he is better suited as a bad-guy and it goes without saying, he did give us a lot of memorable feuds as a heel, especially against the likes of Aleister Black and co. in NXT.
Maybe The Dream was foreshadowing at TakeOver: In Your House?
#1 Call-up to the main roster
After yet another unsuccessful attempt at winning the NXT Championship, it would be likely for The Velveteen Dream to get called up to the WWE main roster. Some fans might argue on the fact that The Dream is yet to win NXT's most prestigious title. However, maybe it is indeed time for him to follow Matt Riddle's path and move up to either RAW or SmackDown.
Recent rumors have suggested that Riddle isn't the only NXT Superstar who was called up to the main roster, as other top names are likely to follow him. So could Dream be one of them and get promoted to the main brands? It could be a possibility, at this stage.
Triple H spoke to Sportskeeda's Gary Cassidy on the post-show conference call and one name that 'The Game' brought up was of The Velveteen Dream's, despite claiming that the WWE Universe could witness back-and-forth shifting between NXT, RAW, and SmackDown.
If The Dream is to be called up to the main roster, then Monday Night RAW could be his eventual destination, given Riddle joined the blue brand of SmackDown. With the likes of Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and even Aleister Black on RAW, there are plenty of workers for The Dream to work with on the main roster.
