WWE NXT: Four Takeaways From The Final Show Before War Games
By Quinn Gammon
Via WWE.com
The NXT Title Scene Is Heating Up
I admittedly didn’t think much of Andrade “Cien” Almas’s sudden leap to the top of the contendership pile. Almas has spent much of 2017 as the barometer of NXT, meaning that he was the man NXT newcomers made their mark on. Bobby Roode, Roderick Strong and Aleister Black all made indelible impressions by winning hard hitting matches against Almas.
Still, the addition of Zelina Vega ended up being exactly the shot in the arm he needed. Almas is at the top of his game and looks like a serious threat to NXT Champion Drew McIntyre. The go-home edition of NXT ended with a staredown between champion and challenger, with Almas once again getting the best of McIntyre following a distraction by Vega.
It’s shaping up to be a good title match but there’s little reason to believe Almas will actually win the match. McIntyre is as good as he’s ever been and has only been champion for a relatively short period of time. While this doesn’t strike me as a one and done feud, my expectation is that McIntyre retains and goes on to defend against Adam Cole, who will undoubtedly have his Undisputed Era cohorts Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly in his corner. That’s the money match.
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The true mark of McIntyre’s reign as champion will be how he fares after that money match. Can he be a compelling champion for a long period of time, like his predecessors? Judging by the careers paths of the last three NXT Champions, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode, he has large shoes to fill. But if you’ve ever stood up close to Drew McIntyre, the Celtic Claymore doesn’t look the least bit intimidated.