WWE: Should Johnny Gargano Win The NXT Championship?

credit: wwe.com

WWE NXT’s juiciest storyline is coming to the fore: Johnny Gargano is challenging for the NXT Championship. At TakeOver: Philadelphia, he will challenge Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, undoubtedly in front of thousands of hopeful fans. Should NXT pull the trigger on the new ‘heart of NXT’?

The Case Against

The perception of Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas’ shock win over WWE NXT Champion Drew McIntyre soon went from stunning to entirely necessary, as McIntyre would immediately leave due to a bicep injury.

The harsh reality for the Scotsman is that this untimely injury has solidified his status as having had one of the most disappointing NXT Championship runs in the brand’s short history. The plan now should be to rebound from his underwhelming reign with an exciting new face of the brand. Unfortunately, Almas taking this duty screams ‘filler champion’.

With his new valet and some decent victories under his belt (including one over new challenger Gargano in Brooklyn), Almas should be building the momentum a credible champion needs. However, Gargano’s number one-contendership seems to completely undermine this. He’s far and away the most natural babyface on the roster, playing into the idea that Almas is simply a steward holding Gargano’s NXT Title.

Back-to-back weak champions isn’t enough to destroy the belt’s (nor the brand’s) reputation. However, if NXT have set Almas up for failure with this run, they deserve to be criticised. He’s a hugely talented performer who has given a great deal to NXT, especially in his vicious heel role. A token title run simply to transition to Gargano should not be seen as a gift but as an insult.