When Will EC3 Finally Get A Push In NXT?

In recent weeks, The Top 1% of the wrestling industry has been left 100% directionless. After short-lived losing efforts against everyone from Lars Sullivan to The Velveteen Dream, what’s next for EC3 in NXT?

Another NXT Takeover has come and gone. This time, we were able to watch one of the most exciting match types in all of wrestling: WarGames.

WarGames was an exciting and emotional affair, as it usually is, that helped spotlight many of NXT’s finest talents. That is, except for EC3.

Even though WarGames was centered around a group of faces who were wronged by The Undisputed Era and bent on delivering a beating to the devious team, EC3 was nowhere to be found. This was despite the fact that EC3 had just been on the receiving end of a brutal attack from The Undisputed Era right smack in the middle of the build-up to Takeover itself.

Unfortunately, puzzling booking decisions like that have plagued EC3 throughout his WWE run.

Thus far, EC3 has been on the receiving end of numerous high profile losses during his time in NXT. Unlike with typically debuting stars in NXT, WWE has thrown EC3 straight into the deep end of the roster resulting in a shocking lack of success for the former Impact World Champion.

From losing to an enraged Johnny Gargano to suffering a defeat at the hands of The Velveteen Dream at Takeover: Brooklyn IV, it seems like EC3 just can’t catch a break. He’s yet to end up with his hand raised in basically any of his high profile matches in NXT, which brings us back to his unsettled beef with The Undisputed Era.

EC3’s only major victory thus far came against Adam Cole on the October 24th episode of NXT. Of course, it was also after that match that EC3 was on the receiving end of a steel chair bashing from The Undisputed Era’s Bobby Fish.

With that angle in mind, along with coming off the heels of The Undisputed Era’s WarGames match, I believe its now or never for EC3 to finally receive a sustained push in NXT.

EC3 should immediately return in the coming weeks to exact his revenge on The Undisputed Era for taking him out in the steel chair attack. He should then go on a tear through The Undisputed Era, taking out each of the team’s members in successful singles wins.

This run should then be capped off at the next Takeover against Adam Cole in a heavily promoted stipulation match, potentially an extreme rules match or street fight to truly show how furious EC3 is.

A sustained push for EC3 such as that would do wonders for The Top One Percenter. He could then seamlessly move from the match with Cole onto a feud for the NXT or North American title or even be called up to the main roster, as recent rumors have suggested may have been the plan all along.

Don’t worry about what a series of defeats like that would do to The Undisputed Era either. Personally, I believe the faction is far more likely to move forward through NXT or onto the main roster as a trio, since WWE, with the exception of The Nexus, seems to prefer their factions stay at 3 members.

That means Cole, Fish, and O’Reily might just place the blame for their loss against EC3, and at WarGames for that matter, on Roderick Strong, thus kicking him out of the group and returning the team to its original members only. This could then set up a red-hot redemption arc for Roderick Strong as he takes on The Undisputed Era on the path to the Takeover before WrestleMania.

At the end of the day though, admittedly this rivalry would primarily be about EC3 and finally giving him the push he needs to validate his NXT run. If WWE doesn’t pull the trigger on a feud like this for EC3, then they will just be continuing to waste a superstar who could be one of the best and brightest the company has to offer today.