WWE NXT: Who will win championship gold in 2019?

Credit: WWE.com

NXT Championship

At the beginning of 2018, the NXT Championship belonged to someone many fans were surprised had captured it at WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, with his business manager Zelina Vega at his side, managed to defeat NXT Champion Drew McIntyre and enter 2018 with the title in his possession. Much like Ember’s reign, Andrade’s only made it to New Orleans. The NXT Championship reign of Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas was forced to fade to black at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans when he received a dose of Black Mass and Aleister Black was crowned NXT Champion.

It looked like Black was on his way to a lengthy reign, but Johnny Gargano’s personal issues with Tommaso Ciampa bled in the title picture and helped “The Greatest Sports Entertainer All Time” become the NXT Champion. From personal clashes with Gargano to his hard-fought defense against Velveteen Dream, Ciampa has managed to close out 2018 as the NXT Champion. Ciampa has been champion for nearly six months, but how much longer can he keep Goldie?

Velveteen Dream

With the exception of maybe Johnny Gargano, no man came closer to capturing the NXT Championship in 2018 than Velveteen Dream. As far back as his 2017 loss to Aleister Black at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Dream has shown an innate charisma that makes him one of the most over acts in all of NXT. After a big win over EC3 and NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, Dream set his sights on the NXT Championship.

At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, the 23-year-old sports entertainment prodigy got his first opportunity to challenge Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship. After over twenty minutes of competition, Dream had given the champion every last bit of damage and effort he had to offer. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough that night, but it would be unwise to think that’s the end of Velveteen Dream’s championship pursuits. In 2019, the NXT Championship will finally get The Velveteen Dream Experience.

Adam Cole

As great of a moment as it was when Adam Cole became the first NXT North American Champion, it’s no secret that’s not his ultimate goal. The de facto leader of Undisputed Era has been seeking the NXT Championship from the day he attacked then-champion Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. That was Adam Cole’s debut in NXT, and also the night that The Undisputed Era was formed.

In the sixteen months since The Undisputed Era was formed, they have lived up to their entrance music and shocked the system in NXT. The only thing left for the group to capture is the NXT Championship, and Adam Cole is poised to do that in 2019. With his own in-ring skill and opportunistic nature, Cole may also have some fellow Undisputed Era members at ringside helping ensure he finally does capture the NXT Championship.

Matt Riddle

News broke less than six months ago that indie standout and former UFC competitor Matt Riddle had signed with NXT, but he’s already made his mark on the black and yellow brand. After a war of words with Kassius Ohno on the pre-show for NXT TakeOver: WarGames II, Riddle took it upon himself to go down to the ring at the beginning of the event and call out Kassius Ohno.

It was a bold pay-per-view debut for a competitor relatively new to NXT, but it only took him six seconds to knock out Kassius Ohno and pick up the victory. If this is all fans have seen of Riddle this might seem like an odd choice, but Matt Riddle is an absolute natural in the ring. He’s taken his MMA skills and adapted them to sports entertainment like few have ever managed. All he needs is a chance, and this bro can be NXT Champion in 2019.