NXT: Who Is Next In Line For Santos Escobar’s Championship

Arriving in NXT earlier this year, Santos Escobar has taken the show by storm. Alongside, Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, Escobar has been unstoppable as NXT Cruiserweight Champion. However, there may be an “ace” in the wait.

I know, I know. What’s this guy talking about? What do you mean who is next in line for Santos Escobar? Curt Stallion made an impact on the 205th episode of 205 Live by winning a fatal five-way match to become the number one contender for Escobar’s championship. There is no doubt that Stallion will take the fight to Escobar in his title shot. However, I do doubt that Stallion will be the one to take the championship away from Escobar.

Only being a member of the WWE for less than a full month, it is simply too early to pull the trigger on Stallion. However, with this much love shown to Curt Stallion early in his run, you can expect more opportunities like this one for him in the future. It may not be his time yet, but I would bet that will be a different story in the near future.

With that being said, we get back to the question at hand. With contenders stepping up and failing, who is going to be next in line for Escobar’s championship? Santos, defeating everybody that has stepped in his path thus far most recently defeating Jake Atlas, has been shining as the Cruiserweight Champion. Since becoming exclusive to the NXT brand, the Cruiserweight Championship has been best highlighted since its creation back in WCW.

Santos Escobar recently paid tribute to Rey Mysterio with his attire at NXT Halloween Havoc, wearing tights similar to Mysterio’s from WCW Halloween Havoc 1997. The Cruiserweight division is the hottest it has been in years under Escobar’s helm. It has been a reign that not just any challenger is going to be able to step up and put to an end. If you are going to defeat Escobar, you are going to have to have an ace up your sleeve.

Many names come up in conversation including some of the best in the business from Ashante “Thee” Adonis to Kushida. While both men are valid threats to Escobar’s reign, I don’t believe they will be the ones to do it. There is one person that stands out among all of the names with a right for the gold. I believe there is no doubt that the biggest threat to Santos Escobar’s title reign is the man who never lost the title in the first place, Jordan Devlin.

The WWE was forced to crown an interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion earlier this year due to travel bans due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With Devlin stuck in the UK, Escobar would win the interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament. Now that Devlin has broken his silence on NXT UK, The Irish Ace will be coming soon. It is about time for Jordan Devlin to return to NXT and take his place as the rightful NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

Devlin broke his silence in a big way calling out the WWE for removing the “interim” from the championship tournament. Devlin is rightfully outraged for being pushed aside for Santos Escobar. The WWE loves to have champion versus champion matches and truly, who doesn’t? When Santos Escobar and Jordan Devlin finally collide, we could have a five-star match on our hands. The story is already being written and I am loving the read.

Devlin being built as the disgruntled man pushed aside is the story that Devlin needs at this point. This is an opportunity for Devlin to get the fan behind him and push him to get recognized as the true NXT Cruiserweight Champion instead of the devious Santos Escobar and his band of minions causing chaos on NXT. Everyone loves an anti-hero and we are witnessing the birth of one in Jordan Devlin. Santos Escobar better have an ace up his sleeve, because Jordan Devlin does.