Bengaluru, December 3: WWE NXT general manager William Regal has announced a series of matches to determine the opponent of NXT champion Cien Almas at next month's NXT Takeover: Philadelphia event.
With former champion Drew McIntyre injured, there won't be a rematch for the NXT title during the Jan 27 event. Instead, Regal announced a series of four singles matches, whose winners will indulge in a fatal four-way match to emerge as the challenger for Almas' title.
#WWENXT GM @RealKingRegal made a HUGE announcement this morning! Who will challenge #NXTChampion @AndradeCienWWE at #NXTTakeOver: Philadelphia?! https://t.co/cYdPXmzppF
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2017
"Almas' opponent will be decided based on a series of four singles matches, with the winners of those matches then competing in a Fatal 4-Way Match. The winner of that match will challenge Almas for the NXT Title at TakeOver: Philadelphia on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Wells Fargo Center," the WWE said.
"The four singles matches will be Kassius Ohno vs Velveteen Dream, Aleister Black vs Adam Cole, Killian Dain vs Trent Seven and Roderick Strong vs Lars Sullivan. Seven earned his way into the series of matches after winning a Battle Royal during an NXT Live event in Lakeland, FL," the WWE added.
#WWENXT Champion @AndradeCienWWE is more than confident that he will retain his championship at #NXTTakeOver: Philadelphia! @Zelina_VegaWWE https://t.co/YRoxXRhxbY pic.twitter.com/HFxHBuaeAO
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 2, 2017
According to rumours, Johny Gargano was set to take on Almas for the championship. However, with this confirmation coming in, we might get to see a new challenger for the title-holder. This is going to be really interesting to see who the creative team chooses as the next in line for Almas.
McIntyre, The Sinister Scotsman, suffered a bicep injury in the previous NXT Takeover: WarGames event. He was wrestling Cien Almas for the title. Taking advantage of this, the latter one went on to become the new champion and become the first Latin superstar to hold the title in NXT history.
The NXT Takeover: Philadelphia event will be held a day before the WWE Royal Rumble. The Rumble kicks off the Wrestlemania season with the winner getting to challenge the holder for a championship belt.
Before that, Smackdown Live will have one more stop at the Clash of Champions PPV on December 17.