Popular WWE star moves one step closer to challenging Andrade amid winning streak
WWE rosters are coming out of the 37th annual SummerSlam with strong momentum. Andrade has an impressive winning streak, but one popular Superstar is looking to end his championship reign.
WWE's current eight-man Speed tournament kicked off on July 31 as Joaquin Wilde defeated NXT Tag Team Champion Axiom to advance. Pete Dunne defeated Julius Creed on Friday, and now Wilde vs. Dunne is in a semifinal scheduled for next Wednesday. The winner of Dunne vs. Wilde will earn the semifinal in the top half of the bracket.
Today's Speed episode kicked off the bottom half of the bracket with Je'Von Evans defeating Ashante Adonis. The young NXT Superstar pinned Adonis with 27 seconds left in the 3-minute match.
The Wrestling Prodigy will now face the winner of Montez Ford vs. Austin Theory, which will air this Friday. Evans vs. Ford or Theory will air on August 16, and then the semifinal or Wilde vs. Evans or Theory or Ford will air on August 21.
El Idolo is set to defend the Speed Championship on August 21. Since dethroning Ricochet in mid-June, the former AEW star has retained against Xavier Woods and Baron Corbin. Andrade has already passed Ricochet's inaugural reign of 42 recognized days and will have been champion for just under 70 days if he can retain later this month.
Andrade is also competing on SmackDown while running the Speed concept. Since returning to WWE in the Men's Royal Rumble, Charlotte Flair's husband has won all 11 singles matches, 1 Triple Threat, two tag team bouts, and one six-man contest. His only losses after the Rumble are two six-man bouts and the Money In the Bank Ladder Match.
WWE Speed spoilers for the current tournament
The opening round of the current WWE Speed Tournament will wrap up next Wednesday, with Montez Ford taking on Austin Theory. The SmackDown Superstars taped their Speed match at last Friday's blue brand tapings.
Ford vs. Theory at the WWE Speed tapings ended in a three-minute time limit draw. While not confirmed, Ford and Theory will likely be eliminated from the tournament. Je'Von Evans will automatically advance to the semifinal as the winner of Pete Dunne vs. Joaquin Wilde.
The first-ever Speed time limit draw came in mid-July, as Ilja Dragunov took on Carmelo Hayes. Per the rules, both Superstars were eliminated, which allowed Baron Corbin to advance to the title match. Andrade retained over Corbin on the July 24 episode. His next title defense will come later this month against either Evans, Dunne, or Wilde.