Ranking the NXT contenders in the Gauntlet Eliminator Match
At NXT TakeOver on October 4th, Finn Balor will defend his NXT Championship for the first time since winning the title earlier this month. The two-time champion's first challenger will be revealed following the debut of a brand new match.
Last week, WWE NXT General Manager William Regal revealed the concept of the NXT Gauntlet Eliminator Match. The rules are as follows:
-- Two men begin in the ring.
-- One Superstar is added every five minutes.
-- Eliminations only take place during pinfall or submission.
Since Wednesday, we'd been getting a competitor revealed each day. Earlier today on Twitter, we saw the final participant revealed. Now, the competitors will wage war on Wednesday to challenge The Prince.
KUSHIDA, Cameron Grimes, Kyle O'Reilly, Timothy Thatcher, and Bronson Reed will all vie for the biggest opportunity in their careers. We're here today to rank each and every man in the match based off of their chances of victory.
Hopefully, every single NXT Superstar in the Gauntlet Eliminator Match will get the opportunity to hold some singles gold in the near future, but for now we need to see who is most likely to walk out of NXT as the #1 contender.
With that, let's get started.
#5 Kyle O'Reilly challenges for NXT singles gold
Throughout the past few years, few groups have really captivated the wrestling world like The Undisputed Era in NXT. The merch, the theme song, the total domination of the brand - everyone loves The Undisputed Era.
One of the brightest stars of the four-man group has been the Prized Air Guitarist of NXT, Kyle O'Reilly. A three-time NXT Tag Team Champion, O'Reilly is no stranger to gold. He's also one of the most aggressive strikers on the brand, and is able to stand toe-to-toe with the best of them.
So why is he so low on this list? Well, last week he stuck his nose where it didn't belong.
Tommaso Ciampa attacked Jake Atlas last week in what is easily the most dangerous parking lot in the continental United States. However, the Psycho Killer was cut off from possibly ending Atlas's career by several members of NXT's security team... and Kyle O'Reilly.
Since returning to NXT, Kyle O'Reilly has begun to change, bit by bit. He's stopped his The Undisputed Era comrades from attacking men after their match. Now he's saved Jake Atlas. It looks like O'Reilly is going through a bit of a crisis, and doesn't exactly know who he is.
He has to figure it out soon, because Ciampa knows who he is. He's Ciampa's next target, and we'll see that this Wednesday when he costs O'Reilly his shot at the NXT Championship.