Samoa Joe won the WWE NXT Championship from Karrion Kross at TakeOver 36 not too long ago. The match marked Joe’s return to the ring after a year and a half. The Samoa Submission Machine struck gold in his first outing back in NXT.
After holding the title for three weeks, Joe relinquished it due to an undisclosed injury on September 12, 2021. The three-time NXT Champion posted a video on Twitter to announce his decision.
"Recently, WWE medicals informed me that due to certain injuries, they would like to have me step away from the ring for a brief, yet still indeterminate amount of time. I realize that this week, we are on the cusp of a new NXT. We are on the brink of a new era in our history, and I realize that era deserves a fighting champion. And that's why it makes this very difficult decision, very easy to make. Effective immediately, I relinquish the NXT Championship. Best of luck to those who will vie for it. My sincerest condolences to whoever wins because I will be along shortly to recollect what's mine," said Samoa Joe.
The NXT Championship has been relinquished three times in the past three years. WWE will look to crown a new champion soon, especially since the brand is going through a drastic change.
Let's take a look at five WWE Superstars who could become the next NXT Champion in the weeks to come.
#5. Kyle O’Reilly has been looking for his first WWE NXT Championship
Kyle O’Reilly has been one of the finest solo performers in WWE NXT over the past year. O’Reilly had been performing as a tag team wrestler, but became a solo competitor in September 2020 after the first-ever Gauntlet Eliminator match.
O’Reilly has since competed in several NXT Championship matches. Even though he has performed extremely well in each one of them, he has failed to win the title.
The NXT creative team seems to be high on KOR and will look to make him a top player after Adam Cole’s exit. That could help him reach the top of the NXT roster in the months to come.
The NXT Championship was held by the heel Karrion Kross for some time, and it was good to see Samoa Joe defeat him for the same. WWE could once again look to crown a babyface champion to give the heels something to look forward to.
O’Reilly is one of the biggest babyfaces in NXT today, and the company could put the title on him after a multi-man match. He has the talent and charisma to pull off excellent matches and increase the value of the NXT Championship.
#4. Pete Dunne is a former WWE NXT UK Champion
No one has been as prominent on WWE NXT over the past few months as Pete Dunne. The fearless heel has had some great matches and rivalries in 2021. In the previous episode of NXT, The Bruiserweight ended his alliance with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch by attacking the two men.
Dunne was already one of the men who was set to participate in the Fatal 4-Way match to determine Samoa Joe’s first challenger. The Bruiserweight could find an easier way to the NXT Championship as he could win a big match to take the title home for the first time.
Dunne is a former NXT UK Champion who has already shown that he is capable of carrying an entire brand at such a young age. NXT had already booked him in a few confrontations with The Samoan Submission Machine.
Dunne has formed a partnership with Ridge Holland and could benefit from the same in the months to come. Holland could play a major role in Dunne’s victory and championship reign in NXT.
#3. Tommaso Ciampa is a former WWE NXT Champion
Tommaso Ciampa is very experienced in carrying the WWE NXT brand. The Blackheart won the NXT Champion in 2018 and held the title for 237 days. However, just like Samoa Joe, Ciampa was forced to relinquish the title due to injury.
Unfortunately, Ciampa never won the title again and remains the only former NXT Champion who never lost the title. The Blackheart has a large fan following, and many in the WWE Universe want to watch him win the NXT title again.
He was one of the men ready to compete to become Samoa Joe’s first challenger. Instead, he could become part of a match to crown the new NXT Champion. WWE could trust the experienced superstar to win the title again and take NXT forward.
Ciampa is arguably the top superstar in NXT today and has had some of the best rivalries in the company. He is also someone who can play babyface and heel characters equally well.
WWE could put the NXT Championship on Ciampa in the weeks to come and give him another reign where he could defend his title without any injuries.
#2. WALTER recently lost the WWE NXT UK Championship
WALTER has been one of the biggest forces in WWE NXT since 2019. WALTER defeated Pete Dunne to win the NXT UK Championship and held the title for over two years.
At TakeOver 36, Ilja Dragunov became the first man to defeat WALTER for his NXT UK title. The Ring General hasn’t been seen in WWE since his defeat. However, he could soon show up and set his sights on a brand new title.
WWE could look to move WALTER to NXT to build the brand’s ratings following its revamp. He could be in a match for the NXT Championship right away as he does not need to prove himself and his worth.
The Ring General could be allowed to become the new NXT Champion to surprise the fans and give them something to look forward to. His victory would allow the roster to work harder as he is one of the toughest men to beat.
NXT could build his story and reign until the return of Samoa Joe. The angle could lead to a massive dream match between The Samoan Submission Machine and The Ring General on a big stage.
#1. Kevin Owens could return to WWE NXT
Former WWE NXT Champion Kevin Owens has been looking for a chance to return to the brand for some time now. Owens last appeared for NXT during WarGames 2019 and made a massive impact on the match.
News regarding KO’s contract with WWE has been making the rounds for the past several days. Fans believe that he could move to AEW after his contract expires. However, WWE could give him what he wants in the weeks to come for a win-win situation.
The Prizefighter has spoken about his desire to go back to NXT on several occasions.
"For a while there, it looked like I was going to head back to NXT. I had even discussed it with Vince McMahon and stuff like that. I was excited about it, I don't know if it would have been a long or short term thing. I've been vocal about wanting to go back there because I'd love to help make it grow even more and help make it as big as it can get and make it, so we have three brands people know about. I would love for people to be just as aware of NXT as they are about Raw and SmackDown. I would have loved to be a part of that, but some decisions were made that I had to stay put on Raw and SmackDown. That's fine, but I would love the chance to go back."
WWE could allow Owens to move back to NXT and immediately get in the championship picture. He could go on to become the NXT Champion once again and carry the brand forward.
The former Universal Champion doesn’t have a meaningful rivalry going on at the moment on WWE SmackDown. Allowing Owens to win the NXT Championship again will greatly help the brand, especially after the revamp.