Who Should Become the Next NXT Champion?
The ending to NXT New Year’s Evil certainly left a lot of people talking. As NXT General Manager Ava spoke to the wrestlers of WWE ID and Evolve, Robert Stone interrupted and asked if Ava had seen what NXT Champion Oba Femi had done. The screen cuts to the NXT Championship all alone in the middle of the ring, symbolizing that Femi had vacated the championship as he’s rumored to join the main roster soon. NXT now has to find someone to crown as its top champion. With many already established stars on the roster and a few possible underdogs waiting for the call, who should claim the gold and sit at the top of the NXT mountain?
One of the top names that could win the NXT title is Tony D’Angelo. ‘The Don of NXT’ has been in WWE’s third brand since the days of NXT 2.0. He has captured gold along the way, including the NXT Tag Team Championship, the North American Championship, and the Heritage Cup. The NXT Championship is the only title D’Angelo has yet to capture during his NXT stint. D’Angelo’s character work has been so great that there were rumors that he could be the masked attacker from Survivor Series, although those rumors were confirmed false. He could make for a credible champion, but it would be too soon to give him the gold because he just returned to NXT a short time ago and hasn’t competed in the ring since. Maybe a few matches under his belt could make him a possible contender.
Joe Hendry is another top name who can carry NXT’s top title. Hendry rose to fame during his time with TNA for his easy-to-sing-along-to entrance music and hilarious character work. Hendry got over with the fans so much that he was rewarded with a TNA World Championship run. He’s carried a promotion on his back before, so being the top face in NXT would be a piece of cake for him. Unfortunately, it seems that Hendry has his hands full at the moment against DarkState, so maybe putting the title on him isn’t the best option at the moment.
The one name that really stands out the most and should become the next NXT Champion is Ricky Saints. Since arriving in NXT, Saints has been all over the division, from the midcard to the main event. He’s held the NXT and North American titles and will look to add another world title reign to his accomplishments. Saints’ mic work and in-ring ability are above the rest, and he could easily carry NXT on his shoulders once again if WWE decides to go with someone with experience. Plus, Saints is now working as a heel, so he would be the perfect fit to be the title holder while NXT works on building up a strong babyface that could challenge him down the line. It’s time for ‘The Revolution’ to make its mark on NXT again.
