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Tensions will be high in the Black & Gold brand this week as NXT and NXT UK go to war against each other at the Worlds Collide event, just a day before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
However, the NXT Universe is first waiting to witness the clash between NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong and his challenger Keith Lee on this week’s broadcast of NXT. Strong’s Championship will be on the line against the biggest man in the Black & Gold locker room, who is looking to win his first major title with the company.
We’ve seen Lee make a few friends in recent months, and Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano will likely provide backup to the big man if required.
In this article, we will look at the 5 potential ways the match between the two big Superstars could end on Wednesday night.
#5 Roderick Strong retains
Roderick Strong defeated Velveteen Dream to win the North American Championship in September 2019. Since then, we’ve seen Strong have an eventful title reign which has taken him a lot of places in just four months.
Not only has Strong managed to defend his title against men like Dream, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and Austin Theory, he has done something no other male NXT Champion has done before. Strong defeated two Champions from RAW and SmackDown, namely United States Champion AJ Styles and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Survivor Series to make history.
Strong has proven to be a great Champion and managed to undo his competition with some smart tactics and technical offense.
With that in mind, Strong will walk into the match as a favorite even though he has the momentum gaining Lee in front of him. Strong has had some memorable matches and title defenses, and we could once again see him outsmart Lee and defeat him convincingly to retain his title and allow Undisputed Era to enter Worlds Collide with all the men’s gold around their waists.
#4 Undisputed Era draw a disqualification
When talking about a match involving any member of the Undisputed Era, one can never rule out the interference of the other members of the faction in the encounter.
All four members have a solid bond between them and have helped each other become more and more successful over the years. This is one of the many reasons why all four members of the faction currently wear a Championship belt around their waists.
With Adam Cole and his crew constantly trying to prove that no faction is better than theirs, it’s possible that one, or all three members of the faction, will appear during the match to either distract Keith Lee or attack him.
Such moves could result in a disqualification that could allow Lee to win the match, but not the title. Undisputed Era has used such tactics in the past to wriggle out of similar situations where they have either been at a disadvantage or were coming close to a loss.
The result would not only allow Roderick Strong to retain his title ahead of Worlds Collide but would also allow Lee to come out of the match strongly and continue his rivalry with one of NXT’s best wrestlers for some weeks.
#3 Keith Lee wins his first NXT title
Keith Lee has been a dominant force since he walked into NXT. Even though the man seems to be the largest athlete in the Black & Gold brand, he was hit by a load of mixed bookings during his initial months.
The build-up to Survivor Series last month along with NXT WarGames and the Survivor Series PPV helped the Superstar get a lot more notice and skyrocketed his stock in NXT. Now that he seems to be a top mid-carder on the brand, NXT will likely try to cash in on his current popularity with the NXT Universe and allow him to go all the way.
If that’s the plan, we could witness Lee defeat Strong clean this week and claim his first major title with the company. Lee has the strength, talent, and charisma to pull off a huge victory over a Superstar like Strong who should be heading to RAW or SmackDown sooner than later.
Not only will this help Lee gain much more fan following and better bookings, but it will also start the process of dismantling Undisputed Era just like Lee, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa are looking to do.
#2 Velveteen Dream returns
Keith Lee, along with Dominik Dijakovic, has been a front runner for a mid-card title for some time now. Both men have gotten their chance to win the North American Championship during a Triple Threat match a few months ago, but Lee has pushed ahead of Dijakovic.
While we have watched Lee take center stage in a rivalry that belonged to another Superstar not too long ago, we could watch a miraculous return this Wednesday. Velveteen Dream was the man who was defeated by Roderick Strong for the title, and the Undisputed Era injured the Superstar, taking him out to protect Strong and his title reign.
While Lee is the front runner, we could watch Dream return either during or after the match to attack Strong and enter the North American Championship picture once again.
Velveteen Dream could come at a time when the other members of Undisputed Era are trying to attack & distract Lee, or he could cause the disruption himself to end the match in disqualification or victory for either Superstar. This would reignite his rivalry with Strong and also get him back in the North American Championship picture.
#1 Imperium wreaks havoc
All things aside, one of the biggest threats that each member of the Undisputed Era will be under is an attack by Imperium. Both factions are scheduled to battle at Worlds Collide during a huge eight-man tag team match.
At NXT TakeOver: Blackpool II, WALTER defended his NXT UK Championship against Joe Coffey. After WALTER won the match, Undisputed Era arrived to attack Imperium and lay-out their leader as the number’s advantage took its toll on the big man.
WALTER, along with his crew, will be looking to exact revenge on the men who attacked them last Sunday by repaying the attack this week just in time for Worlds Collide.
During the match, which will likely main-event Wednesday’s show, we could see Roderick Strong or Keith Lee come close to victory before Imperium attacks them and ends the match in a no-contest. Imperium knows no boundaries and could rip out the entire NXT locker room to make a big statement just in time for Worlds Collide.
This would allow Strong to keep his title until Worlds Collide while not making Lee look weak by any means. It could also result in a bigger match and victory for Lee at a big stage such as NXT TakeOver: Portland.
