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In June of 2019, Adam Cole marked the beginning of his first reign as WWE NXT Champion by defeating fan-favorite and former WWE NXT Champion, Johnny Gargano in the brutal main event of WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV.
Not only did Adam Cole's win from last year marked the beginning of a historic title reign in NXT, but it also marked the inception of The Undisputed Era's prophecy, as other members of the faction simultaneously went on to win the NXT North American and NXT Tag Team Championships.
Fast forward to 2020 and 340 days later, Adam Cole remains as the only member from The Undisputed Era who is still in possession of his title and for his latest successful title defense, the reigning NXT Champion bested The Velveteen Dream in another highly exciting bout.
However, much like every match involving The Undisputed Era, this one was no different and ended in a rather controversial manner after outside interference from Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, and Dexter Lumis, of all people.
And, with Adam Cole on the verge of completing a whole year as Champion, it now remains to be seen which challenger will step up to the plate and try his best to bring an end to Adam Cole's historic title reign.
At the moment, the possibilities are endless given how stacked the NXT roster is and despite WWE hosting shows behind closed doors, we can certainly expect a few more Championship classics from Adam Cole, something that we've become pretty familiar with by this point.
That being said, here are the five Superstars who could be line for a shot at Adam Cole's NXT Championship.
#5 Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
Isaiah "Swerve" Scott has been impressive on NXT so far and his matches are highly recommended to those who are yet to check out Scott's sensational in-ring capabilities. The former MLW star signed with WWE in 2019 and is yet to add an accolade to his list of WWE accomplishments.
However, within his short tenure in WWE so far, Scott has already shared the ring with the likes of Drew Gulak, Jordan Devlin, and Travis Banks and if it wasn't enough already, then "Swerve" has also competed in a singles match against The Undisputed Era's very own Roderick Strong on NXT.
Being a former World Champion in CZW, MLW, and EVOLVE Wrestling, Isaiah Scott adapted quite the habit of winning notable titles and is also no stranger to leading a brand. Therefore, a match against the equally experienced Adam Cole would definitely push "Swerve" Scott to the next level in NXT and help the former Lucha Underground star earn his rightful place under the NXT spotlight.
#4 Matt Riddle
By this point, it almost feels like every Superstar from the NXT roster has had their fair share of issues with The Undisputed Era and the same goes for one half of the reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, Matt Riddle.
Throughout the majority of 2019, Riddle faced The Undisputed Era over the course of multiple tag team matches and also competed against the likes of Adam Cole and Roderick Strong individually.
In the past year, Riddle also unsuccessfully challenged Cole for the NXT Championship and in the initial stages of 2020, 'The Original Bro' decided to shift his focus towards the NXT Tag Team Division.
Entering the Dusty Classic Tournament with Pete Dunne, The Broserweights surprisingly ended up winning the tourney and if that wasn't enough, at NXT TakeOver: Portland, the newly formed tag team would end up defeating The Undisputed Era to win the NXT Tag Team Championships.
The win also marked Riddle's first title win in the WWE. However, since then things have not been in favor of 'The Original Bro', as his tag team partner Pete Dunne got stranded in the U.K. and failed to make it back to the US, leaving the status of the NXT Tag Team Championships up in the air. However, Riddle being as innovative as he is found a temporary tag team partner in the form of WWE's newest signee Timothy Thatcher and the duo went on to successfully defend the tag team titles against The Undisputed Era.
Now, Matt Riddle, as well know, is quite a polarizing figure in the world of professional wrestling and has already established himself as a fan-favorite among the WWE Universe for his well-known antics. Riddle stepping up to Adam Cole on this occasion would be a completely different ball game, as on this occasion, the former has the back-up of two of the toughest men from NXT in the form of Pete Dunne and Timothy Thatcher.
With Dunne and Thatcher's support, Matt Riddle could easily even-up the numbers game against The Undisputed Era and who knows, maybe in the future, both Dunne and Thatcher decide to come up with other plans for themselves...
#3 Damian Priest
Damian Priest is another top NXT Superstar who has been stuck in the mid-card for quite a while now and quickly needs to move up to the main event scene on NXT. Priest is currently in his late 30s and before moving up to the main roster, the former Punishment Martinez definitely needs to win gold on the black and yellow brand of WWE.
Priest has previously unsuccessfully challenged for the NXT North American Championship but despite that, the former Ring of Honor sensation could still be a favorite to win the NXT Championship at some point down the road.
A feud between Adam Cole and Damian Priest could definitely do wonders, as we've already seen in the past that the former is more than capable of hanging in the ring with Superstars bigger in size than him.
Cole has competed in classics against the likes of Keith Lee, Dominick Dijakovic, and WALTER, so why leave Damien Preist out of the list?
The feud itself has money written all over it and turning Priest a babyface (or even tweener) would be the right call, given a heel run hasn't exactly been kind for the former ROH World TV Champion.
Currently engaged in a feud against Keith Lee over the North American Championship, Priest could very well be on the verge of suffering another major loss on NXT TV, considering the fact that NXT management wouldn't want Lee to drop his title in a show without an audience.
This could very well open up the door for Damian Priest to step up to Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era and set his sights on the coveted NXT Championship for the very first time.
#2 Dexter Lumis
There is surely no doubt about the fact that Dexter Lumis is a creepy man but at the same time, he also tends to be very, very good in the ring. To some, Lumis' character work might have come off as a bit underwhelming in the initial phase but this week on WWE NXT, the man himself clearly proved that he can hang in there with the top dogs of NXT.
During Adam Cole's NXT Title match against The Velveteen Dream on this week's edition of the show, the Champion's fellow stablemates Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish tried their best to interrupt and create an opening for Adam Cole. However, thanks to an unlikely appearance from Dexter Lumis and The Undisputed Era's plans were put to waste.
With Lumis engaging himself in a rivalry against The Undisputed Era and somewhat also leading to the conclusion of the NXT Title match between Cole and Dream, the former could possibly get himself involved in the title picture. After all, this wasn't the first time Lumis assisted Dream on NXT!
Lumis has been impressive in his matches on NXT so far but he is yet to step into the ring with someone like Adam Cole. Maybe the time has finally come for the NXT Universe to embrace the chaos brought upon by Dexter Lumis.
#1 Keith Lee
As impressive as Adam Cole has been in his tenure as NXT Champion, reigning NXT North American Champion, Keith Lee has been equally monumental and has been on the rise in WWE.
Since signing with the WWE in 2018, Keith Lee has gradually risen up the ranks and at last year's Survivor Series pay-per-view, he won over the WWE Universe with his tremendous performance in the 5-on-5 Traditional Tag Team Match.
Since then, Keith Lee has gone on to win the NXT North American Championship from Roderick Strong and has caused quite a lot of problems to The Undisputed Era, as well. And, despite being unsuccessful in his previous attempt at winning the NXT Title from Cole, the reigning North American Champion definitely deserves another crack at the brand's top title.
At this stage, both Adam Cole and Keith Lee have already proved their worth as top Champions and considering how over both men are among the WWE Universe, a Champion vs Champion match under a Winner Takes All stipulation could be the ultimate decider of who the top dog of NXT is at the moment.
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