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NXT now has six Championships on its roster with the addition of the NXT Women's Tag Team titles. As WrestleMania 37 reset a good portion of the main-roster title pictures, TakeOver: Stand & Deliver did the same for NXT.
Karrion Kross dethroned Finn Balor while Raquel Gonzalez ended the impressive run of former NXT Women's Champ Io Shirai. While the other titles didn't change hands at TakeOver, they have switched hands since Stand & Deliver.
Santos Escobar unified the Cruiserweight titles, but lost it to Kushida. The Women's Tag Team Championships changed hands when Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell defeated Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon.
On last week's episode of NXT, Bronson Reed took the NXT North American belt from Johnny Gargano.
While some Champions will likely have long reigns, some may not. The Women's Tag titles have changed hands three times in the last few months. Shirai, however, reigned for almost a year as NXT Women's Champ.
How long will Kross run with the belt? Anything can happen with main-roster stars returning to NXT or big debuts taking place.
Here are our predictions for the next holders of each title in NXT.
#6 Which duo will disrupt The Way's run as NXT Women's Tag Team Champions?
Candice LeRae finally won a title in NXT when she and Indi Hartwell defeated Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon. Now that she has her gold, who will try to take it away?
NXT has pushed Zoey Stark pretty hard early on and she's met every challenge placed in her path. She may have broken even with Toni Storm, but that feat in and of itself is incredibly impressive due to each woman's amount of time in WWE.
Sarray is the latest face performer to debut and she's currently undefeated. The two women had a brief alliance due to being attacked by Storm. Sarray and Stark even faced each other as Stark wanted to be the Warrior of the Sun's first opponent in NXT.
Moon and Blackheart have already had a run with the belts but could win them back. But with the lack of top-level faces currently in NXT, those two will likely be future opponents for Gonzalez. Until more faces join the ranks in NXT, they are the top dogs (unless Shirai returns for more time).
Both Stark and Sarray could be future NXT Women's Champions. Since Gonzalez just won the title, however, she is likely to have a lengthy reign. Stark and Sarray will likely bolster the tag team ranks before either is inserted into the title picture. That will start with a tag team Championship win at some point this year.
The next NXT Women's Tag Team Champions - Sarray and Zoey Stark
#5 Who will step up to challenge NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida?
The NXT Cruiserweight Championship is in a strange place. Some of the talent that could be vying for the title work on 205 Live. Names like August Grey, Ikemen Jiro and Ari Sterling are all new names to the purple brand. The show is all about cruiserweights but the title that represents it is in NXT.
Some of those performers could eventually make their way to NXT. Santos Escobar just dropped the title after unifying it, so he probably won't be in that title picture anymore.
Ashante Adonis or Isaiah "Swerve" Scott could challenge for the belt, but Swerve seems destined for bigger things. Adonis and Top Dolla should continue moving forward as a team. They might be greedy for gold, however, so Hit Row may try to capture every belt in NXT. That's precisely what the Undisputed Era did.
Johnny Gargano could go after the title since it's the only Championship he hasn't won in NXT. He qualifies for the weight requirement and even competed in the Cruiserweight Classic. He'll be involved in some sort of title pursuit after losing the North American title, so every Champion should be on alert.
If someone like Humberto Carrillo or Mansoor were back in NXT, having a run as NXT Cruiserweight Champion could help build their profiles. Instead, both men will have to fight it out on RAW.
Kushida was the first person to challenge Pete Dunne after Dunne claimed to be the toughest person and best wrestler in all of NXT. The Bruiserweight defeated the Timesplitter and has continued to rack up win after win.
With that victory over Kushida in his back pocket, he has every right to challenge for the NXT Cruiserweight title. It seems like he would have already won a title in NXT since moving over from NXT UK. He hasn't, so expect Dunne to win the belt at some point this year. It could be at the expense of Kushida since the cruiserweights are spread out all over WWE.
The next NXT Cruiserweight Champion - Pete Dunne
#4 There's a crowded scene around the NXT North American Championship
The best thing about Bronson Reed winning the NXT North American title was that it opened up so many intriguing feuds for the belt. Johnny Gargano is a great heel or face, but it was time for some newer NXT talent to win some gold.
Gargano has been in NXT since 2015-2016 and is one of the most important stars in NXT history. He makes others look great but may struggle to stand out on the main roster due to his size. Gargano put Reed over and looked great in defeat. Now that he's out of the picture, it's time for several up-and-coming heels to get a shot at Reed.
The first feud for Reed appears to be Santos Escobar and Legado Del Fantasma. Escobar recently lost the NXT Cruiserweight to Kushida, freeing him up to pursue other Championships. He certainly walks the walk and talks the talk, but he will likely fall to the new Champ.
LA Knight opened his NXT career with a brief feud with Reed. They traded wins before Reed eventually won the title. Knight appears to be entering a feud with Cameron Grimes and the Million Dollar Man. The man formerly known as Eli Drake is a ready-made main-event star, so he may not pursue the North American belt.
The name from NXT that needs a belt for legitimacy is Isaiah "Swerve" Scott. His talent is apparent and he's more than deserving of a title. Scott briefly pursued the Cruiserweight title but was unsuccessful. Now that he is the leader of his own faction, the faction needs gold.
If Adam Cole is presumably done in NXT, the brand will need some new main-event level heels. Swerve has bided his time while also adding allies in the process. Karrion Kross comes off as more of a tweener than an outright heel. He doesn't sneak attack anyone anymore and Scarlett doesn't interfere.
Swerve and stars like Knight are full-blown heels that should be main-eventers this year. Reed may drop the title to face Kross because Kross is dispatching the smaller NXT stars. When Reed loses his title, it could be to the benefit of Swerve and Hit Row.
The next NXT North American Champion - Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
#3 The NXT Tag Team title scene is heating up
MSK won the vacant NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. That was a little over a month ago. They've faced the Grizzled Young Veterans, Legado Del Fantasma and Breezango.
Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza will get another shot at MSK next week. The Way could feasibly offer up a challenge to the Champions and they could win tag titles. Gargano will be insufferable unless he has a title in NXT.
Imperium is also in the hunt after losing the belts to Breezango. WALTER told Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner to reclaim the titles on the latest NXT. Winning the titles again would legitimize Imperium but another new team/faction needs the win more.
With the dissolution of the Undisputed Era, NXT needs a faction to step up and be the new main-event group. It's been some time, but Isaiah "Swerve" Scott finally got some spotlight when he introduced his group, Hit Row, to the NXT Universe.
Swerve claimed that Hit Row was looking after every title in NXT. With Ashante Adonis, they could go after the NXT Tag Team titles or Cruiserweight belt. Adonis and Top Dolla debuted as a tag team and squashed Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari.
For Hit Row to move up and be taken seriously, they need to win some titles. That means Swerve shouldn't be the only one to win a belt at some point in 2021.
Top Dolla and Adonis haven't faced the Champs and would offer up a unique challenge for Nash Carter and Wes Lee. Adonis has a similar style to that of MSK whereas Top Dolla is more of a powerhouse.
It shouldn't happen at In Your House in June, but at some point in the next few months, Hit Row needs to win the NXT Tag titles. It would raise their profile and help the faction grow. With each title they win, they'll gain more credibility.
The next NXT Tag Team Champions - Hit Row
#2 Who will be the next NXT Women's Champion?
When it comes to the NXT Women's Championship, there aren't a lot of believable names who could dethrone Raquel Gonzalez. She defeated one of the best Champions in Io Shirai. The Genius of the Sky hasn't been in a match since dropping the title, with rumors abound that she could be bound for the main roster.
Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart are two of the top faces currently in the NXT women's division. After the post-match attack on Blackheart on the latest NXT, it seems like Ember Moon will get a crack at Gonzalez. Moon will most likely lose to Gonzalez, which will eventually lead to Blackheart getting a shot.
While she is still new to NXT, Zoey Stark has been pushed as one of the new faces in the division. She traded wins and losses with Toni Storm and was Sarray's first opponent in NXT. She will be a future NXT Women's Champ but it won't be because she dethrones Gonzalez.
Mercedes Martinez also fell to Gonzalez. With the current landscape of NXT, the performer that seems like the best bet to be the next NXT Women's Champ is Franky Monet.
She has the resume to back up her loud mouth and she's one of the bigger women in NXT. Monet has both power and finesse. With the way her debut was handled, it's clear that she is being treated as a big deal.
Since Gonzalez and Monet are both heels, there is a particular storyline that could lead to her dropping the title. Dakota Kai will get jealous of her friend at some point and turn on her. Shawn Michaels and Diesel didn't co-exist for very long and Kai has the same dynamic with Gonzalez.
At some point, Monet will go for the title. The most logical way for Gonzalez to drop it is if someone interferes to cost her the belt. Having Kai turn on her would also set up another good angle for Raquel after she drops the title. Tegan Nox could even return and factor into the storyline somehow.
NXT has built Gonzalez up as a world-beater, so she won't be dropping the title cleanly. They could have her move up and relinquish the title, but she needs more polishing in NXT.
The next NXT Women's Champion - Franky Monet
#1 Can anyone stop NXT Champion Karrion Kross?
Along with the Cruiserweight title, the NXT Championship is the hardest to predict. Kross should have a run that could approach a year. If NXT wants to push him as one of the greatest NXT Champs of all time, he needs a long, dominant run with the belt.
Due to his presentation and booking, it seems like that is his path. With such a dominant Champion, however, dropping the title has to be handled with care. Someone like Asuka had a legendary run in NXT, never losing the title after taking it from Bayley.
That seems like the direction NXT should take with Kross. His dominance makes sense due to being larger than most of his challengers. When it comes to successors for the title, several avenues could be taken.
If Kross moves up to RAW or SmackDown without losing the title, he will have to vacate it. It will open up some sort of program featuring three or four stars vying for the belt.
Kyle O'Reilly is being pushed as a top face now that he is finished with the Undisputed Era. He could win the title from Kross, but with the way that Kross has dispatched Finn Balor, that doesn't seem likely.
For that reason, a multi-person match to crown a new Champ seems like the way to go for NXT. O'Reilly will be in the mix, and so will Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Instead of rehashing the "former Champs" getting the opportunities, NXT needs to infuse new names in the main event.
Dexter Lumis and Bronson Reed could also be in the mix in the future. By the time Kross loses or vacates the belt, someone like LA Knight should have established himself as one of the top guys in all of NXT.
He is one of the best promos in the game and is solid in the ring. It seems like he'll be NXT Champion within the next year or so. With Kross in his way, however, he'll have to wait.
Bobby Roode won the NXT title about eight months after debuting for NXT. He and Knight have similar styles, so it's not too crazy to think that Knight could be NXT Champion by the end of the year or the beginning of 2022.
The next NXT Champion - LA Knight
