'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#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
