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The NXT North American Championship is quite certainly one of the most prestigious championship belts in WWE today. For the past several years, NXT fans have been patiently urging on social media and on various platforms for the WWE to finally come up with a mid-card championship belt for the black and yellow brand and earlier this year, in New Orleans, at NXT TakeOver: NOLA, we finally witnessed the historic crowning of the first ever NXT North American Champion in history.
At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Undisputed Era frontrunner Adam Cole became the first ever NXT North American Champion in a six-man ladder match also featuring six of the very best from WWE's developmental brand. And ever since winning his first title in the WWE, Cole lived up to all of his expectations and enjoyed one of the most successful title reigns in modern WWE history, as we witnessed 'The Panama City Playboy' create history by defending the North American Title outside of the WWE as well.
Cole's Evolve 107 title defense against Walter was a definite groundbreaking moment not only for WWE NXT but more specifically for the North American Title. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, NXT hottest new sensation Ricochet became only the second ever person in history to win the NXT North American Title when he defeated Adam Cole in spectacular fashion.
With that win, Ricochet is now poised to defend his North American Title against some of NXT's top superstars and in this article, we'll take a look at the five superstars who could win the prestigious NXT North American Championship next.
#5 Roderick Strong
With Adam Cole losing his North American Title to Ricochet, The Undisputed Era definitely has some unfinished business with 'The One and Only', therefore, it'll only be fair for Cole's fellow stablemate Roderick Strong to step up and start competing as a singles competitor once again.
With Bobby Fish recently making his return to NXT (Spoiler!), Strong could very well hand over his NXT Tag Title to Fish and let him and O'Reilly defend it on behalf of The Undisputed Era, whereas, Adam Cole shifts his focus towards the one title he's never held in NXT before, that is, the NXT Championship.
So, this eventually leaves Roderick Strong with no other option but to challenge for the North American Title and we could very well witness The Undisputed Era complete their so-called "NXT Takeover" by winning all four available championships.
#4 The Velveteen Dream
The Velveteen Dream's uniqueness is something that quite arguably makes him the hottest superstar in NXT today and the fact that The Dream is yet to win his first title in the WWE is quite shocking, to say the least.
However, all of that could change within an instant, considering that The Velveteen Dream has been on a hot streak as of late, putting together some outstanding matches in NXT against the likes of Ricochet, Kassius Ohno, and very recently in a winning effort against EC3.
With Roderick Strong potentially winning the North American Title, The Velveteen Dream could very well ignite a feud against The Undisputed Era and eventually set his sights on Strong's North American Title.
#3 Keith Lee
Noticed how I mentioned that The Velveteen Dream has shared the ring with almost every top WWE superstar till date? That indeed is true considering Dream has faced-off against almost every single one of NXT's top signees and at this rate, it'll only be a matter of few months before Dream steps into the ring with NXT's newest sensation, Keith Lee.
Keith Lee is an absolute beast and has already developed himself as a fan favorite in the WWE. Therefore, it is almost for sure that the former PWG World Champion doesn't have to wait for too long before getting his first shot at NXT gold.
A match between Lee and Dream will be amazing and in the past, the two men have proved that they are more than capable of adapting to any particular in-ring style. So fans could very well expect The Velveteen Dream to bask in Keith Lee's glory and eventually get his hands on the NXT North American Championship.
#2 EC3
Another one of NXT's newest signings, former two-time Impact World Champion EC3 hasn't quite found the exact amount of success fans were initially hoping he'd get, however, a perfectly solidified heel turn (and the NXT North American Title, of course) could change things around for the top one percenter.
It is almost guaranteed that Keith Lee will have the privilege of enjoying a strong title reign as NXT North American Champion and whoever eventually dethrone him for the belt, will almost immediately solidify his place as a top star in NXT.
On this occasion, that top star could very well be EC3, the man has already proved himself to be a big hit in NXT and a championship win will almost be the icing on the cake for Ethan Carter the Third.
#1 Matt Riddle
Despite not having made his official debut for NXT TV, Matt Riddle is already on the road to becoming the next big superstar in WWE's black and yellow brand. And with a couple of big wins under his belt, after making his debut, the former UFC star could eventually earn his way towards a shot at the NXT North American Championship.
However, for doing so, Riddle will have to compile a few big wins for himself and expect 'The King of Bros' to subsequently get his shot at EC3's NXT North American Title by mid-2019. A bout between EC3 and Riddle is surely going to be an outstanding bout and will definitely be another classic coming out of NXT.
And having Riddle win the North American Title at some big NXT TakeOver event, will be the eventual icing on the cake for the former Independent superstar.
