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At NXT TakeOver on October 4th, Finn Balor will defend his NXT Championship for the first time since winning the title earlier this month. The two-time champion's first challenger will be revealed following the debut of a brand new match.
Last week, WWE NXT General Manager William Regal revealed the concept of the NXT Gauntlet Eliminator Match. The rules are as follows:
-- Two men begin in the ring.
-- One Superstar is added every five minutes.
-- Eliminations only take place during pinfall or submission.
Since Wednesday, we'd been getting a competitor revealed each day. Earlier today on Twitter, we saw the final participant revealed. Now, the competitors will wage war on Wednesday to challenge The Prince.
KUSHIDA, Cameron Grimes, Kyle O'Reilly, Timothy Thatcher, and Bronson Reed will all vie for the biggest opportunity in their careers. We're here today to rank each and every man in the match based off of their chances of victory.
Hopefully, every single NXT Superstar in the Gauntlet Eliminator Match will get the opportunity to hold some singles gold in the near future, but for now we need to see who is most likely to walk out of NXT as the #1 contender.
With that, let's get started.
#5 Kyle O'Reilly challenges for NXT singles gold
Throughout the past few years, few groups have really captivated the wrestling world like The Undisputed Era in NXT. The merch, the theme song, the total domination of the brand - everyone loves The Undisputed Era.
One of the brightest stars of the four-man group has been the Prized Air Guitarist of NXT, Kyle O'Reilly. A three-time NXT Tag Team Champion, O'Reilly is no stranger to gold. He's also one of the most aggressive strikers on the brand, and is able to stand toe-to-toe with the best of them.
So why is he so low on this list? Well, last week he stuck his nose where it didn't belong.
Tommaso Ciampa attacked Jake Atlas last week in what is easily the most dangerous parking lot in the continental United States. However, the Psycho Killer was cut off from possibly ending Atlas's career by several members of NXT's security team... and Kyle O'Reilly.
Since returning to NXT, Kyle O'Reilly has begun to change, bit by bit. He's stopped his The Undisputed Era comrades from attacking men after their match. Now he's saved Jake Atlas. It looks like O'Reilly is going through a bit of a crisis, and doesn't exactly know who he is.
He has to figure it out soon, because Ciampa knows who he is. He's Ciampa's next target, and we'll see that this Wednesday when he costs O'Reilly his shot at the NXT Championship.
#4 KUSHIDA vs the NXT Champion in a NJPW rematch
Much like Kyle O'Reilly, KUSHIDA's a wash due to the feud he's currently in. A match between The Time Splitter and Finn Balor is definitely something NXT fans would get a kick out of. Let's be honest, it's one of the best matches that NXT could actually offer the WWE Universe.
It doesn't help KUSHIDA's case, though, that he doesn't have many signature wins in his book. After a quick start with wins over the likes of Kassius Ohno, Drew Gulak, and Apollo Crews, he began to pick up a long string of losses.
The fact of the matter is, as incredible as KUSHIDA is, he just hasn't done much. A great match is a great match, but if you don't walk out with a strong win every now and then, it doesn't matter how good you are.
KUSHIDA has failed to win the big one in NXT whenever the opportunity arose. Wednesday won't be any different, especially because we'll more than likely see Velveteen Dream ruin his shot, and probably be the reason he's eliminated from the match.
#3 Cameron Grimes takes the NXT Championship to the Moon
Unlike the majority of men on this list, Cameron Grimes actually holds a pinfall victory over The NXT Champion. Finn Balor fell to Grimes back in May as Balor was starting off his feud with Damian Priest.
Grimes has been able to Cave In the best that NXT has to offer. Alongside Balor, he's also beaten Damian Priest, Tony Nese, Dominik Dijakovic, Velveteen Dream, and Dabba-Kato, and even some of the competitors in this match in KUSHIDA and Bronson Reed.
Still, there's no distraction for Finn Balor this time. The NXT Champion had his sights set on the title, and now it's around his waist. With Balor focused and nobody around to take a cheap shot for him, Grimes will have a tough time wrestling the gold away from The Prince.
Of course, that's if he gets there. There's still the Gauntlet Eliminator, which has four of the hungriest Superstars, ready to tear Grimes to pieces. It doesn't help that Grimes is one of the most aggravating Superstars on the roster, and one that's gotten on the nerves of everyone in this match.
He'll more than likely get demolished after cackling in the faces of his opponents, who will all take turns beating Grimes to a pulp.
#2 Bronson Reed crushes NXT Superstars on the way to TakeOver
The Big Man. The Thicc Boi. The Colossal One. Bronson Reed had a bit of a rough start in his NXT career but has been riding high for months. After getting crushed by Karrion Kross earlier this year, Reed took a look in the mirror and realized something.
He's a big athletic freak of nature, and the only one that's standing in his way is himself. Since then, AusZILLA has been nigh-unstoppable. Very few men have been able to actually beat him.
Prior to NXT TakeOver: XXX, Reed was on a five-match winning streak, knocking off the likes of Johnny Gargano, Roderick Strong, Damian Priest, and Shane Thorne.
As far as who has been able to topple the big man since his loss to Kross? Well, only two men have been so lucky. Damian Priest defeated Reed and three other men to capture the NXT North American Championship in a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX.
In that match, Reed wasn't pinned, so it wasn't like he was actually beaten. That's a wash. His other loss? Well, spoiler alert, but it was to the man that ends this list coming in at #1.
#1 Timothy Thatcher puts on a clinic for the NXT Champion
Timothy Thatcher. The Thatchmanimal. Timothy and the Thatchtastics. The Man Callled Thatch. Okay that's enough. The man behind Thatch-as-Thatch-Can is one of the most aggressive and violent Superstars in all of NXT.
In a short time, he's picked up wins over The Undisputed Era, Oney Lorcan, Bronson Reed, and Matt Riddle. Speaking of Riddle, he put the Original Bro down in one of the best special stipulation matches that NXT has ever produced in the Fight Pit back in May.
It was a great example of what Timothy Thatcher was capable of, and a great serious intro to his ability for those who may not be aware of his work outside of WWE. Now, he failed to qualify for the NXT North American Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver XXX, and he was unable to take the belt away from Damian Priest.
Not only that, but he lost to Finn Balor at TakeOver. In none of Thatcher's losses was he ever dominated by an opponent. It's always come down to the wire. Thatcher is meticulous at times, taking time to slowly pick apart opponents. However, when pushed, he's wild, erratic, and a complete mauler.
In an environment like the Gauntlet Eliminator, which will be less like a wrestling match and more like an all out brawl, the smart money has to go to the guy who sent arguably NXT's greatest brawler to SmackDown.
This match can be narrowed down to three men: Thatcher, Reed, and Grimes. It can be assumed that of those three, the two that don't win will enter into a feud with one another.
Grimes is still a loss that Reed has yet to avenge, and while the same could be said for he and Thatcher, it's hard to go against the one man on this list to take the NXT Champion to his absolute limit since his return to NXT.
