WWE News: Bobby Roode vs Kassius Ohno announced for the NXT Championship

Bobby Roode has his first official challenger for the NXT Championship

What’s the story?

It was announced on NXT television tonight that Bobby Roode will be defending the NXT Championship against Kassius Ohno on March 15th.

In case you didn’t know...

Kassius Ohno recently returned to NXT television after an almost three-and-a-half-year absence from the brand. His first action in his return to NXT television was to save No Way Jose from a post-match beatdown from current NXT Champion, Bobby Roode. Ohno then said that he intended to become the NXT Champion.

Roode informed Ohno that they could stop talking and have the championship match right then and there. When Ohno obliged and started removing his jacket, Roode jumped him from behind, working on Ohno’s left knee, which is a callback to how he won the Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover: San Antonio.

Ohno finally managed to gather his bearings and turn the tides, taking the fight to Bobby Roode and throwing a shoe at him before sending him out of the ring to the floor.

The heart of the matter

NXT General Manager, William Regal, announced tonight on NXT television that Bobby Roode would be making his first defense of the NXT Championship. The match will occur on March 15th from CFE Arena on the campus of the University of Central Florida. The champion will defend his title against the returning Kassius Ohno.

What’s next?

Kassius Ohno will finally get his shot at the NXT Championship on NXT television in two weeks.

Sportskeeda’s take

As has been noted, we believe that Kassius Ohno is one of the very best professional wrestlers in the entire world. He knows how to play to the crowd in every different type of situation, and his strikes are incredibly crisp. He’s been wrestling for almost nineteen years, now. If anyone can bring an air of stability to NXT with the impending exit of Shinsuke Nakamura, Ohno is certainly that man.

Without spoiling anything, Kassius Ohno will see his first in-ring action next week on NXT, as sort of a tune-up match before the clash with Roode. With his title opportunity looming over Ohno, how will he perform next week, and can he gain some momentum heading into his championship clash with the Glorious one?

We’ll be very interested to see how well Ohno performs in his second run with NXT, as well as what kind of match he’s capable of pulling out of Bobby Roode. Roode is no slouch when he wants to put the effort in, and we believe this match – if given adequate time – could be incredible.


Send us news tips at [email protected].