On Easter Sunday, WWE has announced the full eight-man field to crown an interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion, in a tournament that will kick off this coming Wednesday on NXT. Current NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin is landlocked in Ireland due to the COVID-19 situation and is unable to defend his title. Once the situation clears up, Devlin will face the interim champion to decide the fate of the NXT Cruiserweight title.
The tournament to crown an Interim #WWENXT Cruiserweight Champion begins this Wednesday!
Meet the Superstars who will be competing for the prestigious crown.https://t.co/XE0cFBt6AW
— WWE (@WWE) April 12, 2020
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KUSHIDA
KUSHIDA will be vying to get his first title in the WWE Universe after joining NXT last year after a legendary run in New Japan Pro Wrestling. KUSHIDA is a 6x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in New Japan and considered one of the greatest cruiserweight/junior heavyweight stars in the world. He’s also a 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Alex Shelley in Time Splitters and a former Ring of Honor World Television Champion.
Drake Maverick
To most North American fans, Drake Maverick is best known for his comedic run in WWE as a 6x WWE 24/7 Champion or as the General Manager of 205 Live. Others may recall a similarly comedic run, as Rockstar Spud, in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he was often the lackey to EC3 or Aron Stevens (Damian Sandow), although he is a 2x IMPACT X-Division Champion. But for years, he was a mainstay of the UK indie scene during its early rise where he was known simply as Spud. Spud won titles throughout the UK circuit, including the IPW British Cruiserweight Championship, British Welterweight Championship, RQW European Cruiserweight Championship, and much more. Perhaps WWE fans will finally get to see what Maverick can really do in the ring as he has announced he has stepped down as the GM of 205 Live, handing duties over to NXT GM William Regal.
Tony Nese
Tony Nese joined WWE in 2016 as part of the Cruiserweight Classic and is a former NXT Cruiserweight Champion himself. A veteran of the New York indie circuit prior, he competed in EVOLVE Wrestling and is a former 2x New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) Heavyweight Champion. “The Premier Athlete” is one of the most athletically gifted men in the tournament and he’ll be looking to hoist the title for his second time.
Jake Atlas
Jake Atlas is one of the fresh new faces in NXT, having joined WWE early in 2020. The West Coast sensation was one of the hottest young stars in the US indies, where he held the PCW ULTRA Light Heavyweight Championship for 357-days, as well as the All Pro Wrestling (APW) Junior Heavyweight title. He was also a frequent competitor with the likes of Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Bar Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), and many more, before signing with NXT. Atlas made his NXT TV debut on April 1, in a loss to Dexter Lumis, but don’t let that initial defeat sour you on the talent he possesses.
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Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
Isaiah Scott has been impressive in his WWE career so far since joining in 2019, appearing regularly on NXT and 205 Live. He’s had title opportunities, but so far has failed to get his first taste of WWE gold. Prior to his WWE debut, he was known as Shane Strickland, one of the top US indie stars of the time who collected titles wherever he went – he’s a former EVOLVE Champion, Major League Wrestling (MLW) World Heavyweight Champion, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) World Heavyweight Champion, PCW ULTRA Heavyweight Champion, 2x DEFY Heavyweight Champion, and WrestleCircus Ringmaster Champion. As Killshot, he was also a part of Lucha Underground where he won the Trios Championship alongside AR Fox and Willie Mack. He’s champion-caliber through and through and is easily one of the favorites to win.
El Hijo del Fantasma
El Hijo del Fantasma is another recent WWE signing, arriving in NXT earlier this year. A veteran of Mexico, he had long runs with both AAA Lucha Libre and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he’s a former CMLL World Middleweight Champion, AAA World Cruiserweight Champion, and AAA Latin America Champion. He was also part of Lucha Underground, as King Cuerno, where he won the Gift of the Gods Championship. Fantasma has yet to make his NXT debut on TV, but a tournament to crown the interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion is a great place to start.
Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa debuted with WWE during the Cruiserweight Classic and is a former NXT Cruiserweight Champion. Prior to joining WWE in 2016, he was a longtime veteran of Japan’s Dragon Gate where he’s a former Open The Brave Gate (Light Heavyweight) Champion and 3x Open The Twin Gate (Tag Team) Champion and Open The Triangle (Trios) Champion.
Jack Gallagher
Jack Gallagher has shifted in character since he debuted as the “Gentleman” at the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016, adopting more of an MMA stance of late – Gallagher briefly competed in MMA prior to joining WWE. But he was also a fixture in the UK indie scene competing at the likes of PROGRESS Wrestling, Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), and his hometown FutureShock Wrestling (FSW), where he’s a former 2x FSW Champion. In 2013, he spent a tour of Japan working for ZERO1, Big Japan Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. He’s still looking for his first taste of gold in the WWE Universe and will be hoping that this tournament is his ticket to a Cruiserweight title.
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