This week’s episode of NXT began with an announcement from General Manager William Regal. Prior to the show, Regal took to Twitter to share a message. He called his role as NXT General Manager “an incredible honor” and believed the news would be a step forward for the brand. After ample anticipation from the NXT Universe, it was announced that the North American Championship would be relinquished by Keith Lee.
In a video, Regal praised the NXT and North American Championship win of Keith Lee. He then cut to Lee, who spoke about his own journey to the top of the brand. He said that opportunity struck when he defeated Roderick Strong for the latter championship and then Adam Cole for the former. Lee expressed the desire to be a defending champion. However, to do so, he had to make the uneasy decision of relinquishing the North American Championship. To Lee, it was paramount that others had the opportunity to compete as well.
Regal then announced a series of triple threat matches that would declare future contenders for the North American Championship. The new North American Champion would then be declared at NXT TakeOver on August 22nd in a Ladder Match.
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1️⃣ In the spirit of opportunity, @RealKeithLee RELINQUISHES the NXT North American Title…
2️⃣ @RealKingRegal announces a series of Triple Threat Matches all leading to a LADDER MATCH at #NXTTakeOver 30 to crown a NEW NXT North American Champion! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/JtIGImOl5I
— WWE (@WWE) July 23, 2020
Keith Lee started 2020 on a strong note. On the January 22nd episode of NXT, he bested Roderick Strong to become the North American Champion. Since then, he held the championship for over 180 days. Lee sccessfully defended it against the likes of Cameron Grimes and Dominik Dijakovic. He would then go on to face Adam Cole in a history-making title-for-title match on Night 2 of NXT: The Great American Bash. It was here that Lee bested Cole, becoming the first double titleholder in NXT history.
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