Tag: interim nxt cruiserweight title tournament

Fantasma wins interim Cruiserweight title, Maverick re-hired by WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Drake Maverick didn’t win NXT’s interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament — but he’s still staying with WWE.

El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Maverick in the tournament finals on NXT tonight to become interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion. The finish of the match was Fantasma getting the win after Maverick was distracted by the masked kidnappers who have been appearing on NXT.

The mask men surrounded Fantasma at first but were taken out by a tope from Maverick and then fought off by him. When Maverick got back into the ring, Fantasma hit a superkick and the Phantom Driver to win the interim title.

Maverick was dejected after his loss but received an ovation from the Performance Center wrestlers who were in the crowd. Triple H came out to the stage, shook Maverick’s hand, and presented him with an NXT contract. An emotional Maverick then signed the contract.

Maverick was part of April’s WWE releases. His story for the tournament was that he was fighting to win so that he could save his job.

Dave Meltzer reported on the masked kidnappers storyline in April: “The kidnapping spots on NXT are to lead to the introduction of Jorge Bolly, or whatever name El Hijo del Fantasma will go by. It’s the Simbianese Liberation Army storyline where the captives sympathize with their captors and Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde become his Patty Hearsts.”

Ireland’s Jordan Devlin is the current NXT Cruiserweight Champion but is currently unable to travel and defend his title due to the coronavirus pandemic. The interim label for Fantasma’s Cruiserweight title wasn’t mentioned on NXT tonight.

Interim NXT Cruiserweight title tournament finals set for next week

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Drake Maverick is going to the finals of NXT’s interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament.

Maverick and El Hijo del Fantasma will face off in the finals of the tournament on next Wednesday’s episode of NXT. That was confirmed when Maverick defeated Kushida and Jake Atlas in a triple threat match on NXT tonight.

The story for Maverick vs. Kushida vs. Atlas was that it had a controversial finish. As Kushida had Atlas in a cross armbreaker at the end of the match, Maverick put his arm across Atlas and the referee counted to three. It was shown that Atlas had actually tapped out before the referee finished counting, but it was said that the referee’s decision is final.

Maverick did an interview after that was revealed and said he wanted to compete fairly. He offered to have another match, but Kushida told him to fight for the title and win. Maverick said he has all the respect in the world for Kushida and told Kushida he’ll have the first shot at the title when Maverick wins the tournament.

Maverick was part of last month’s WWE releases. He’s had an underdog story for the tournament, trying to win to save his job.

Tonight’s triple threat match was made after Maverick, Kushida, and Atlas were tied at the end of Group A action. Fantasma defeated Akira Tozawa last week to win Group B.

Maverick and Fantasma shook hands after Maverick’s win tonight. Maverick told Fantasma that it’s more than winning the title for him, it’s his life and his job.

Jordan Devlin is the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, but he’s currently unable to travel and defend his title due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Updated standings for interim NXT Cruiserweight title tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

All of the wrestlers in NXT’s interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament have now taken part in two tournament matches.

Two more matches in the round-robin tournament aired on tonight’s NXT. In Group A, Kushida defeated Jake Atlas. In Group B, Akira Tozawa defeated Jack Gallagher.

Kushida and Tozawa are now 2-0 in the tournament and currently top their respective groups. Atlas has a 1-1 record, while Gallagher is 0-2.

Here are the updated standings:

Group A —

  • Kushida (2-0)
  • Jake Atlas (1-1)
  • Drake Maverick (1-1)
  • Tony Nese (0-2)

Group B —

  • Akira Tozawa (2-0)
  • Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (1-1)
  • El Hijo del Fantasma (1-1)
  • Jack Gallagher (0-2)

Kushida vs. Maverick and Atlas vs. Nese are the last remaining matches in Group A, while Tozawa vs. Fantasma and Scott vs. Gallagher are the remaining matches in Group B. The leader of Group A will then face the leader of Group B in the finals.

Any ties will be broken by head-to-head record.

Jordan Devlin is the current NXT Cruiserweight Champion but is unable to travel and defend his title due to the coronavirus pandemic.