The road to determining NXT’s first-ever champion in the post-Oba Femi era will begin next week.
General Manager Ava announced on this week’s episode of NXT that a six-man ladder match will take place on the February 6 episode of the show to determine the brand’s new top men’s champ. To help figure out who will get into that match, a series of qualifying bouts will go down in the coming weeks.
The qualifiers will begin next week with two bouts set to go down as part of NXT’s January 20 episode from the WWE Performance Center.
Looking to rebound following an unsuccessful TNA International Championship shot this week, NXT newcomer Shiloh Hill will battle with Josh Briggs. And in a matchup between two EVOLVE talents, Sean Legacy and Eli Knight will face off. The bout will be Knight’s second-ever NXT appearance.
Along with the qualifier matchups, a future challenger for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships will also be determined on next Tuesday’s episode. The teams of ZaRuca (Zaria and Sol Ruca), WrenQCC (Wren Sinclair and Kendal Grey), and Fatal Influence (Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley) will face off in a three-way tag bout for the future title opportunity.
Their opponents will be determined on this Thursday’s episode of TNA Impact, when incumbent champs The IInspiration defend against The Elegance Brand.
Rounding out the announcements for next week’s NXT is a title matchup between North American Champion Ethan Page and the debuting Elio LeFleur. Page will try to extend his more than 230-day reign as champ when he meets the French Luchador, whose arrival has been teased on recent episodes.
Here’s a look at all of the matches confirmed for next week:
- Josh Briggs vs. Shiloh Hill (NXT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier)
- Sean Legacy vs. Eli Knight (NXT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier)
- Ethan Page vs. Elio LeFleur (NXT North American Championship)
- Zaria & Sol Ruca vs. Wren Sinclair & Kendal Grey vs. Lainey Reid & Fallon Henley (TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders)
