NXT Champion Stripped, Why Drew McIntyre Vs. Big Show Happened

NXT Champion Stripped

With WWE NXT cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin in the United Kingdom due to a travel ban thanks to the coronavirus, a tournament will be conducted to determine the new interim cruiserweight champion.

WWE NXT general manager William Regal made the announcement while appearing on WWE’s The Bump. Competitors and the full tournament will be revealed via social media over the next few days.

“As I just announced on WWE The Bump, we will soon begin a tournament to crown an interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion as the current champion, Jordan Devlin is unable to compete due to the situation in the world,” Regal said.

Devlin has been the cruiserweight champion, which is shared by NXT and NXT UK, since January. He won a fatal four-way over Angel Garza, Travis Banks and Isaiah Scott at Worlds Collide.

Latest On NXT Tag Team Titles

As for the NXT tag team titles currently being held by Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle, a decision on those belts will be made in the coming days, according to Regal.

Much like Devlin, Dunne is also in the United Kingdom limited by the travel ban right now.

Dunne and Riddle, known as The BroserWeights, have held the titles since February. They defeated The Undisputed Era’s Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly at NXT TakeOver: Portland.

Why Drew McIntyre Vs. Big Show Happened

WWE pulled a bit of a surprise on the most recent edition of RAW, as The Big Show came out to challenge newly-crowned WWE champion Drew McIntyre after WrestleMania 36 finished airing.

The bout took place only after McIntyre was pushed into accepting the challenge of the returning former champion.

While many were confused by Big Show earning a title shot after being gone for several weeks, PWInsider notes the move was to bolster McIntyre. He claimed the title after defeating Brock Lesnar in the main event.

According to the report, topping Lesnar and Big Show in less than a 30-minute span shows McIntyre to be a true force in the sport.

McIntyre noted on Twitter that “this is my WrestleMania moment. In a Mania unlike any other I couldn’t help but break the ‘fourth wall’ to say thank you. Thank you all for choosing WWE as an escape right now and THANK you for believing in a kid who wouldn’t take no for an answer.”