#8 – Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
Destiny hasn’t been kind to every NXT Champion. Andrade sure seemed to have luck on his side though. Undeniably talented as he was, unlike everyone else in the lineage, it really seems like he wasn’t meant to become NXT Champion. He was setup to be a fine contender for it, but not one who would quite hold the gold. But an injury to champion Drew McIntyre changed all of that, and he ended up being in the right place at the right time to claim the title.
In that situation, most would find themselves dropping it within days. But to their credit, they ran with it and man did it work. Now, I mean no disrespect to any former holders… but recent champs Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode had set a certain precedent for their defenses. They were slow-paced posedowns, and they were very effective thanks to the incredible charisma involved, the crowd responses were electric for it, no arguing that. But they were always following such exciting, nonstop action that they seemed a tad underwhelming watching at home. The main event was practically never the match of the night on these cards, always outshone by the Women’s or Tag Title matches.
That isn’t the case anymore and we have Cien to thank for that.
The match in which he defeated McIntyre for the title was, in my opinion, the best NXT title match I’d seen in years. And he followed that up with a defense against Johnny Gargano at the next TakeOver that earned NXT it’s first-ever 5 star match. Even after his reign ended, his influence is still felt as it really seems like he raised the bar for NXT title matches going forward. For our money, that puts Almas in the upper half of NXT Champions… but what do you think?
As an aside, I really miss the days when Andrade has his full ringname. I always thought it was cool that you could say any of the three names by themselves and they worked.
#9 Seed – Seth Rollins
There’s nothing quite like being the first. So many great talents have held this title since and many more will going forward. But there’s only one man who can lay claim to being the original. Before he was burning it down on the main roster, Seth Rollins was proudly holding – and swinging – the NXT Championship. A fitting name, and a lovely little bit of foreshadowing of what was to come for the future Kingslayer.
This accolade earns him a lot of points, as does the fact that he was far and away the best choice. But in a way, that statement also describes why he isn’t higher than #9 in our seeding. On it’s inception, NXT did have a lot of talented guys, but fittingly, many of them were still developing. Aside from Kassius Ohno, nobody else was really at the level of being a world champion. Which meant he was a bit lacking for big time challengers and stellar title defenses.
I mean, he won the title by defeating Jinder Mahal in a tournament final so uh… yeah, it was a different time. Also docking him was how his reign was cut short by his unexpected call-up. His leading the Shield and suddenly sporting SWAT gear was also really jarring for those actually following it, and it caused NXT’s top babyface to abruptly end his reign as a heel.
In a different circumstance, he could’ve easily been in the top 3 in our seeding. Maybe this tournament will serve as vindication…
That brings us to our Golden Gauntlet Tale of the Tape:
Now see, if Rollins had challengers like Almas his reign would’ve had a much bigger legacy… funny how that works out. Anyway, this would be an absolutely classic match, one that I’d love to see get a chance to headline a PPV in real life some day.
These two have very similar styles. Speed and technique would blend beautifully here, mixed with the occasional brutal knee or elbow. Cien’s awesome manager Zelina Vega would no doubt play a role with key interference spots. An interesting thing about this fantasy aspect is the question of whether or not Rollins would have the Shield by his side, like he did in his final defenses originally. But personally, I’m imagining this as whitemeat babyface Rollins all by his lonesome trying to take on the devastating double threat of Andrade and Vega… you can look at it however you want though.
Who wins…? You tell me! Vote below!
Who will advance in the Golden Gauntlet? Who is the best NXT Champion of all time? Seth Rollins takes on Andrade 'Cien' Almas in Round 1 and you pick the winner! https://t.co/WbhRmWat0E
— Jordan Huie (@WritingJth) July 3, 2019
