So I just thought about it, but what if WWE would have pulled a tournament to determinate the best NXT Champion ever?
There were 16 champions overall, 15 of them are still with the WWE (all with the exception of Neville).
This looks like a really good chance to have a tourny, with Seth Rollins as the first NXT Champion and a current Universal Champion getting a BYE to the second round.
I would have this tournament go down on NXT TV leading to a culmination on the Takeover in Royal Rumble weekend.
First Round:
Seth Rollins BYE as explained
Bo Dallas def. Bobby Roode - Obviously with a sneaky rollup after a fight between Curtis Axel and Dolph Ziggler distracts Roode. Shock win for Dallas who gets beaten down by Ziggler and Roode afterwards. This is just to remind everyone that Dallas used to be really good and an incredible character.
Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens - Following Balor's heel turn he must get the win here. Rematch from their 2015 NXT feud, just with the roles reversed.
Aleistar Black def. Drew Mcintyre - Black pulls an upset with a surprise Black Mass on Drew, who beats him down after the match (leading to a main roster program between the two).
Tommasso Ciampa def. Sami Zayn - Ciampa is the star of the tourny. He just returned from injury, and his story is that no one thinks he has it in him to go the distance.
Adam Cole def. Shinsuke Nakamura - Current NXT Champion gets his showing, clean win here. Ciampa then has a faceoff with him before their QF match
Samoa Joe def. Big E - This is a big men physical match, which is different then the rest of those matches. Joe gets the clean win here.
Johnny Gargano def. Andrade - In memory of their 5 star classic this is the final first round match. Gargano wins clean here, comes to shake Andrade's hand after the match, who turns it into a Hammerlock DDT to get some heat back.
Quarter Finals:
Seth Rollins def. Bo Dallas - This is where Dallas's journet ends.
Finn Balor def. Aleistar Black - Balor tries to win clean, he can't do it so he tries to do a lot of heel tactics. Black is finally pinned after a Claymore Kick from Mcintyre followed by a 1916 from Balor when the ref is down for the win.
Johnny Gargano def. Samoa Joe - I can't recall ever seeing this matchup which can be phenomenal. Gargano wins clean here, somewhat surprisingly.
Tommasso Ciampa def. Adam Cole - I know it's weird having the NXT Champ lose this early but it helps with the narative of the story. This gives Ciampa a claim to get back GOLDY. Also after the match Undisputed Era attack Ciampa only for Gargano to save him with a crutch. Then we have Ciampa and Gargano stare down and shake hands before SF match.
Semi Finals:
Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor - This is where Balor's heel tactics don't work. Clean win for Rollins who goes to the final.
Tommasso Ciampa def. Johnny Gargano. I know that at this point the final looks to be Gargano vs Rollins, but I think some unexpected twists are good in a tourny like this. Ciampa wins clean here after a 30+ minute brawl and they hug at the end.
Finals:
Tommasso Ciampa def. Seth Rollins - I know this is a bit unrealistic that WWE will have Rollins lose because the narrative calls for it but that is what should happen. Ciampa pins Rollins, probably after multiple finishers to protect Rollins. This gives Ciampa the proof that he still has it. If it was up to me, Rollins would turn heel after the match cause face Rollins is really boring at this point, but that is just me.
So do you think WWE should do this tournament? How would you have booked it?
P.S.
I have tried to do a realistic booking of this tourny, and at the same time have some first time matches and incredible showcase matches. I could have done a lot of dream matches (aka. Rollins vs Cole, Rollins vs Gargano and more...), but I think WWE will save them for big PPV's and not for a tournament.
There were 16 champions overall, 15 of them are still with the WWE (all with the exception of Neville).
This looks like a really good chance to have a tourny, with Seth Rollins as the first NXT Champion and a current Universal Champion getting a BYE to the second round.
I would have this tournament go down on NXT TV leading to a culmination on the Takeover in Royal Rumble weekend.
First Round:
Seth Rollins BYE as explained
Bo Dallas def. Bobby Roode - Obviously with a sneaky rollup after a fight between Curtis Axel and Dolph Ziggler distracts Roode. Shock win for Dallas who gets beaten down by Ziggler and Roode afterwards. This is just to remind everyone that Dallas used to be really good and an incredible character.
Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens - Following Balor's heel turn he must get the win here. Rematch from their 2015 NXT feud, just with the roles reversed.
Aleistar Black def. Drew Mcintyre - Black pulls an upset with a surprise Black Mass on Drew, who beats him down after the match (leading to a main roster program between the two).
Tommasso Ciampa def. Sami Zayn - Ciampa is the star of the tourny. He just returned from injury, and his story is that no one thinks he has it in him to go the distance.
Adam Cole def. Shinsuke Nakamura - Current NXT Champion gets his showing, clean win here. Ciampa then has a faceoff with him before their QF match
Samoa Joe def. Big E - This is a big men physical match, which is different then the rest of those matches. Joe gets the clean win here.
Johnny Gargano def. Andrade - In memory of their 5 star classic this is the final first round match. Gargano wins clean here, comes to shake Andrade's hand after the match, who turns it into a Hammerlock DDT to get some heat back.
Quarter Finals:
Seth Rollins def. Bo Dallas - This is where Dallas's journet ends.
Finn Balor def. Aleistar Black - Balor tries to win clean, he can't do it so he tries to do a lot of heel tactics. Black is finally pinned after a Claymore Kick from Mcintyre followed by a 1916 from Balor when the ref is down for the win.
Johnny Gargano def. Samoa Joe - I can't recall ever seeing this matchup which can be phenomenal. Gargano wins clean here, somewhat surprisingly.
Tommasso Ciampa def. Adam Cole - I know it's weird having the NXT Champ lose this early but it helps with the narative of the story. This gives Ciampa a claim to get back GOLDY. Also after the match Undisputed Era attack Ciampa only for Gargano to save him with a crutch. Then we have Ciampa and Gargano stare down and shake hands before SF match.
Semi Finals:
Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor - This is where Balor's heel tactics don't work. Clean win for Rollins who goes to the final.
Tommasso Ciampa def. Johnny Gargano. I know that at this point the final looks to be Gargano vs Rollins, but I think some unexpected twists are good in a tourny like this. Ciampa wins clean here after a 30+ minute brawl and they hug at the end.
Finals:
Tommasso Ciampa def. Seth Rollins - I know this is a bit unrealistic that WWE will have Rollins lose because the narrative calls for it but that is what should happen. Ciampa pins Rollins, probably after multiple finishers to protect Rollins. This gives Ciampa the proof that he still has it. If it was up to me, Rollins would turn heel after the match cause face Rollins is really boring at this point, but that is just me.
So do you think WWE should do this tournament? How would you have booked it?
P.S.
I have tried to do a realistic booking of this tourny, and at the same time have some first time matches and incredible showcase matches. I could have done a lot of dream matches (aka. Rollins vs Cole, Rollins vs Gargano and more...), but I think WWE will save them for big PPV's and not for a tournament.
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