NXT: Who Should Be The New NXT Champion?

NXT needs a new champion after Samoa Joe relinquished the belt.

Early on Monday, it was announced that Samoa Joe would vacate his newly wno NXT Championship due to an injury. The extent of the injury has not been announced. What has been announced is an NXT Championship Fatal Four Way match on this week’s episode to crown a new champ. Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, LA Knight & Tommaso Ciampa will battle for the belt.

Per @RealKingRegal, a NEW NXT Champion will be crowned TOMORROW NIGHT on #WWENXT! @PeteDunneYxB @KORcombat @LAKnightWWE @NXTCiampa pic.twitter.com/JqJSRhQMsj

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) September 13, 2021

Who should win the title? Here’s a rundown of the title contenders from least exciting to most intriguing.

4. LA Knight

It just doesn’t seem like Knight’s time to be NXT Champion. His feud with Cameron Grimes has run its course, but Knight doesn’t have a very strong fan connection yet. He’s got a while to go before he can realistically be the top guy on the brand. Exposure like this match is a good start.

3. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is one of the best NXT Champions we’ve had. It would make sense for NXT to trust the old hand, and he’d be a serviceable champ. For now, Ciampa is a part of a tag team storyline with Timothy Thatcher. NXT likely wants to keep this tag team together to see what they can accomplish in the tag division.

2. Kyle O’Reilly

With Adam Cole now in AEW, O’Reilly has lost his biggest rival. He also has the biggest obstacle to the NXT Championship out of the way. O’Reilly has a great connection with fans, a unique style, and would be a great fighting champion. My guess is that WWE would want to make his first championship win the culmination of a larger storyline. O’Reilly would make a fine champion, but it’s not the right situation.

1. Pete Dunne

Now is the time to crown Pete Dunne. He’s fresh off of kicking Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to the curb. Dunne now has muscle behind him in Ridge Holland and has one of the best mean streaks in the business. He has been close to the NXT Championship before but has never held it. Have Holland give him the assist and make Dunne the champion to rule over the NXT brand.

Evan Gomes is a freelance pop culture & sports writer. Follow him on Twitter at @ItsEvanGomes, and check out his two podcasts: Crossbody of Work and The Pop Capsule Podcast.