Clash of Champions is built around the idea of every WWE title being defended on the card, yet there are two whole brands that have no representation on the pay-per-view: NXT and NXT UK.
This is no surprise, as it’s never been the case that these belts are on the line for this show. However, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be, or WWE shouldn’t have a Gold Rush or something for the NXT brands.
Going with that theme, I present you another round of fantasy booking answering the question “What if NXT and NXT UK were represented at Clash of Champions 2020?”
How would this play out? Which challengers would face the champions and what would the repercussions be for NXT’s expansion bump to two hours and the events leading to Survivor Series in November?
Keep in mind that I’ll be looking at this through a lens of my own likes and dislikes, but trying to filter all that with what I think WWE would do. It’s equal parts my creative juices and my guesswork of how it would go down without my influence.
Let’s get this started with the NXT UK belts!
Quick Note #1: Obviously, this couldn’t happen to get all these people on the same physical location with the travel restrictions in place. Let’s just pretend WWE is going WrestleMania 2 on this and doing multiple locations and splitting the broadcast.
Quick Note #2: I’m also ignoring the idea that NXT UK is returning and already skipping ahead with some of these feuds. This Clash of Champions thing isn’t happening anyway, but if it WERE happening, I think WWE would rearrange those plans accordingly. That’s what I’ll be doing here.
NXT UK Tag Team Championship
Gallus boys were on top, but they shouldn’t be any longer. Like most of the NXT UK titles, these reigns have been extended far longer than they likely would have, just because WWE hasn’t been able to run any shows. I think there’s a solid chance they would have dropped the titles at Dublin earlier this year when it was supposed to take place. Maybe not, though. Who knows for sure?
With Joe Coffey being on the outs due to #SpeakingOut allegations, I say it’s time to have new champions crowned and to go with the stable, reliable, babyface options of Moustache Mountain. They should win a No. 1 contender’s match that features all the other teams (South Wales Subculture, Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams, The Hunt, Tyson T-Bone and Saxon Huxley, Grizzled Young Veterans, Imperium, Pretty Deadly, etc) in a battle royal to earn the shot.
Following this, Imperium should be the next in line. Whenever the next TakeOver special is, they can capture those belts.
NXT UK Women’s Championship
Let’s just pick up where we left off. Kay Lee Ray has been champion FAR too long in my book. To be honest, I don’t think she ever necessarily should have been champion to begin with, but the deed’s been done for a long while now. Time to get the title off her.
Piper Niven is the most obvious choice. She was in the hunt for the belt prior to the shutdown and she’s a big enough name on the brand to take the title. She’s also more physically imposing, so I doubt anyone would call b.s. on her winning the match.
They could just go with Toni Storm again, but I’d rather see her go to NXT USA. She’s already been NXT UK champion and to repeat it would be treading familiar ground. Aoife Valkyrie hasn’t done enough to make me want to put the belt on her, most others are heels and Xia Brookside isn’t ready. Piper Niven’s the only way to go, unless you bring in someone new.
I’d love to be able to say we can switch things up and have Billie Kay come over to NXT UK as the new champion and make sure she doesn’t lose her spot on the roster after splitting with Peyton Royce, but that’s just not feasible. Not only does Kay live in the United States, she’s also not necessarily going to turn babyface and maybe she can even find a spot on the Raw roster all the same.
NXT United Kingdom Championship
Ilja Dragunov was the No. 1 contender and set to face WALTER at TakeOver: Dublin. I see no reason why that should change. While he had a shot to become the new champion, I don’t think that should happen. I’d rather WALTER keep it until someone with more staying power can be the next champion.
Plus, WALTER wasn’t able to have his match with Finn Balor, but they’re both champions now. Why not set that up for a Worlds Collide down the line?
The way I see it, Dragunov is a solid challenger who can come up short and won’t look weak losing to someone of WALTER’s stature and prowess. He’s beaten everyone else like Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, Dave Mastiff, etc, so why not beat Dragunov, too?
For the sake of discussion, the names I could see being able to beat WALTER down the line are Ridge Holland, Cesaro, Pete Dunne (rather not see them repeat that, though), Killian Dain and maybe Bronson Reed. I’d have gone with Wade Barrett, but he seems content in a commentary role.
BONUS: Women’s Tag Team Championship
While this isn’t a true NXT or NXT UK title, it’s technically part of the family, since it can be defended across all brands. We’ve seen a few instances of NXT talent fighting for the title and there’s no need for it not to be on the card, right?
Since our champions right now are Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, I can’t think of any match I’d really want to see. It’s not like there are dream matches in mind with that pairing.
Best case scenario, the challengers are Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. I don’t think anyone would buy into Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter actually winning the belts, but Kai and Gonzalez would be a maybe.
NXT Cruiserweight Championship
Santos Escobar is the interim champion while Jordan Devlin was unable to defend the title. Since then, Devlin’s been part of the #SpeakingOut allegations. In my mind, it’s likely better to just cut ties with Devlin and not make him part of the cruiserweight title scene than to keep that train going.
For my money, Escobar is a vastly better champion, too. There’s no way I’d sacrifice him in favor of Devlin. I’m enjoying Escobar more in every way than what Devlin was giving us.
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