WWE Unveils Both Groups For New Tournament To Determine Interim Champion

In response to the travel restrictions and complications brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, WWE has announced a new tournament to determine an interim champion in NXT. Jordan Devlin is the current NXT Cruiserweight Champion, but he is currently unable to leave the United Kingdom to defend his title. WWE has now chosen to host a special tournament to determine a new interim champion. The company has also unveiled a bracket system and the participants who will compete for the title.

Last week, General Manager William Regal announced the tournament. He revealed the official format, which will feature eight superstars fighting for the honor of wearing the belt.

Details revealed on WWE‘s website show that this tournament will be done round-robin style, with two groups competing for a spot in the finals. The four superstars in each group would face each other once and the competitor with the best record will advance to the championship match.

Any ties in the standings will be broken by the superstar with the best record in a head-to-head comparison.

Group A will consist of Kushida, Drake Maverick, Tony Nese, and Jake Atlas. Although this is a strong group, it only has one former champion in it — Nese.

Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, El Hijo del Fantasma, Akira Tozawa, and Gentleman Jack Gallagher make up Group B. This group also has just one former champion in it. Tozawa held the title back in 2017 for a short period of time.

The tournament will begin this week, on Wednesday night’s episode of NXT. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, WWE is moving to live television once again, which means nothing is pre-recorded or can be spoiled by leaks.

WWE has not yet revealed which opening round matches are going to take place this week.

The company wants its titles to be defended during this time, as the shows are continuing despite the pandemic. Devlin is in the unfortunate position of being across the pond and not being able to compete with the other superstars.

Although this new tournament is to determine who will become the interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion, there is no word on how long they’ll hold the belt, as it is not yet sure when Devlin will be allowed to travel again.

Once that happens, WWE will have to rectify the issue of having two different superstars holding the identical championship title at the same time.