The NXT Championship changed hands again. At TakeOver: WarGames, Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Drew McIntyre to become the new NXT Champion.
Ember Moon is not the only new champion to come out of TakeOver: WarGames. In an intense NXT Championship Match, Andrade “Cien” Almas became the new NXT Champion. Almas defeated Drew McIntyre, who won the title at TakeOver: Brooklyn III, after a punishing off the top rope. Despite McIntyre’s best efforts, he could not walk away as champion in his first TakeOver event as NXT Champion.
The match between he and Almas was an intense one, to say the very least. Both men brought out the goods, with each man scoring numerous near falls. Zelina Vega played a major role in this matchup, nearly directly helping Almas win the title after hitting a spike hurricanrana on McIntyre. She would prop Almas up on the bottom rope to save his chances. Luckily, Almas made good on his manager’s efforts to keep him in the match. And, by match’s end, Andrade became champion.
This has certainly been an interesting and fascinating journey for Almas. NXT fans did not receive him well during his debut against Tye Dillinger at TakeOver: The Beginning of the End last May. That continued at TakeOver: Brooklyn II, and constantly throughout his run. There were rumors afloat that he was going to leave the company. But, 18 months after his debut, Andrade is the chief figurehead of the company and its champion.
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With the win, Andrade Almas becomes the 14th NXT Champion in history. He is also the fifth champion within the last year, as the belt has found numerous homes lately. Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, McIntyre and Almas have all held the title since TakeOver: Toronto. We’ll see if Almas can stretch his reign out for a while. But for now, he and Zelina can bask in the glow of their dramatic victory.