TakeOver: New Orleans was literally their night

The Undisputed Era started the second quarter of 2018 with Adam Cole capturing the NXT North American Championship while Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly retained their Tag Team titles with the help of Roderick Strong who turned on his partner Pete Dunne to help the stable retain. The team also won the Dusty Cup as part of the stipulation for the championship match.

Despite the another instant classic performances from Johnny Gargano and Andrade "Cien" Almas in separate matches this time, the talk of the night was focused on the future of the Undisputed Era following the pledge of allegiance made by Roderick Strong as he himself wore the stable's signature armband. Now that the "Messiah of the Backbreaker" is the only member of the team left without a belt, it only means that there is only one thing left for them to chase...

The NXT Title picture

Aleister Black may have won the NXT Title from Andrade "Cien" Almas at TakeOver: New Orleans but the saga between him and the Undisputed Era never officially closed. Almas will get his rematch clause anytime soon as per WWE rules but regardless of who wins or loses the rematch, who is next in line? 

This places the Undisputed Era in an interesting scenario that in order to indeed "shock the system", they have to have dominion over it first just like how Triple H and company did with Evolution in 2003. The "Freebird Rule" allows any two members of a certain stable to represent the title which means having Bobby Fish on the injured list won't be an issue as there would still be Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong to defend the Tag Titles.

It is safe to say that Strong would most likely be Undisputed Era's representative for the NXT Title given that Cole might just be busy with defending his known North American Title now that the search is on for a new number one contender.

Shocking the system

The system of NXT has always been to serve as the WWE's developmental territory since its merger with Florida Championship Wrestling in 2012. For six years now, NXT has served as a stage of transition from either the indies or from scratch athletes to either Monday Night Raw or SmackDown.

2018 might be the start of a new landscape in NXT with a new title and huge indie signings to start the first quarter of the year. With Roderick Strong now joining the Undisputed Era, it is safe to say that the top stars of NXT will not be going up the main roster anytime soon.

It wouldn't be a surprise if NXT turns into that unofficial third brand where it would only take a Superstar Shake-Up for someone to be called up. The reason behind this could be the that there is a huge influx of newly signed talent that is still staying down there despite being long ready for the main roster.

If these speculations are true, you only have the Undisputed Era to credit for shocking the system.

Do you think 2018 is the Undisputed Era's year? Will NXT finally shy  away from the word "developmental"? Let us know on the comments below.

For more Wrestling news, click here for the latest updates.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jaime Luis Aldecoa
Professional Wrestling Editor. Took up Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication at the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA in the Philippines.