On April 8, 2020 edition of WWE’s The Bump, NXT General Manager William Regal revealed that a tournament to crown an interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion will be held.
The tournament began on April 15, 2020, to determine the interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion after Jordan Devlin was deemed unable to defend the title due to coronavirus pandemic-related travel restrictions. Eight wrestlers were split into two groups of four, where each wrestler would compete against the other three members of their group. The wrestler with the best record in each group will compete to determine the interim champion. Any ties will be broken by head-to-head results.
Group A consists of Kushida, Tony Nese, Jake Atlas, and former 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick, while Group B consists of Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, El Hijo del Fantasma, Akira Tozawa, and Gentleman Jack Gallagher. Although Maverick was released from WWE on April 15, he confirmed via Twitter that he would still be competing in the tournament, which could be his last matches in the company.
Format
- Eight Superstars will be split into two groups of four.
- Superstars will compete against each of the three other members of their group.
- The Superstar with the best record in each group will advance to the championship match.
- Any ties will be broken by head-to-head record.
- The winner of Group A will face the winner of Group B to determine the new Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
Matches
April 15, 2020
- Akira Tozawa defeated Isaiah Scott in Group B
April 22, 2020
- Jake Atlas defeated Drake Maverick in Group A
- KUSHIDA defeated Tony Nese in Group A
- El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher in Group B
April 29, 2020
- Isaiah Scott defeated El Hijo del Fantasma in Group B
- Drake Maverick defeated Tony Nese in Group A
May 6, 2020
- Akira Tozawa defeated Jack Gallagher in Group B
- Kushida defeated Jake Atlas in Group A
May 13, 2020
- Jake Atlas defeated Tony Nese in Group A
- Jack Gallagher defeated Isaiah Scott in Group B
May 20, 2020
- El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Akira Tozawa in Group B
- Drake Maverick defeated KUSHIDA in Group A
May 27, 2020
- Drake Maverick [2:1] defeated Jake Atlas [2:1] and KUSHIDA [2:1] in a NXT Cruiserweight Title Tournament Group A Triple Threat Match
June 3, 2020
- El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick in the Final Match
As a result of a tie, Maverick, Kushida and Atlas will face each other in a triple threat match on May 27th to determine the winner of group A.
| Group A | Kushida | Nese | Atlas | Maverick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kushida | — | Kushida (NXT, April 22) |
Kushida (NXT, May 6) |
Maverick (NXT, May 20) |
| Nese | Kushida (NXT, April 22) |
— | Atlas (NXT, May 13) |
Maverick (NXT, April 29) |
| Atlas | Kushida (NXT, May 6) |
Atlas (NXT, May 13) |
— | Atlas (NXT, April 22) |
| Maverick | Maverick (NXT, May 20) |
Maverick (NXT, April 29) |
Atlas (NXT, April 22) |
— |
| Group B | Swerve | Fantasma | Tozawa | Gallagher |
| Swerve | — | Swerve (NXT, April 29) |
Tozawa (NXT, April 15) |
Gallagher (NXT, May 13) |
| Fantasma | Swerve (NXT, April 29) |
— | Fantasma (NXT, May 20 |
Fantasma (NXT, April 22) |
| Tozawa | Tozawa (NXT, April 15) |
Fantasma (NXT, May 20) |
— | Tozawa (NXT, May 6) |
| Gallagher | Gallagher (NXT, May 13) |
Fantasma (NXT, April 22) |
Tozawa (NXT, May 6) |
— |
Groups
Group A
| No | Wrestler | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drake Maverick | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Jake Atlas | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | KUSHIDA | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Tony Nese | 0 | 3 |
Group B
| No | Wrestler | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Hijo del Fantasma | 2 | 1 |
| 1 | Akira Tozawa | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Isaiah Scott | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Gentleman Jack Gallagher | 1 | 2 |
