(From left to right) Bobby Fish, Adam Cole, and Kyle O’Reilly made immediate impact at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, attacking newly crowned NXT Champion Drew McIntyre. Photo by WWE.com
Drew McIntyre finally realized his potential after winning the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III Sunday (Manila time), but that may have come with a price.
The Scottish star emerged as the biggest target in the locker room, which led to former Ring of Honor champion Adam Cole making immediate impact as he, alongside fellow independent standouts Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, attacked the newly crowned champion after his grueling match against Bobby Roode.
It was supposed to be a crowning moment for the returning McIntyre, who made his comeback to the WWE umbrella after getting released in 2014. He survived a pair of Glorious DDTs from Roode and reversed the third before hitting the Claymore for the three-count.
Unfortunately, his triumphant celebration was ruined after the Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish crashed the party and asserted themselves as the new force to be reckoned with in NXT.
O’Reilly and Fish earlier made their presence felt as they made a post-match attack after SAnitY dethroned the Authors of Pain to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.
Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe have just dethroned the defending champions after they hit a tandem neckbreaker on Rezar, before the indy duo left all of the competitors in a pile of heap.
In the night’s other matches, Asuka continued her 504-day NXT Women’s Championship reign as she survived a game challenge from Ember Moon, working on her challenger’s left arm all match long before submitting her with the Asuka Lock.
Aleister Black also topped Hideo Itami in a highly physical matchup, which ended after the Dutch star nailed his Japanese foe with the Black Mass.
Andrade “Cien” Almas won in the night’s opener after his valet Zelina Vega threw a #DIY shirt on Johnny Gargano, providing the distraction which led to the Mexican star hitting La Sombra on his opponent.