Kyle O'Reilly To Challenge NXT Champion Finn Balor At TakeOver 31
O'Reilly ran the entire contendership gauntlet last night.
Kyle O'Reilly is the new number one contender to Finn Balor's NXT Championship, having won last night's gauntlet bout to earn his opportunity. The two will now throw down at TakeOver 31 on 4 October.
The unconventional gauntlet match's rules stipulated that two wrestlers would start the bout with another entering every four minutes. O'Reilly was in there from the beginning, tying up with Kushida, who was eliminated first when Velveteen Dream interfered. The Undisputed Era man then went on a total tear through the bout, eliminating Bronson Reed, Timothy Thatcher, and finally Cameron Grimes.
O'Reilly's stablemates Adam Cole and Roderick Strong celebrated with their man after the bout, before Balor showed up for a textbook NXT staredown.
Balor vs. O'Reilly joins North American Champion Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano and Women's Champion Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae on the TakeOver 31 card.
O'Reilly has never wrestled for the NXT Championship, nor has he ever gone one-on-one with Balor. If Cagematch is accurate, the only time they have ever shared a ring was at an NXT house show in Seattle, WA last October, when Balor teamed with the Street Profits to face the Undisputed Era.