New Cruiserweight Champion Crowned On WWE NXT

Poor old Santos Escobar dropped the undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Title last night.

Santos Escobar
WWE.com

Spare a thought for poor old Santos Escobar, who fought to become NXT's undisputed Cruiserweight Champion for months on end, only to drop the belt less than a week after finally achieving his goal against Jordan Devlin last week.

Last night's WWE NXT saw the champion hit the ring to issue an open challenge after felling Devlin to unite the Cruiserweight belts at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Out came Kushida, who defeated Escobar to win his first WWE championship.

Santos appeared to have the match won when he went for his Phantom Driver. Unable to pull the move off, Escobar found himself trading pin attempts with Kushida, who was finally able to keep the Legado del Fantasma leader's shoulders down for the three-count, taking the strap.

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Kushida lost to Pete Dunne at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two last week. He was accosted by Devlin shortly after winning the Cruiserweight Title, with the Irishman claiming that although he had to go home for a while, he'd soon return to chase the belt.

Escobar's reign as undisputed Cruiserweight Champion lasted just five days. Prior to that, he was interim champ for almost a full year, taking the temporary strap after the global health crisis grounded Devlin last year.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.