9/23 WWE NXT Preview: Enter The Gauntlet Eliminator, Take Off to TakeOver

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WWE has shared the following Quick Hits for tonight’s episode of NXT on WWE.com:

• First-ever Gauntlet Eliminator Match to decide Finn Bálor’s first challenger
• Battle Royal to determine No. 1 Contender to Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship
• Jake Atlas looks for payback in rematch with Tommaso Ciampa

WWE’s full preview can be found HERE; we have included excerpts below:

First-ever Gauntlet Eliminator Match to decide Finn Bálor’s first challenger

Who will get the first chance to challenge The Prince? The answer to that question will be decided in the first-ever Gauntlet Eliminator Match tonight on the NXT Takeoff to TakeOver.

Kushida, Cameron Grimes, Kyle O’Reilly, Timothy Thatcher and Bronson Reed will battle in this unique bout with the rules as follows:

• Two men will start in the ring.
• Every four minutes, another competitor will enter.
• The only way to be eliminated is via pinfall or submission.
• The last man standing will be named the No. 1 Contender and challenge Finn Bálor for the NXT Title at the next edition of NXT TakeOver on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Which Superstar will emerge victorious and earn an opportunity at the NXT Championship?

Battle Royal to determine No. 1 Contender to Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship

The next Superstar to step to Io Shirai for the NXT Women’s Title will have to earn their opportunity in a massive Battle Royal tonight on NXT Take Off to TakeOver.

As the only former champion in the field, Rhea Ripley has to be considered a strong favorite, especially after toppling Mercedes Martinez in a brutal Steel Cage Match earlier this month. Can The Nightmare take the next step toward recapturing the gold she lost earlier this year?

Dakota Kai came up short in her quest to dethrone Shirai last month at NXT TakeOver XXX, but The Captain of Team Kick is still dead set on becoming champion. Plus, Kai’s enforcer Raquel González is also in the bout, and we’ve seen that “Big Mami Cool” is anything but shy about inflicting pain on Kai’s behalf.

The Battle Royal will also play host to former friends Candice LeRae and Tegan Nox, whose long-simmering issue has intensified in recent weeks after Nox’s tense visit to The Gargano household. Will LeRae and Nox be able to focus on the task at hand, given their increasingly bitter rivalry?

Additionally, the up-and-coming Shotzi Blackheart impressed in going toe-to-toe with Shirai this past week. Can Blackheart bounce back to earn another chance at bringing the NXT Women’s Title to the ball pit?

But with the field also including promising upstarts such as The Robert Stone Brand’s Aliyah, Kayden Carter, Kacy Catanzaro, Xia Li and Indi Hartwell, might an underdog be able to pull off a stunner for the right to challenge challenge Shirai?

Jake Atlas looks for payback in rematch with Tommaso Ciampa

Tommaso Ciampa struck down Jake Atlas as the first victim of his resurgent sadism, but he failed to put Atlas on the shelf is good. Now Atlas will be out for payback in a rematch.

After a nearly three-month absence, Ciampa returned to the black-and-gold brand last month, defeating Atlas and committing a savage assault afterward, including a Willow’s Bell DDT from a stretcher to put Atlas on the NXT Injury Report.

The Blackheart appears to have rediscovered the same vicious side that helped him win the NXT Championship, which is likely bad news for the rest of the roster. Atlas learned that lesson again last week when he was ambushed in the parking lot after confronting Ciampa earlier in the evening.

Fortunately for Atlas, Kyle O’Reilly stepped in before the attack escalated. But will Atlas be able to fight off the vicious Blackheart when they step in the ring again?

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