Fantasma wins interim Cruiserweight title, Maverick re-hired by WWE
Drake Maverick didn’t win NXT’s interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament — but he’s still staying with WWE.
El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Maverick in the tournament finals on NXT tonight to become interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion. The finish of the match was Fantasma getting the win after Maverick was distracted by the masked kidnappers who have been appearing on NXT.
The mask men surrounded Fantasma at first but were taken out by a tope from Maverick and then fought off by him. When Maverick got back into the ring, Fantasma hit a superkick and the Phantom Driver to win the interim title.
Maverick was dejected after his loss but received an ovation from the Performance Center wrestlers who were in the crowd. Triple H came out to the stage, shook Maverick’s hand, and presented him with an NXT contract. An emotional Maverick then signed the contract.
Maverick was part of April’s WWE releases. His story for the tournament was that he was fighting to win so that he could save his job.
Dave Meltzer reported on the masked kidnappers storyline in April: “The kidnapping spots on NXT are to lead to the introduction of Jorge Bolly, or whatever name El Hijo del Fantasma will go by. It’s the Simbianese Liberation Army storyline where the captives sympathize with their captors and Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde become his Patty Hearsts.”
Ireland’s Jordan Devlin is the current NXT Cruiserweight Champion but is currently unable to travel and defend his title due to the coronavirus pandemic. The interim label for Fantasma’s Cruiserweight title wasn’t mentioned on NXT tonight.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.