Robert Stone announces first name for upcoming NXT gauntlet match

Last week on NXT, Interim General Manager Robert Stone booked a gauntlet match to name a top contender for Myles Borne’s North American Championship. Now we know the first participant in that match. 

Stone made the announcement in an Instagram post before an NXT live event in Lakeland, Florida. The wrestler announced for that match: Jackson Drake.

Stone also said he would be announcing another new name for the match every day between now and Tuesday. The winner of the gauntlet match will challenge Borne at NXT Stand & Deliver in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, April 4.

Drake, 22 years old, made his pro wrestling debut in 2017. After a few years working indies in and around his home state of North Carolina (plus appearances for AEW and on Monday Night Raw), he signed with the WWE ID program in November of 2024.

He appeared on WWE’s first episode of Evolve in March of last year. He then defeated Sean Legacy, Edris Enofe, Keanu Carver in a four-way to win the inaugural Evolve Championship. 

Earlier this year, he joined the NXT roster full-time, along with Vanity Project stablemates Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor. He lost the Evolve Championship to Aaron Rourke on the March 18 episode of Evolve, which was taped in February.