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WWE Superstars are always chasing championship gold, but unfortunately, these goals are often not met in the early years of a career. A certain fan-favorite seemed to be in the middle of a renewed push and recently came up short in a title match, but is not giving up.
Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Maxxine Dupri are enjoying a spotlight on RAW now that Chad Gable left Alpha Academy for American Made. However, the former Heavy Machinery member has lost 12 straight televised matches, going back to mid-March.
After Otis and Tozawa were defeated by The Creed Brothers on Monday's RAW, the former Money in the Bank winner answered the Open Challenge issued by NXT North American Champion Oba Femi, who had a brief confrontation with the former RAW Tag Team Champion this past Monday on red brand. The match happened last night on NXT, where Femi retained in just under 11 minutes.
The Blue Collar Brawler is not giving up on his first singles championship in WWE. After last night's loss to Femi, Kelly Kincaid met with Alpha Academy backstage. She asked Otis what his mentality was like moving forward.
"Well, before my mother's dying day six months ago, she always supported me as a child, as a working person she was... three jobs, two kids, every time she was working it was for a purpose. She told me that time, when you get up that hill, it's a success, but you get slapped every damn time, and every step that slap gets harder and harder and harder... until you get that nice little smooch! [cheek kiss from Maxxine Dupri] That's when it's sweet, and the last, isn't so sweet. Is that the last of us, Big O?" Otis said.
Femi has already issued another Open Challenge. The Nigerian grappler gave respect to Otis but said he could not get the job done. He then called on any NXT or main roster superstar to step up and try to take his title.
Big WWE NXT matches set with No Mercy implications
The road to WWE NXT No Mercy is set to heat up next Tuesday night. Several matches have been announced for next week, which will be the final show before the No Mercy go-home episode.
The No Mercy challengers for NXT Champion Ethan Page and NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez will be determined next week. Below is the current announced lineup from WWE:
- Lola Vice vs. Wendy Choo
- Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger
- Gauntlet Eliminator: Sol Ruca vs. Jaida Parker vs. Karmen Petrovic vs. Adrianna Rizzo vs. Wren Sinclair vs. Kendal Grey with the winner challenging Roxanne Perez at No Mercy
- Number one Contender's Triple Threat: Pete Dunne vs. Wes Lee vs. Joe Hendry with the winner challenging Ethan Page at No Mercy
The NXT No Mercy Premium Live Event is scheduled for Labor Day on Sunday, September 1 at Ball Arena in Denver. This is the day after WWE's inaugural Bash in Berlin PLE from Uber Arena in Germany's capital.
