Damian Priest Wins NXT North American Championship at TakeOver: XXX

Damian Priest won a five-man ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX on Saturday night to become the new NXT North American champion.

Priest beat out Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano, and Velveteen Dream in a match that hearkened back to the infancy of the North American title, as the first person to ever hold it was Adam Cole after he won a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans in 2018. 

The prestigious North American Championship was vacated several weeks ago after Keith Lee beat Cole in a winner-take-all title match on the Great American Bash edition of NXT.

Lee decided to focus on the NXT Championship and give other Superstars a chance to vie for the North American title, which led to a series of Triple Threat matches to determine who would be in the ladder match at TakeOver.

Reed was the first to qualify in what many deemed an upset, as he beat Gargano and Roderick Strong, both of whom were former North American champions.

Then, Dexter Lumis won a Triple Threat over Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher, however, an injury forced Lumis to pull out of the ladder match.

In the third Triple Threat, Priest beat Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland to advance.

The final Triple Threat saw Grimes beat Kushida and the returning Velveteen Dream, which caused Dream to attack Kushida afterward and turn heel in the process.

With two spots remaining, a pair of singles matches between those who were not pinned in the Triple Threat matches were held. Gargano beat Holland despite taking a scary bump on top of his head, while Dream defeated Balor thanks to interference from Thatcher.

Thus, there was an eclectic group of Superstars in the ladder match with Gargano and Dream having already held the North American Championship in the past and the trio of Reed, Priest and Grimes having never held a title of any kind in NXT.

By virtue of his win, Priest has finally taken the next step in his NXT career and may be well on his way toward NXT Championship contention like so many of those who held the North American title previously.

The Archer of Infamy opened some eyes when he pushed Finn Balor to the limit at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, but he needed a signature win in order for the fans to start viewing him as a top guy. The win at TakeOver: XXX should fit the bill.

Priest has everything needed to be a top star in NXT, and a strong run with the North American title could work wonders for his career much like it did for Lee previously.

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