Published: 2 hours ago by Sanchez Taylor | Last Updated: 7 hours ago by Sanchez Taylor
Sanchez has over six years of pro-wrestling news writing experience, covering the biggest news stories in WWE, NXT, AEW, TNA Wrestling and more. He has personally interviewed a number of top stars, producing exclusive content with the likes of AEW's Swerve Strickland and WWE's Nick Aldis.
WWE
Two NXT wrestlers challenged for the WWE Intercontinental Championship over the weekend, with Chad Gable defending against two rising stars.
Saquon Shugars came up short against Gable with the title on the line on the September 25 NXT house show in Columbia, South Carolina. Gable then defended the gold against Uriah Connors at the September 26 non-televised live event in Greensboro, North Carolina.
These recent Intercontinental Championship matches have fuelled discourse surrounding other NXT stars challenging for main roster-affiliated titles, with there being a number of stars who it’d make sense to see compete for gold on Raw and SmackDown.
Here are three NXT stars we could soon see challenge for main roster championship titles.
Kelani Jordan – Women’s Intercontinental Championship
While Lola Vice’s Raw debut had been heavily teased ahead of the September 14 show, the Mexico City episode also featured the red brand debut of NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan.
Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan and Raquel Rodriguez faced off in a Money in the Bank qualifier, with Vice prevailing over the NXT Women’s Champion and Women’s Intercontinental Champion.
With Jordan and Rodriguez having several significant exchanges during the match, we could see the top women’s champion in NXT return to the main roster for a one-on-one match for Raquel’s title.
With Jordan also having wrestled in January’s Royal Rumble match, a Women’s Intercontinental Title bout could be next in the series of bouts to introduce Kelani to main roster audiences.
Myles Borne – United States Championship
Trick Williams’ final televised match in NXT saw him come up short against Myles Borne in an Iron Survivor Challenge qualifier during the November 18, 2025 “Gold Rush” special.
With Williams retaining his US Title in a Steel Cage match against Baron Corbin on the September 25 SmackDown episode, the champion could revisit his former NXT rivalry next.
Whether Borne pays a visit to SmackDown or Williams defends at NXT house shows like Chad Gable, it’d be fun to see Trick and Myles face off, especially following the latter star’s recent character change.
With Myles Borne previously holding the NXT Tag Team Championship and the North American Title, a US Championship feud would give the rising prospect a whole new challenge.
Zilla Fatu – Intercontinental Championship
With WWE airing video packages on main roster programming recapping Zilla Fatu’s NXT debut in August, the company seems interested in making sure Raw and SmackDown fans know who he is.
The Bloodline currently being at odds with the 946 has resulted in a lot of speculation about Zilla potentially making his Raw debut and aligning with his real-life cousins.
Amid rumors swirling, we could soon see Zilla Fatu test his skills against Intercontinental Champion Chad Gable, following Gable’s recent title defenses on the NXT house show circuit.
WWE has presented Zilla Fatu as a top prospect since his debut, and an Intercontinental Championship match could be his “sink or swim” moment.
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