Newcomers Qualify For WWE NXT Breakout Tournament On 205 Live
The first two participants in the eight-man WWE NXT Breakout Tournament are now official.
Friday's WWE 205 Live on Peacock and the WWE Network featured the first two Breakout Tournament qualifying matches. Joe Gacy defeated Desmond Troy to earn a spot, while Andre Chase defeated Guru Raaj to advance to the opening round.
There is no word on who will face Gacy and Chase when the tournament kicks off, but WWE has confirmed that two more qualifying matches will air next Friday night on 205 Live.
The 8-man 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament will begin on the Tuesday, July 13, which is the first episode after next week's Great American Bash special. The winner will receive a future title shot of their choosing.
As noted, Chase is the new ring name for indie star Harlem Bravado, who signed with WWE back in the same February Performance Center Class that included Franky Monet, Cora Jade, Million Dollar Champion LA Knight, Zayda Ramier, Parker Boudreaux, Bronson Rechsteiner, Zoey Stark, Trey Baxter, Amari Miller, Carmelo Hayes, Jacy Jayne, Brutus Creed, Gigi Dolin, Asher Hale, Joe Ariola, and Matrick Belton. Raaj (Laxmi Kant Rajpoot) signed with WWE back in January 2020 and debuted in six-man action at a February 2020 NXT live event. He also lost to Finn Balor at the WWE Superstar Spectacle event back in January. Troy is the former Desmond Dejournette. He worked several, NXT, RAW, SmackDown and Main Event matches in 2019 and 2020, after being signed in 2018. Gacy is a former CZW Champion and EVOLVE star, who signed in the same October 2020 Performance Center Class that featured Leon Ruff, Josh Briggs, Julius Creed, Curt Stallion, August Grey, Skyler Storie, and referee Jake Clemons.
The Breakout tournament qualifying matches are being taped on Tuesdays before NXT hits the air on the USA Network. WWE noted that 205 Live is hosting the qualifiers and making an exception to its typical 205-pound weight limit as it did during the Men's and Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classics earlier this year.
Stay tuned for more on the NXT Breakout Tournament. Below are two clip from Friday's qualifiers, along with the original promo for the competition: