Booker T Student To Debut On WWE 205 Live Tonight
A new WWE NXT Superstar will make his debut during tonight's WWE 205 Live episode on Peacock and the WWE Network.
WWE has announced that newcomer Draco Anthony will face NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong in a non-title match on tonight's show.
Draco, real name Chase Crews, was known as Blake Cortez while working for the Reality of Wrestling promotion owned by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. Draco was signed by WWE during SummerSlam Weekend in August after participating in the tryout camp held that same week.
You can see video of Triple H offering Draco a WWE contract after the tryout in the video below, at around the 0:27 mark. You can also see Booker's congratulatory tweet to Draco made on August 24.
"This is about standing out and making a name for yourself," Triple H told Draco at the tryout. "You worked your ass off and really did well, so I'd like to offer you an opportunity to come train with us in Orlando. Welcome to WWE."
Strong has vowed to take on all challengers since winning the strap from Kushida on September 21. He retained over Grayson Waller on September 28, and then picked up two recent non-title wins over Odyssey Jones on NXT and 205 Live, plus a non-title win over Ru Feng on last week's 205 Live.
Tonight's WWE 205 Live will also feature Andre Chase vs. Malik Blade. WWE noted that Blade and Chase both need to pick up a win here.
Blade debuted on 205 Live back in mid-September, and since then has lost all 7 matches he's worked on NXT and 205 Live. Chase debuted back on 205 Live in late June with a win over Guru Raaj, and since then he's worked 9 other matches on NXT and 205 Live, but lost every single one.
The NXT women's division will continue on tonight's 205 Live episode as Indi Hartwell takes on Valentina Feroz.
Feroz has won 4 out of 9 NXT and 205 Live matches since returning to TV this past January, with most of those coming this summer and fall. Hartwell has been paired with Persia Pirotta on NXT TV, and last worked a singles match on October 5 when she defeated Mei Ying. This will be Indi's first 205 Live singles match.
Stay tuned for more from WWE 205 Live. You can see the video on Draco and Booker's tweet below:
Congrats to my student Blake Cortez for being signed to a @WWENXT deal! pic.twitter.com/HQJlKEzR5x
— Booker T. Huffman (@BookerT5x) August 24, 2021