The last time we saw Kushida, he was pinned in a Triple Threat for a spot in TakeOver: XXX’s North American title ladder match on Aug. 12. Cameron Grimes won the match, but the outcome and everything else was overshadowed by the return of Velveteen Dream.
It was the former NA champion’s first appearance since a car accident that occurred shortly after he was named in the #SpeakingOut movement. And Dream continued to be the story with a post-match beatdown on the legendary Japanese super-junior.
Velveteen was off television for a couple weeks himself after TakeOver. He returned on Sept. 8 and had to cheat to win against enhancement talent Ashante “Thee” Adonis. This week’s story began after that match, as pissed off Kushida ran in and beat Dream around the ring, then locked in a cross armbreaker through the ropes.
After being laid out a few weeks back, @KUSHIDA_0904 returns with a vengeance! #WWENXT @DreamWWE pic.twitter.com/rzgSLdAgH7
— WWE (@WWE) September 9, 2020
Partly because of an injury, Kushida has had trouble getting traction since debuting in WWE. Winning a feud against the controversial Velveteen Dream would be a huge step toward getting him over with a big chunk of NXT’s fanbase.
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