WWE reveals participants for NXT Breakout Tournament

WWE has revealed the field for the 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament.

The Breakout Tournament will feature eight participants, with the winner getting a shot at the NXT title of their choosing. The eight wrestlers in the tournament are: Trey Baxter (formerly known as Blake Christian), Carmelo Hayes (Christian Casanova), Andre Chase (Harlem Bravado), Josh Briggs, Ikemen Jiro (Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio), Joe Gacy, Odyssey Jones (Omari Palmer), and Duke Hudson (Brendan Vink).

The tournament will begin with Jiro vs. Hudson taking place on NXT next Tuesday.

Baxter and Hayes both made their WWE debuts by unsuccessfully challenging for Kushida’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship last month. Jiro had his first WWE match on 205 Live this May.

Chase and Gacy’s WWE debuts were in Breakout Tournament qualifying matches on last week’s 205 Live. Chase defeated Guru Raaj to qualify for the tournament. Gacy defeated Desmond Troy.

Briggs, who formerly wrestled for EVOLVE, will be making his WWE debut in the tournament. Jones is also making his WWE television debut. Jones is a former college football player. He wrestled Robert Roode in a dark match prior to last Friday’s SmackDown.

Duke Hudson is Brendan Vink’s new NXT in-ring name. He formerly teamed with Shane Thorne on both NXT and Raw.

This is the second-ever NXT Breakout Tournament. The inaugural tournament took place in 2019 and was won by Jordan Myles (ACH). It also featured Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Dexter Lumis, Joaquin Wilde, Angel Garza, and Boa.