As we reported earlier, a ladder match to determine the new North American Champion will take place at NXT TakeOver: XXX on August 22, and the participants will be decided via a series of triple-threat bouts.
The first match saw Johnny Gargano face off against Roderick Strong and Bronson Reed, and somewhat surprisingly, the "Thicc Boi" walked away with the victory.
This was a terrific encounter, with plenty of near falls and well executed spots. The heels worked together to keep Reed down on occasion, but they took their eye off the ball in the buildup to the finish, and Bronson managed to land his massive frog splash on Strong to claim the win.
Reed has been on the cusp of a push for a while now, and the talented big man from Australia has the opportunity to win his first championship at TakeOver next month. Expect to find out who else will be involved in this series of triple-threat matches before next Wednesday.