This past weekend, WWE unveiled the eight men who will be competing for an opportunity to become the first-ever Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion and while there were several surprises such as newcomers El Hijo del Fantasma and Jake Atlas to former champions Akira Tozawa and Tony Nese, former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush was left out of the competition.
The 25-year-old expressed his disappointment over not being in the tournament shortly after the eight competitors were announced:
At the moment, there’s no word on why Rush was kept out of the tournament. While the NXT star was known for his notorious backstage heat following his comments after Emma’s (Tenille Dashwood) release and his attitude backstage on RAW during his pairing with Bobby Lashley, there’s been no reported heat on the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion since his return to the black and yellow brand.
Since dropping the belt to Angel Garza on the December 11 episode of NXT, Rush hasn’t been featured as much on television except on 205 Live. His last match was on the February 28th episode when Rush took on Tony Nese. He won the contest via Disqualification.