NXT Championship
| NXT Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The NXT Championship belt | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | NXT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | July 1, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Shinsuke Nakamura | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | December 3, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on their developmental brand, NXT. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes, and is viewed as NXT's top championship. The championship was introduced on July 1, 2012, and Seth Rollins was the inaugural champion. The current champion is Shinsuke Nakamura, who is in his second reign.
History
The championship was first introduced on the July 1, 2012 edition of NXT when NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes announced a "Gold Rush" tournament, featuring four developmental roster NXT Superstars and four main roster WWE Superstars competing to be crowned as the inaugural NXT Champion in a knockout system format, replacing the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship that was retired in the same month after merger of FCW. The first NXT Champion was crowned on July 26, 2012, with Seth Rollins defeating Jinder Mahal in the tournament final.[1][2] On November 19, 2016 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, Samoa Joe became the first wrestler to hold the championship on more than one occasion.[3]
Inaugural tournament
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Richie Steamboat | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Leo Kruger | ||||||||||||||
| Richie Steamboat | ||||||||||||||
| Jinder Mahal | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Jinder Mahal | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Bo Dallas | ||||||||||||||
| Jinder Mahal | ||||||||||||||
| Seth Rollins | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Seth Rollins | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Drew McIntyre | ||||||||||||||
| Seth Rollins | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Michael McGillicutty | ||||||||||||||
| Michael McGillicutty | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Justin Gabriel | ||||||||||||||
Reigns
As of December 5, 2016, there have been 11 championship reigns with nine different champions. The inaugural champion was Seth Rollins. Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura have the most reigns with two. Finn Bálor's reign as champion is the longest at 292 days, while Samoa Joe's second reign is the shortest at 14 days. Bo Dallas holds the record as the youngest champion, winning the title two days before his 23rd birthday, while Samoa Joe is the oldest at 37.
The current champion is Shinsuke Nakamura, who defeated Samoa Joe for the championship at an NXT Live Event on December 3, 2016 in Osaka, Japan.
| Reign | The reign number for the wrestler listed |
|---|---|
| Location | The city in which the title was won |
| Event | The event in which the title was won |
| + | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Rollins | 1 | July 26, 2012 | 133 | Winter Park, FL | NXT | Defeated Jinder Mahal in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion. Aired on tape delay on August 29, 2012. | [4] |
| 2 | Big E Langston | 1 | December 6, 2012 | 168 | Winter Park, FL | NXT | This was a no disqualification match. Aired on tape delay on January 9, 2013. | [5] |
| 3 | Bo Dallas | 1 | May 23, 2013 | 280 | Winter Park, FL | NXT | Aired on tape delay on June 12, 2013. | [6] |
| 4 | Adrian Neville | 1 | February 27, 2014 | 287 | Winter Park, FL | NXT Arrival | This was a ladder match. | [7] |
| 5 | Sami Zayn | 1 | December 11, 2014 | 62 | Winter Park, FL | NXT TakeOver: R Evolution | This was a title vs. career match. If Zayn lost, he would voluntarily quit NXT. | [8] |
| 6 | Kevin Owens | 1 | February 11, 2015 | 143 | Winter Park, FL | NXT TakeOver: Rival | Owens won when the referee decided that Zayn was unable to continue. | [9] |
| 7 | Finn Bálor | 1 | July 4, 2015 | 292 | Tokyo, Japan | The Beast in the East | [10] | |
| 8 | Samoa Joe | 1 | April 21, 2016 | 121 | Lowell, MA | House show | [11][12] | |
| 9 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 1 | August 20, 2016 | 91 | Brooklyn, NY | NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II | [13] | |
| 10 | Samoa Joe | 2 | November 19, 2016 | 14 | Toronto, ON | NXT TakeOver: Toronto | [3] | |
| 11 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 2 | December 3, 2016 | 2+ | Osaka, Japan | House show | [14] |
Combined reigns
As of December 5, 2016.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bálor, FinnFinn Bálor | 1 | 292 |
| 2 | Neville, AdrianAdrian Neville | 1 | 287 |
| 3 | Dallas, BoBo Dallas | 1 | 280 |
| 4 | Langston, Big EBig E Langston | 1 | 168 |
| 5 | Owens, KevinKevin Owens | 1 | 143 |
| 6 | Joe, SamoaSamoa Joe | 2 | 135 |
| 7 | Rollins, SethSeth Rollins | 1 | 133 |
| 8 | Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura † | 2 | 93+ |
| 9 | Zayn, SamiSami Zayn | 1 | 62 |
See also
References
- ↑ Parry, Josh (July 26, 2012). "NXT spoiler - first champion crowned". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
- ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 8/29 - Week 11: First NXT champion crowned in big-match setting". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- 1 2 James, Justin. "JAMES' NXT TAKEOVER: TORONTO REVIEW 11/19: Nakamura vs. Joe, Asuka vs. James, #DIY vs. The Revival, and more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Seth Rollins' first reign". NXT Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
- ↑ "NXT spoilers: New champion, The Shield involved, Nash's role, Hall of Famer at next TV taping". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ↑ Santiago, Andres. "5/23 NXT spoilers from Full Sail University". PWInsider. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ↑ "JAMES' WWE NXT "ARRIVAL" REPORT 2/27 - Week 87: Live Network show coverage, plus Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (December 11, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover Results 12/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ James, Justin (February 11, 2015). "James' WWE NXT TakeOver Report 2/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (July 4, 2015). "Caldwell's WWE Network special report 7/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of "Beast in the East" - Lesnar's in-ring return, Owens vs. Balor for NXT Title, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (April 21, 2016). "Breaking News – Samoa Joe wins NXT Title Thursday night (w/Pics)". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
- ↑ "Samoa Joe captures NXT Championship at Live Event in Lowell, Mass.". WWE. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ↑ James, Justin. "8/20 "WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn" Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ↑ Martin, Adam. "Shinsuke Nakamura becomes the new NXT Champion capturing the title in Osaka, Japan at NXT live event". WrestleView. Retrieved December 3, 2016.