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List of NXT Champions

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The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, defended as the top championship of their NXT brand division. The championship was first introduced on the July 1, 2012, episode of NXT when NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes announced a Gold Rush tournament, involving four developmental roster wrestlers and four main roster wrestlers competing to be crowned as the inaugural NXT Champion in a single elimination tournament. Seth Rollins became the inaugural NXT Champion by defeating Jinder Mahal in the tournament finals on July 26, 2012 (aired August 29).[1][2]

As of November 19, 2024, there have been 30 reigns among 23 different champions and three vacancies. Samoa Joe has the most reigns at three. Finn Bálor has the longest combined reign at 504 days. Adam Cole's reign is the longest singular reign at 396 days (403 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay), while Karrion Kross' first reign is the shortest at 4 days (3 days as recognized by WWE) as he had to relinquish the title due to a legitimate injury he suffered in winning it. Bo Dallas holds the record as the youngest champion, winning the title two days before his 23rd birthday (although WWE recognizes it was 18 days after his 23rd birthday due to tape delay), while Samoa Joe is the oldest champion, winning the title at 42.[3]

Ethan Page is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Trick Williams, Shawn Spears, and Je'Von Evans, the latter of whom Page pinned, at Heatwave on July 7, 2024, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Title history

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
1 Seth Rollins July 26, 2012 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 133 133 Title was established on July 1, 2012, for WWE's developmental brand NXT. Rollins defeated Jinder Mahal in the eight-man NXT Championship tournament finals to become the inaugural champion. WWE recognizes his reign as beginning on August 29, 2012, when the match aired on tape delay. [4][5]
2 Big E Langston December 6, 2012 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 168 153 This was a no disqualification match.
WWE recognizes Big E's reign as beginning on January 9, 2013, when the match aired on tape delay. 		[6]
3 Bo Dallas May 23, 2013 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 280 260 WWE recognizes Dallas' reign as beginning on June 12, 2013, when the match aired on tape delay. [7]
4 Adrian Neville February 27, 2014 Arrival Winter Park, FL 1 287 286 This was a ladder match. [8]
5 Sami Zayn December 11, 2014 TakeOver: R Evolution Winter Park, FL 1 62 62 This was a title vs. career match where if Zayn had lost, he would have voluntarily quit NXT. [9]
6 Kevin Owens February 11, 2015 TakeOver: Rival Winter Park, FL 1 143 142 Owens won when the referee decided that Sami Zayn was unable to continue. [10]
7 Finn Bálor July 4, 2015 The Beast in the East Tokyo, Japan 1 292 292 [11]
8 Samoa Joe April 21, 2016 NXT Live Lowell, MA 1 121 121 [12][13]
9 Shinsuke Nakamura August 20, 2016 TakeOver: Brooklyn II Brooklyn, NY 1 91 91 [14]
10 Samoa Joe November 19, 2016 TakeOver: Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada 2 14 13 [15]
11 Shinsuke Nakamura December 3, 2016 NXT Osaka, Japan 2 56 56 [16][17]
12 Bobby Roode January 28, 2017 TakeOver: San Antonio San Antonio, TX 1 203 202 [18]
13 Drew McIntyre August 19, 2017 TakeOver: Brooklyn III Brooklyn, NY 1 91 91 [19]
14 Andrade "Cien" Almas November 18, 2017 TakeOver: WarGames Houston, TX 1 140 139 [20]
15 Aleister Black April 7, 2018 TakeOver: New Orleans New Orleans, LA 1 102 108 [21]
16 Tommaso Ciampa July 18, 2018 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 238 237 WWE recognizes Ciampa's reign as beginning on July 25, 2018 and ending on March 20, 2019 due to both episodes airing on tape delay. [22][23]
— Vacated March 13, 2019 NXT Winter Park, FL — — — The title was vacated due to Tommaso Ciampa requiring neck surgery. Aired on tape delay on March 20, 2019. [24]
17 Johnny Gargano April 5, 2019 TakeOver: New York Brooklyn, NY 1 57 56 Defeated Adam Cole in a two out of three falls match to win the vacant title. [25]
18 Adam Cole June 1, 2019 TakeOver: XXV Bridgeport, CT 1 396 403 WWE recognizes Cole's reign as ending on July 8, 2020, when the following match aired on tape delay. [26]
19 Keith Lee July 1, 2020 NXT:
The Great American Bash
Night 2 		Winter Park, FL 1 52 44 This was a Winner Takes All match, in which Lee also defended the NXT North American Championship.
WWE recognizes Lee's reign as beginning on July 8, 2020, when the match aired on tape delay. 		[27]
20 Karrion Kross August 22, 2020 TakeOver XXX Winter Park, FL 1 4 3 [28]
— Vacated August 26, 2020 NXT Winter Park, FL — — — Karrion Kross relinquished the title due to suffering a separated shoulder during his match at TakeOver XXX. [29]
21 Finn Bálor September 8, 2020 NXT:
Super Tuesday II 		Winter Park, FL 2 212 212 A 60-minute fatal four-way iron man match for the vacant championship took place on the September 1 episode of NXT Super Tuesday between Finn Bálor, Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, and Johnny Gargano, but the match ended in a tie between Bálor and Cole. NXT General Manager William Regal then scheduled a match between the two for the following week, in which Bálor defeated Cole to win the vacant title. [30]
22 Karrion Kross April 8, 2021 TakeOver: Stand & Deliver
Night 2 		Orlando, FL 2 136 136 [31]
23 Samoa Joe August 22, 2021 TakeOver 36 Orlando, FL 3 21 20 [32]
— Vacated September 12, 2021 – – — — — Samoa Joe relinquished the title due to what WWE reported as an unspecified injury; Joe later clarified that the vacancy happened due to him testing positive for COVID-19 as well as the overall directional change of NXT, which saw NXT rebranded as NXT 2.0. [33][34][35]
24 Tommaso Ciampa September 14, 2021 NXT 2.0 Orlando, FL 2 112 111 This was a fatal four-way match for the vacant championship, also involving LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and Von Wagner. [36]
25 Bron Breakker January 4, 2022 NXT 2.0:
New Year's Evil 		Orlando, FL 1 63 63 [37]
26 Dolph Ziggler March 8, 2022 NXT 2.0:
Roadblock 		Orlando, FL 1 27 26 This was a triple threat match also involving Tommaso Ciampa, who Ziggler pinned to win Breakker's title. [38]
27 Bron Breakker April 4, 2022 Raw Dallas, TX 2 362 361 On September 4, 2022 at Worlds Collide, Breakker defeated Tyler Bate to unify the NXT United Kingdom Championship into the NXT Championship. The NXT United Kingdom Championship was retired with Breakker going forward as the unified NXT Champion. [39][40]
28 Carmelo Hayes April 1, 2023 Stand & Deliver Los Angeles, CA 1 182 182 [41]
29 Ilja Dragunov September 30, 2023 No Mercy Bakersfield, CA 1 206 206 [42]
30 Trick Williams April 23, 2024 NXT:
Spring Breakin'
Night 1 		Orlando, FL 1 75 75 Had Williams lost, he would have had to leave NXT. [43]
31 Ethan Page July 7, 2024 Heatwave Toronto, ON, Canada 1 135+ 135+ This was a fatal four-way match also involving Shawn Spears and Je'Von Evans, who Page pinned. [44]

Combined reigns

Inaugural champion Seth Rollins
Record three-time champion Samoa Joe
Longest reigning champion Adam Cole
Two-time champion Finn Bálor holds the longest combined reign

As of November 19, 2024.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
days 		Combined days
rec. by WWE
1 Finn Bálor 2 504
2 Bron Breakker 2 425 424
3 Adam Cole 1 396 403
4 Tommaso Ciampa 2 350 348
5 Adrian Neville 1 287 286
6 Bo Dallas 1 280 260
7 Ilja Dragunov 1 206
8 Bobby Roode 1 203 202
9 Carmelo Hayes 1 182
10 Big E Langston 1 168 153
11 Samoa Joe 3 156 154
12 Shinsuke Nakamura 2 147
13 Kevin Owens 1 143 142
14 Karrion Kross 2 140 139
Andrade "Cien" Almas 1 140 139
16 Seth Rollins 1 133
17 Aleister Black 1 102 108
18 Drew McIntyre 1 91
19 Trick Williams 1 75
20 Sami Zayn 1 62
21 Johnny Gargano 1 57 56
22 Keith Lee 1 52 44
23 Dolph Ziggler 1 27 26
24 Ethan Page † 1 135+

References

  1. ^ Parry, Josh (July 26, 2012). "NXT spoiler - first champion crowned". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  2. ^ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 8/29 - Week 11: First NXT champion crowned in big-match setting". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  3. ^ "NXT Championship". WWE.
  4. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 26, 2012). "WWE NXT Title Gold Rush Tournament (2012)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  5. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 26, 2012). "WWE NXT #132 - TV-Show @ Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "NXT spoilers: New champion, The Shield involved, Nash's role, Hall of Famer at next TV taping". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  7. ^ Santiago, Andres. "5/23 NXT spoilers from Full Sail University". PWInsider. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  8. ^ "James' WWE NXT "Arrival" report 2/27 - Week 87: Live Network show coverage, plus Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  9. ^ Caldwell, James (December 11, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover Results 12/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  10. ^ James, Justin (February 11, 2015). "James' WWE NXT TakeOver Report 2/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Caldwell, James (April 21, 2016). "Breaking News – Samoa Joe wins NXT Title Thursday night (w/Pics)". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  13. ^ "Samoa Joe captures NXT Championship at Live Event in Lowell, Mass". WWE. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  14. ^ James, Justin. "8/20 "WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn" Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Martin, Adam (December 3, 2016). "Shinsuke Nakamura becomes the new NXT Champion capturing the title in Osaka, Japan at NXT live event". WrestleView. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Witner, Arya. "WWE NXT results: Matches from Osaka, Japan". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  18. ^ Powell, Jason. "1/28 Powell's NXT Takeover: San Antonio Live Review – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode for the NXT Title, DIY vs. Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Titles, Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  19. ^ Zimmerman, Zack. "8/19 Zim's NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III live review – Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre for the NXT Title, Asuka vs. Ember Moon for the NXT Women's Title, Authors of Pain vs. Sanity for the NXT Tag Titles, homecoming". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 19, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ Moore, John. "11/18 Moore's NXT Takeover: WarGames live review – The Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong vs. Sanity in a WarGames match, Ember Moon vs. Kairi Sane vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce for the NXT Women's Title, Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade Almas for the NXT Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  21. ^ Moore, John (April 7, 2018). "4/7 Moore's NXT Takeover: New Orleans live review – Andrade Almas vs. Aleister Black for the NXT Title, Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship, Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match, ladder match for the new North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  22. ^ "Major news from Wednesday night's NXT tapings (CAUTION: SPOILERS)". WWE. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  23. ^ James, Justin (July 25, 2018). "7/25 NXT TV REPORT: Aleister Black vs. Tomasso Ciampa for the NXT Title, Cole vs. Maluta, Evans vs. Price, Ricochet, War Raiders, William Regal". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  24. ^ "New NXT Champion to be crowned at TakeOver: New York". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  25. ^ Powell, Jason (April 5, 2019). "4/5 Powell's NXT Takeover: New York live review – Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole in a best of three falls match for the vacant NXT Championship, Pete Dunne vs. Walter for the WWE UK Championship, Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle for the NXT North American Title, NXT Women's Title four-way, NXT Tag Title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (June 1, 2019). "6/1 Powell's NXT Takeover: XXV live review – Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship, Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Breeze for the NXT North American Title, four-way ladder match for the vacant NXT Tag Titles, Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  27. ^ Moore, John (July 8, 2020). "7/8 NXT TV results: Moore's review of the Great American Bash night two with NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. NXT North American Champion Keith Lee for both titles, Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae in a Street Fight, Legado Del Fantasma vs. Drake Maverick, Tyler Breeze, and Fandango, Johnny Gargano vs. Isaiah Scott". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  28. ^ Moore, John (August 22, 2020). "NXT Takeover: XXX results – Moore's live review of Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee, Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai for the NXT Women's Championship, a ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Title, Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  29. ^ Moore, John (August 26, 2020). "8/26 NXT TV results: Moore's review of new NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Scarlett, Tommaso Ciampa returns, Santos Escobar vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  30. ^ Moore, John (September 8, 2020). "9/8 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Super Tuesday II featuring Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the vacant NXT Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez in a cage match, Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory, Killian Dain vs. Roderick Strong". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  31. ^ Moore, John (April 8, 2021). "NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of night two with Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly in an unsanctioned match, Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin in a ladder match to unify the NXT Cruiserweight Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  32. ^ Moore, John (August 22, 2021). "NXT Takeover 36 results: Moore's live review of Karrion Kross vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship, Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai for the NXT Women's Title, Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly in a best of three falls match, Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT UK Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  33. ^ Samoa Joe [@SamoaJoe] (September 12, 2021). "Samoa Joe Relinquishes the NXT Championship" (Tweet). Retrieved September 13, 2021 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross (September 12, 2021). "Samoa Joe Relinquishes WWE NXT Title Due To Injury". Fightful. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  35. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (March 1, 2022). "Samoa Joe Relinquished NXT Title After Positive COVID Test, Vince McMahon Changing NXT Direction | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  36. ^ Moore, John (September 14, 2021). "9/14 NXT TV results: Moore's review of the NXT 2.0 premiere with Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. LA Knight vs. Pete Dunne for the vacant NXT Championship, Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis wedding, Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro vs. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, B-Fab's in-ring debut". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  37. ^ Moore, John (January 4, 2022). "1/4 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, Walter, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel vs. Riddle and MSK, Mandy Rose vs. Raquel Gonzalez vs. Cora Jade for the NXT Women's Title, Carmelo Hayes vs. Roderick Strong in a title unification match, AJ Styles confronts Grayson Waller". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  38. ^ Moore, John (March 8, 2022). "3/8 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of the Roadblock themed show featuring Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Title, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Titles, LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller in a Last Man Standing match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  39. ^ Powell, Jason (April 4, 2022). "4/4 WWE Raw results: Powell's live review of the Raw After WrestleMania with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, the return of Cody Rhodes, new Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair appears, the 'debut' of Veer Mahaan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  40. ^ Moore, John (September 4, 2022). "NXT Worlds Collide results: Moore's live review of NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate in a unification match, NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose vs. NXT UK Women's Champion Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport in a unification match, Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricochet for the NXT North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  41. ^ McGuire, Colin (April 1, 2023). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: McGuire's live review of Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title, Roxanne Perez vs. Zoey Stark vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Indi Hartwell in a ladder match for the NXT Women's Title, Wes Lee vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Axiom for the NXT North American Title, Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  42. ^ Moore, John (September 30, 2023). "NXT No Mercy results: Moore's live review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Title, Becky Lynch vs. Tiffany Stratton in an Extreme Rules match for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  43. ^ Moore, John (April 23, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/23): Moore's review of Spring Breakin' Night One with Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship, Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  44. ^ Moore, John (July 7, 2024). "NXT Heatwave results: Moore's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Shawn Spears for the NXT Championship, Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
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