NXT Championship

NXT Championship

The current NXT Championship belt
Details
Current champion(s) Samoa Joe
Date won April 21, 2016
Date established July 1, 2012
Promotion NXT

The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and primarily contested in WWE's developmental promotion, NXT. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes, and is viewed as NXT's top championship.

History

The championship was first introduced on the August 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]

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

The current NXT Champion: Samoa Joe.

As of May 11, 2016, there have been eight title holders with one reign each. The inaugural champion was Seth Rollins. Finn Bálor's reign as champion is the longest at 292 days, whereas Sami Zayn's is the shortest lasting 62 days. Bo Dallas is the youngest champion, winning the title 2 days before his 23rd birthday. The current champion, Samoa Joe, is the oldest champion at 37 years old. He defeated Finn Bálor at an NXT live event in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 21.

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. [3]
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. [4]
3 Bo Dallas 1 May 23, 2013 280 Winter Park, FL NXT Aired on tape delay on June 12, 2013. [5]
4 Adrian Neville 1 February 27, 2014 287 Winter Park, FL NXT Arrival This was a ladder match. [6]
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. [7]
6 Kevin Owens 1 February 11, 2015 143 Winter Park, FL NXT TakeOver: Rival Owens defeated Zayn when the referee decided that Zayn was unable to continue. [8]
7 Finn Bálor 1 July 4, 2015 292 Tokyo, Japan The Beast in the East [9]
8 Samoa Joe 1 April 21, 2016 20+ Lowell, MA House show [10][11]

Combined reigns

The former and longest reigning NXT Champion: Finn Bálor.

As of May 11, 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 Big E Langston 1 168
5 Owens, KevinKevin Owens 1 143
6 Rollins, SethSeth Rollins 1 133
7 Zayn, SamiSami Zayn 1 62
8 Joe, SamoaSamoa Joe † 1 20+

See also

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 8 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Seth Rollins' first reign". NXT Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  4. ↑ "NXT spoilers: New champion, The Shield involved, Nash's role, Hall of Famer at next TV taping". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Santiago, Andres. "5/23 NXT spoilers from Full Sail University". PWInsider. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "JAMES' WWE NXT "ARRIVAL" REPORT 2/27 - Week 87: Live Network show coverage, plus Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ Caldwell, James (December 11, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover Results 12/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ James, Justin (February 11, 2015). "James' WWE NXT TakeOver Report 2/11". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Caldwell, James (April 21, 2016). "Breaking News – Samoa Joe wins NXT Title Thursday night (w/Pics)". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Samoa Joe captures NXT Championship at Live Event in Lowell, Mass.". WWE. Retrieved April 22, 2016.

External links

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