The championship was first introduced on the August 2 , 2012 edition of NXT when NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes announced a `` Gold Rush '' tournament , featuring five developmental roster NXT Superstars and five main roster WWE Superstars competing to be crowned as the inaugural NXT Champion in a knockout system format .
Rhodes said that there would be a `` Gold Rush '' tournament that would feature 4 developmental roster NXT Superstars and 4 main roster WWE Superstars and that they would compete to be crowned as the inaugural NXT Champion .