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On the January 2, 2013 episode of "NXT" (which was taped on December 6, 2012), The Shield made their first appearance as a group in NXT, where Rollins was the inaugural NXT Champion. Rollins defended his title against Corey Graves, but Ambrose and Reigns attacked Graves to cause a disqualification so that Rollins retained his title. After the match, The Shield then fended off the entire NXT locker room, but retreated from Big E Langston. On the January 9 episode of "NXT" (which was taped on the same date as the previous episode), Rollins lost the NXT Championship to Langston in a No Disqualification match after the NXT locker room neutralized the interference of the other Shield members.