NXT Championship

The NXT Championship was first introduced on the first episode of NXT, and was contested in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match between Kevin Owens and Finn Balor. Balor won the belt, and as a result, Owens was traded to Smackdown.

## History

The NXT Championship debuted on the first episode of NXT, and is completely exclusive to the NXT brand. Finn Balor was crowned the first champion, defeating Kevin Owens in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Sami Zayn was crowned the number one contender after winning a battle royal, but was defeated in his championship match against Balor after the Balor Club(Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) interfered. Sami continued to chase the belt, and was finally victorious over Balor in a Falls Count Anywhere match at NXT Arrival. AJ Styles was scheduled to be the next challenger for the title, but was suspended before the match could take place. NXT GM William Regal gave Zayn a mystery opponent, who turned out to be Samoa Joe, to fight instead. Joe decisively defeated Zayn, becoming the new champion.

Following this, the new group known as the United Kingdom, led by William Regal, formed and helped Bad News Barrett become the new number one contender. Barrett would defeat Joe on the October 5th edition of NXT, as Joe lost the title in his very first defence. After Joe and Daniel Bryan fought to a no contest, Regal made a triple threat match for the belt at NXT Takeover: London. At the event, Samoa Joe tapped out Barrett to win the belt for a second time. The belt would be officially retired at the start of Season 2.

Following the return of NXT at the start of Season 3, the NXT Championship was brought back, with a tournament being held to crown a new champion. A sixteen man single elimination tournament then took place, which saw Hideo Itami and Ricochet reach the finals. At Takeover: Chicago, Hideo Itami became the new NXT Champion, defeating Ricochet to win his first singles championship. After losing a non-title match to the debuting Adam Cole on NXT, Hideo would make his first defense against Cole a few weeks later, in a match that saw his showcase his darker side. He would later team up with Kassius Ohno against Sanity, attacking Kassius after the match and defeating him in singles action. Apollo Crews would begin to petition for a championship match, and earned his shot against Adam Cole. However, the match would be changed to a triple threat, with the mysterious Aleister Black now competing for the championship match. Black won, and at Takeover: Brooklyn, defeated Hideo to become the new champion. In a strange turn of events, Black completely disappeared after the show, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Shortly afterward, Apollo Crews defeated Adam Cole and Hideo Itami, and it was then announced by William Regal that Crews would get a shot at becoming the new champion.

The vacant championship was on the line at Takeover: Toronto , as Crews faced the Glorious Bobby Roode in a fantastic match which Crews won. He would then make his first title defense against number one contender Cedric Alexander at Takeover: San Antonio . The dominant and destructive Lars Sullivan was next for Apollo, who was able to give Lars his first defeat at Takeover: Chicago via a suprise roll-up. During that event, The Velveteen Dream made his debut to defeat Hideo Itami, and was expected to be the next contender. Instead, EC3 returned to NXT, and would defeat Dream to earn the title shot. At Takeover: Brooklyn , EC3 would lift the NXT Championship for the very first time, bringing Apollo's record setting run to an end.

EC3's first challenge would come from the veteran Itami, who's career was winding down. Hideo put it all on the line, career vs championship, but at Takeover: Tokyo in his native homeland, Itami couldn't get the job done. Hideo would bid an emotional farewell, heading off into the sunset and EC3's reign continued. EC3 would not have long to gloat about retiring Itami, as the Velveteen Dream was back and on the hunt for vengeance, igniting several wild brawls with the champ. NXT GM Triple H let the two have at it in an Extreme Rules match, and at Takeover: Philadelphia, EC3 won the war after Dream accidentally lauched himself though a table. At that event, Matt Riddle was victorious in a singles match with Keith Lee, as the "King of Bros" became the new number one contender. On the February 27th edition of NXT, EC3 utilized a low blow to retain his title, but his night was far from over. Tommaso Ciampa made his debut on NXT to staredown with the champ, as after being banished from Raw, Triple H was thrilled to get Ciampa signed to his brand and immediately gave him a title shot. At Takeover: New Orleans, the "Psycho Killer" battered EC3 with several vicious chair shots before forcing him to tap out to the Scillian Stretch. In his first match, Tommaso Ciampa was NXT Champion!

WALTER also made his debut on the brand in the Big Easy, choking out Lars Sullivan, and would be first in line to face Ciampa. At Takeover: Blackpool, Ciampa showed his might as champion, hitting WALTER with a diving DDT and putting him away with Project Ciampa. Meanwhile, Matt Riddle had become number one contender once more, and to prove that Riddle didn't have the true killer instinct, Tommaso interjected himself in Riddle's rematch with Keith Lee, offering Matt a chair. Riddle refused, but in a shocking betrayal, Lee did not, injuring Riddle with the chair and becoming the champ's new protege. At Takeover: Seattle, with Lee in his corner, Ciampa retained his title once more. The final NXT event of the year would take place in the Land Down Under, as Sydney, Australia, hosted. WALTER was back for revenge, and this time Triple H booked the two men in a Steel Cage, to prevent Lee from getting involved. But nothing stops the "Limitless One", who ripped the cage door off it's hinges in an incredible feat of strength, before going toe to toe with WALTER, allowing Ciampa the time to escape. Takeover: Sydney ended with Ciampa, on Lee's shoulders, celebrating at the top of the ramp, ready to enter 2020 still as champion.