The NXT North American Championship is one of the prestigious professional wrestling championships. It is one among the three secondary championships in WWE, which includes the Intercontinental Championship on the Raw brand and the United States Championship on the SmackDown brand. It acts as the secondary men’s championship at the WWE’s developmental brand NXT (Now NXT 2.0).
Oba Femi is the current NXT North American Champion in his first reign with the title.
History of NXT North American Championship
Since WWE established the development brand NXT as a replacement of Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2012, NXT Championship was the only title in the men's individual division. However, the North American Championship was introduced as the secondary championship in March 2018 as a part of the brand development. The NXT General Manager William Regal announced a Six Man Ladder Match between EC3, Killian Dain Adam Cole, Ricochet, Lars Sullivan and Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans to crown the inaugural NXT North American Championship.
Adam Cole won the inaugural NXT North American Champion. So far, the Championship has changed hands 17 times and has seen 14 champions, where 2 vacated the title. Velveteen Dream has the longest championship reign with 231 days. Johnny Gargano has the highest number of reigns, being the three time champ. Solo Sikoa has the shortest reign of 7 days. Velveteen Dream is the youngest NXT North American Champion at age 23. Roderick Strong is the oldest champ at age 39. Carmello Hayes has the longest combined reign of 273 days. Keith Lee and Solo Sikoa are the two champs who vacated the championship. Keith Lee is the first wrestler to hold both the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship simultaneously. Carmello Hayes unified the NXT North American Champion with the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. Solo Sikoa is the first Champion to defend the NXT North American Champion in the main roster.
Current NXT North American Champion
Oba Femi is the current NXT North American Champion in his first reign with the title. Femi is one of the fifteen recruits selected in 2021 in the WWE Next in Line programm. The program was a recruiting program by WWE where the college footballers were hired by the company with a prospect inside the squared circle. Femi was selected in 2021 and then took part in the NXT Breakout Tournament in 2023. He won the tournament and then cashed in his contract on the January 9, 2024 episode of NXT for the NXT North American Championship. He defeated Dragon Lee to win the first title in the company.
List of NXT North American Champions
Champion | Date | Event |
Adam Cole | April 7, 2018 | NXT Takeover- New Orleans |
Ricochet | August 18, 2018 | NXT TakeOver- Brooklyn 4 |
Johnny Gargano | January 26, 2019 | NXT TakeOver- Phoenix |
Velveteen Dream | January 30, 2019 | NXT |
Roderick Strong | September 18, 2019 | NXT |
Keith Lee | January 22, 2020 | NXT |
Vacated | July 15, 2020 | NXT |
Damian Priest | August 22, 2020 | NXT TakeOver XXX |
Johnny Gargano | October 28, 2020 | NXT Halloween Havoc |
Leon Ruff | November 11, 2020 | NXT |
Johnny Gargano | December 6, 2020 | NXT TakeOver- WarGames |
Bronson Reed | May 18, 2021 | NXT |
Isaiah "Swerve" Scott | June 29, 2021 | NXT |
Carmelo Hayes | October 12, 2021 | NXT 2.0 |
Cameron Grimes | April 2, 2022 | NXT Stand & Deliver |
Carmelo Hayes | June 4, 2022 | NXT In Your House |
Solo Sikoa | September 13, 2022 | NXT 2.0 |
Vacated | September 20, 2022 | NXT 2.0 |
Wes Lee | October 22, 2022 | NXT Halloween Havoc |
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio | July 18, 2023 | NXT 2.0 |
Trick Williams | September 30, 2023 | NXT No Mercy |
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio | October 3, 2023 | NXT |
Dragon Lee | December 9, 2023 | NXT Deadline |
Oba Femi | January 9, 2024 | NXT |
Belt Design
On April 3, 2018th episode of NXT, WWE Executive and NXT Head, Triple H unveiled the NXT North American Championship. The Championship belt consists of three gold plates, which are placed on a thick brown leather strap. The center plate is designed in the shape of the globe in which North America is the only continent. The upper tag reads “NORTH AMERICAN” and the lower tag reads “CHAMPION”. The side plates on either side have a customizable center section, in which the logo of the champion can be installed. In default the side plates have a globe with Vertical NXT logo, with WWE’s trademark logo on the letter “X”.
FAQs
Q. Who is the current NXT North American Champion?
A. Oba Femi is the current NXT North American Champion. He defeated Dragon Lee on the January 9, 2024 episode of NXT.
A. Oba Femi is the current NXT North American Champion. He defeated Dragon Lee on the January 9, 2024 episode of NXT.
Q. Why did Solo Sikoa vacate the NXT North American Championship?
A. Solo Sikoa vacated the NXT North American Championship as he was not scheduled for the match in which he won the title.
A. Solo Sikoa vacated the NXT North American Championship as he was not scheduled for the match in which he won the title.
Q. Who is the youngest NXT North American Champion?
A. Velveteen Dream is the youngest North American Champion. He won the championship at the age of 23.
A. Velveteen Dream is the youngest North American Champion. He won the championship at the age of 23.
Q. When does the NXT Cruiserweight Championship unified with the NXT North American Championship?
A. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship got unified with the NXT North American Championship on January 4, 2022 at New Year’s Evil episode of NXT 2.0, When Carmello Hayes defeated Roderick Strong.
A. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship got unified with the NXT North American Championship on January 4, 2022 at New Year’s Evil episode of NXT 2.0, When Carmello Hayes defeated Roderick Strong.
Q. Is the NXT North American Championship defended on the main roster?
A. Yes, Solo Sikoa Defended the NXT North American Championship on SmackDown and won against Madcap Moss.
A. Yes, Solo Sikoa Defended the NXT North American Championship on SmackDown and won against Madcap Moss.