On the August 1, 2012 edition of NXT when NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes announced a "Gold Rush" tournament, featuring 4 developmental roster NXT Superstars and 4 main roster WWE Superstars competing to be crowned as the inaugural NXT Champion in a knockout system format. The first NXT Champion was crowned on July 26, 2012, with Seth Rollins defeating Jinder Mahal in the tournament finals.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| 8/1 | Richie Steamboat | Pin | |||||||||||
| NXT | Leo Kruger | 7:54 | |||||||||||
| 8/15 | Jinder Mahal | Sub | |||||||||||
| NXT | Richie Steamboat | 4:43 | |||||||||||
| 8/8 | Bo Dallas | Sub | |||||||||||
| NXT | Jinder Mahal | 10:25 | |||||||||||
| 8/29 | Seth Rollins | Pin | |||||||||||
| NXT | Jinder Mahal | 15:21 | |||||||||||
| 8/1 | Drew McIntyre | Pin | |||||||||||
| NXT | Seth Rollins | 11:34 | |||||||||||
| 8/15 | Seth Rollins | Pin | |||||||||||
| NXT | Michael McGillicutty | 8:30 | |||||||||||
| 8/8 | Justin Gabriel | Pin | |||||||||||
| NXT | Michael McGillicutty | 10:05 | |||||||||||