The championship was first introduced on the August 1, 2012 edition of NXT when Interim NXT General Manager Dusty Rhodes announced a "Gold Rush" tournament, which featured 8 NXT roster members 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.
Reigns
As of April 19, 2024.
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Rollins | 1 | July 26, 2012 | 133 | Winter Park, Florida | NXT taping | Defeated Jinder Mahal to become the first ever NXT Champion. Aired on tape delay on August 29, 2012. |
| 2 | Big E Langston | 1 | December 6, 2012 | 168 | Winter Park, Florida | NXT taping | Aired on tape delay on January 9, 2013 |
| 3 | Bo Dallas | 1 | May 23, 2013 | 280 | Winter Park, Florida | NXT taping | Aired on tape delayed on June 12, 2013 |
| 4 | Adrian Neville | 1 | February 27, 2014 | 287 | Winter Park, Florida | NXT Arrival | This was a ladder match. |
| 5 | Sami Zayn | 1 | December 11, 2014 | 62 | Winter Park, Florida | NXT Takeover III | This was a title vs. career match. If Sami Zayn lost, he would voluntarily quit the NXT roster. |
| 6 | Kevin Owens | 1 | February 11, 2015 | 143 | Winter Park, Florida | NXT Takeover: Rival | Owens defeated Zayn when the referee decided that Zayn was unable to continue. |
| 7 | Finn Bálor | 1 | July 4, 2015 | 292 | Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan | The Beast in the East 2015 | First live aired WWE event in Tokyo, Japan. |
| 8 | Samoa Joe | 1 | April 21, 2016 | 121 | Lowell, Massachusetts | NXT House Show (Apr 21, 16') | WWE recognizes Joe's reign as lasting 122 days. |
| 9 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 1 | August 20, 2016 | 91 | Brooklyn, New York | NXT TakeOver: Back to Brooklyn | WWE recognizes Nakamura's reign as lasting 92 days. |
| 10 | Samoa Joe | 2 | November 19, 2016 | 14 | Lowell, Massachusetts | NXT TakeOver: Toronto | |
| 11 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 2 | December 3, 2016 | 56 | Osaka, Japan | House show | An edited version of this match aired on the December 7, 2016 episode. The full match aired on the December 28, 2016 episode. |
| 12 | Bobby Roode | 1 | January 28, 2017 | 203 | San Antonio, Texas | NXT TakeOver: San Antonio | |
| 13 | Drew McIntyre | 1 | August 19, 2017 | 91 | Brooklyn, New York | NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III | |
| 14 | Andrade Almas | 1 | November 18, 2017 | 140 | Houston, Texas | NXT TakeOver: WarGames | |
| 15 | Aleister Black | 1 | April 7, 2018 | 102 | New Orleans, Louisiana | NXT TakeOver: New Orleans | |
| 16 | Tommaso Ciampa | 1 | July 18, 2018 | 238 | Orlando, Florida | NXT taping | Aired on tape delay on July 25, 2018 |
| Vacant | March 13, 2019 | Vacated due to Tommaso Ciampa suffering an injury and being unable to defend the championship. | |||||
| 17 | Johnny Gargano | 1 | April 5, 2019 | 57 | New York | NXT TakeOver: New York | Defeated Adam Cole for the vacant championship. |
| 18 | Adam Cole | 1 | June 1, 2019 | 1784+ | Bridgeport, Connecticut | NXT TakeOver: XXV |
List of reign lengths
- As of April 19, 2024.
| Wrestler | Days Held | Date Won | Date Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finn Bálor | 292 | July 4, 2015 | April 21, 2016 |
| Adrian Neville | 287 | February 27, 2014 | December 11, 2015 |
| Bo Dallas | 280 | May 23, 2013 | February 27, 2014 |
| Tommaso Ciampa | 238 | July 18, 2018 | March 13, 2019 |
| Bobby Roode | 203 | January 28, 2017 | August 19, 2017 |
| Big E Langston | 168 | December 6, 2012 | May 23, 2013 |
| Kevin Owens | 143 | February 11, 2015 | July 4, 2015 |
| Andrade Almas | 140 | November 18, 2017 | April 7, 2018 |
| Seth Rollins | 133 | July 26, 2012 | December 6, 2012 |
| Samoa Joe | 121 | April 21, 2016 | August 20, 2016 |
| Aleister Black | 102 | April 7, 2018 | July 18, 2018 |
| Adam Cole | 1784+ | June 1, 2019 | Current Champion |
| Shinsuke Nakamura | 91 | August 20, 2016 | November 19, 2016 |
| Drew McIntyre | 91 | August 19, 2017 | November 18, 2017 |
| Sami Zayn | 62 | December 11, 2014 | February 11, 2015 |
| Johnny Gargano | 57 | April 5, 2019 | June 1, 2019 |
| Shinsuke Nakamura (2) | 56 | December 3, 2016 | January 28, 2017 |
| Samoa Joe (2) | 14 | November 19, 2016 | December 3, 2016 |
Combined reigns
As of April 19, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finn Bálor | 1 | 292 |
| 2 | Adrian Neville | 1 | 287 |
| 3 | Bo Dallas | 1 | 280 |
| 4 | Tommaso Ciampa | 1 | 238 |
| 5 | Bobby Roode | 1 | 203 |
| 6 | Big E Langston | 1 | 168 |
| 7 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 2 | 147 |
| 8 | Kevin Owens | 1 | 143 |
| 9 | Andrade Almas | 1 | 140 |
| 10 | Samoa Joe | 2 | 135 |
| 11 | Seth Rollins | 1 | 133 |
| 12 | Aleister Black | 1 | 102 |
| 13 | Adam Cole | 1 | 1784+ |
| 14 | Drew McIntyre | 1 | 91 |
| 15 | Sami Zayn | 1 | 62 |
| 16 | Johnny Gargano | 1 | 57 |