NXT fans have more thing to look forward to at NXT Takeover: New Orleans on April 6 – fair warning wrestling fans because spoilers for the next set of NXT tapings are ahead.
During tonight’s NXT tapings, General Manager announced the introduction of the NXT North American Championship.
WWE.com issued a news release below not only confirming the news, but also announcing what type of match in which the first North American champion will be decided.
A new title, the NXT North American Championship, will debut at TakeOver: New Orleans, NXT General Manager William Regal announced during tonight’s NXT tapings at Full Sail University.
The inaugural NXT North American Champion will be decided in a Six-Man Ladder Match featuring Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan and new NXT signees Ricochet and EC3.
This six-man bout joins three other title bouts – Aleister Black vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT title, the Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon women’s title match and the tag title bout between Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish vs. the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Multi-man ladder matches are a good way to bring on some featured players onto a Takeover card. Wrestlers like Velveteen Dream, Dain, Sullivan and Cole have built an impressive body of work in the last year. All four would benefit from having a championship around their waist.
There’s also the excitement of what EC3 and Ricochet will bring to the match. Just like the aforementioned competitors, both EC3 and Ricochet would benefit by becoming the first North American Champion.
For Ricochet, it would be the first step of establishing himself as an NXT/WWE superstar. As for EC3, the NXT North American Championship would be a bit of vindication for him.
This is also different than how NXT showcase new talent at a Takeover. Usually talents like EC3 and Ricochet are given singles matches against veteran NXT talent to showcase their abilities. Sometimes they’re squash matches like in the case with Moon vs. Billie Kay at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II. On the other hand, they can be classics like the match with Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: Dallas.
NXT adding a midcard title adds another layer to its brand. It also provides another championship for NXT superstars to chase. It can be defended on both television tapings and house shows by wrestlers.
Adding “North American” also harkens back to territories that used the “North American” moniker for their championships. The NWA’s North American title is currently being held by Mike Mustang. The WWF North American Championship, which was first held by Ted DiBiase, was a precursor to the Intercontinental Championship.
The NXT North American Championship helps the brand be a step closer to being more than just WWE’s developmental territory. Another championship could lead to NXT being two hours a week, or holding longer events. The brand can’t seem to do no wrong at this point, so another championship is a welcome addition to the overall package that NXT presents.
NXT Vengeance Day was a rousing success for WWE on Saturday which saw a number of headlines come out of the event that was well-received by fans, including an injury suffered by Donovan Dijak during his match with Wes Lee for the North American Championship.
Dijak suffered an apparent broken finger during the match, which was seen on camera and shared on social media.
Following the event NXT general manager Shawn Michaels provided an update on Dijak, stating he did not suffer a broken finger – “Yeah, everybody is good” Michaels said. “I announced it at gorilla, it’s got to be a miracle, It’s not broken.
“We got him x-ray, they said it’s not broken and so yeah, I guess what you do is you kind of numb it and put it back in place and that’s what’s happening now. But it is, again, a modern miracle because we all saw it, it was pretty gnarly looking. But, apparently, he’s going to be okay, which is obviously fantastic news for us and him.”
William Regal has made his return to WWE following his brief stint with AEW and now has a new title that is much different than what he had prior to his release from WWE during budget cuts last year.
Regal was Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting prior to his release. Regal was also the former General Manager for NXT and also had an on-screen role before he made his way to AEW.
According to PWInsider, Regal is now the Vice President, Global Talent Development for WWE.
Ahead of his return to WWE and amid his exit from AEW, Regal issued the following on social media:
“Yesterday was my last official day with @AEW. I’d like to thank @TonyKhan, Megha and all the hard working crew. Contrary to people who’ve never spoken to me or have their information from people who don’t know me or are trying to make themselves noticed, I had a lovely time working there and had a great time. Lots of talented Wrestlers, and lovely people to work for. To my fellow BCC members, it was a special, albeit brief few months but it cemented our already strong friendship. To everyone there, thank you for welcoming me. Best wishes.”
Former New Japan Pro Wrestling star Karl Fredericks has officially signed with WWE following the conclusion of his four-year tenure with NJPW. Fredericks announced on social media back in summer 2022 that he would not re-sign with NJPW.
Fredericks was initially linked to WWE last September, when he was reportedly spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
According to PW Insider, Fredericks has officially signed with WWE and will be a part of the NXT brand initially.
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