10 Best WWE NXT Title Changes Of All Time

A title change can be a great way to supercharge a wrestling promotion and generate all sorts of new interest in a product. Equally, they can happen by total accident, like Kevin Owens defeating AJ Styles for the United States Championship at Battleground 2017.

NXT has had plenty of memorable belt swaps over the years. Some set up huge angles for way in the future, whilst some were just really good fun to watch at the time. Either is valid and both are worth celebrating.

Check out the 10 best WWE NXT title changes of all time below!

10. Ricochet def. Adam Cole for the NXT North American Championship - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2018

The NXT North American Championship got off to a great start, as its inaugural holder was decided in a bonafide five-star classic. The insane six-man ladder match from TakeOver New Orleans ended with Adam Cole raising the beautiful belt above his head. Unfortunately, you can’t really ‘win’ a championship from nobody, so we decided not to count this moment.

Instead, let’s fast-forward to when Cole lost the belt at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. Taking on the leader of the Undisputed Era was another participant in the initial ladder match - Ricochet.

To the surprise of no one, Cole and Ricochet put on a spectacular match. Highlights included Ricochet taking out Cole with a Hurricanrana off the apron to the outside and getting hit in midair with a perfectly timed superkick off a springboard moonsault.

One 630 Senton later and Ricochet had ended Cole’s reign to pick up his first title in NXT after one hell of a battle.

9. The Undisputed ERA def. Moustache Mountain for the NXT Tag Team Titles - July 11, 2018 episode of NXT

It was incredibly tempting to put the reverse of this result on this list - when Moustache Mountain beat The Undisputed Era to win their only set of NXT tag team titles. This match took place on the second night of the 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament, which was good because it happened in front of a British crowd, but bad because comparatively few people probably saw it.

For that reason, we have to give this spot to the night the dastardly heels snatched the belts back from the plucky Brits. Two days later in reality - although much later in kayfabe - Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish got their rematch against Tyler Bate and Trent Seven.

Though these two teams could put on an all out physical performance, this match was all about storytelling and psychology. The Era isolated Seven throughout the match, identifying him as a weak link. Bate found this very distressing, as Seven wasn’t just his partner, but his mentor as well.

Finally, the younger man could take no more and threw in the towel to save his older friend, handing the titles back to the UE.

8. Keith Lee def. Adam Cole for the NXT Championship - NXT Great American Bash 2020

The pandemic was an awful time but one of the bright spots in this utterly dismal period of humanity was watching one very handsome man beat another very handsome man for a very handsome belt.

Keith Lee had been North American Champion since defeating Roderick Strong for the gold in January 2020. Come the Summer of 2020, Adam Cole was desperate to get that belt back into the Undisputed Era and so laid out a challenge for the big man.

A match was made for the second night of The Great American Bash. Cole vs. Lee, title for title, both belts on the line.

The two future AEW co-workers put on a great showing before Lee planted Cole with a Big Bang Catastrophe to become the first man to hold both belts at the same time. Limitless Lee had spent so long in NXT doing nothing, despite having all the potential in the world. Now, here he was, a double champion having just ended the longest world title reign in the brand’s history.

7. Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship - NXT TakeOver: Rival

Though they’re the best of friends these days, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have a chequered past, and that’s putting it lightly.

Even if you discount all the stuff they did to each other in Ring of Honor and beyond, the Owens-Zayn rivalry has gone to some pretty extreme places over the years.

The first time the two faced each other in a match in WWE was at 2015’s NXT TakeOver: Rival. Owens had ruined Sami’s night back at R Evolution by attacking his so-called friend an hour or so after making his debut.

Now, the two would square off for Zayn’s NXT Championship. The match was booked to perfection, showcasing Owens as a brutish monster who would go to any length to get what he wanted.

In the end, Owens just wouldn’t stop powerbombing Zayn to the point where the referee awarded him the match and the title via referee stoppage.

This was a risky move, as stoppage finishes don’t always go over well, but it fit the characters perfectly - Owens as the destroyer and Zayn as the man who never gave up.

6. American Alpha def. The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Titles - NXT TakeOver: Dallas

The men currently known as FTR were a large part of why NXT was famed for its tag team wrestling during its glory days.

We’ll get to their most famous rivalry in a bit, but let’s remember this forgotten gem from TakeOver Dallas back in the far-flung year of 2016.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder - as they were called at the time - were set to defend their tag team titles in the night's opener. Their opponents - the odd couple duo of ultra-serious Jason Jordan and the goofy Chad Gable.

The pair known as American Alpha had come together the previous year and had gotten very popular amongst the NXT faithful. This led to a tag title match that was, to put it bluntly, brilliant.

After overcoming the Dash and Dawson’s cheating ways, American Alpha pinned the future Dax Harwood to end The Revival’s reign and begin their own time on top.

This victory meant so much to everyone involved, making it one of the most uplifting moments in NXT history.

5. Tommaso Ciampa def. Aleister Black for the NXT Championship - July 25, 2018 episode of NXT

Once upon a time, Tommaso Ciampa was in genuine danger of being attacked if he ever left his own house.

The Blackheart earned his nickname through his feud with Johnny Gargano, which began with the shocking breakup of DIY at TakeOver Chicago. Fans thought that the rivalry was over and done with at TakeOver: New Orleans, when Gargano beat his nemesis in a match to earn back his NXT job.

Little did we know, things were just getting started.

On that same show, Aleister Black beat Andrade “Cien” Almas to win the NXT Championship. This was a great moment, but nothing compared to how his reign would end.

On the July 18th, 2018 episode of NXT, Ciampa faced off against Black for the top prize. Thanks to an inadvertent assist from Gargano himself, Ciampa was able to win the match and become acquainted with Goldy for the first time.

The new champ was public enemy number one back in those days, so putting the belt on him in such a devious manner was a stroke of genius.

4. Rhea Ripley def. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship - December 18, 2019 episode of NXT

Asuka may have had the longest single NXT Women’s Championship reign, but the woman who has held the belt for longer than anyone else in total is Shayna Baszler.

Across her two stints as champ, Baszler held the gold for a combined 549 days. Her second reign was ginormous at 416 days - that was, until she ran into Mami.

Rhea Ripley returned to NXT as a babyface in the Summer of 2019 and pursued The Queen of Spades until the end of the year. The turning point came at WarGames, where Ripley’s team beat Baszler’s despite a significant number’s disadvantage following Dakota Kai’s heel turn.

On the December 18th episode of NXT, Ripley got her Women’s Championship shot. In the bout’s closing moments, she was able to hit the titleholder with an avalanche Riptide to score the one, two, three.

Getting a big win over a long-reigning champ transformed Ripley into a megastar. The entire locker room emptying out to celebrate with her should confirm that theory to you.

In fact, this episode was the only one where NXT beat AEW Dynamite in the key 18-49 demographic in the United States.

3. Sami Zayn def. Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship - NXT TakeOver: R Evolution

It’s fair to say that, without Sami Zayn and his rise to the top, NXT would not have caught on fire in the way that it did.

Zayn played the tenacious but flawed hero superbly, always coming up short in big matches despite his natural skill. In order to secure a one-on-one match for the belt at TakeOver R Evolution, he needed to make a dangerous wager.

The challenger put his NXT career on the line, saying that if he didn’t win the belt then he’d pack his bags and go. Adrian Neville - a pre-Bastard PAC - agreed, and the fight was on.

This drama only added to what was a damn fine wrestling match. Neither man was a slouch, far from it, and they put the crowd through their paces in this fast-paced encounter.

Finally, after a Helluva Kick to the Geordie’s dome, Zayn got the job done and was crowned the new NXT Champion.

All his hard work had paid off, and those who had followed Zayn up to this point had all of their faith rewarded. And then that nasty Kevin Owens showed up and ruined everything.

2. #DIY def. The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Titles - NXT TakeOver: Toronto

Sure, watching Jason Jordan cry in Texas was nice, but come on, you were all waiting for this one.

The team of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano had a huge opportunity at TakeOver Brooklyn 2, when they took on The Revival for the tag team gold.

Unfortunately, the bad guys won the match when Gargano submitted to a leg lock. As we all know by now, though, the story in WWE is never over, and Gargano and Ciampa got one more chance at TakeOver: Toronto in two out of three falls action.

These lot could have wrestled blindfolded with their legs tied together and still turned out at least a four-star match. They just clicked with one another and this match in Canada was their magnum opus.

After the match went to one fall apiece, DIY got their opponents in simultaneous submissions as The Revival clung to each other in an attempt not to tap. They couldn’t hold on though, as the bad guys gave in to give the heroes their biggest win to date.

1. Bayley def. Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Title - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015

The first TakeOver Brooklyn event from 2015 was what really took NXT to the next level.

It was their first major show to accompany a WWE big four pay-per-view, their first major show to take place outside of Full Sail University, and bloody Jushin Thunder Liger was there!

The whole show was great, top to bottom, but the pinnacle of the evening was the NXT Women’s Championship match between champion Sasha Banks and challenger Bayley.

Both performers were in their prime positions - Sasha was an arrogant heel, whilst Bayley was the most wholesomely cherished wrestler since the death of kayfabe.

They had both been part of the Four Horsewomen that had revolutionised women’s wrestling in WWE and, in New York City, they would kick things up a notch.

The pair left it all in the ring, putting on easily the best women’s match in WWE history up to that point. The cherry on top was Bayley’s victory, as the crowd exploded with affection towards the Hugger.

For so many different reasons - both in storyline and in the real world - this was a truly special result.