It was revealed on the latest episode of NXT 2.0 that the NXT North American Championship and the NXT Cruiserweight Championship will be unified at New Year’s Evil.
Reigning champions Carmelo Hayes and Roderick Strong have been at odds for weeks, and on the most recent episode of NXT, Malcolm Bivens challenged Carmelo Hayes to a championship unification match on behalf of Diamond Mine stablemate Roderick Strong, and Carmelo Hayes accepted the challenge, saying the following:
“Hey Roderick Strong, you want smoke with Melo? Well, I got so much smoke that you gonna choke. ‘Cause I am the A-Champion and in 2021 when I shot, I never missed.
Going into 2022, we gonna keep it the exact same way. so at new year’s evil, I’mma give you a Christmas present and I’mma give you that match, but I’mma be the one walking out with two titles.”
Hayes has reigned as champion since defeating Isaiah “Swerve” Scott by cashing in his NXT Breakout Tournament contract, and Roderick Strong defeated KUSHIDA this past September. This comes amidst reports that the Crusierweight Title could be destined for retirement.
.@Malcolmvelli challenges @Carmelo_WWE to a Title vs. Title Match with @roderickstrong at #WWENXT#NewYearsEvil! @DiamondMineWWEpic.twitter.com/TmZqNNL1Fr
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 22, 2021
Next week’s episode will see a contract signing for the unification match to make everything official, hosted by commentator Wade Barrett.
NEXT WEEK on #WWENXT@roderickstrong@Carmelo_WWE@StuBennettpic.twitter.com/fjegLLYErf
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 22, 2021
The NXT Cruiserweight Title has gone through plenty of revisions before this point, and while it is meant to pay homage to Cruiserweight Champions of the past, is not considered part of that lineage. Then called just the Cruiserweight Championship, the prestigious belt was introduced in 2016 as the culmination of the Crusierweight Classic, with the final bout taking place between Gran Metalik and TJ Perkins.
TJ Perkins was victorious and reigned as champion until he was defeated the next month at Hell in a Cell by “The” Brian Kendrick, who recently returned to TV.
The Cruiserweight Championship was the flagship title of the 205 Live brand until being rebranded the NXT Cruiserweight Championship in 2019, coinciding with NXT’s move from the WWE Network streaming to television broadcast on the USA Network.
While not quite as long-lived as the Crusierweight Championship, the North American Championship has seen plenty of prestige since its inauguration in 2018. Adam Cole was the first champion, crowned in a ladder match at TakeOver: New Orleans. Johnny Gargano holds a record three times with the belt.