WWE NXT North American Championship

Last Modified Apr 3, 2025 12:26 GMT
Ricky Saints, Image Source: @starkybaby/Instagram

The NXT North American Championship is one of the three secondary championships in WWE, which includes the Intercontinental Championship on the Raw brand and the United States Championship on the SmackDown brand. It acts as the secondary men’s championship at WWE’s developmental brand NXT (Now NXT 2.0).

Also Read: Who are the current champions in WWE?

NXT North American Champion

Ricky Saints is the NXT North American Champion in his first reign with the title as of April 2025. On April 1, 2025, episode of NXT, he defeated the former champion Shawn Spears in a singles match to become the new champion.

History of NXT North American Championship

Since WWE established the development brand NXT as a replacement for Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2012, the NXT Championship has been the only title in the men's division. In March 2018, the North American Championship was introduced as the secondary championship as part of brand development. Subsequently, the NXT General Manager, William Regal, announced a Six-Man Ladder Match between EC3, Killian Dain, Adam Cole, Ricochet, Lars Sullivan, and Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans to crown the inaugural NXT North American Championship.

Adam Cole won the inaugural NXT North American Championship. So far, the title has changed hands 18 times and has seen 15 champions, with 2 vacating the title. Oba Femi has the longest championship reign with 273 days, and Johnny Gargano has the highest number of reigns, being the three-time champ. Solo Sikoa has the shortest reign of 7 days. Velveteen Dream is the youngest NXT North American Champion at age 23, while Shawn Spears is the oldest at age 44. Carmello Hayes and Oba Femi have the longest combined reign of 273 days.

Keith Lee and Solo Sikoa are the two champs who vacated the championship. Moreover, Lee is the first wrestler to hold both the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship simultaneously. Carmello Hayes unified the NXT North American Championship with the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, while Solo Sikoa became the first champion to defend the NXT North American title on the main roster.

List of NXT North American Champions

ChampionDateEvent
Adam ColeApril 7, 2018NXT Takeover- New Orleans
RicochetAugust 18, 2018NXT TakeOver- Brooklyn 4
Johnny GarganoJanuary 26, 2019NXT TakeOver- Phoenix
Velveteen DreamJanuary 30, 2019NXT
Roderick StrongSeptember 18, 2019NXT
Keith LeeJanuary 22, 2020NXT
VacatedJuly 15, 2020NXT
Damian PriestAugust 22, 2020NXT TakeOver XXX
Johnny GarganoOctober 28, 2020NXT Halloween Havoc
Leon RuffNovember 11, 2020NXT
Johnny GarganoDecember 6, 2020NXT TakeOver- WarGames
Bronson ReedMay 18, 2021NXT
Isaiah "Swerve" ScottJune 29, 2021NXT
Carmelo HayesOctober 12, 2021NXT 2.0
Cameron GrimesApril 2, 2022NXT Stand & Deliver
Carmelo HayesJune 4, 2022NXT In Your House
Solo SikoaSeptember 13, 2022NXT 2.0
VacatedSeptember 20, 2022NXT 2.0
Wes LeeOctober 22, 2022NXT Halloween Havoc
"Dirty" Dominik MysterioJuly 18, 2023NXT 2.0
Trick WilliamsSeptember 30, 2023NXT No Mercy
"Dirty" Dominik MysterioOctober 3, 2023NXT
Dragon LeeDecember 9, 2023NXT Deadline
Oba FemiJanuary 9, 2024NXT
Tony D'AngeloOctober 8, 2024NXT
Shawn SpearsMarch 4, 2025NXT
Ricky SaintsApril 1, 2025NXT

Belt Design

NXT North American Championship. Source: wwe.com

On April 3, 2018, an episode of NXT, WWE Executive and NXT Head, Triple H, unveiled the NXT North American Championship. The Championship belt consists of three gold plates, which are placed on a thick brown leather strap. The center plate is designed in the shape of a globe, on which North America is the only continent.

The upper tag reads “NORTH AMERICAN” and the lower tag reads “CHAMPION”. The side plates on either side have a customizable center section in which the logo of the champion can be installed. By default, the side plates have a globe with the Vertical NXT logo, with WWE’s trademark logo on the letter “X”.

NXT North American Championship FAQs

A. Ricky Saints is the NXT North American Champion as of April 2025. He defeated Shawn Spears on the March 4, 2025, episode of NXT. 

A. Solo Sikoa vacated the NXT North American Championship as he was not scheduled for the match in which he won the title.

A. Velveteen Dream is the youngest North American Champion. He won the championship at the age of 23.

A. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship got unified with the NXT North American Championship on January 4, 2022, at New Year’s Evil episode of NXT 2.0, when Carmello Hayes defeated Roderick Strong.

Related Stories

WWE NXT Results: New champ crowned; top star forced to vacate title; big debut (4/1/25) WWE NXT Results: New champ crowned; top star forced to vacate title; big debut (4/1/25)
WWE NXT Results: New champ crowned; top star forced to vacate title; big debut (4/1/25)
WWE officially adds major star to roster WWE officially adds major star to roster
WWE officially adds major star to roster
Current WWE champion's new faction gets a name Current WWE champion's new faction gets a name
Current WWE champion's new faction gets a name
WWE NXT Results: Star unable to wrestle; referees call off multiple matches; huge title change (3/4/25) WWE NXT Results: Star unable to wrestle; referees call off multiple matches; huge title change (3/4/25)
WWE NXT Results: Star unable to wrestle; referees call off multiple matches; huge title change (3/4/25)
4 things Ricky Starks can do at WWE NXT Vengeance Day 4 things Ricky Starks can do at WWE NXT Vengeance Day
4 things Ricky Starks can do at WWE NXT Vengeance Day
4 things The Undertaker can do at WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 4 things The Undertaker can do at WWE NXT Halloween Havoc
4 things The Undertaker can do at WWE NXT Halloween Havoc
WWE NXT - Best and Worst - Randy Orton makes embarrassing botch, Ex-Bloodline member returns, Title reign ends after 273 days WWE NXT - Best and Worst - Randy Orton makes embarrassing botch, Ex-Bloodline member returns, Title reign ends after 273 days
WWE NXT - Best and Worst - Randy Orton makes embarrassing botch, Ex-Bloodline member returns, Title reign ends after 273 days
WWE star suffers defeat for the first time; he debuted in 2022! WWE star suffers defeat for the first time; he debuted in 2022!
WWE star suffers defeat for the first time; he debuted in 2022!
The tag team standard for a decade; A multi-promotion champion - 6 Superstars who could leave WWE in 2025 The tag team standard for a decade; A multi-promotion champion - 6 Superstars who could leave WWE in 2025
The tag team standard for a decade; A multi-promotion champion - 6 Superstars who could leave WWE in 2025
WWE star makes history; sets new record with title reign WWE star makes history; sets new record with title reign
WWE star makes history; sets new record with title reign