In the main event of tonight's episode of WWE NXT, Ricky Saints challenged Shawn Spears for the NXT North American Championship and actually managed to not only defy the numbers game and beat the odds to win the title, but in doing so, has set a new record in the process.
Previously, the record for the fastest time someone's made their NXT debut and gone on to win a championship was set by Ethan Page, who won the NXT Championship just 40 days after his debut (on May 28, 2024) when he defeated Trick Williams at Heatwave (on July 7, 2024). Previously, the record was held by Kevin Owens, who had defeated Sami Zayn to win the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Rival back in 2015 just 60 days after his debut.
Vic Joseph made it a point to say that if Saints would win the title, he'd beat Page's record by about a week. However, what's interesting, is that Saints first appeared on NXT on February 11th, which was 49 days ago. Even if WWE were to count based on their debut matches, which would be February 25th for Saints (35 days ago), Page would still have the record, as his first match was on June 9, 2024 when he lost to Trick Williams at Battleground. That would put him at 28 days between his debut match and his title win.
Whether WWE corrects this error on Joseph's part or they're purposely being flexible with the details just to give Saints an accolade that drives the story forward remains to be seen.
In any fashion, what transpired on tonight's episode was Spears defending the title and having the rest of The Culling (Brooks Jensen, Niko Vance, and Izzi Dame) by his side to try to cheat and help him win, to the point that he even used the title belt as a weapon and hit Saints in the face while the referee was distracted. Saints kicked out, though, and continued to fight off all members of The Culling before eventually scoring a pinfall over Spears to win the title—only for an enraged Ethan Page to come out and attack him after the bell to end the show.
Does this mean Page will get a shot at the North American title at a show like WWE Stand & Deliver, or will Spears be the first in line with a rematch? Is there another Triple Threat in the works similar to the NXT Championship? Drop your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!
For full results of tonight's episode of NXT, click here.