WWE confirms status of NXT Championship
If last night’s ending wasn’t clear enough, WWE has confirmed that the NXT Championship is now officially vacant.
NXT New Year’s Evil 2026 culminated with Oba Femi leaving his NXT Championship belt in the ring after retaining against Leon Slater. It remains to be seen how a new champion will be crowned, but WWE sent out an announcement today addressing the status of the title.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 7, 2026
After his victory at #NewYearsEvil, Oba Femi has officially vacated the #WWENXT Championship. Stay tuned for more details. pic.twitter.com/NwMFVOuJjG
“After his victory at #NewYearsEvil, Oba Femi has officially vacated the #WWENXT Championship,” WWE wrote. “Stay tuned for more details.”
Femi — a dominant presence in NXT during his run on the brand — is joining the WWE main roster soon. Videos hyping his call-up have aired on recent episodes of both Raw and SmackDown. Originally from Nigeria. Femi is a former shot putter for the University of Alabama. He debuted in 2022 after having been part of the WWE NIL program.
During New Year’s Evil, NXT General Manager Ava spoke to the WWE Evolve roster and said there will be a lot of opportunities for newcomers in NXT with Femi, Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams, Lash Legend, and Jordynne Grace all being called up. Ava indicated that there will be other call-ups as well.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.