Last week Oba Femi stepped into the ring at New Year’s Evil and he defended the NXT Championship against Leon Slater. Femi managed to retain the belt when he picked up the victory, but he vacated the title immediately after the main event.
This week’s episode of NXT kicked off with Ava addressing the situation with the NXT Championship. A number of wrestlers stood around the ring as Ava prepared to make an announcement, but she was interrupted by Ricky Saints.
Ricky thanked all the fans for coming out, and he took credit for running Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans out of NXT. Saints hyped up all the talent around the ring, but said that he’s the now as he demanded that Ava hand the title over to him.
Ava announced that on February 3rd there will be a six man ladder match for the vacant NXT Championship. She confirmed that qualifying matches for the title bout will begin next week.
After the announcement was made Joe Hendry rolled into the ring and started brawling with Ricky Saints. All of the superstars surrounding the ring started brawling as well, and Keanu Carver made his way out then dominated several wrestlers. Saints looked shocked as Carver stood tall in the ring surrounded by wrestlers who had been decimated.
🪜 LADDER. MATCH. 🪜
The new #WWENXT Champion will be decided on February 3rd in a Six-Man Ladder Match! @avawwe_ pic.twitter.com/JIWXIUzXte
— WWE (@WWE) January 14, 2026