On the January 6 New Year’s Evil special of WWE NXT, Oba Femi defeated Leon Slater to retain the NXT Championship.
Post match, Femi left the title in the ring, indicating that “The Ruler” has relinquished the gold as rumors circulate about his main roster call-up.
With Femi letting the title go, it opens the door for new challengers and potential winners of the gold to step up to the plate filling that role.
Here are seven potential winners of the newly vacant WWE NXT Championship.
7. Ricky Saints
At WWE NXT Deadline 2025, Oba Femi defeated Ricky Saints to become a two-time NXT Champion.
Saints became only the second NXT star to defeat Femi one-on-one with his victory over “The Ruler” to become champion back at WWE NXT No Mercy 2025.
Now that Femi has relinquished the title, it opens the door for Saints to regain his spot atop of the brand.
Ricky Saints winning the vacant gold could be an easy direction for NXT to go in, knowing the former AEW star can fill that spot and be the face of the brand.
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6. Myles Borne
Myles Borne has been someone who feels like a star on the rise ever since making the decision to leave the No Quarter Catch Crew in 2025.
After getting a shot at the NXT Championship back at Battleground 2025, it feels like Borne is not satisfied until he is able to reach his goal.
While he might have his eyes on Ethan Page’s NXT North American Championship right now after their recent interactions, Borne is someone who could find himself in a prime position to challenge for the top prize on the brand.
Borne stepping up to win the vacant WWE NXT Championship would be an interesting direction to go in his development into a superstar.
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5. Ethan Page
There might not be a more dominant champion on the NXT brand right now than Ethan Page.
The reigning NXT North American Champion set the record with 12 title defenses on the brand in 2025.
“All Ego” has been a top star for WWE NXT since signing with the company in 2024 and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
Page becoming a two-time NXT Champion might be the move to make and put the top title on him to make him a triple crown champion, further presenting him as the biggest star on the brand.
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4. Leon Slater
After coming up short in his first shot at the NXT Championship, Leon Slater impressed the fans with his showing against Oba Femi at WWE NXT New Year’s Evil 2026.
“The Youngest In Charge” has become the breakout star from TNA Wrestling and has even crossed over onto WWE NXT in a significant way.
The youngest TNA X-Division Champion of all time looks to be spotlighted on NXT for the immediate future and could lead to him being an option to win the vacant gold.
Following his recent loss, Slater could use that as a motivation to overcome the odds and become the first TNA star to win WWE gold by capturing the NXT Championship.
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3. Joe Hendry
Ever since he made his WWE NXT debut, Joe Hendry has found himself in or close to the main event picture on the brand.
Becoming the first TNA Wrestling star to headline a WWE NXT PLE, Hendry has gotten his chances at the top prize on the brand in the past.
Now splitting time between NXT and the WWE main roster, it seems like Hendry is due for a crucial role that could fill in for the absence of Oba Femi.
Matching the success he had in TNA, Hendry could be the perfect option to be the next WWE NXT Champion now that Femi is heading to the main roster.
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2. Dion Lennox
Dion Lennox of Darkstate recently gave his half of the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships to his stablemate Saquan Shugars, so he could focus on singles goals.
After coming up short in the Men’s Iron Survivor at WWE NXT Deadline and the number one contenders match, it seems like Lennox will continue to pursue singles achievements.
Following his No DQ Match scheduled for the January 13 edition of WWE NXT, Lennox could find himself back into the title picture with a win.
Trying to bring even more gold to Darkstate, Lennox might be the one NXT decides to crown as the next champion and propel him firmly into top star status on the brand.
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1. Tony D’Angelo
At WWE NXT Deadline 2025, Tony D’Angelo made his return to the brand for the first time since July.
Attacking Je’Von Evans and staring down with Oba Femi, it looked like D’Angelo was directly positioning himself to be in main title picture.
After Femi seemingly relinquished the NXT Championship at New Year’s Evil 2026, it was Tony D who was looking down at the gold from the crowd as the show went off the air.
“The Don of NXT” taking his place at the mountaintop has been something fans have wanted to see for a while, so it would make sense if Tony D stepped up to become the new NXT Champion now that it has been vacated.
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