A unified North American Champion has been crowned at NXT New Year's Evil.
Over the past number of weeks, Carmelo Hayes and Roderick Strong have both been claiming to be the A-Champion of NXT. Hayes has been saying as much ever since he cashed in his NXT Breakout Tournament contract to win the North American Title. Strong, on the other hand, has been searching for “Big Money Fights,” forgoing the traditional Cruiserweight Division rules to take on all competitors, including Odyssey Jones and Joe Gacy.
Two weeks ago, Hayes and Strong agreed to a title unification match at New Year's Evil, with the bout being made official last Tuesday during a contract signing hosted by Wade Barrett. The winner would be recognized as the NXT North American Champion.
After a back-and-forth encounter that saw Strong target Hayes' back, the North American Champion gained control when he countered a superplex into a cutter. He would eventually hit a leg drop from the top rope to the back of Strong's head to pick up the win and walk out with both titles.
.@Carmelo_WWE and @roderickstrong are putting it all on the line in this #UnificationMatch!!
— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2022
Who will walk out of #NXTNYE as #WWENXT North American Champion? pic.twitter.com/ccFn3u353b
--------#NXTNYE #WWENXT @Carmelo_WWE @roderickstrong pic.twitter.com/1uWvEMGqi7
— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2022
.@Carmelo_WWE has done it! #NXTNYE #WWENXT #UnificationMatch pic.twitter.com/fPqqTbbZQj
— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2022
Keep up to date with everything happening at NXT New Year's Evil by checking out Fightful's live coverage. We will also have a post-show review immediately following the event's conclusion.
