Every couple of months, there are giant changes to NXT. Some come in the form of injuries to major stars. Other times, releases occur as new people get brought in. But mainly, the landscape shifts when call-ups occur.
Since the start of the year, Je’Von Evans, Oba Femi, and Trick Williams have been called up to Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown. Femi notably vacated the NXT Championship last month. Qualifying matches were held for a ladder match on the February 3, 2026, episode of NXT.
Dion Lennox, Jackson Drake, Keanu Carver, Ricky Saints, Sean Legacy, and Shiloh Hill won those matches. Joe Hendry was added after a run-in with Drake and the rest of the Vanity Project. Who was going to climb the ladder and start a new era of NXT?
Joe Hendry Climbs the Ladder to Become the New NXT Champion
Going into the match, every man had a reason to become NXT Champion. Carver could continue his dominance seen since his NXT call-up. Drake could become the newest double champion, as he is also the Evolve Men’s Champion. Hendry could boost his popularity even more.
Hill could continue his impressive run since being the men’s winner of WWE LFG season 2. Legacy could show everyone why he got the call-up from Evolve. Lennox could bring home more gold for DarkState. Finally, Starks could recapture the championship that was taken from him by Femi. It was going to be a battle to determine the new NXT Champion.
As always, the ladder match was extremely chaotic. Some close calls happened throughout the match in terms of actually grabbing the NXT Championship. In the end, it seemed like it was between Carver and Saints. Carver bulldozed through everyone except Saints. Hendry got hit with a ladder. Drake got pushed into the crowd. Legacy was speared through the cardboard NXT sign.
Soon enough, Carver was in the ring, climbing side by side with Saints. They pushed each other, with Saints launching Carver out of the ring into the ladders below. It looked like he had won, but Hendry emerged from out of nowhere. They grabbed the title, then did a tug of war with it. As they were pulling, Hendry pushed the title in Saints’ face, sending him back-first into a ladder. Hendry unclipped the title and became the new NXT Champion.
Everyone celebrated, with Booker T even singing his theme song. The decision to put the title on him was wise, as his popularity will grow even more. NXT is in good hands with Hendry as NXT Champion.
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