On February 3, 2026, an episode of NXT, a seven-man ladder match was held for the vacant NXT Championship. In the end, Joe Hendry climbed the ladder, grabbed the belt, and won the title. It was a great moment for many reasons. Hendry already had many standout moments in NXT before he signed with WWE. Now that he is a full-time wrestler with the company, it was time for him to get rewarded.
A run with the NXT Championship was his prize, something that everyone in the Performance Center and Booker T were happy about last week. But now that he’s the champion, he’ll have to keep an eye on everyone for good reason. Every man wants a title shot against him, with his first challenger coming the very next week, on February 10, NXT.
Hendry Retains in a Great Match Against Jackson Drake
The Vanity Project was formed in WWE Evolve early last year. Initially comprised of Drake, Brad Baylor, Bryce Donovan, Ricky Smokes, and Zayda Steel, they made their presence known in a big way with key wins. Drake has been the sole Evolve Men’s Champion since his title win aired last June.
Since then, Donovan and Steel have left the WWE ID program. But that didn’t stop Drake, Baylor, and Smokes from getting called up to NXT. It’s clear they’ve been successful, but will this success translate to a title win for Drake? Hendry was attacked earlier by them, so he wasn’t at one hundred percent when the bell rang.
The match started, and Drake immediately started punching and kicking Hendry. He went to the top rope for the Swanton and landed it, but didn’t pin the champion.
They went back and forth for a while until Baylor and Smokes made their presence known. Drake tossed Hendry out of the ring to them. He distracted the referee as Baylor and Smokes slammed Hendry into the steel steps. However, the distraction didn’t work as they got ejected from the Performance Center. Hendry then hit Drake with a clothesline and slammed him over his head onto the mat. Drake recovered and got up to the top rope.
But Hendry caught him, hit him with a powerbomb, and finished the sequence with a Standing Ovation. The count was applied, and he was still the NXT Champion. But his celebration was short, as Ricky Saints attacked him. They were the final two in the ladder match last Tuesday, and Starks really wants his championship back. It’s clear that whenever the match gets made official, it’s going to be extremely entertaining to watch.
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