NXT: New Year's Evil (2026)

Last updated

NXT: New Year's Evil
Promotion WWE
Brand NXT
DateJanuary 6, 2026
City Orlando, Florida
Venue WWE Performance Center
NXT special episodes chronology
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NXT: New Year's Evil chronology
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The 2026 NXT: New Year's Evil is an upcoming professional wrestling television special produced by WWE for its developmental brand NXT. It will be the sixth annual NXT: New Year's Evil and seventh New Year's Evil overall. It will take place on January 6, 2026, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and will air live as a special episode of NXT on The CW.

Contents

Production

Background

New Year's Evil is a professional wrestling television special currently produced by WWE held around New Year's. It was originally broadcast as a special episode of World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro on December 27, 1999; WWE acquired WCW in 2001. [1] After 21 years since that WCW event, WWE revived New Year's Evil for its developmental brand NXT as a special episode of NXT on January 6, 2021, [2] and it has since been held annually in early January. The 2026 event is scheduled to take place on January 6. This will be the second edition to air on The CW after NXT's move to the channel in October 2024. [3]

Storylines

The card will consist of matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results are be predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the online streaming show, Evolve . [4] [5]

At NXT Deadline, WWE Evolve Women's Champion Kendal Grey won the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge to earn a NXT Women's Championship match against Jacy Jayne at New Year's Evil. [6] [7]

Also at NXT Deadline, Je'Von Evans defeated Dion Lennox, Joe Hendry, TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater, and Myles Borne to earn a NXT Championship match against Oba Femi, who defeated Ricky Saints to win the title earlier that night, at New Year's Evil. [6] [8] However, instead of waiting until New Year's Evil, Evans demanded his title match on the following episode of NXT. As a result, NXT General Manager Ava announced that the other four men who competed in the Iron Survivor Challenge would compete in a fatal four-way match the following week, where the winner would earn a title match at New Year's Evil. Later that night, Femi retained the title against Evans, thus confirming he would be the defending champion at New Year's Evil, [9] while Slater won the fatal four-way on the following episode to become the new #1 contender. [10]

On the December 9 episode of NXT, Blake Monroe was supposed to hold an open challenge for her NXT North American Championship, however, several women appeared, including Thea Hail, who attacked Monroe. [9] This led to a match between both women on the following episode with the title on the line, [10] however, a legitimate unplanned finish occurred, as Monroe was originally booked to retain the title. During a pinfall attempt by Hail, Monroe was supposed to kick out, but did not get her shoulder up in time and the referee counted the pin, naming Hail the winner and new champion, causing confusion to Hail, Monroe, and WWE's production team. It was reported that this affected WWE's creative for several wrestlers that was planned over the next two weeks as WWE was scheduled to tape the next two episodes of NXT in advance due to the holidays, with adjustments being made immediately. [11] On the following episode, Monroe demanded Hail to give her the title back, which Hail declined, however, she agreed to a title rematch at New Year's Evil. [12]

Entering 2025, Tatum Paxley formed an alliance with Gigi Dolin and Shotzi. At the end of May, Dolin and Shotzi were legitimately released by WWE, effectively disbanding the team. [13] [14] Izzi Dame then successfully recruited Paxley into The Culling by preying on Paxley's emotional instability from losing her former teammates. [13] On the October 14 episode of NXT, Paxley won a battle royal to become the #1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship by last eliminating Dame and Jordynne Grace, [15] and subsequently defeated Jacy Jayne to win the title at Halloween Havoc. [13] As champion, Paxley agreed to hand out title matches, much to the chagrin of The Culling (Dane, Niko Vance and Shawn Spears). At NXT: Gold Rush, Paxley lost the title back to Jayne after The Culling turned on her. [16] Paxley then sought revenge against Dame, culminating in a match at NXT Deadline, which Dame won after interference from The Culling. [6] Paxley continued to haunt Dame, and their rematch was scheduled for New Year's Evil. [17]

Matches

No.Matches*Stipulations
1 Jacy Jayne (c) (with Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) vs. Kendal Grey (with Wren Sinclair) Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship [18]
2 Oba Femi (c) vs. Leon Slater Singles match for the NXT Championship
3 Thea Hail (c) (with Jordynne Grace) vs. Blake Monroe Singles match for the NXT Women's North American Championship
4 Tatum Paxley vs. Izzi Dame Singles match
The Culling (Shawn Spears and Niko Vance) are barred from ringside.
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

References

  1. ↑ Rueter, Sean (December 6, 2020). "NXT goes with a WCW deep cut for its next themed episode". Cageside Seats. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Jeremy (December 6, 2020). "WWE Announces 'New Year's Evil' Special Episode of NXT". 411Mania. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Andrew (December 6, 2025). "NXT New Year's Evil To Air On The CW On January 6th". Fightful. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  4. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE . Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Moore, John (December 6, 2025). "NXT Deadline results: Moore's live review of Ricky Saints vs. Oba Femi for the NXT Title, Iron Survivor Challenge matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Archived from the original on December 7, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  7. ↑ Thompson, Andrew (December 6, 2025). "Kendal Grey Wins Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match At NXT Deadline". Fightful. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  8. ↑ Thompson, Andrew (December 6, 2025). "Je'Von Evans Wins 2025 Men's Iron Survivor Challenge Match At NXT Deadline". Fightful. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Moore, John (December 9, 2025). "NXT TV results (12/9): Moore's review of Blake Monroe's open challenge for the NXT Women's North American Title, Jordynne Grace vs. Kelani Jordan, Shiloh Hill's debut". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Moore, John (December 16, 2025). "NXT TV results (12/16): Moore's review of Leon Slater vs. Joe Hendry vs. Dion Lennox vs. Myles Borne for a shot at the NXT Championship, Blake Monroe vs. Thea Hail for the NXT Women's NA Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  11. ↑ Alba, Jon (December 17, 2025). "Update On Blake Monroe Accidentally Losing WWE NXT Women's North American Title". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ Moore, John (December 23, 2025). "NXT TV results (12/23): Moore's review of Chelsea Green vs. Sol Ruca for the WWE Women's U.S. Title, Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame, Shiloh Hill and Skylar Raye vs. Stacks and Arianna Grace". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Chiari, Mike. "Tatum Paxley Makes History Beating Jacy for 1st NXT Women's Title at Halloween Havoc". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  14. ↑ Defelice, Robert (May 3, 2025). "Shotzi Moved To The Alumni Section Of WWE Superstars Page". Fightful. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  15. ↑ Moore, John (October 14, 2025). "NXT TV results (10/14): Moore's review of a battle royal for a shot at the NXT Women's Title at the Halloween Havoc, Matt Cardona vs. Josh Briggs, Blake Monroe vs. Zaria". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  16. ↑ Moore, John (November 18, 2025). "NXT TV results (11/18): Moore's review of Tatum Paxley vs. Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women's Title, Blake Monroe vs. Sol Ruca for the NXT Women's North American Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  17. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (December 18, 2025). "WWE NXT Spoilers For 12/30 (Taped On 12/17)". Fightful. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  18. ↑ Thompson, Andrew (December 6, 2025). "Jacy Jayne vs. Kendal Grey For NXT Women's Championship Set For NXT New Year's Evil". Fightful. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
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