It was the end of an era in NXT as WWE decided to unify the Cruiserweight and North American Titles when North American Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong took place at New Year’s Evil.
The match opened the show and it was a back and forth match. Hayes hit his leg drop finisher off the top rope for the win.
Strong won the NXT Cruiserweight Championship from Kushida this September while Hayes beat Isaiah “Swerve” Scott to win the North American Title in October. Dave Meltzer noted on the last month’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that he had heard WWE might be getting rid of the title and renaming it the All-Inclusive Championship.
Hayes agreed to the match after being challenged by Strong as both stars have been calling themselves the real champion in NXT. WWE had a contract signing to make the match official last week on NXT that was hosted by NXT announcer Wade Barrett.
The North American Title was first introduced in April 2018 and won by Adam Cole. There had been 13 champions in the original history of the title. The Cruiserweight Title was back in 2016 with TJ Perkins being the first champion. There had been 19 champions in the history of the title since WWE brought back the division.
