With 2018 officially over, it’s time to look back at all of the title changes we’ve seen throughout the year and ask some questions about how things went down. How often did championships change hands in WWE? Did it happen less often in NXT? What time of year had the most title changes?
Before we get into WWE’s main roster title changes throughout the year, for comparison let’s look at NXT. Fans often praise NXT for its long-term storytelling and less frequent title changes, but is that just a product of how much content they produce? On top of that, how does each reign look now that the year’s wrapped up? Which title changes were crucial for the year, and which were completely forgettable? First, a reminder of NXT’s champions going into 2018.
- NXT Tag Team Champions: The Undisputed Era
- NXT Women’s Champion: Ember Moon
- NXT Champion: Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
While The Undisputed Era managed to hold tight to their belts for most of 2018, both Ember Moon and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas failed to do so. However, both Moon and Almas were called up to WWE’s main roster after losing their titles. They may not be remembered as the most influential champions in 2018, they moved on to new challenges and new pursuits this year.
Every NXT Title Change in 2018
- NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 4/7/18 – Adam Cole def. EC3, Lars Sullivan, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, and Killian Dain for the vacant NXT North American Championship
- NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 4/7/18 – Shayna Baszler def. Ember Moon for the NXT Women’s Championship
- NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 4/7/18 – Aleister Black def. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas for the NXT Championship
- UK Championship Tournament Special, 6/19/18 – Moustache Mountain def. The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship
- NXT TV, 7/11/18 – The Undisputed Era def. Moustache Mountain for the NXT Tag Team Championship
- NXT TV, 7/25/18 – Tommaso Ciampa def. Aleister Black for the NXT Championship
- NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, 8/18/18 – Ricochet def. Adam Cole for the NXT North American Championship
- NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, 8/18/18 – Kairi Sane def. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship
- WWE Evolution, 10/28/18 – Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane for the NXT Women’s Championship
Looking back at NXT’s title changes throughout 2018, and we pretty easily see the ones that didn’t make much impact. Two changes resulted in short reigns where the former champion quickly won back their title. While Moustache Mountain’s win at the UK Championship Tournament Special was one that really set the crowd on fire and gave them a great moment, the title reign itself evaporated in only a few weeks. The Undisputed Era got their titles back quick enough that you’d be excused if you thought they held the NXT Tag Team Championship through all of 2018.
The year’s other short reign came from Kairi Sane, who captured the NXT Women’s Championship by defeating Shayna Baszler at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. It was a big win for NXT’s “Pirate Princess” and the winner of the inaugural Mae Young Classic, but Kairi barely held onto the title for two months before Baszler won it back. Unfortunately for Sane, her reign and Moustache Mountain’s stick out as NXT’s least significant of 2018.
Speaking of The Undisputed Era, de facto leader Adam Cole (BAY-BAY) had the huge moment of becoming the first NXT North American Champion. Cole was also forced to defend his group’s NXT Tag Team Titles later that night, but kept a title change from happening with the assist of new member Roderick Strong. Adam Cole’s reign lasted just over four months, but he was defeated for the NXT North American Championship by Ricochet at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4.
However, it’s hard to argue against the most meaningful title change of 2018 being when Tommaso Ciampa defeated Aleister Black on NXT television to become the NXT Champion. Nothing changed the landscape of NXT like that change, and continued to ripple through the brand until the year came to a close. An assist belongs to Johnny Gargano whose interference helped Ciampa pick up the win, but Gargano’s obsession with Ciampa could not wrench the NXT Championship from him at any point in 2018.