New Year's Evil - NXT recap for January 6, 2026

Blake Monroe attacks Thea Hail from behind before the next match, and referees have to rush in to restore order. Not long after this, Ricky Saints makes an unscheduled appearance as referees help Thea Hail to the back. Saints decides to give the fans a gift by kicking 2026 off himself. He says that last year, he really needed NXT, but now, NXT needs him. He says that Oba Femi and Je'Von Evans chose free agency because they cannot compete when they cannot compare, then says there is only room for one star: him. Saints then says that he is not going anywhere, and says that if anyone comes at him, he will send them back to where they came from, as while they are talented, they are not absolute. Saints says that he is who he says he is and that he will continue to prove that in 2026, then says that he will be watching the NXT Championship match closely. He says he will deal with Leon Slater in due time if he wins, but if Oba wins, he wants to win the rubber match.

Backstage, General Manager Ava has Robert Stone deal with the Blake Monroe-Thea Hail situation, then makes Tatum Paxley vs. Izzi Dame the opening match.

Backstage, General Manager Ava finds and confronts Blake Monroe, who demands the NXT Women's North American Championship. Ava not only takes the match for the title away, but bans Blake Monroe from the building.

Tatum Paxley beats Izzi Dame.

We see a vignette for French luchador Elio LeFleur, who is coming to NXT to slash the sky. (Elio LeFleur is best known for his work in WXW under the name Aigle Blanc.)

Backstage, General Manager Ava meets with Jordynne Grace and Thea Hail. Ava tells Thea that she is pushing her title match, but Thea wants her match and wants to bring back the open challenge for the title. After Jordynne tells Ava that Thea has made up her mind, Ava makes it official.

Jacy Jayne retains the NXT Women's Championship against Kendal Grey after Fallon Henley holds onto Jacy Jayne from the outside to save her from a DDT off the ropes by Kendal Grey.

Backstage, "All Ego" Ethan Page meets with General Manager Ava and mentions his twelve title victories this year, then mentions that he will leave the office to finish his thoughts in the ring so that Ava can talk to The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, "The Smoke Show" Ricky Smokes, Jackson Drake).

Thea Hail gets in the ring. She admits that she is devastated that her match with Blake Monroe went the way it did, then says that she is giving the championship match that was promised and re-opens the open challenge. The entire women's locker room gets in the ring, but Tatum Paxley clears a path with her chainsaw. She almost gets in the ring when Thea is suddenly attacked by Izzi Dame, who becomes Thea's opponent.

Izzi Dame beats Thea Hail to become the NXT Women's North American Champion after powerbombing Thea off the top rope as Thea goes for a Kimura Lock.

Backstage, Lola Vice has been watching what is going on when The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, "The Smoke Show" Ricky Smokes, Jackson Drake) show up. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger show up right afterwards, then The Vanity Project leave. Hank, Tank and Lola talk about Izzi Dame's championship victory, then Lola says she has Kelani Jordan to take care of first. When Kelani Jordan shows up hearing Lola talking about her, Kelani throws a shoe, and both women have to be held back by multiple members of the locker room.

Backstage, Joe Hendry meets with General Manager Ava wanting a no-disqualification match with Dion Lennox next week. Ava tells him that the match will become a handicap match quickly, but Joe Hendry says he will find a couple of badasses to back him up. Ava tells Hendry that if he can do that, she will make the match.

"All Ego" Ethan Page is in the ring. Ethan calls himself the most dominant Superstar of 2025 and brags about being Moose last week, then mentions tonight's NXT Championship match and declares himself the main event, not Leon Slater or Oba Femi. He calls the North American Championship the most prestigious championship in all of WWE, as he has defended against many challengers from many companies and brand while Oba Femi has only defended in one part of North America. Ethan brags that this makes him "an international icon," then Jasper Troy shows up and says that Ethan was not the only one who dominated in 2025 and proclaims that he will prove to be "the monster of NXT" in 2026. As he declares that the Speed Championship will not be the only title he holds, Josh Briggs shows up and says he is the biggest big man in NXT, not Jasper. Briggs tells Ethan that he is as delusional as the fans and that he should stop wasting his time with losers, then Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Arianna Grace show up. Stacks says that he is the only NXT Superstar holding Total Nonstop Action gold and that he is the International Champion and international as it gets, then says that he and Arianna are as big as it gets before Shiloh Hill shows up. Shiloh shows up and tells Stacks and Arianna that TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella and General Manager Ava have put Stacks in an International Championship match with him. Tavion Heights shows up and says this is his kind of party and says that Jasper Troy will be flying Air Heights next week and that he will become the Speed Champion. Ethan Page has had enough, then tells Tavion Heights that he dropped the ball. He then ducks a punch meant for him, and Tavion hits Jasper, starting a brawl that ends with Shiloh Hill stopping Arianna from slapping her. When that happens, Shiloh's fake upper tooth falls onto Arianna, then Shiloh tosses Stacks out of the ring when Stacks charges at him.

Backstage, Joe Hendry asks OTM (Bronco Nima and Lucien Price) to be part of his match, but OTM are not interested until Hendry tells them that if he wins, they will win, as they will get one step closer to the NXT Championship. Meanwhile, Zaria and Sol Ruca run into Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid). Both sides have a brief war of words before Sol Ruca makes it clear she wants the NXT Women's Championship.

Backstage, "All Ego" Ethan Page runs into Myles Borne and Tate Wilder and says that Myles Borne is neither a champion or a challenger. Tate tells Myles not to let Ethan bother him after Ethan leaves, but Myles says "Too late."

Oba Femi retains the NXT Championship against Leon Slater. Backstage, General Manager Ava meets with the NXT locker room. As she is about to name the call-ups from Evolve to NXT, it is revealed by Robert Stone that Oba Femi has left the NXT Championship in the ring.

Here are the highlights for tonight's show!