WWE NXT New Year's Evil results: Bron Breakker beats Tomasso Ciampa to become new NXT champion

WWE NXT presented New Year’s Evil, the brand’s first special event, on January 5 (Wednesday). The show featured five matches as well as a few angles that would lead to future storylines.

The newsworthy moment of the day was Bron Breakker winning the NXT championship from Tomasso Ciampa. Their feud has, in many ways, been about the New NXT vs Old NXT.

Ciampa is a firm member of the old guard, acting as a gatekeeper of sorts for the new generation. And no one in the new generation shines brighter than Breakker.

The second-generation superstar – he’s the son of Rick Steiner, and nephew to Scott Steiner – was always seen as a star in the making. And with this, the proverbial rocket has been attached to him.

He even won the title using a move his uncle made popular – the Steiner Recliner submission, a variant of the camel clutch.

Where the match excelled was in telling a story of Breakker learning from his previous match with Ciampa. The last time out, he let his naivety get the better of him. This time, however, he anticipated all of The Blackheart’s tricks – and countered them with moves of his own.

One of Breakker’s standout attributes is his athleticism and power. Both were on display aplenty during this match. His standing shooting star press was a delight to watch; also, him slamming Ciampa on the table was a manic spot considering his neck history.

???#NXTNYE #NXTChampionship @bronbreakkerwwe pic.twitter.com/OK8VXhT0tJ

— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2022

Driven through the announce desk! #NXTNYE #WWENXT #NXTChampionship @bronbreakkerwwe @NXTCiampa pic.twitter.com/lnjaZUWbr6

— WWE (@WWE) January 5, 2022

And once he locked in the Recliner, the result was academic. The future of NXT 2.0 is here.

WWE NXT New Year’s Evil – full results

• Mandy Rose defeated Cora Jade and Raquel Gonzalez in a triple threat to retain the NXT women’s championship. Rose’s win came after a roll-up on Jade; the result is a good one, even if the match only told a simple story. Still, Rose’s reign has been a good one and it needs more time before someone beats here.
• Carmelo Hayes beat Roderick Strong to become the unified North American champion. The match was excellent, and a good farewell to the NXT cruiserweight championship, which is now unified with the NA title. Hayes, like Breakker, is another must-see prospect in the brand right now.
• Matt Riddle and MSK beat Imperium when Riddle RKO’d Marcel Barthel. Given the quality of the team’s involved, this was a fun match.
• There were two major angles on the show: Von Wagner beating up Andre Chase, then assaulting an “audience member” and getting arrested, and AJ Styles’ interaction with Grayson Waller. The latter set up a match for next week’s episode of NXT.

The show was a good one, with the title matches standing out. But the angles felt flat – although time will tell if they can tell good stories with the characters involved.

Overall grade: B+