Bron Breakker defeated Tommaso Ciampa at NXT: New Year’s Evil in the main event to win his first NXT Championship. Breakker made his NXT debut in September of last year, and has had one of the fastest rises in WWE history. He went from his first ever televised match to becoming champion in just 4 months, and that included a NXT Championship loss to Ciampa last year.
Bron Breakker has been rightfully labelled as one of the hottest rising stars in the business. As the son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner, he has the familial ties and lineage to become a huge star in the business. His father Rick Steiner was at ringside as last nights event to watch his son be crowned NXT Champion.
NXT 2.0 was the recent rebrand to NXT, and seems to have been tailor-made for the young Steiner. Breakker even kicked through an NXT-Style “X” on his way to ring, symbolically destroying the remnants of the old NXT. The crowd popped big for that, as they do most things Bronn Breakker does.
Breakker battled Tommaso Ciampa in the main event of the show, the second time this pair have faced off for the NXT Championship. Ciampa was victorious on an earlier episode of NXT, but this time Breakker had his number. He kicked out of Ciampa’s finisher, “The Fairy-tale Ending” and locked in his own “Steiner Recliner”.
Ciampa was forced to tap out and Breakker was crowned the new NXT Champion. The win was not only a personal victory for Bron Breakker, but for NXT 2.0 as a whole. It was a passing of the torch, symbolic of the changing nature of the brand.
Little is known about Ciampa’s future now. He has done everything he can in NXT, so it is unlikely he will stay. He has previously stated he never wants to move to the main roster. Injuries have taken their toll on his body and he simply cannot take the schedule. A move to somewhere like AEW would be possible when his contract is up, but that information is not currently available.
