Keith Lee is now the NXT and North American Champion after beating Adam Cole in a Winner Takes All match on Wednesday night.
Two weeks ago, Keith Lee, Johnny Gargano, and Finn Balor competed in a triple threat match for the North American Title. Not only that, but the winner of that match would go on to face the NXT Champion in a Winner Takes All match two weeks later. After a hard-fought battle, Lee retained his title and earned that right.
The match was saved for the very end of night two of NXT's Great American Bash. Considering how well NXT did in the ratings on night one, it seems a given that it will beat Fyter Fest this week two. However, the result of its landmark match was leaked, and despite further rumors that two endings were taped, the leak turned out to be accurate.
The leak claimed that Lee won the match and is now a double champion, and that is indeed what happened. After an incredible and hard-fought match between the pair, Lee is now not just North American Champion, but also NXT Champion. Even more impressive than that is this was Lee's first-ever shot at the NXT Title, and he managed to win it at the first time of asking.
Fans who avoided the spoiler were likely pleasantly surprised that this match didn't descend into chaos and end in a disqualification or screwy finish of some sort. In defense of NXT, that's not really the brand's style, especially when the stakes are this high. It could have easily had other members of Undisputed ERA rush the ring to ensure there wasn't a definitive winner to the match.
Instead, Lee had his moment in the sun. Not only that, but he has brought an end to the 403-day reign of Adam Cole. That's the longest in NXT history by quite a long way. Fans now want to know what will happen to Cole and the rest of UE. Some are worried that Cole's size will mean Vince McMahon won't take him seriously on the main roster. AEW might also be an option for Cole once his WWE contract is up. He has a lot of friends there, including his girlfriend Britt Baker.