WWE NXT New Year’s Evil 2026 Preview: Start Time, Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

Three huge championship matches are set for WWE NXT New Year’s Evil 2026 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

The NXT Championship is on the line as Oba Femi defends the title against current TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater. Femi has reportedly impressed WWE officials in his recent appearances on SmackDown and Saturday Night’s Main Event, and that could expedite a call-up to the WWE main roster.

He had an impressive performance against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event before the match was disrupted by Drew McIntyre, and WWE has aired vignettes for Femi on both Raw and SmackDown entering the new year.

However, he must first turn his focus to handling his business as ‘The Ruler’ of NXT, which is set to feature one of his most intriguing title matches yet.

Femi will face one of the top up-and-coming stars in professional wrestling in the 21-year-old Slater, who earned his opportunity at the championship by winning a Fatal 4-Way Match against Joe Hendry, Myles Borne, and Dion Lennox.

Slater also made a splash with his performance in teaming with Je’Von Evans at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and he has the potential to take his game to another level by scoring a win against one of the most dominant stars in NXT history.

Can Slater shock the world and upset Femi for NXT’s biggest prize? Or will Femi once again rule the competition?

Meanwhile, Jacy Jayne is going to have her hands full when she defends the NXT Women’s Championship against another rising star.

Kendal Grey, the current EVOLVE Women’s Champion, won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge last month by defeating Sol Ruca, Jordynne Grace, Lola Vice, and Kelani Jordan to become the No. 1 contender.

Grey has been tabbed by The Takedown on SI as ‘One to Watch’ in 2026, and for good reason after a noteworthy finish to 2025.

Jayne arguably had the best year of any woman on the current NXT women’s roster, but can she hold off Grey’s inevitable rise to retain the title? Or will a new champion be crowned at New Year’s Evil?

There’s a interesting backstory with the third championship match on the card.

Thea Hail surprised everyone by defeating Blake Monroe for the NXT Women’s North American Championship on the December 16 edition of NXT, but it didn’t come without some controversy.

According to a report from PWInsider, Monroe had the wind knocked out of her during a finishing sequence when Hail hit a springboard off the ropes, which led to Monroe not getting her arm up before the referee counted to three.

However, NXT has turned it into quite a rivalry between the two superstars, with Monroe desperate to regain the gold from the unlikely champion.

Speaking of rivalries, things have gotten personal between former friends Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame.

"It's not over until I say it is."

Did @TatumPaxley just give us a preview of her match with @izzi_wwe next week at New Year's Evil?! 😈 pic.twitter.com/5p2A6DELWx
— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2025

It was Dame and The Culling who turned on Paxley at NXT Deadline to cost the latter her NXT Women’s Championship, with Dame expressing that she did nothing more than “correct a mistake" after allowing Paxley into the faction.

Paxley has had revenge on the mind since losing the title, and both women figure to hold nothing back when they go face to face in the ring.

Here’s what you need to know about today’s WWE NXT New Year’s Evil show in Orlando: