Why Leon Ruff Won NXT Championship, AEW Changes Top Program

Leon Ruff won the NXT Championship in arguably the most shocking moment in the yellow and black brand’s history. He is now the North American Champion, which was previously held by Johnny Gargano.

Also, AEW has seemingly changed a major program. Jon Moxley was supposed to defend his title against Lance Archer, but for an unknown reason, that idea has been temporarily dropped. 

Why Leon Ruff Won NXT Championship

On the recent edition of NXT, Leon Ruff stunned Johnny Gargano to become the new North American champion. The moment brought with it a lot of attention for WWE and NXT. 

Dave Meltzer noted during a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE officials seem to be making the belt a “comedy gag” for the first time. 

“It’s not like they bring the guy in and he wins the title on the first night and they create a star,” Meltzer said. “Which actually, you know with all the people they have, that actually wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.

“Coming in and first night winning a championship, it’s done rarely and it can be done to get a guy over instantly. This was not designated to make Leon Ruff a star or anything like that.”

Part of the ongoing storyline surrounding Gargano is that the title has made him cursed. 

The 24-year-old Ruff made his debut in 2017. He joined the WWE in 2020 competing as a local competitor on RAW, SmackDown, NXT, 205 Live and Main Event. 

In October, Ruff signed a contract with WWE and started working at the WWE Performance Center. Damian Priest’s distraction during NXT helped him claim the North American title. 

AEW Changes Top Program

All Elite Wrestling is changing plans regarding Jon Moxley and his next AEW world title defense.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Moxley was looking to put his belt up for grabs against Lance Archer. The match was even teased during the recent AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event. 

However, on AEW Dynamite this past week, officials announced that Moxley will defend against Kenny Omega on December 2. 

For now, it appears as if the backstage segment in which it was mentioned that Archer was “standing in the wings” to compete for the belt will only be a tease. Archer and Jake Roberts also worked a backstage promo regarding Archer challenging either Moxley or Eddie Kingston. 

Meltzer said that there is “something going on” regarding the decision by AEW to switch plans. He also let it be known that it is interesting the promotion is putting Moxley vs. Omega, a “PPV-caliber match” on free television instead of pay-per-view.

Some of that might be because the next AEW pay-per-view is not set until February 27, 2021. 

Omega was officially named the No. 1 contender at Full Gear when he survived the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament. He defeated “Hangman” Adam Page in the finals.

Omega and Moxley have met once before under the AEW umbrella in an unsanctioned match. Moxley won the brutal contest, which saw an array of weapons used.