CM Punk loses NXT Title as John Cena kicks off new tournament

NXT TV RESULTS (11/4): Keller’s report on Greyson Waller vs. CM Punk for NXT Title, John Cena reveals first NXT invitee in John Cena Classic, Montana vs. Lennox in No Holds Barred, Dusty Tournament Final.

The November 4, 2026 episode of WWE NXT aired live from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Winter Park, Florida, on The CW.

Commentators Vic Joseph and Booker T called the action, with Mike Rome serving as ring announcer.

The show opened with an aerial shot of Orlando before cutting to John Cena stepping out of his car and walking into the venue.

Cody Rhodes was shown getting off his bus and heading inside as well.

Kelani Jordan was seen rolling her suitcase into the arena, with Joseph noting she would defend her NXT Women's Championship later that night against an unknown opponent.

Outside the venue, Grayson Waller was handed his NXT Title.

CM Punk was shown chatting with Shawn Michaels as Joseph plugged Punk's upcoming match against Waller for the men's top title.

A video package recapped NXT Halloween Havoc, including the show-closing announcement by CM Punk that he would challenge for Waller's title tonight.

The first match of the night was a six-man tag: Dragon Lee, Rey Fenix, and Chad Gable versus The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, Jackson Drake, and Ricky Smokes).

Dragon Lee made his entrance first, followed by Chad Gable, then Rey Fenix.

During Gable's entrance, one adult male fan in the crowd smiled and clapped his hands above his head to the beat of Gable's theme music.

When Gable entered the ring, at least a dozen other fans joined the hands-above-head clapping.

Booker T said Vanity Project were "savoring the flavor" and welcoming the competition.

Joseph pointed out that Vanity Project had just been complaining about having this match to Robert Stone.

Booker asked if they looked scared, then exclaimed, "Oh, yeahhh!"

The bell rang nine minutes into the hour.

A minute into the match, Booker became obsessed with Chad Gable using closed fists, as if that 1970s rule was still enforced.

An already exasperated Joseph said, "We're not going to be doing this all night. Tonight is too big of a night to go back and forth."

Joseph noted the fans were remembering Gable's days in American Alpha.

The faces cleared the ring, and Fenix leaped off the top rope, landing a crossbody on Baylor and Smokes.

Gable gave Drake a Chaos Theory for a near fall.

Six-way action broke out.

The faces clotheslined the heels over the top rope together and celebrated mid-ring as they cut to a double box.

The main event saw Grayson Waller defend his NXT Championship against CM Punk.

During the closing moments of the match, Kevin Owens made a surprise appearance and distracted Punk.

That distraction allowed Waller to pick up the win and retain his title.

After the match, Waller took to social media to mock Punk, calling himself "Best In The World."

Punk has not publicly responded to the loss or the taunts as of this writing.

John Cena was also present at the show and revealed the first invitee for what is being called the John Cena Classic, a new tournament that could reshape the NXT roster in the coming weeks.

Cena's announcement was met with a strong reaction from the live crowd, though full details on the tournament bracket and stakes have not yet been released.

Cruz Montana defeated Dion Lennox in an Unsanctioned Match earlier in the night.

During that bout, DarkState came out to help Lennox get the win, but the 946 faction counteracted their presence.

Montana joined the 946 on the November 2 edition of WWE Raw, signaling his continued association with the group on the main roster.

Lennox and DarkState may seek revenge, potentially leading to a cross-brand confrontation with the 946 on Raw once their business with The Bloodline is settled.

Kelani Jordan successfully defended her NXT Women's Championship against Paige, who was revealed as the mystery opponent.