WWE Retires Major Championship
WWE has decided to retire one of its active major championships.
The NXT Heritage Cup Championship was first unveiled in NXT UK on September 10, 2020, and was considered a secondary championship.
A-Kid (Axiom) became the inaugural champion by beating Trent Seven in the tournament final. The victory made him the first Spanish wrestler to win a major title in WWE. On the May 20, 2021, episode of NXT UK, he lost the Heritage Cup to Tyler Bate.
Since the championship’s debut, it has changed hands 12 times between 8 different wrestlers.
Noam Dar held it for the longest time (341 days) and also won it the most number of times (4). Mark Coffey had the shortest reign, which is disputed to be either 14 or 42 days, with WWE recognizing the latter due to tape delay; regardless, it is still the shortest.
The Cup was last held by Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, who won it on July 12, 2025. Tony D’Angelo, however, stole it and threw it off a bridge, after which it has never been seen in the company.
On June 3, fans spotted that the Heritage Cup with Lorenzo’s picture on the Stamford promotion’s official website was removed, thus confirming that it had been retired.
The NXT Heritage Cup has now officially been removed as a recognized current championship on the WWE website
The last holder was Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo, who had still been listed as champion until today despite the trophy being thrown off a bridge by Tony D’Angelo at the… pic.twitter.com/CNL77ZQsu4
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) June 3, 2026
New WWE Championship Announced At Backlash
All is not lost despite WWE retiring the NXT Heritage Cup Championship.
NXT talents, along with the main roster superstars, will have a chance to get their hands on a new championship when it is reportedly unveiled later in the year.
At the Backlash PLE last month, John Cena made a special appearance in Tampa, Florida, where he announced the John Cena Classic.
While he did not divulge much about the format of the event, he specified that it would involve superstars from NXT and the WWE main roster, pitting them against each other.
Cena revealed that he drew inspiration from December’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, where he competed in his final match. The event saw NXT talents like Je’von Evans, Sol Ruca, and Oba Femi leave a lasting impression on the company’s higher-ups.
The 17-time world champion further stated that fans would also get to participate in the John Cena Classic by voting for their favorite wrestlers.
As of this time, the exact date of the commencement of John Cena Classic is unknown. However, at one of the company’s Town Hall meetings, it was decided that the project would not take place immediately. Instead, some time in late 2026 was specualated for the event to make its TV debut.