The title was introduced by NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes said that there would be a "Gold Rush" tournament that would feature 4 developmental roster NXT Superstars and 4 main roster WWE Superstars and that they would compete to be crowned as the inaugural NXT Champion. Seth Rollins became the first champion after he defeated Jinder Mahal in the final round. At in November 2016, Samoa Joe became the first wrestler to win the championship twice.