New champions alter WWE landscape while NXT newcomer makes his presence known with authority

WWE will enter this week with new champions and an NXT wrestler who put himself into prime position for some gold right off the bat.

"Friday Night SmackDown" saw two title changes occur. Jacy Jayne captured the Women’s United States Championship in a match against Tiffany Stratton, adding to Fatal Influence’s chokehold on the roster as Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley are already the WWE women’s tag team champions.

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Jacy Jayne celebrates winning the WWE Women's United States Championship with Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid during SmackDown at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 14, 2026. (WWE via Getty Images)

Additionally, Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga won the WWE Tag Team Championship in a triple-threat match, knocking off Damian Priest and R-Truth as the title-holders and keeping Erik and Ivar from adding more gold around their waists. MFT definitely have a new feel to them since Haku returned and took over as their manager.

The WWE title landscape is poised to change even further if Rey Mysterio and his fellow Luchadores and Kevin Owens have anything to say about it.

Mysterio will challenge Chad Gable for the WWE Intercontinental Championship on "Monday Night Raw," while the tournament to see who will challenge Roman Reigns for his World Heavyweight Championship continues with Dragon Lee taking on El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rey Fenix taking on El Fiscal. Penta and LA Parka have already moved on to the semifinals.

Talla Tonga and Tama Tonga celebrate their win with Haku during SmackDown at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 14, 2026. (WWE via Getty Images)

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Owens will challenge CM Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship on Friday. Owens became the No. 1 contender after his win in a fatal four-way match at SummerSlam. He and Punk exchanged words in a heated promo last week and seemed to be poised to tear each other apart.

Those competitors are far from the only ones in search of gold.

In NXT, champion Tony D’Angelo has his hands full.

Grayson Waller and Cruz Montana were vying for the No. 1 contender spot for D’Angelo’s title on Tuesday night when Zilla Fatu debuted and took out both of them. Fatu is the latest marquee signing in WWE. He will certainly have questions to answer this week.

Zilla Fatu stands over Cruz Montana and Grayson Waller during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 11, 2026. (WWE via Getty Images)

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The heat on the reigning champions is certainly on as Sunday Night’s Main Event and Night of Champions inch closer.