3 former NXT champions who have not won a championship on the main roster

Former NXT champions Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe
Former NXT champions Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe

NXT is WWE’s development territory where the new signings of the company train before debuting in front of a larger audience on the main roster. WWE introduced a championship exclusive to the development brand with the name “NXT Championship” in 2012.

Several present main roster stars had a title reign with the NXT title before they appeared on RAW or SmackDown Live. In its 6-year-old history, the NXT Championship has been held by 14 superstars, with Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura having 2 title reigns each with the championship.

The NXT Champions are destined to win gold sooner rather than later on the main roster, but 5 of the 14 superstars have not won a main roster title. While 2 out of the 5 (Aleister Black and Tommaso Ciampa) have not made it to the main roster yet, here are 3 former NXT champions who have failed to win championships on the main roster.


#3 Andrade 'Cien' Almas

Andrade 'Cien' Almas performs on the blue brand
Andrade 'Cien' Almas performs on the blue brand

The Mexican superstar, Andrade Cien Almas made his debut on the main roster when he was the NXT champion in the 2018 Royal Rumble match. However, after that one-off appearance, El Idolo became a part of SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shake-up in 2018.

Almas has since then battled the likes of WWE Champion AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, R Truth, Sin Cara, and Rusev. He has earned the respect of Vince McMahon with his in-ring work and is in line for a push.

El Idolo hasn’t yet had a championship match on the main roster, but adding the excellent wrestling skills possessed by him with the fantastic mic work of his business manager Zelina Vega, the duo will reign supreme on the main roster just like they did in NXT.

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#2 Samoa Joe

Joe had an epic rivalry with AJ Styles but failed to capture the WWE Championship
Joe had an epic rivalry with AJ Styles but failed to capture the WWE Championship

The Samoan Submission Machine is one of the few superstars to have defeated Roman Reigns when he did so in his match on the main roster.

Joe was then involved in a rivalry with Sami Zayn and then won a fatal 5 way Extreme Rules match to become the #1 contender for Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship. He had an enthralling feud with The Beast as he pushed The Conqueror to his limit during their match at Great Balls of Fire.

Samoa Joe failed to win the Universal Championship but established himself as one of the top stars on the red brand. However, he could not perform at WrestleMania due to an injury.

He shifted to SmackDown Live after WM 34 and soon ignited quite a personal rivalry with The Phenomenal AJ Styles. It seemed like Samoa Joe would be the man to end AJ's record-breaking reign, but he failed despite trying three times.

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#1 Sami Zayn

The Canadian is currently sidelined due to an injury
The Canadian is currently sidelined due to an injury

The WWE Creative had constantly ignored The Underdog From The Underground. Though he emerged victorious from his feud with Kevin Owens before the brand extension, yet KO has won the Universal Championship and US Championship since then, but Sami has not had a single title reign.

Zayn earned an opportunity to win the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series 2016, but The Miz and Maryse screwed him.

At Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in 2017, Sami turned heel and aligned himself with Kevin Owens to kick-off a feud with Shane McMahon. The duo of Sami and Kevin even earned themselves a 2-on-1 handicap WWE Championship match against AJ Styles at Royal Rumble, but failed to win the title.

Next, Zayn failed to win the title in a six-pack challenge at Fastlane, before losing to Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon at WM 34. Though Sami has come close to winning championships, he hasn’t won a single one yet. With his injury keeping him away from WWE TV, chances are low we will see Zayn holding a title soon.

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