3 former NXT Champions who will win a WWE world title and 2 whose time has passed

Over the years, NXT has become somewhat of a third brand for WWE. The quality on show is incredible and it is constantly some of the best content on the WWE Network. There have been sixteen champions of the brand to this day, with most of them enjoying entertaining reigns. Thirteen of them have graced the main roster, with some of them soaring and some of them grounded.

Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor are all former Universal Champion, with former even winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 31. Most of the others have hardly been on the main roster for a couple of years and it remains to be seen just how far will each one go. Lower-card wrestlers like Bo Dallas and Robert Roode will likely not even come close to the world title scene in WWE, while Neville has left the company outright and Aleister Black has just begun his singles career on SmackDown.

That being said, here are three former NXT Champions who will win a world title in WWE and two whose time has already passed.

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#5 Drew McIntyre (Will)

He looks like money.

Since he re-emerged on the WWE main roster during last year's Superstar Shakeup, Drew McIntyre has been presented as one of the strongest heels in the entire company. However, he has not won a pay-per-view match in eight months. He is currently in the middle of the entire Shane McMahon mess and will likely be used to put over Kevin Owens en route to a likely SummerSlam match against The Best in the World.

Despite that, McIntyre's intense look and promo skills ensure that he remains in the upper echelons of WWE programming. Once the storyline with Shane O'Mac is over, the Scottish Psychopath must absolutely go for the WWE or Universal Championship. He has all the tools to become the top heel, or face, in WWE and hopefully, the company will allow him to soar.

Drew McIntyre really should become a world champion before WrestleMania 36. He certainly looks like one and acts like one, it is time for him to be one.

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura (Won't)

The IC champ may have reached his ceiling.

When Shinsuke Nakamura debuted on the SmackDown after WrestleMania 33, the reactions he was getting were electric. He was one of the biggest stars WWE had. The King of Strong Style was ready to show the world his expert skills, but was he? Nakamura's main roster run has been viewed as a disappointment, especially because of the lack of the strong style he showed in NJPW. He did show flashes of brilliance though.

Winning the 2018 Royal Rumble Match did not propel him to the heights that were expected by fans, with his WrestleMania match and subsequent series with AJ Styles not living up to expectations. Nakamura has seemed to take it easy in the States, after the agony he put his body through in Japan. His run had been mediocre until recently when he showed more flashes of his former self and captured the Intercontinental Championship from Finn Balor.

With a brand new title reign, Nakamura could still salvage his WWE main roster run. However, don't expect him to be in the running for the WWE Championship any time soon.

#3 Andrade (Will)

He is an absolute star.

Andrade's upward trajectory in NXT was brilliant, starting os a cocky babyface who was not accepted by fans before he moulded into the skilled genius who became NXT Champion. Alongside Zelina Vega, he became one of the hottest acts in the entire company. Andrade has been on the WWE main roster for a little over a year and while it hasn't always been smooth, there is clearly a lot of scope for the Mexican to become a huge star in the company.

Andrade had a couple of classic clashes against Rey Mysterio on SmackDown in January, even picking up a stunning win. His willingness to learn English will also come in handy, as WWE will be looking for a new Latino face for the company. Nobody has been able to replace Mysterio in that role, but Andrade looks like the man to do that. He is certainly an upgrade over Alberto Del Rio, who won four world titles in WWE.

Andrade's talent in the ring is among the very best in the industry and the entire act with Vega has raised his stock immensely, ever since his days at Full Sail.

#2 Samoa Joe (Won't)

Joe's record in world title matches speaks for itself.

This is an unfortunate one, primarily because Samoa Joe is so good at everything he does in a wrestling ring. Except winning. Following his WWE title match defeat to Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules, a bizarre stat came out which stated that Joe had lost all eight of his world title matches on the main roster. Extreme Rules seemed like the last gasp for the first ever 2-time NXT Champion, but it wasn't to be.

Joe is at risk of becoming like the old and stale Bray Wyatt by talking a big game and losing every single time. He really needs a world title reign at some point, but will it even matter any more after all the defeats? Joe is certainly someone who can make it matter, as he has done multiple times thanks to his incredible demeanour. He pretty much has everything required to be a top WWE Champion today but somehow, the company has never let him run with the ball.

At 40 years of age, one has to wonder just how long will Joe be doing this for. It seems like it is too late for him to win the gold, which would make him one of the biggest WWE superstars never to win a main roster world title.

#1 Big E (Will)

He has all the tools.

Big E is probably the most surprising name on the list, but he shouldn't be. He is currently one-half (or one-third) of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions and is having the time of his life with his brothers in the New Day. However, one must not forget the talent and charisma he possesses. When he burst onto the WWE scene in late 2012, it seemed like a guarantee that Big E (Langston) would become a world champion one day.

Despite some roadblocks along the way, the muscle of the New Day is at his best today. He constantly puts on excellent tag team matches, which would certainly translate to singles success for a charismatic big man like him. WWE somewhat flirted with the idea of having Big E in the main event scene on this past Raw, as he was part of the number one contender's Battle Royal for the Universal Championship.

He certainly has the look, the personality and the in-ring skills to become a fabulous WWE Champion. And hey, it's not like being in the New Day would stop him from being the Guy. Take a look at the current champion for reference.

How many of these forme NXT Champions will become WWE or Universal Champion some day?