3 times WWE superstars were forced to vacate the NXT Championship

Over the years many top WWE Superstars have held the NXT Championship, with the belt being a stepping stone before they move up to the main roster.

Earlier this week it seemed as though the current holder of the belt, Ilja Dragunov, picked up an injury at an NXT taping. However, according to recent reports the injury is part of a story meaning the gold will stay around his waist for now.

Whilst Dragunov remains the champ, some performers have not been so lucky, join us as we take a look at 3 superstars who had to vacate the NXT title.

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#3 - Time caught up with Karrion Kross in WWE

One performer who arrived in NXT in 2020 was Karrion Kross, who immediately looked to capture the show's biggest prize.

He would achieve this at NXT Takeover XXX where he defeated Keith Lee. His moment would be overshadowed however, as he would have to give up the gold due to injury just a few days later.

Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Karrion Kross detailed how the injury derailed not only his momentum in the WWE but out of it as well.

"The injury itself and being taken completely off course was absolutely devastating as you could imagine. It’s my life’s work,” said Kross. “The perception is that I was in NXT for a short period of time and found all this success. But people don’t take into consideration that it’s been many many many years that I put into this craft in order to get that one night. NXT TakeOver XXX at the time, to get in the ring, and compete for that belt, I put everything into that moment so to have that all derailed so randomly in a freak accident it was brutal but like anything in life when you’re dealing with a very serious traumatic situation you gotta pick yourself up." (H/T Fightful)

Kross would battle back to the title a year later as he took the gold off of Finn Balor at NXT Stand & Deliver in April 2021.

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#2 - Ciampa had to say goodbye to goldie

When you think of NXT, names like Sami Zayn, Bayley, and Finn Balor certainly come to mind. However, one WWE star who arguably gave more to the brand than anyone else was Tommaso Ciampa.

The 38-year-old started at the bottom of the show's card without the fanfare and grinded his way to the main event scene.

His hard work paid off in 2018 when he beat Aleister Black to become the new NXT Champion. His time as champion would not end on his terms though as he had to give up the gold after 238 days, due to a series of neck injuries that required surgery.

Speaking to WWE.com in 2018, Ciampa's longtime friend as well as rival Johnny Gargano said that he felt heartbroken for Tommaso after his former tag team partner gave up the gold.

"It breaks my heart for a lot of different reasons. Some could say that everything I’ve done for the past year was for the sole purpose of getting another chance at Tommaso Ciampa and that NXT Championship." (H/T 411Mania)

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#1 - Samoa Joe ends his historic reign

Whilst many top WWE names like Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Bron Breakker have held the NXT Championship twice, only one star can call themselves a 3-time champ, and that man is Samoa Joe.

The powerhouse returned to WWE's black and gold brand in June 2021 as he looked to revitalise his in-ring career. It did not take long for him to establish his dominance as he won the gold off of Karrion Kross at Takeover 36.

Joe would only hold the gold for 3 weeks, however, he did not give up the belt due to injury but rather to a more unique set of circumstances. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Joe gave full details behind the company stripping him of the NXT Championship.

"I popped for COVID. You know, at the time, it was over the weekend. My wife was making stew and I couldn’t smell it. She said, ‘Wow, doesn’t that smell great?’ I went, ‘No’ and then I tested positive I think on Saturday and by then, Vince (McMahon) had really wanted to go in a different direction with NXT and he really wanted to have the new opening of NXT 2.0 kind of be with a bang and I agreed with him. I said, ‘Listen, if that’s the case, then you know, this is probably what’s best for what your vision is for what you want for this product." (H/T Post Wrestling)

Samoa Joe's title win against Kross would go on to be his final match both in NXT and in the WWE.