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NXT came into being around a decade ago and was initially presented as a talent hunt contest similar to WWE Tough Enough. WWE later turned it into a developmental brand, and it gave us some of the biggest Superstars of today over the next several years. WWE greats like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Becky Lynch, and many more are products of NXT.
Over the past year or so, NXT has turned into a major third brand, and many compare it to RAW and SmackDown. Last year at Survivor Series, NXT dominated the tri-brand matches and hammered the point down that it was a legit brand deserving of respect. We have seen a bunch of WWE Superstars making their way back to NXT, in the recent past. In this list, we will take a look at three WWE Superstars who went back to NXT, and two who should go back.
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#5 Ember Moon (went back to NXT)
Immediately after WrestleMania 34 in 2018, Ember Moon was promoted to the main roster and she made an impressive debut by teaming up with Nia Jax in a winning effort against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. Unfortunately, she didn't do anything of note over the next several months. Moon suffered an ankle injury last year and had been out of action for a long time. She made her surprise return to NXT at the TakeOver: 31 event. Here's what she had to say about her NXT return.
“When learned I was headed to NXT, the whole motorcycle package was an idea I had after watching an action movie called Hardcore Henry. The NXT creative team is absolutely amazing, and they got this massive set for me. I wanted elements of The Masked Singer so we could have clues to keep people guessing.
Moon is a former NXT Women's Champion and it's safe to say that the most successful stint of her career came in the Black and Gold brand. She lost the belt to Shayna Baszler at TakeOver: New Orleans in April 2018, mere days before her main roster move.
#4 Ricochet (should go back to NXT)
Ricochet did the best work of his WWE career while he was in NXT, and wowed the fans with his high-flying moves and agility. He is a former NXT North American Champion, a title that he won by defeating Adam Cole at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. Ricochet left NXT in early 2019 and has been a part of the roster ever since. Ricochet won the United States title at one point, but that's the extent of his success out of NXT.
He also challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE title at Super ShowDown earlier this year, in what was a quick outing. Ever since then, Ricochet's star has been fizzling out with each passing week.
He is currently on RAW but is also a mainstay on WWE Main Event. Ricochet has been criticized for his lack of mic-skills, and maybe it wouldn't hurt him to have another brief stint in NXT and polish his speaking skills in the process. Either Ricochet needs to go back or get a makeover like Mustafa Ali did. If not, the future doesn't look too promising for the high-flyer.
#3 Shane Thorne (went back to NXT)
Fans might remember that Shane Thorne had a short stint on the main roster earlier this year. He made his WWE RAW debut back in March and teamed up with Brendan Vink against The Street Profits. The duo lost the match and went on to create an alliance with WWE veteran MVP. This association, unfortunately, didn't last long and MVP is currently a member of The Hurt Business on RAW. Soon after, the tag team stopped appearing on the Red brand, and we learned later that Thorne had been moved back to NXT.
In NXT, Thorne competed in a single match, against Bronson Reed. After this loss, he donned the persona of Slapjack and joined RETRIBUTION on WWE RAW. Slapjack has been a mainstay on the Red brand ever since.
He recently lost a US title match to Bobby Lashley at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. His NXT return certainly didn't last long, and here's hoping that he does something of note in the near future, as a part of RETRIBUTION.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura (should go back to NXT)
Shinsuke Nakamura is one of those unfortunate NXT wrestlers who moved to the main roster and weren't handled properly. Much like Finn Balor, Nakamura was successful in NXT, and even won the brand's title on two occasions. Nakamura won the 2018 Royal Rumble match and it looked like he would replicate his NXT success on the main roster. At WrestleMania 34, Nakamura lost the WWE title match to AJ Styles and failed to win the belt over the next few attempts.
Nakamura went back to being a mid-card act and is currently doing nothing of worth on the Blue brand. Shinsuke Nakamura will certainly benefit from moving back to NXT, and even WWE EVP Triple H thinks so.
He could finish off his career having quality matches in NXT, or he could have a short stint in the Black and Gold brand and return to the main roster in case WWE feels that they could use him in major angles. Currently, Nakamura's run on SmackDown isn't doing much for the fans and he has become an afterthought.
#1 Finn Balor (went back to NXT)
Finn Balor was incredibly successful in the Black and Gold brand and had won the NXT title on one occasion, before his move to the main roster in 2016. He continued impressing upon his move and soon became the first-ever Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Unfortunately, Balor had to vacate the belt due to an injury he suffered during the match. Balor held his own for the next few years until he met The Fiend on the road to SummerSlam 2019.
Balor lost to The Fiend at The Biggest Party of the Summer and went on a short hiatus. He then appeared on NXT and proceeded to attack Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Balor recently defeated Adam Cole to win the vacant NXT title belt, thus kicking off his second reign with the title.
He went on to successfully defend the belt against The Undisputed Era member Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver: 31. There's no telling whether Balor will ever return to RAW or SmackDown, but fans would want nothing but to see it happen somewhere down the line.
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