5 Best NXT call-ups to the WWE main roster 

Say what you want about the music and gear change for Keith Lee. The WWE Universe has certainly given their opinion on the subject. Regardless, WWE has sent the Limitless One straight to the top. Though his first match on RAW ended in a DQ, the former NXT Double Champion managed to defeat Randy Orton clean in the middle of the ring with a thunderous Spirit Bomb.

While @RandyOrton wants respect, @RealKeithLee reminds him to 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙮. #WWEPayback pic.twitter.com/hmNCkySIST

— WWE (@WWE) August 31, 2020

Lee has now knocked off the top heel in WWE. It's not known where he'll go from here, but clearly, there's a lot of faith behind him. Many times, WWE have brought NXT Superstars up to RAW or SmackDown with little or no plan of what to do with them. However, sometimes WWE surprises its fanbase and turns someone into a star in their first night on the main roster.

Had Keith Lee's first official match ended in him pinning Orton, he'd be on this list. Unfortunately, that DQ knocked him down a few spots. However, we are starting with someone who started their main roster run off with a loss. It's not always about the end result. Our first entry on the list proves that sometimes, even in a loss, a Superstar can be made.

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#5 Sami Zayn challenges WWE US Champion John Cena (2015)

Sami Zayn and John Cena

What could've been, huh? Sadly, this was the moment that Sami Zayn injured himself and cut short his feud with Kevin Owens over the NXT Championship. Still, it was incredible, as was basically every match involving the WWE United States Open Challenge when John Cena held that title.

It's been many years now, but Cena put on some bangers against the greatest workhorses in WWE for months and months on end. One of the better bouts was, of course, against Sami Zayn.

It started, out, of course, with WWE Hall of Famer and Montreal's favorite son, Bret Hart, introducing Sami Zayn to the WWE Universe. Of course, the fans were well acquainted with Zayn and exploded when his music hit.

Zayn injured his shoulder before the match, and yet put on a breathtaking performance, bringing the WWE Universe along for a fantastic ride. Many times throughout the title bout, it looked as if Zayn was going to capture the United States Championship.

Ultimately, of course, Cena would overcome Zayn, but not before putting Zayn over in a big way. A highly competitive match, with the Face of WWE taking all of your best offense, and you even manage to kick out of an AA on your first night on RAW.

Without a doubt, this was one of the greatest call-ups from NXT that WWE has ever seen.

#4 Inaugural WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor makes a run (2016)

Finn Balor shoots to the top of Monday Night RAW

There are very few debuts that topped what Finn Balor was able to do when he showed up for WWE Monday Night RAW on August 15th, 2016. Then the longest-reigning NXT Champion, Balor was immediately placed into the top of the card.

There was no squash match against a local competitor. There weren't weeks or months of build giving fans time to learn who he was. Finn Balor was a big deal in WWE from day one. He was drafted to RAW a few weeks before his debut at the #5 spot and claimed that he deserved to be #1. Just as his NXT debut was, the night Finn Balor was brought out to Monday Night RAW was a huge affair.

WWE was about to crown its first-ever Universal Champion. So what would they do? Of course, it would be a tournament, with the two finalists meeting at SummerSlam. First, he had to win a Fatal-4-Way against Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Rusev.

As if that wasn't tough enough, he took on Roman Reigns, who had also won a Fatal-4-Way to advance, and managed to defeat The Big Dog with the Coup de Grace. All of that, mind you, was on the same night.

Finn Balor went onto SummerSlam to be crowned the inaugural WWE Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins. In his first few matches, Balor knocked off two members of The Shield, and Kevin Owens, the man who would later become the second Universal Champion.

That is an incredible short string of matches. If it weren't for the injury he suffered at SummerSlam, who knows how long Balor would've held the Big Red Belt? WWE saw Finn Balor as a star from day one, and this proved it.

#3 Paige dethrones the WWE Divas Champion (2014)

Very few WWE Superstars have won a championship on their first night on the main roster

Keith Lee was the first WWE Superstar to hold both the NXT and North American Championships at the same time. Adam Cole was the first actual NXT Champ-Champ, holding both the North American Championship and NXT Tag Team Championship.

However, the third entry on our list was the first WWE Superstar to hold titles on both NXT and the main roster. Paige was light years ahead of her time. The then NXT Champion had a bright future ahead of her, as WWE made her the first woman to ever hold the belt, signifying that there were big things in store for her.

Clearly, that was the case, as she debuted on RAW on April 7th, 2014, and defeated AJ Lee to capture the WWE Divas Championship. It was such a special moment for her career that it even appeared in the movie based on Paige's life, "Wrestling With My Family."

Paige started the night off, congratulating AJ Lee for her performance at WrestleMania the previous night. Lee, not caring about her opinions, became insulted and decided to make an example out of her that night. Paige claimed she wasn't ready for a WWE Divas Championship opportunity.

However, that couldn't have been further from the truth. Paige ended AJ Lee's 255-day long reign with a Paige Turner, shocking the WWE Universe and leaving her first night on RAW with a new title in tow.

#2 The poster boy of WWE crushed by Kevin Owens (2015)

Kevin Owens leaves John Cena laying on RAW

Talk about making a statement, huh? Months into his incredible reign as WWE United States Champion after knocking off Rusev at WrestleMania 31, John Cena was issuing weekly challenges. Any Superstar that felt they could defeat the multi-time WWE Champion was able to come down to the ring to prove it.

Dean Ambrose, Neville, Cessaro, Bad News Barrett, and more all put up valiant efforts against Big Match John but just couldn't put him away. Cena went on a pretty incredible run in WWE at that time. That is until he came face to face with The Prize Fighter.

The new NXT Champion emerged from the back with his title in hand, looking to prove a point to John Cena and the WWE Universe. After brutally destroying his former friend Sami Zayn for the title, Kevin Owens came to RAW to step up to the big man on campus.

Owens wasn't there to challenge Cena that night, but made an emphatic statement by planting him with the Pop-Up Powerbomb before stomping on Cena's title, raising the WWE NXT Championship overhead.

Following that, Owens' first match on the main roster saw him defeat Cena at Elimination Chamber. After that, he delivered a promo addressed to Cena and any members of the WWE Universe who hadn't known his name up until that point.

Kevin Owens was here to stay, and since then has become one of the most decorated members of the entire WWE roster. A prize fighter indeed.

#1 The landscape of WWE is forever changed by The Shield (2012)

The Shield

This is one that, simply, can never be topped. How can you beat the debut that brought about a brand new era to the world of WWE? The Shield, now, hold two top championships in two separate companies in Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) and Jon Moxley (AEW Champion) with Seth Rollins a multi-time world champion in his own right.

In fact, all three men have held the prestigious WWE Championship before. Their careers have gone so well that they're considered the greatest WWE faction of all time by many. It's not hard to see why either.

So let's go back to that fateful night where the trio first appeared. CM Punk was WWE Champion, and Ryback and John Cena were looking to dethrone him. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and then NXT Champion Seth Rollins joined forces to lay out Punk's challengers at Survivor Series 2012. The Shield were responsible for assisting Punk in having one of the lengthiest WWE Championship runs in the company's history.

Going forward, they would have an undefeated streak that would last for six months, eventually seeing them capturing the WWE Tag Team and United States Championships. The rest is history. All three men have forged their own paths and proven to be top draws and main eventers in professional wrestling.

It's hard to deny the importance of their first night on the main roster, as that showing of dominance was only a preview of things to come for the next eight years.