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2) Former NXT Champion Aleister Black
Aleister Black was yet another superstar who came into NXT with a great deal of hype and buzz. He was given a cool entrance and music as well as a dark, mysterious character that intrigued the fanbase. Black went on a lengthy undefeated streak and worked his way up the ranks. He had quality bouts with Hideo Itami, Velveteen Dream and Andrade Cien Almas.
This would all culminate for Black when he defeated Almas once again at TakeOver: New Orleans to win the NXT Championship. This truly felt like a triumphant moment for Aleister, but it was short lived. Unfortunately for Black, he won the title on the night of the first classic between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
2018 NXT was dominated by the saga of DIY and Black became its biggest victim. Gargano's desire to prevent Ciampa from winning the NXT Championship led to him inadvertently helping his former best friend win. Ahead of WrestleMania 35, Aleister Black was called up to the main roster in a new tag team with Ricochet. The two men won the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as well.
Following a loss at Mania, Black and Ricochet split with the two men going to separate brands. Black spent months in a room waiting for a challenge. He had an entertaining contest against Cesaro and a fun series against Buddy Murphy. Aleister Black's future in WWE seemed to be bright with vignettes this past summer, but he was released on June 2nd.
1) Former NXT Champion Keith Lee
Overcoming adversity is a sign of a future legend in many ways. Keith Lee had to overcome obstacle after obstacle during his time in WWE. Lee signed to NXT in 2018 and had to bide his time while the roster was filled with the top workers in the world like Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Ricochet. The fall of 2019 changed his fortune.
Keith Lee stood out during the NXT invasion of the main roster in the leadup to Survivor Series 2019. In the five-on-five traditional elimination contest, Keith Lee outlasted the rest of Team NXT and went toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns before coming up short. He followed that up with a memorable exchange with Brock Lesnar in the 2020 Royal Rumble Match.
These moments led to a bigger push for Lee on NXT. He defeated Roderick Strong to win the North American Championship in January 2020. Keith Lee scored victories over Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano and Dominik Dijakovic during this reign. He then picked up the biggest win of his career when the Limitless One defeated Adam Cole to win the NXT Championship.
This win made Keith Lee the first man to hold both the NXT and North American Championships at the same time. Following losing the gold to Karrion Kross, Lee was called up to Raw. He defeated Randy Orton in his first pay-per-view, but this didn't lead to more success. Lee was lost in the shuffle after this and would battle COVID as well as heart inflammation in 2021.
Keith Lee returned in July and lost to WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. He also traded wins with Karrion Kross before becoming Keith "Bearcat" Lee. This rebrand failed when Lee was released on November 4th. Keith Lee has everything someone would want in a main event talent and proved that by becoming NXT Champion, but WWE just could never capitalize on that fully.
