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NXT is WWE’s developmental territory and is run by the current WWE CEO Paul Levesque (Triple H). Almost every new WWE recruit has to spend some time, at least a few months, in NXT so that they could become ready for the main roster.
Over the past few years, NXT has evolved a lot. Many people consider NXT as a brand of its own. NXT has put on some amazing shows in the past couple of years and the NXT pay per views (NXT Takeovers) are considered to be better than the main roster pay per views following them.
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While Main Roster’s last 5-star match (On Dave Meltzer’s scale) took place 7 years ago, NXT has put on three 5-star matches this year alone. NXT has been a home to several new Superstars, both newcomers and known Indie Sensations. Over the past 6 years, 14 superstars have held the NXT Championship, out of which 2 are still in NXT.
While some former Champions like Bobby Roode, Finn Balor etc. failed to make an impact on the main roster, others managed to succeed. Here, we will discuss 6 former NXT Champions who succeeded on the Main Roster.
#6 Big E
Big E defeated Seth Rollins in 2013 to become the 2nd NXT Champion. Big E made his main roster debut in December 2012 while he was still a part of NXT. Big E formed an alliance with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee.
After Ziggler left the alliance, Big E and AJ Lee continued to team up for some time. After that, Big E turned face and won the Intercontinental Championship from Curtis Axel and went on to hold the title for a few months.
After losing his Intercontinental Title and feuding with various Superstars in 2014, Big E formed a stable with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, called The New Day. Since 2014. New Day has won the Tag Team Championships on 5 different occasions.
The New Day also holds the record for the longest reign as World Tag Team Champions, with a reign of 483 days. The team has been around since 2014, making it one of the longest lasting trios of the modern era, and is showing no signs of breaking up. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are also the current Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions, in their 3rd reign.
#5 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre was released from WWE in 2014. McIntyre then worked for various Independent Wrestling promotions and achieved success in a short amount of time. McIntyre was rehired by WWE in 2017.
He made his WWE return by joining NXT where he became the NXT World Champion within 4 months. McIntyre then lost his World Title to Andrade "Cien" Almas in November and took some time off due to an injury.
McIntyre made his return from injury on the Raw Brand during the Superstar Shakeup where he aligned himself with Dolph Ziggler. Ever since arriving on the main roster, McIntyre has been booked as a monster. McIntyre has gone toe to toe with the likes of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman.
McIntyre is rumoured to break out as one of the top heels of the Raw brand soon. If that does end up happening, expect a successful future for the Scottish Psychopath.
#4 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe joined WWE in 2015 and made his debut on NXT. After failing to capture the NXT Title from Finn Balor, Samoa Joe turned heel and eventually won the NXT Title in April 2016 at a Live Event. Samoa Joe also became the first superstar to win the NXT title 2 times, when he regained his title from Shinsuke Nakamura. After losing the title, once again to Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe was called up to the main roster in early 2017.
Samoa Joe made a huge impact on his first night on the main roster as he brutally attacked Seth Rollins while Seth was about to confront Triple H.
Samoa Joe had an impressive 2017 where he defeated Superstars like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor etc. and also feuded with Brock Lesnar for 2 months. Samoa Joe is currently feuding with AJ Styles for the WWE title and many people predict that he would be the one to dethrone the Phenomenal One to become the new WWE Champion.
#3 Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens made his WWE debut at NXT Takeover: R Evolution in December 2014 by attacking the newly crowned NXT Champion and his longtime best friend Sami Zayn. 2 months later, Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn by referee stoppage to win the NXT Championship. During his reign as the NXT Champion, Kevin was called up to the main roster.
He confronted and attacked John Cena on his first night on the main roster and went on to defeat him at Elimination Chamber 2015 in a Champion vs. Champion match. Kevin Owens lost his Championship to Finn Balor in July.
It’s been 3 years since Kevin Owens arrived on the main roster and since his arrival, he has won the Intercontinental Title 2 times, the United States Title 3 times and the Universal Title 1 time. Kevin Owens is just one title away from becoming a Grand Slam Champion.
2018 hasn’t been a good year for Kevin Owens so far as in just 8 months, he has lost a lot of meaningful matches. Kevin Owens recently “quit” WWE (Story-line) but things will definitely change for the better when he makes his return.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura made his WWE debut in 2016 by defeating Sami Zayn at NXT Takeover: Dallas. Shinsuke then defeated Finn Balor and entered the NXT title picture in the same year. Shinsuke defeated Samoa Joe to win the title and also became the second Superstar to become a 2-time NXT World Champion when he regained his NXT Championship from Samoa Joe. Shinsuke finally lost his NXT title to Bobby Roode in 2017 and was called up to the main roster where he became a part of the Smackdown Live roster.
Shinsuke struggled on the main roster in 2017 and failed to win the Money in the Bank ladder match and the WWE Championship on 2 different occasions. Nakamura then had a career resurrection and went on to win the Royal Rumble match of 2018.
Shinsuke then feuded with AJ Styles for the WWE title for almost 4 months and even turned heel during the feud. After being unsuccessful in winning the WWE title, Shinsuke managed to defeat Jeff Hardy to become the new (and current) United States Champion at Extreme Rules.
#1 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins made history in 2012 when he won a tournament to become the first ever NXT Champion. Seth Rollins then remained as the NXT Champion for the rest of 2012, before losing the title to Big E in 2013.
While Seth Rollins was enjoying his reign as the NXT World Champion, he also made his main roster debut at Survivor Series 2012 as a part of “The Shield” along with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. The Shield became one of the most dominant and successful stables of the modern era.
Seth Rollins turned on his Shield brothers in 2014 to join the Authority. Seth Rollins found huge success as a singles superstar. Since arriving on the main roster in 2012, Seth has won the Tag Team Championships, Intercontinental Championship, and the WWE Championship 2 times each and the United States Championship 1 time.
Seth Rollins became a Grand Slam Champion this year at Wrestlemania 34. Seth Rollins is, without a doubt, one of the top Superstars in WWE today and the future looks even brighter for him.
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