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In September 2014, WWE published an in-depth roundtable discussion on its website with five of the company’s most promising up-and-coming Superstars: Kevin Steen, Sami Zayn, Fergal Devitt, KENTA and Adrian Neville.
The article, which referred to the former independent talents as “The NXT Five” and “the leaders of the new school”, focused on their journeys to get to WWE and how they see their careers panning out over the next few years.
At the time, Zayn and Neville had been on television for several months and were feuding over the NXT Championship, while Steen, Devitt and KENTA were recent high-profile arrivals and hadn’t yet debuted on NXT.
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Three months later, all five men were featured at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution, with Steen, Devitt and KENTA receiving new names (Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Hideo Itami), and Zayn defeated Neville to win the NXT Championship in one of the greatest matches in the brand’s history.
After that event, which is still considered to be one of the best TakeOvers ever, it was clear that the future of NXT and WWE was in very good hands – so what exactly happened to “The NXT Five” and why have their careers panned out so differently?
Four years on from the publication of the WWE.com article, let’s analyse what went right and wrong for all five men when they made it to the main roster.
Disclaimer: The grades are based on how the Superstars are perceived now compared to what was expected of them during their time in NXT.
#5 Kevin Owens
Key quote from WWE.com interview: “People think it will be hard for us to learn the WWE style but that’s the first style I knew how to do and then I had to adapt to the Ring of Honor style… The adaptation process isn’t going to be as strenuous as people think just because we’re from the indies.”
NXT career: Kevin Owens immediately made a statement in NXT, attacking Sami Zayn on the night of his debut at TakeOver: R Evolution. He was NXT champion within just two months, dismantling Zayn to win the title, and he had already been called up to the main roster by the time he lost the championship to Finn Balor in July 2015.
WWE career: Owens defeated John Cena on his WWE debut and he has since gone on to hold the Universal Championship (x1), Intercontinental Championship (x2) and United States Championship (x3). He has been involved in career-defining segments with Chris Jericho and Vince McMahon and he is one of WWE’s top bad guys.
WWE future: It was reported earlier in 2018 that KO has been rewarded for his impressive work with a new five-year deal, so we can expect to see him on WWE television until at least 2023, by which point he will be 39 years old.
Verdict: Owens gives every independent star hope that they can forge a successful career for themselves in WWE. The Canadian instantly took to the ‘WWE style’, as he mentioned he would in his 2014 interview, and it has obviously paid off. He is one of wrestling’s most believable performers, both in-ring and on the mic, and that's something that fans appreciate.
Grade: A
#4 Sami Zayn
Key quote from WWE.com interview: “Being an Arab and still being able to come out there and be myself and not have to wrap a turban around my head, that’s really cool. And that’s going to be part of the legacy of this generation of guys: We’re going to smash down many boundaries and preconceived notions.”
NXT career: Before Johnny Gargano, there was Sami Zayn – the never-say-die underdog whose year-long chase of the NXT Championship came to a victorious end in December 2014. His reign didn’t last long and an injury derailed his final year in NXT, but he received the perfect send-off against the debuting Shinsuke Nakamura in April 2016.
WWE career: Zayn suffered a long-term shoulder injury on his debut against John Cena and his WWE career didn’t really get started until he reignited his rivalry with Kevin Owens in 2016. The highlight of Zayn’s time on the main roster came in October 2017 when he turned heel and aligned with his bitter enemy.
WWE future: Right now, “The Underdog From The Underground” is sidelined with another shoulder injury and he isn’t expected back until 2019. When he returns, he will be looking to win his first title on the main roster.
Verdict: Fans have come to realise that, no matter how good NXT is, that long-term style of storytelling will not be replicated in WWE, and Zayn is the perfect example of that. The former NXT champ is one of the brand’s biggest legends but, despite some magnificent character work as a heel, he hasn’t received the main-roster chances that fans think he deserves.
Grade: B-
#3 Finn Balor
Key quote from WWE.com interview: “I was really just a boy [before NJPW] and I became a man in New Japan in eight years. It came to a point where I could stay the rest of my career there and have the security of a job or I could step into the great unknown that is WWE and challenge myself. And that’s what I decided to do.”
NXT career: Finn Balor’s 2015 award victories (Male Competitor of the Year and Overall Competitor of the Year) say it all. The Irishman is the longest-reigning NXT champion of all time (292 days) and he will always be known as one of the leading Superstars who helped the brand get to the next level just as it was taking off.
WWE career: Balor became the first Universal champion at SummerSlam 2016 but he was forced to relinquish the title due to a shoulder injury. Since returning in April 2017, his relative success on Raw – he is often in the main event – hasn’t transitioned to PPV, where he usually finds himself in non-title matches lower down the card.
WWE future: The future is bright for Balor. He still has lots to achieve in WWE but, at the age of 37, there is no reason why he cannot go on to become a multiple-time champion on Raw and SmackDown Live.
Verdict: Whether he’s the “Demon” or plain old Finn, Balor appeals to every section of the audience. Has he reached the level that fans hoped for when he was called up from NXT? Not quite, but he’s still only been on the main roster for a combined 18 months, so there’s plenty of time for titles and main events in the future.
Grade: A-
#2 Hideo Itami
Key quote from WWE.com interview: "Everything changed [leaving Japan]. I wanted more. I wanted to be famous. I wanted to prove to myself... When I started, I didn’t think about WWE, but my dream became bigger and bigger."
NXT career: After debuting in NXT in October 2014, Hideo Itami’s early success led to him competing in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31. However, he went on to miss 20 of the next 24 months due to injuries before ending his time in NXT with TakeOver losses against Bobby Roode and Aleister Black.
WWE career: Itami won two matches on Raw after his call-up to the main roster in December 2017. Since then, he has been exclusive to 205 Live – a show which gets fewer viewers than NXT on the WWE Network – and he is yet to win the Cruiserweight Championship.
WWE future: Itami recently competed in a one-off match for Japanese promotion NOAH and there is often speculation that he could permanently return to Japan. WWE even used the rumours in a storyline in 2017, with Itami insisting he “worked too hard to get here” to leave America already.
Verdict: There was a huge buzz around Itami, then known as KENTA, signing with WWE – so much so that Hulk Hogan flew all the way to Japan to be the ‘contract officiator’ in the deal. Needless to say, his current role on 205 Live isn’t how anybody imagined he would be used on WWE television after his high-profile signing.
Grade: D
#1 Neville
Key quote from WWE.com interview: “I didn’t really have an interest in getting signed by WWE earlier in my career. If I did have the opportunity to come here, I wanted it to be later when I was a more traveled, well-versed performer. Honestly, with my body type and my style, I never really expected to be here. The fact that I’m here alongside these guys is kind of mind-blowing.”
NXT career: Neville was one of the most exciting Superstars to watch during NXT’s early days. The Brit won the NXT Championship from Bo Dallas at the first TakeOver special, TakeOver: Arrival, in February 2014 and he held the title for 287 days during a time when the brand was starting to build a die-hard fanbase.
WWE career: “The Man That Gravity Forgot” was involved in several mid-card storylines during his first 18 months on the main roster. He then turned heel and had a memorable run as “The King of the Cruiserweights”, which ended when he walked out of the company before Raw in October 2017.
WWE future: Triple H recently praised Neville as “one of the most talented guys in the world” and, with regards to his future, said “time will tell where that ends up”. Days later, with no official announcement from WWE, he was added to the ‘alumni’ section of WWE.com.
Verdict: Reading what Neville said to WWE.com in 2014, you have to question whether the fame and everything that went with being a WWE Superstar happened a little too much, too soon for him. The 32-year-old, in many people’s eyes, was the standout member of “The NXT Five”, so everyone is hoping that he returns to the ring one day.
Grade: C
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