3 former NXT champions who have not won a championship on the main roster
NXT is WWE’s development territory where the new signings of the company train before debuting in front of a larger audience on the main roster. WWE introduced a championship exclusive to the development brand with the name “NXT Championship” in 2012.
Several present main roster stars had a title reign with the NXT title before they appeared on RAW or SmackDown Live. In its 6-year-old history, the NXT Championship has been held by 14 superstars, with Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura having 2 title reigns each with the championship.
The NXT Champions are destined to win gold sooner rather than later on the main roster, but 5 of the 14 superstars have not won a main roster title. While 2 out of the 5 (Aleister Black and Tommaso Ciampa) have not made it to the main roster yet, here are 3 former NXT champions who have failed to win championships on the main roster.
#3 Andrade 'Cien' Almas
The Mexican superstar, Andrade Cien Almas made his debut on the main roster when he was the NXT champion in the 2018 Royal Rumble match. However, after that one-off appearance, El Idolo became a part of SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shake-up in 2018.
Almas has since then battled the likes of WWE Champion AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, R Truth, Sin Cara, and Rusev. He has earned the respect of Vince McMahon with his in-ring work and is in line for a push.
El Idolo hasn’t yet had a championship match on the main roster, but adding the excellent wrestling skills possessed by him with the fantastic mic work of his business manager Zelina Vega, the duo will reign supreme on the main roster just like they did in NXT.