5 Current WWE Superstars who changed character when promoted from NXT
NXT Superstars have been feeding WWE's main roster for almost a decade and in that time there have been many stars promoted following stints in developmental.
Some of the company's biggest Superstars and main Champions at present all made their first impact as part of NXT, but several managed to do this under a different name or as a different character.
Whilst the company is aware that the WWE Universe watches NXT, RAW, and SmackDown, much of the past decade has seen WWE act as though NXT doesn't exist outside of the main roster. This is why many characters are changed upon promotion.
The following list looks at just five times WWE Superstars were promoted from NXT with a different character compared to the one that they were seen as in developmental.
#5. Current WWE RAW Superstar Mia Yim/Reckoning
Mia Yim has been part of the wrestling business for more than a decade and before coming to WWE, Yim made a name for herself in IMPACT Wrestling. After being seen as one of the stand-out stars in the Mae Young Classic, Yim was signed to WWE back in 2018 and sent to NXT.
Whilst in NXT, Yim was seen as a popular character and portrayed a face, as she unsuccessfully challenged Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship back in 2019.
Despite becoming a known star within the company and appearing on the main roster in the build-up to Survivor Series, Yim was promoted in 2020 as a new character. As part of RETRIBUTION, Yim became known as Reckoning and was then switched to being a heel superstar.
Over the past few months, the former NXT Superstar has continued to be the only female wrestler in the group and has only wrestled a handful of matches, as WWE's creative team appears to be struggling with ideas for Yim.
There was even a point when Yim faked a seizure in the middle of a WWE ring on RAW and the official was so confused that he referred to her as Mia Yim. This isn't much of a surprise since the WWE Universe knows that it's still Yim underneath her face mask.
Yim isn't the only RETRIBUTION star who changed her name and character when she was promoted from NXT. T-Bar, Slapjack and Mace were known as Dominik Dijakovic, Shane Thorne and Dio Madden whilst part of developmental.