5 Great Wrestlemania moments from NXT alumni
Tonight, WrestleMania Weekend kicks off in full with the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and the company will present action throughout Saturday and Sunday at its Axxess fan festival.
For folks not in the city of New Orleans, though, and its surrounding areas, the in-ring action for the biggest weekend of WWE's year doesn't kick off until Saturday night, when NXT tries to raise the bar yet again with its third pre-WrestleMania TakeOver special.
When the company's main, full-time roster takes the stage at the Superdome on Sunday, over a dozen competitors (not counting the entrants in the men's and women's battle royals) will be superstars who made their way through the ranks of WWE's Orlando-based brand to hone their craft before a main roster debut.
Here are five of those NXT alumni whose stars have shone brightest on the WrestleMania stage.
#5. Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX
Anytime you discuss Bray Wyatt and WrestleMania, you have to note that the bayou enigma is completely winless at the event, having dropped matches to John Cena, The Undertaker, and Wyatt Family sleeper agent Randy Orton.
That said, Wyatt's debut at the Showcase of the Immortals was a sight (and sound) to behold, as he held all of New Orleans in a trance from the moment Mark Crozer and The Rels hit the first strains of "Live in Fear".
In a match where Wyatt goaded Cena to embrace his dark side and lash out in anger, Wyatt taunted the Doctor of Thuganomics with a chorus of 70,000 strong singing the children's hymn, "He's Got the Whole World In His Hand".
Wyatt may have come away with the loss, but an unusual, artistic, and risky gimmick transferring to a massive stage in the best way possible has to be considered somewhat of a win.