5 Superstars who debuted on the main roster while being Champion in NXT
In two weeks, WWE NXT will debut live on the USA Network. It was announced a few days ago that the first two episodes of NXT Live, September 18 and 25, will air both on the USA and WWE Network.
The first hour of the show will be aired on the USA Network while the second hour will be available on the WWE Network. NXT moving to Cable TV is very big news and it is going to be interesting to see how the debut episodes perform on the USA Network, following this announcement.
For a long time, NXT has served as 'feeder' system for WWE's main roster shows, i.e, RAW and SmackDown. But over the past few years, there have numerous instances of NXT Superstars who were at the top of their game in the Black and Gold brand being criminally underutilized on the main roster.
Names like Asuka, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, and Bayley, who were at one point touted to be the next big thing during their time in NXT, ended up being just another face on the main roster.
However, there have also been instances of NXT Superstars making a huge splash on the main roster. From Baron Corbin winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale at WrestleMania to Paige becoming the Divas Champion in her debut match, these Superstars have in a way made NXT reach out to a wider audience. Their instant success made people take notice of the black and yellow brand.
Here are five Superstars who appeared on the main roster whilst still being champion in NXT.
#5 Paige (NXT Women's Champion)
To this date, Paige is the only Superstar to have held titles both in NXT and on the main roster, at the same time. The Brit debuted on the main roster on the RAW after WrestleMania 30 where she defeated AJ Lee to become the Divas Champion.
Paige became one of the youngest champions in WWE history at that point, at the age of 21. Paige's Divas Championship meant that she had to relinquish the NXT Women's Championship.
Paige's feud with AJ Lee was one of the catalysts for what was to become the Women's Evolution. The duo had several high-profile TV and pay-per-view matches which caught the attention of the WWE Universe. Paige has been one of the unsung heroes of the women's evolution and is someone who doesn't get enough credit for her role in bringing women's wrestling to the forefront in WWE.
The former Divas Champion's career inside the squared circle came to an abrupt due to a series of injuries. Paige made an emotional farewell address on the RAW after WrestleMania 34.
The anti-diva was out of in-ring action for over a year at that point. During that period, following her in-ring retirement, Paige took on the role of General Manager of SmackDown for a brief period in 2018 and currently serves as the manager for the team of Asuka and Kairi Sane, collectively known as ' The Kabuki Warriors'.