Ranking the 5 greatest WWE NXT Champions ever
Over the past five years, WWE NXT has transformed into one of the best wrestling shows in the world. Last year, NXT made a big move to the USA Network, and fans got a chance to see the men and women of the Black & Gold brand perform live on television.
While it seems like NXT is making major progress, one must keep in mind that it’s the Superstars who have allowed the company to bring the brand this far and continue to work hard to raise the bar and bring it to parallel to RAW and SmackDown.
Over the past decade, we have seen the brand crown no less than 17 NXT Champions from Bo Dallas to Keith Lee. Even former Universal Champions Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Finn Balor have held the title during their career to prove that the company can spot talent early and give them a chance to grow into something bigger over the years.
In this article, we will look at the 5 great NXT Champions of all time. Share your favorite NXT Champion in the comments below!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
Honorable Mention - Aleister Black
Looking at how Aleister Black is performing on RAW, there is little doubt that WWE sees him as the future of the company. However, it all started with his extremely dominant run on NXT which eventually led him to the title on the Black & Gold brand.
No one, not even Lars Sullivan, could take the title away from Black easily and it was his involvement in the Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano rivalry that led to him losing the title.
However, he remains one of the most iconic NXT Champions of all time, and we can’t wait to see him with the WWE Championship around his waist as he can end up doing much more with the title.
#5 Shinsuke Nakamura
After defeating Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Brooklyn II in August 2016, Shinsuke Nakamura had a memorable reign that lasted three months.
"The King of Strong Style" proved that he had a lot of potential after signing onto the brand in 2016, and had a good first run with the title before he eventually lost it back to Samoa Joe who became the first two-time NXT Champion. However, Nakamura wasn’t ready to let go of the gold that easily as he defeated The Samoan Submission Machine once again in Japan during an episode of NXT in December and had another run with the title.
Shinsuke Nakamura is a two-time WWE NXT Champion
While his combined reign was a little over 120 days, Nakamura became the face of NXT who made the entire brand proud with his great matches and consistent performances.
Many will argue that there were several other Champions who did a better job than Nakamura as the NXT Champion, but if you go back and watch his rivalries with Samoa Joe and Robert Roode to know why he occupies the third spot on this list.