10 Most Successful NXT Call-ups

These days, WWE is almost spoilt for choice when it comes to bringing new talent to the main roster.

With its state-of-the-art Performance Centre and a weekly developmental television show on which guys can—as the name would suggest—develop, the company has a pretty effective farming system in place. And if all that fails, they can always just go and poach the finished article from a rival promotion and claim them as their own.

Joking aside, the company’s put together a sturdy developmental model that’s seen dozens upon dozens of new faces promoted from NXT to the main roster. And while it hasn’t always worked to perfection, this NXT graduation model has produced a fair few success stories in recent years.

Some of those graduates have been entirely homegrown, while others have come in with years of experience under their belt already, but they all share the commonality that they’ve each passed through the doors of Full Sail. In the case of the ten on this particular list, they’ve all done well on the main roster too.

Based on not just their initial call-ups but their entire run following graduating to the main roster, this article looks back at the most successful call-ups from the NXT ranks.

Though things haven’t quite gone according to plan in recent months, Paige made a huge impact during her early days on the main roster.

Paige debuted on the Raw after WrestleMania XXX, where she won the Divas Championship on her very first night. Not only that but in doing she ended AJ Lee’s run of 295 days as champion—a record at the time—before going on to notch her second reign just a few months down the line on her 22nd birthday.

Since then, however, she’s faded from prominence somewhat. After a title drought of almost two years, Paige disappeared from WWE programming in June of 2016. Initially, she was sidelined with a neck injury, though she then hit the headlines amidst rumours that she was on the verge of quitting the company before her relationship with Alberto El Patron saw her once again thrust into the limelight for none-too-flattering reasons.

She remains under contract, despite not being seen on TV in more than 14 months, but that recent inactivity—not to mention the controversies in her personal life—kind of take the shine off that initial impact she made.