Ranking All 11 WWE NXT Champions

10. Sami Zayn

Seth Rollins NXT Champion
WWE.com

Few stars in NXT's history have had as strong of a character arc as Sami Zayn.

He didn't win many matches early on in his run, but that was exactly why fans rallied behind him: he was the ultimate underdog and always came close to victory before eventually falling short when it mattered most. However, his luck took a turn for the better in the fall of 2014 when he started stacking up wins and earned himself one final shot at the NXT Championship at TakeOver: R Evolution against Adrian Neville.

If he failed, he would leave the black-and-yellow brand.

Sure enough, he prevailed, but only after contesting one of the best bouts of the year in WWE. He and Neville made magic on that night, and Zayn's title win was oh so sweet. Unfortunately for him, he was then immediately attacked by the debuting Kevin Owens, put on the shelf for over a month, and upon his return, he dropped the belt to Owens at TakeOver: Rival.

Thus, Zayn's time on top was short-lived, and he wasn't even on TV for most of it, but the fashion in which he won the strap will never be forgotten.

Contributor
Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.