10 Best Main Roster Debuts By WWE NXT Stars
After leaving the black and gold brand, who had the biggest and best arrivals in WWE?
On the 10 February 2010 episode of Monday Night Raw, Vince McMahon announced that the rebooted ECW show would be ending. In its place would be a new reality show to find the next WWE Superstar called NXT. In the 12 years since that day NXT, both in its reality show format, and its eventual evolution as a third brand, has been the place to see the future of WWE.
There have been countless men and women to enter NXT who have gone on to do amazing things on both Raw and SmackDown. While some superstars have taken some time to find their footing on Monday and Friday nights, some of taken to the big stage like sharks to water. Whether it be going after the biggest names WWE has to offer, being placed immediately into a title picture, or even taking out the whole roster in one night, some of WWE’s best moments in recent memory have been the debuts of stars from NXT. They might not have led to much, but viewed in isolation, some of these moments were immortal.
Here are the very ten best main roster debuts of NXT stars, ranked.
10. Keith Lee
Keith Lee had a two part main roster debut, both worthy to be on this list on their own.
After taking part in the NXT invasion the previous November, The Limitless One reintroduced himself to the main roster by way of the Royal Rumble. Up to that point, Brock Lesnar had eliminated everyone who had entered, without much of a fight. That changed when the North American Champion entered at number 13 and both The Beast and Paul Heyman looked impressed just by the stature of Keith Lee alone.
Once in the ring, fans basked in the glory of Keith Lee as he looked in his element against both Lesnar and Braun Strowman. Flying around the ring, taking the WWE Champion off his feet and looking dominate squaring off against two of WWE's best was a solid first night for Keith Lee.
When he arrived on the roster full stop a few months later, Keith Lee's first match was against Randy Orton. The Viper, just 24 hours removed from a WWE Championship match himself, was the perfect opponent for Lee, who was defeding his friend in Drew McIntyre. While that match ended in a disqualification, six nights later at Payback Keith Lee defeated The Viper in an outstanding match.
There are few better ways to announce your presence with authority than pinning a 14-time World champion clean.