10 Biggest WWE Developmental Success Stories
Learning the ropes.
The triumphs of NXT as a television product have muddied the waters for what constitutes a successful developmental product in 2017. After over two years as one of the hottest wrestling shows in the world, NXT moved beyond its original purpose into a Triple H-cultivated super-indie, with fan-friendly high level signings such as Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura bolstering the roster of touted rookies and in-training regulars.
Unashamedly given WWE 'seasoning' during their varying tenures in the developmental brand, the performers were already equipped for television. A run in front of the Full Sail following seemed as much to do with providing a safe space to let each individual talent iron out kinks or perfect an element of their persona WWE (or more specifically, Vince McMahon) would potentially like to see emphasised on the main roster.
A gulf began to emerge when it became more apparent just how important a wrestler's past-life on the independent scene was in relation to their success on SmackDown Live! or Monday Night Raw.
Those who were almost exclusively built from the ground up in WWE's state-of-the-art superstar factory floundered whilst Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling and even TNA alumni flourished in their places.
The company has a chequered past in manufacturing home grown stars, but though they may be by exception, WWE can lay claim to launching several high profile careers within their monolthic organisation.
10. Alexa Bliss
The current Raw Women's Champion was brand new to pro wrestling when she signed her developmental deal in May 2013.
Reporting to NXT first as a ring announcer/wrestler-in-training, the former bodybuilder grasped the basics quick enough to earn a televised debut as part of the 2014 Women's Title Tournament.
Spending her first year as a cheerleader/Disney-inspired babyface (commentator Rich Brennan noted how she was a 'Graduate from the University of Bliss with a Major in Bedazzling'), she found her calling in 2015 after turning heel and partnering with Wesley Blake and real-life fiancé Buddy Murphy.
As her character work soared, her matches gradually improved. Battles with Carmella over-delivered, and a televised title shot against Bayley highlighted her rapid improvement.
Alongside Nia Jax and 'The Princess of Staten Island', Bliss was one of only three women elevated to the main roster in the 2016, and leapfrogged veterans Becky Lynch, Natalya and Nikki Bella to become the most prosperous superstar in a well-booked SmackDown Live! female division.
Her success on the blue brand was 'rewarded' with a switch to Monday Night Raw in April's 'Superstar Shake-up', where she again confounded expectations by dethroning Bayley in her first attempt at the title. Confident and competent, Bliss remains an idyllic all-rounder on Monday Nights, in spite of the show's at-times woeful creative.