10 Wrestlers Who Should Have Been NXT Champion

Which wrestlers would have benefited most from a run with the NXT Championship?

By Matthew Dillon /

Over the past few years, we have witnessed the call-up of many of NXT's finest stars, but they do not all enjoy the same level of success on WWE's main roster.

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In Orlando, a wrestler can look like a million bucks and be treated as a superstar by the Full Sail crowd, and yet, when it comes time for them to debut on Raw or SmackDown, only some of them reach those same lofty heights while others become mired in mediocrity.

If you look at the NXT call-ups over the past few years, the key variable is clearly whether or not that competitor won the elusive NXT Championship. Former champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn both wrestled John Cena in their first main roster encounter, while Finn Bálor pinned Roman Reigns clean to the mat on his first ever Raw. Debutants without the NXT Title win have gone on to mill around the mid-card, be involved in cringe-worthy angles, or be dismissed from the company altogether.

This list details just some of the talent that has passed through Full Sail that would have benefited hugely from being crowned champion of developmental.

10. Baron Corbin

Until quite recently, Baron Corbin would have been very close to the top of this list.

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Despite making an instant impact in a debut WrestleMania victory that many WWE hopefuls would kill for, Corbin stagnated in a seemingly endless feud with Dolph Ziggler and made fans question why he had been rushed onto the main roster. The' Lone Wolf' had carved himself a solid role on NXT television and looked poised to enter the championship scene at any time, but the moment never came.

Since the brand split, where he was selected in a premium spot for SmackDown Live, as a destructive heel Corbin has regained some of his lost momentum. Now looking to go into WrestleMania 33 in a strong position, one could argue whether the NXT Championship really would have aided his progression. That would however be forgetting those middle months of 2016 where Corbin was finding it nearly impossible to gain any traction with the fans. Had he arrived as a former NXT Champion perhaps his ascension would have come earlier.

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