Current Champion Says WWE Was "Never His Goal"
A reigning WWE Champion wasn't really bothered about signing with the company.
Reigning NXT UK Champion Walter (or WALTER if you like to shout) has held that title for an incredible 763 days at time of writing. Despite that, the mammoth Austrian told Corey Graves on WWE's 'After The Bell' podcast that signing for the company was "never [his] goal" as a wrestler.
In fact, Walter said he was "happy in the process" as an independent star. He focused more on honing his craft and having the best matches he possibly could across Europe. It was only a matter of time before WWE came calling, but the Imperium centrepiece refused to let that get in the way of his own passion for pro wrestling.
That's why Walt has only taken a few trips over to North America for dates on NXT.
Walter also told Graves that he's not interested in moving to the United States any time soon. That's partly down to the fact that he never viewed it (or working for WWE generally) as "a realistic thing" he should really go for. So, he's content where he is, and enjoys having smash mouth matches on NXT UK that showcase European wrestling to the masses.
No NXT North American Title run incoming then.