10 Biggest WWE Developmental Success Stories

3. Charlotte

Batista John Cena Randy Orton Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

It's ironic that her father made his name visiting every territory as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, because despite her position as one of the most accomplished Women's wrestlers in the world, Charlotte Flair has never ever had a match outside of WWE.

Signing a developmental deal in 2012, she required more than just good genetics to follow in her father's footsteps, as brother David painfully proved in his brief-but-dire WCW run. The all-around training offered in WWE's now-customary NXT/Performance Center setup was crucial in setting Charlotte up with the best possible range of fundamental skills to make it on WWE's largest stage.

A gifted athlete, she was a championship volleyball player and certified trainer in her formative years before taking a chance on a career in sports entertainment. Her progress in such a short time has been remarkable. This time five years ago, current SmackDown Live! Women's Champion Naomi was a Funkadactyl with two years on the clock. Charlotte was a month away from even starting training.

JBL's cliché for Randy Orton probably better applies to Flair as a female star - WWE really did build her from the ground up.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett