10 Wrestlers Who Saved World Championships
9. Andrade "Cien" Almas - NXT Championship
The NXT title wasn't plummeting at the time when Almas picked up the gold belt from Drew McIntyre at TakeOver WarGames, but it wasn't the title of prestige it had been the year prior. Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe passing the belt between several months didn't help, before the underwhelming reign of Bobby Roode stripped the strap from main event status. McIntyre's reign was solid but he didn't really connect with the NXT faithful despite mostly excellent matches.
Almas was something different. He was a veteran, one of the best in the entire world and gave crowds a heel that they could truly root against while mesmerised by their wrestling. Alongside Johnny Gargano at TakeOver Philadelphia, they redefined NXT for a new era, putting on the best WWE match of the 2010s and making the belt the most important trophy in wrestling.
Over the course of his few months on top, he felt like a star, bringing everyone he faced to his level and it felt seismic when Aleister Black defeated him. His reign was wonderful and if it had lasted a few more months, would inarguably be considered the best NXT title reign of all time.