10 WWE NXT Flops Who Should Have Been Huge
WWE's finishing school brings no guarantee of success, or even graduation...
NXT has been a reliable source of fresh main roster talent since its inception as a game show in 2010, with the brand's alumni comprising a huge percentage of WWE's current top stars. From Finn Bálor and Kevin Owens to Charlotte and Sasha Banks, some of the company's most important performers cut their teeth in NXT, and the Performance Center has proved itself as a fertile breeding ground for the next wave of talent.
Intended as the ultimate pro-wrestling finishing school, it takes wrestlers from a wide variety of different backgrounds and sculpts them into TV-ready superstars. It has been extremely successful in doing so, but adding "NXT" to your resumé is no guarantee of success, and dozens of talented wrestlers have lost their way in developmental.
NXT has served up plenty of disappointment over the years. It's an effective system, but not a flawless one, and its history is laced with squandered potential. Excluding any wrestler who ever transitioned into a permanent, long-term main roster spot (a success in itself, regardless of card position), here are the wrestlers who should've been stars, but couldn't live up to their own hype, even if it wasn't entirely their own fault...
10. Raquel Diaz
Professional wrestling is built on the names of its greatest dynasties, and some of the sport’s most decorated performers have come from their family’s second or third generation. Guys like Terry Funk and Randy Orton have built outstanding careers on their pedigree, but while coming from a celebrated bloodline certainly helps a wrestler break into the business, staying there is a lot harder, as Raquel Diaz found out.
Born in El Paso, Texas, she is the eldest daughter of Vickie and Eddie Guerrero, making her a part of one of the sport’s most decorated ancestries. Her time in WWE developmental was full of ups and downs, however. Debuting in 2010, she starred in FCW, holding the territory’s Divas Championship for 197 days, and maintained a strong televised presence following the NXT re-branding in 2012.
Guerrero was granted her release to attend school that September, but returned the following year. The second run didn’t last, and she was gone by April 2014, having not made a single televised appearance. An eating disorder reportedly prompted her decision, and Diaz’s incredible pedigree has since gone to waste, as she hasn’t wrestled after leaving WWE.