10 WWE NXT Stars Who Have Been Down In Developmental For 5 Or More Years

Getting called up from NXT to WWE's main roster is far from a guarantee. In fact, for every aspiring Superstar who makes the move from the black-and-gold brand to either Raw or SmackDown, there are just as many wrestlers who get cut and aren't seen or heard from again.

For as much talk as there is about NXT being a viable third brand on par with Raw and SmackDown (which is absolutely accurate), it's still developmental at the end of the day. It boasts a ton of talent and has recently hosted the returns of more notable names than ever before, including former Universal champion Finn Bálor.

Despite that, NXT is primarily where wrestlers with not as much experience are groomed and given a chance to learn from the best.

However, there is a weird middle ground of stars who remain on NXT after five or more years. Whether it was their choice to stay where they are or are simply still works in progress, there is a handful of prospects whose NXT tenures have lasted a lot longer than expected.

With no end in sight to their stints down in developmental, these are the 10 competitors who have had an extended stay on NXT since 2015 or earlier, for better or for worse.

A former safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tino Sabbatelli had all the potential in the world to go far in football before a foot injury cut his career short. Unfortunately, it's been the same story for him in WWE since he signed a developmental deal with NXT in October 2014.

Sabbatelli's journey was chronicled in the hit WWE Network series 'Breaking Ground' in the fall of 2015, which should have been a sign that officials planned to push him to the moon once he was seasoned enough. He eventually debuted on NXT TV in October 2016 and formed an alliance with fellow up-and-comer Riddick Moss. Their team allowed both men to grow and shine, even though they were never in line for a serious push as partners.

Just as it looked like he was about to break out on his own and experience success in the singles ranks, Sabbatelli was shelved with a torn pectoral muscle in April 2018. He underwent surgery soon after but has been radio silent since.

Truth be told, if injuries hadn't halted his progress, he likely would have been on the main roster by now. He has the look, the mic skills, the charisma and every tool necessary to make it big, with an awesome entrance theme to boot. With a stigma of being injury-prone, however, it's unknown if he'll ever be afforded another chance at superstardom.