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

It's become pretty apparent that the WWE main roster wouldn't be the best place for a guy like Kassius Ohno, something he is likely perfectly content with.

At one point many years ago, it would have been blasphemous to assume that he wouldn't be main roster bound eventually. He signed with WWE in 2011 and was immediately pushed as a singles star upon NXT's relaunch in mid 2012.

He was almost promoted to the big time at the end of the year when CM Punk handpicked him, along with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, to be a part of the debuting Shield faction. When the idea of Ohno joining the group was shot down, he remained down in developmental and floundered for the remainder of his run there.

It was rumored at the time that Ohno refusing to get into better shape was a major reason for his release. However, he was welcomed back by the company over three years later despite the Knockout Artist being significantly bigger than he was when he left in 2013.

Apparently the powers that be were willing to overlook his size for his talent but weren't high enough on him to give him a run with the NXT Championship, or any title for that matter.

Ohno has been a staple on NXT UK for the last year and has thrived in his player-coach role, so there's no reason to assume he'll ever reach Raw or SmackDown.