10 WWE Superstars Who Failed To Rejuvenate Their Careers In NXT
For every Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, there is a Curtis Axel and Justin Gabriel.
Arguably WWE's hottest property at the moment, NXT has worked wonders for the careers of many since its rebranding in June 2012. Almost overnight, it went from being the show no one cared about that aired weekly on WWE.com to a platform that served as the foundation for the future of the business.
Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Paige are all products of NXT and their success as main roster performers is undeniable. However, in addition to mixing it up with fellow "rookies" during their time in developmental, they clashed with several members of the main roster who looked to call NXT their home as well. Some former Raw and SmackDown Superstars fit in without much difficulty while others struggled to find success, leading to their tenures there inevitably being short-lived.
Tyson Kidd is a prime example of someone who had nothing going for him before returning to NXT in 2014. Within months, he became the brand's top heel and was one of the best parts of the program through the rest of the year. Thus, it came as no surprise he was brought back up to the main roster in early 2015 and flourished, eventually winning the WWE Tag Team Championship with Cesaro.
But not everyone can rejuvenate their careers in NXT quite like Kidd did as evidenced by the failures of these 10 Superstars.
10. Johnny Curtis
Long before he was dancing his way around the WWE ring, Fandango was known simply as Johnny Curtis. He showed tremendous potential during his the fourth season of NXT (while it was still a competition show, mind you), but despite winning it, he made sporadic appearances on SmackDown throughout 2011 before returning to NXT: Redemption for a feud with Derrick Bateman, who is now known as Ethan Carter III in TNA.
After NXT's redevelopment and move to Full Sail University in mid-2012, Curtis continued to make occasional appearances on the black and yellow brand for the remainder of the year. In fact, it was on NXT that he was finally granted the WWE Tag Team Championship match he was promised with his pro R-Truth after winning the fourth season of the show.
Other than that, he floundered due to not having any character development; fans just remembered him as the creepy competitor they couldn't take seriously while he stalked Superstars and poured milk over his head.
It wasn't long after that it was announced he was repackaged as Fandango, an arrogant ballroom dancer. Perhaps one last run in NXT could help him get his career back on track to avoid getting the pink slip, but nothing is guaranteed.