25 Most Important Wrestlers In NXT History
3. Sami Zayn
NXT has had plenty of memorable babyface male competitors in its time, but none have been on the same level as Sami Zayn.
Zayn turned up at Full Sail in early 2013 and put himself on the map with his matches against Cesaro.
Zayn had plenty of chances to become NXT Champion in the early days of TakeOver, but came up short time and time again. This led to Sami putting his career on the line against his friend and NXT Champion, Adrian Neville.
At TakeOver: R Evolution, Zayn and Neville clashed in NXT's biggest match to date. Zayn would eventually pick up the win, capturing the NXT title and saving his career in the process. Then came Kevin Owens.
Whilst his NXT title reign was one of the shortest in the title's history, Sami's feud with KO over the belt was exceptional. It was so good in fact, that WWE chose to keep it going when both men debuted on the main roster.
Zayn captured the hearts of the NXT crowd in a way that only Johnny Gargano has come close to replicating. He was the brand's knight in shining armour and his role in the feud with Kevin Owens helped establish NXT as a promotion to watch.