8 Wrestlers Who Stayed In NXT Far Too Long
1. Finn Balor
Finn Balor is the longest-reigning NXT Champion of all-time. He held the belt for 292 outstanding days before eventually dropping it to Samoa Joe, and in Corey Graves’ words, Balor had taken Sami Zayn’s crown as “NXT’s icon.”
He was the brand’s poster boy, and his performances against the likes of Joe and Kevin Owens rank among NXT’s finest matches. Balor’s NXT run provided an excellent platform to launch him towards main roster success, and in becoming Universal Champion less than a month after his Raw debut, his success has translated flawlessly.
Despite all this, Balor’s main roster call-up should’ve come much sooner. As celebrated as he is, it’s easy to forget that big chunks of NXT fanbase had grown weary of his act towards the end of his title run. The Samoa Joe feud lasted six months before Joe was finally able to overcome him, and while Balor hadn't become completely stale, he’d definitely started running out of steam by the turn of the year.
The major saving grace here is the fast start he made on the main roster, but Balor didn’t need to be the longest-reigning NXT Champion to become a megastar. People were going to take to him regardless, and chopping the last six months of his NXT would only have benefited him.