All 21 NXT-To-WWE Call-Ups - Ranked From Worst to Best

19. Tyler Breeze

Kevin Owens Paige WWE Nxt.jpg
WWE.com

This one pains me since I've been a huge Breeze mark all the way back to the character’s NXT debut. 

At the height of his developmental powers, Breeze was a master of character work who could truck much larger opponents, and he came within a hair’s breadth of becoming NXT Champion. At TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, it was Breeze who was the clear MVP of the main event. Impressive, given that the other three men were Tyson Kidd, Neville, and Sami Zayn. 

Even though Breeze developed a losing streak in his final months in NXT, he lost competitively to top-tier talent: demon-possessed, about-to-be champion Finn Bálor, impossible athlete Apollo Crews, and Jushin friggin' Liger.

On the main roster, though, Tyler was immediately plugged into 2015’s worst storyline: the interminable Ziggler/Lana/Rusev/Summer Rae sexual harassment/social media engagement photo epic. Sure, throw an asexual male model into that mess, it's fine.

Yes, Tyler Breeze, a man who has only shown interest, romantic or otherwise, in his own reflection was suddenly “man enough” to satisfy Summer Rae, and all about emasculating Dolph Ziggler. 

He lost a few matches in a row to Ziggler (a man who otherwise hasn't won two matches in a row since about 2008), broke up with Summer, and recently showed up on Raw to lose to Apollo Crews.

Can we have him back in NXT? Please?

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Long-time fan (scholar?) of professional wrestling, kaiju films and comparative mythology. Aspiring two-fisted adventurer.