Ranking All 11 WWE NXT Champions
8. Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura's arrival in NXT was nothing short of sensational, defeating Sami Zayn in a Match of the Year candidate at TakeOver: Dallas. In a relatively short span of time, he ascended to NXT Championship status and beat Samoa Joe for the belt mere months later at TakeOver: Brooklyn II in the main event. As hard-hitting as their bout was, it was the championship celebration that followed for Nakamura that was especially memorable and kicked off his reign on a high note.
His feud with Joe continued well into the fall, and in his first televised title defense at TakeOver: Toronto, he shockingly lost clean to the Samoan submission machine. It was two weeks after that he regained the gold in his native Japan at an NXT house show, another monumental moment.
Following another victory versus Joe, he transitioned into a program with Bobby Roode, to whom he lost the title at the subsequent special. Essentially, neither of Nakamura's reigns were incredibly lengthy, but he is only the second man ever to hold the gold twice.
Furthermore, Nakamura was such a huge fan favorite that a title run for him needed to happen at some point during his NXT stint, and he represented the brand well.