Ranking All 11 WWE NXT Champions

6. Bo Dallas

Seth Rollins NXT Champion
WWE

Currently one-half of The Miztourage, Bo Dallas sticks out like a sore thumb among these other notable names. However, anyone who has closely followed the career of the Bo-liever would know that he was a drastically different (and much more credible) competitor during his stint in NXT.

After coming close to being promoted to the main roster in early 2013, it was obvious officials were high on Dallas and were priming him for a run with the NXT Championship. Sure enough, he knocked off Big E for the belt in June. Despite being a babyface, the faithful fans at Full Sail University largely despised Dallas, which gradually turned him heel in time.

In the eight months he stood atop the NXT totem pole as champion, Dallas had one of the most remarkable character arcs in the brand's brief history. He didn't change too much about his on-air persona, except for that he continued to get under the skin of fans who wanted to see him get beat and lose the title.

From Cesaro to Leo Kruger to Sami Zayn, Dallas narrowly escaped every title defense with the prestigious prize intact. He eventually dropped the strap to Neville in a ladder match at Arrival, ending his reign at a whopping 261 days.

Contributor
Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.