Ranking All 11 WWE NXT Champions
5. Samoa Joe
When Samoa Joe initially arrived in NXT at TakeOver: Unstoppable in May 2015, he was never meant to be anything more than a stepping stone for stars such as Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin. Over time, he exceeded the expectations of officials by becoming a hot heel and contesting a strong series of matches with Finn Bálor.
Although he fell short of capturing the gold the first two times they did battle, the third time was the charm for 'The Destroyer' at a live event in Lowell, MA, when he beat Bálor for the belt. It was merely a matter of when and not if he would capture the championship due to the amazing work he had been doing, and Bálor was ready to jump to the main roster, anyway.
Joe didn't have a ton of televised title defenses, but in the four months he held the gold in the summer of 2016, he carried himself like a main event player, produced very good matches with the likes of Bálor, Rhyno, and Eric Young, and cut fantastic promos every week.
He may have lost the title to Shinsuke Nakamura at TakeOver: Brooklyn II, but he handed 'The King of Strong Style' his first defeat in NXT at TakeOver: Toronto to reclaim the championship and etch his name into the record books as the premiere two-time NXT champ.