Ranking The Subsequent Success Of Every NXT Champion

Samoa Joe was the first high profile individual to do what seemed highly unlikely (if not impossible) just a few years ago - moving from TNA to WWE. His signing came during the early stages of a gradual erosion of WWE's longstanding policy to make all of their own stars from scratch, and he became the first independent talent to continue using his previous name. Many others, such as AJ Styles and Austin Aries, have since followed.

Fast-tracked into a title program with Finn Bálor that lasted the best part of ten months before transitioning into a similarly lengthy rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura, Joe was more than ready for the main roster before he became the first two-time NXT champion.

What should've been an enthralling debut programme with Seth Rollins was cut short (although eventually resumed) by Rollins' injury. Joe, disappointingly, became the only non-injured member of the roster not to have a match at Wrestlemania.

Since then, however, he has proved that he is up there with the best, being given the honour of a competitive match with Brock Lesnar and a share of what was a frenzied main event encounter at SummerSlam. A title certainly seems more like a when rather than an if at this point, though with a Lesnar/Strowman program now on the cards, we may see Joe in the midcard for a while.