Ranking The Subsequent Success Of Every NXT Champion
13. The Wyatt Family
The Wyatt Family were the second set of NXT tag team champions back in 2013, overthrowing Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey (perhaps the most forgotten NXT champion of all) shortly before their main roster call-up alongside Bray Wyatt prompted a quick return of the titles to Neville and his new partner Corey Graves. Though Wyatt led them, only Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were officially acknowledged as titleholders. The success of the 'Eater of Worlds' is not assessed here alongside them.
The pairs first split just over a year after their debut, when Harper became a short-lived Authority member and scored a brief Intercontinental Championship reign. Rowan meanwhile adopted an ill-fitting savant gimmick and became a tagalong of Dolph Ziggler and Ryback before it was decided that neither was going anywhere. They were put back together again in early 2015.
Since then, injuries have limited the impact that the pair have had. Rowan spent large chunks of both 2015 and 2016 on the sidelines, whilst Harper joined him in spending the bulk of 2016 missing in action. Braun Strowman's emergence, coupled with the brand split, did nothing to help either man - and the company did nothing to build on a promising initial reaction to Luke Harper's face turn against Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt earlier in the year.
Harper is often cited as one of the most underrated talents on the roster. Now 37 years old, his window of opportunity to shine is fading fast...