Ranking The Success Of Every WWE Star To Debut In The Crowd At NXT TakeOver
3. Ricochet
Similar to The Viking Raiders, WWE fans were well aware that Ricochet was signed, sealed and delivered for NXT by late January 2018, and that he'd make his presence felt in the audience at TakeOver: Philadelphia.
He oozed charisma in the few seconds he appeared on screen, and made it clear that he was poised for big things in NXT. The One and Only wrestled his first match for the brand at TakeOver: New Orleans and had a spectacular showing in the six-man NXT North American Championship Ladder match.
From there, he continued to amaze in matches with Velveteen Dream, Adam Cole, Pete Dunne and the entire Undisputed Era. In addition to reigning as NXT North American champ for five months, he won the main event of WarGames II and took home the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy alongside Aleister Black.
In other words, Ricochet had a fairly decorated stint in NXT despite only being there for a little over one year. Even once he was called up to the main roster in February 2019, he pulled triple duty on Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT until after WrestleMania 35 when he officially joined the Raw roster.
Despite a shaky start on the flagship show, he has since become United States champion and has cemented his status as as a star on the rise.