Ranking WWE's First Ever NXT Class - From Worst To Best

32. Leo Kruger

NXT Roster 2012
WWE.com

A total gimmick reinvention in 2014 transformed a struggling Leo Kruger into the temporarily-white hot Adam Rose on NXT, but the gimmick devastatingly died on the main roster before it had the chance to reach its potential. 

An out-of-nowhere success story after the one-note Kruger had ran its course, Rose was suddenly the life of his own party and parlayed that into matches by simply being too zoned out of reality to get bothered by whatever his opponent was trying to do. His "rosebuds" accompanying him to the ring for grandiose entrances and exits added magnificently to the aesthetic, and he was wanted for Raw and SmackDown long before the ceiling was reached in NXT.

This was the beginning of the end. Following a rushed re-introduction of the character that was lightweight 

He was gone from WWE by 2016.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett