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

10. Alexander Rusev

NXT Roster 2012
AEW

Miro has found mixed fortunes in All Elite Wrestling since joining the challenger brand in 2020, but even his relative peaks in AEW humbled the missed opportunities during his original WWE run.  He shouldn't have ever needed to go there to break a wrestling glass ceiling.

Regardless of its lightweight origins or just how much the gimmick needed the Aiden English's mic work to help it along, Rusev Day absolutely was a moment that WWE should have done much, much more with. And midcard titles don't count - they certainly didn't then so they shouldn't in retrospect. 

That Vince McMahon thought it was just the fans mocking the 'Bulgarian Brute' explains away a lot of what happened to it, particularly considering how dated (but effective) the presentation of the character was during Rusev's earliest days. 'The Redeemer' gimmick AEW briefly had success with is everything WWE had and threw away until he inevitably re-signs. 

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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