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

9. Baron Corbin

NXT Roster 2012
WWE.com

'The Lone Wolf' has stuck at it to become a a pauper, a King, a Constable and just about anything else asked of him during an unlikely 10-year WWE run that shows no sign of slowing.

His NXT breakthrough came as result of squash match push so effective that Full Sail fans counted the seconds as he dominated, but Raw and SmackDown runs following his call-up were blighted with the sorts of personas that would and have felled others. Not Corbin. For years criticised as somebody that couldn’t perform to the level of his contemporaries, he has instead outlasted almost everybody in his class. 

Having survived the best and worst the WWE system had to offer, he then returned to NXT for a run against Ilja Dragunov and alongside Bron Breakker that ultimately became his most creatively fruitful stint yet.He's not amazing at much, but he's good at enough and has mastered the type of heat his bosses and opponents clearly love. And based on his social media, he makes the most of his time off living his best life. He might not top this list, but he tops his own.

 
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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