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

8. Xavier Woods

NXT Roster 2012
WWE

The New Day man hit big when he joined up with Kofi Kingston and Big E in 2014, but it was good karma for a performer who is constantly name-dropped by others as a multi-talented megastar always looking to help his colleagues on the way up.

The success of his UpUpDownDown side project speaks to that, along with an illustrious and Hall Of Fame-bound career that shows no signs of slowing down. Woods is as timeless as The New Day act itself - for all the wrestlers that have spent five years as weekly television regulars that feels like 10, the three have managed to put that motion in reverse. A group that formed in 2014 with a dead-on-arrival gimmick exist in a decade later as a company cornerstone. 

All of them deserve equal credit, but both Kingston and E have gone on record as crediting Woods with being the driver of what made the group so beloved. There aren’t enough stories like Woods’, in truth. Hard work rewarded, ideas and creativity nourished, speed bumps kept to a minimum - the wrestling utopia occupied by so few.

 
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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