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

3. Seth Rollins

NXT Roster 2012
WWE.com

Seth Rollins himself has spoken about how aggrieved he was to find himself on a developmental deal when he first arrived in Florida Championship Wrestling in 2010. A lengthy Ring Of Honor run game him a version of independent cred, but there was something about Tyler Black that always felt more suited to WWE anyway - maybe he was on to something all along.

The Shield squared that circle anyway, helping Rollins become the perfect hybrid of a workrate favourite and a Sports Entertainment standout. When chosen to be the man to split the group up and effectively get the first of three nailed-on singles pushes, his actually made the most sense. And though the company has never particularly soared with him at the very very top, Rollins has been trusted as the organisation's chief working Champion in 2015, 2019 and 2023. He's had a career working at least just under the main event if not headlining himself, which hasn't always been to his liking, but categorically suits his style. 

Away from some silly statements on Twitter and a risible promo or two to forget, his consistency cannot be called into question.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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