WWE NXT: All 26 Champions in Brand’s History, Ranked

9. Paige

All the way at No. 9, we have our first NXT Women’s Champion to appear. That doesn’t take away from what Paige did as the inaugural titleholder, putting the NXT Women’s Division on the map.

Known as the Anti-Diva, Paige became the face of this division for one calendar year. She defeated Emma, Natalya, Sasha Banks and Summer Rae, all of whom are now established main roster stars. It carried the British star to a recognized reign of 274 days, and made it seem like big plans were to come.

Unlike anyone else, Paige’s reign came to an end with the belt being vacated. It came with good reason, though, as she had just debuted on the main roster and won the WWE Divas Championship on her first night. There wasn’t much left for her to do in NXT anyway, so the forced relinquishing of the title didn’t hurt, and actually led to maybe the greatest women’s match in NXT history.