WWE NXT: Ranking Every Performer to Hold the NXT Championship

Credit: WWE.com

14. Drew McIntyre

This one was kind of a shame. While it’s true that there has yet to be a “bad” NXT Champion, Drew McIntyre’s brief reign was a bit of a disappointment.

Returning to NXT amidst much fanfare, the former main roster regular had experienced a rebirth of sorts outside of WWE following his release in 2014. Capturing the Championship from Bobby Roode in a pretty good contest, he held onto the title for around three months before unexpectedly to Andrade “Cien” Almas at TakeOver: War Games. At the same time, he was sidelined with a torn biceps, and that was the end of Drew McIntyre in NXT, as he was next seen making his main roster return in April of 2018.

Drew McIntyre’s title reign places so low for a few reasons. First is the tease of a feud with Adam Cole that really went nowhere. Following McIntyre’s victory over Bobby Roode, he was attacked by the debuting Cole, along with his newly formed faction, The Undisputed Era. It would stand to reason that McIntyre would begin a feud with the group, but this failed to materialize, with McIntyre only successfully defending the Championship once before his abrupt loss to Almas.

But perhaps the biggest reason that McIntyre’s NXT Championship failed to take off was the fact that he never really seemed like he belonged in NXT to begin with. He was a former main roster star who felt extremely out of place among the hungrier up-and-comers with whom NXT is more commonly associated. Again, McIntyre can hardly be called an embarrassment, but his reign was far from the best that NXT has to offer.