WWE NXT: Ranking Every Performer to Hold the NXT Championship

Credit: WWE.com

12. Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins’ time in NXT feels like it was a lifetime ago. His career in NXT seems like more of a holdover from the FCW days than anything in retrospect, but still Rollins became the first ever NXT Champion in 2012, winning a tournament by last defeating Jinder Mahal.

While Rollins has become far and away the most successful NXT Champion to make the jump to the main roster, when one examines the highlights of his reign, it becomes apparent that the NXT on which “The Architect” performed was a radically different landscape compared to that of today.

Rollins’ only successful title defenses were against Michael McGillicutty, Jinder Mahal, and Corey Graves, hardly on par with what can be seen on the yellow brand’s weekly show today.

When considering these facts, Rollins’ NXT was obviously far more centered around development of talent than the current product, lightyears away from being able to host events like TakeOver, let alone doing it multiple times a year.

While Rollins’ main roster success and his role as the first ever NXT Champion do make his title reign an interesting piece of trivia, it ultimate is far from the best the brand had to offer.