'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
From being NXT Tag Team Champion to becoming United States Champion, Matt Riddle has proven to have a knack for winning gold in WWE.
Riddle's latest triumph came at Elimination Chamber when he defeated John Morrison and former champion Bobby Lashley in a triple-threat match for the United States title.
Trending
Riddle is now part of a list of NXT Superstars who have rapidly climbed the ladder to glory in their first year after their promotion to the main roster.
This list includes some of the biggest stars in the business today, so let's jump right into it.
#10. Riddle's journey from NXT to become the U.S. Champion
Riddle first burst onto the scene in WWE back in 2018. He joined NXT after spending several years in the UFC and on the independent circuit.
Riddle's undefeated streak lasted more than five months before Velveteen Dream defeated him in an NXT North American Championship Match.
In NXT, The Original Bro won the NXT Tag Team Championship with his partner Pete Dunne and the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Riddle's main roster debut came on June 19, 2020, on SmackDown when he crashed AJ Styles' Intercontinental Championship Party.
On his SmackDown debut match, the former NXT Tag Team Champion defeated the Intercontinental Champion in a non-title match. A month later, the two clashed again, but the result was different as Styles retained his title.
Riddle was drafted to RAW last October and received his first title shot later in January. He challenged the United States Champion Bobby Lashley but again came up short.
Finally, Riddle snatched Lashley's title at Elimination Chamber in a triple threat match that included John Morrison. After a hard-fought battle, Lashley was closing in on the victory when he applied the Hurt Lock on Morrison. The Original Bro interfered to save his chances using MVP's crutch as a weapon on Lashley, before hitting Morrison with the Bro Derek for the win. His victory meant capturing his first title on the main roster, only eight months from his debut.
#9. Alexa Bliss made up for her NXT setbacks
Alexa Bliss joined NXT back in 2013 with no professional wrestling background. She worked her way up from being a ring announcer, to participating in Triple H's entrance at WrestleMania 30, to becoming a legitimate challenger for the NXT Title in 2015.
Bliss never won the NXT Women's Championship during her time in NXT despite challenging Sasha Banks and Bayley on two different occasions.
However, The Goddess' run on the main roster has been much more successful. She made her debut on July 26 and defeated Becky Lynch in her first match two weeks later. After several failed attempts to win the Smackdown Women's Championship, Little Miss Bliss would win her first ever title in WWE in December.
Bliss challenged the Smackdown Women's Champion Becky Lynch at TLC 2016 in a Tables Match. The Goddess went through a hellacious match against the Irish Lass-Kicker but came out on top. She got her first taste of gold on the main roster after less than six months from her debut, when she Powerbombed Lynch through a table at ringside.
#8. Ricochet carried his NXT success to RAW
Ricochet joined NXT in January 2018 and captured the NXT North American title by defeating Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn 4 about seven months later.
Ricochet's main roster debut came on RAW in February 2019 when he teamed up with Finn Balor to take on Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. He later allied with Aleister Black, whom he had won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with at NXT. Although an entertaining team, they failed to win any gold.
However, the WWE Draft separated them following WrestleMania, sending Ricochet to RAW and Black to SmackDown.
The One and Only became the number one contender for the United States Championship in June after winning a fatal-five-way elimination match. He went head to head with the United States Champion Samoa Joe at Stomping Grounds on June 23.
At Stomping Grounds, Ricochet surprisingly pinned Joe to become the United States Champion, nearly four months after his main roster debut.
#7. Bayley's successful jump from NXT to RAW
Bayley spent nearly four years in NXT before her promotion to the main roster. Despite competing for the NXT Women's Championship several times, Bayley won it only once. Nevertheless, she made sure to hold on to it as much as she could.
Bayley captured her first gold when she defeated Sasha Banks At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015 for the NXT Women's Championship. She remained champion for 223 days before losing her title to Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Dallas 2016.
After failing to recapture her title, Bayley left NXT and made her official debut on RAW on August 22, 2016. She directly challenged Charlotte Flair for her RAW Women's Championship belt, but her former friend turned her down. But she was granted her wish in a triple-threat match later at Clash of Champions against Flair and Sasha Banks, but came up short.
Bayley got another shot at Flair's title after defeating Nia Jax in a number-one contender's match in January 2017. The two squared off at the Royal Rumble, but again, Bayley could not leave with the gold.
Bayley, however, pinned Flair the following night on RAW during a Six-Person Tag Team Match to earn another opportunity at the title.
On February 13, The Huggable One clashed with The Queen on RAW in a match in which Brooke and Banks interfered. Taking advantage of Banks' help, Bayley hit the Bayley To Belly on Charlotte for the pin to win her first title on the main roster after nearly six months since her debut.
#6. Bobby Roode: Glorious on both NXT and SmackDown
Bobby Roode joined NXT in August 2016 and needed less than a year to climb the NXT ladder to the top. He was crowned NXT Champion the following January at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio when he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura.
The Glorious One would drop his championship to Drew McIntyre on August 19, two days before making his debut on the main roster joining SmackDown.
Roode earned a United States title shot at Clash of Champions 2017, but was defeated in a triple-threat match against Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler.
Ziggler won the triple-threat match but decided to vacate the Championship two days later because "The WWE Universe did not deserve him."
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan ordered an eight-man tournament for the title the following week.
Roode would roll Baron Corbin up for the pin to qualify from the first round. The semi-finals came on January 16, 2018, and Roode successfully eliminated Mojo Rawley to book his ticket to a title match on the same night against Jinder Mahal.
After a hard-fought battle, Bobby Roode would escape the Khallas to deliver his own Glorious DDT for the pin to win his first title on the main roster less than five months after his debut.
#5. Carmella had better luck on Smackdown than NXT
Carmella joined NXT in 2013 and spent three years in the black and yellow brand. Nevertheless, her only shot at championship gold came right before her promotion to the main roster.
The Princess of Staten Island won a Battle Royal to earn a shot at Bayley's NXT Women's Championship in January 2016. Carmella went head-to-head against the Champion on February 10 episode but suffered a defeat. She would not get another chance until her debut on SmackDown.
Carmella was drafted from NXT to SmackDown on July 19 and made her debut on the 26th.
She made history becoming the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank, but her first few attempts to cash in on the Champion Charlotte Flair failed.
On the April 10 episode of SmackDown, Carmella found her perfect opportunity when The IIconics, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, attacked Charlotte.
Ms. Money in the Bank rushed to the ring and cashed in her briefcase to take advantage of a weakened Charlotte. She hit The Queen with the Superkick to win her first-ever title, nine months following her main roster debut.
#4. Finn Balor's Irish luck followed him from NXT to RAW
Finn Balor made his debut on NXT in September 2014. In July 2015, he won the NXT Championship at The Beast in the East by defeating Kevin Owens.
The Extraordinary Man Who Can Do Extraordinary Things held the NXT title for 292 days before dropping it to Samoa Joe on a live event in April 2016.
On July 19, 2016, Balor was drafted from NXT to RAW and debuted a week later. On his first appearance on The Red Brand, Balor wasted no time going for the gold. He won a fatal-four-way against Owens, Cesaro, and Rusev, then a match against Roman Reigns, to earn a shot at the newly introduced Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
On August 21 2016, Balor, as The Demon King, defeated Rollins in an epic match to become the first-ever Universal Champion, but it did not come without a price.
The Irish Superstar sustained a shoulder injury during his historic match, which required surgery and meant he would be out for up to six months. He had to relinquish his title just hours after winning it. Despite this, he made this list as he became champion on the main roster in less than a month after his promotion from NXT.
#3. Charlotte Flair won championships on NXT and the main roster
Charlotte Flair signed for WWE in 2012 to join NXT. The Queen's first taste of championship gold came two years later when she defeated Natalya at NXT TakeOver for the vacant NXT Women's Championship.
Charlotte's NXT Championship reign lasted 258 days before losing her title to Sasha Banks in a fatal-four-way that included Becky Lynch and Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Rival on February 11, 2015.
On July 13 2015, Charlotte made her jump from NXT to the main roster, joining RAW as part of Stephanie McMahon's Women's Revolution. Although she allied with Paige and Becky Lynch as team PCB, Ric Flair's daughter had to beat both of them in a Beat the Clock challenge to earn her first shot at the Divas Championship.
The Queen faced Nikki Bella on September 20 at Night of Champions for the Divas title just sixty-nine days after her debut on the main roster.
Following a Spear, Charlotte forced Nikki to tap-out to the Figure Eight Leglock to win the championship, while her father made his way to the ring to raise her hand after the match.
#2. Kevin Owens gold-hunting from NXT to the main roster
Kevin Owens made it to NXT in 2014. He had his debut match in December at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution against CJ Parker, and by February, he was already fighting for the NXT Championship.
Following a feud with the NXT Champion and his former best friend Sami Zayn, Owens challenged him to a title match at NXT TakeOver: Rival on February 11. He destroyed his former friend to capture his first and only title in NXT.
Owens made his main roster debut on RAW on May 18, 2015, to go immediately after the United States Champion John Cena. Still the NXT Champion, Owens responded to Cena's US title open challenge by attacking him then stomping on his title in pure disrespect.
This led to a feud that ended in Owens failing to strip Cena of the title.
Owens dropped his NXT title to Finn Balor at Beast in the East to end his 143 day reign.
The former NXT Champion turned his eyes to the Intercontinental Champion Ryback and challenged him for a title match. They went one-on-one for the title at Night of Champions 2015 on September 20.
Although Ryback had the upper hand during most of their bout, Owens targeting his opponent's left arm proved a gamechanger. The champion's shoulder gave out when he tried to hit his Shell Shocked the first time. On his second attempt, Owens countered with a rake to the eyes, before rolling Ryback up for the pin.
KO became the Intercontinental Champion nearly four months after his main roster debut to book a place for himself on this list.
#1. Paige held the NXT and Divas titles at the same time
Paige was part of WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling before it got rebranded as NXT. She made her NXT debut in 2012 and spent two years on the black and yellow brand.
The English Superstar became the first-ever NXT Women's Champion on July 24, 2013, when she defeated Emma in an NXT Women's Championship tournament final. Paige never lost her championship but vacated it when she became Divas Champion.
As the NXT Women's Champion, Paige made her main roster debut on RAW the night after WrestleMania 30. She congratulated the Divas Champion AJ Lee on her title defense at WrestleMania in the Divas Championship Invitational. Lee, on the other hand, challenged Paige to a Divas title match and slapped the NXT Women's Champion across the face.
Surprisingly, Paige made quick work of the Divas Champion. She escaped the Black Widow to hit the Paige Turner and pin the Champion to win her first gold on the main roster minutes after her debut.
The Anti-Diva made history as she became the youngest Divas Champion at the age of 21, the first female Superstar to win a title in her debut match, and the only woman to hold both the NXT Women's Championship and the Divas title simultaneously. She also became the fastest NXT Superstar to win gold after their promotion to the main roster.
