3 Former NXT Champions Vince McMahon loves and 3 he doesn't

Modified Mar 07, 2019 06:50 GMT

One thing WWE fans are fearful of nowadays is how their favourite Superstars from NXT will fare once they debut on the main roster. We all know that Vince McMahon doesn't watch much NXT and sometimes surefire successes like SAnitY somehow rarely even make it to television.

In this article, we take a look at some former NXT Champions to see how they've fared on the main roster and which of the ones on our list Vince McMahon is a fan of.

#3 LIKES - Finn Balor

Finn Balor is definitely one of the most popular NXT Champions of all time and he's also one of Vince's favourite former NXT Champions. Balor won the title from Kevin Owens at WWE Beast In The East in Tokyo and held onto it for 292 days until he lost it to Samoa Joe at an NXT Live Event in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Finn Balor was thrust into the Universal title picture soon after his main roster debut and beat Roman Reigns on that very night. He went on to become the first WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam but was injured during the match and forced to vacate his title.

Balor was put over on the mic by both John Cena and Mr. McMahon himself in the lead up to his battle with Brock Lesnar. Balor is currently WWE IC Champion.

#3 NOT A FAN OF - Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura was a huge signing for NXT and he proved it on his debut itself, beating Sami Zayn in an incredible match at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. Nakamura is a 2-time NXT Champion, winning the title from Samoa Joe on both occasions. Nakamura eventually lost the title to Bobby Roode at TakeOver: San Antonio.

Since Nakamura's move to the main roster, he won the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble but it never really looked like Vince McMahon had full faith in him and didn't quite pull the trigger. Nakamura lost against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34 and after that feud, did little on SmackDown despite holding the US Championship for a period.

#2 LIKES - Kevin Owens

If you haven't noticed, Vince McMahon is a huge fan of Kevin Owens. Owens debuted on the main roster while still NXT Champion and beat John Cena in his first main roster match.

Owens has also been put over by Vince on WWE television more than once and gets a lot more freedom on the mic than a lot of WWE Superstars. Vince himself reintroduced KO on his recent return from injury if you still had any doubts about Vince loving Owens.

Not to mention, KO is a former WWE Universal Champion, Intercontinental Champion and United States Champion.

#2 NOT A FAN OF - Sami Zayn

Unlike Kevin Owens, Vince McMahon isn't as big a fan of Sami Zayn. Zayn is another Superstar who was really popular in NXT but just hasn't had the chance to sink his teeth into too much on the main roster.

Zayn hasn't gotten a lot of storylines to work with but he never disappoints inside the ring. Zayn's biggest main roster storyline had to be teaming up with Kevin Owens against Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan in the lead up to WrestleMania 34. Zayn is currently out after undergoing surgery last year.

#1 LIKES - Seth Rollins

Another former NXT Champion who Vince McMcMahon can't get enough of is the first NXT Champion Seth Rollins. As part of The Shield, Rollins has gone on to become one of the most popular WWE SUperstars of this generation.

Rollins is a former WWE Champion as well as a former United States, Intercontinental and multiple time tag-team Champion. After winning the 2019 men's Royal Rumble, Seth Rollins will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35.

#1 NOT A FAN OF - Bo Dallas

Bo Dallas is probably the least successful NXT Champion of all-time. His run on the main roster saw him going from a dominant star in NXT to a Superstar who stares at the lights in quick succession.

Unfortunately, Dallas is treated more like a comedic character on RAW and it's clear that Vince McMahon isn't that big a fan. He did win the RAW Tag-Team titles as part od the B-Team though.

Edited by Sripad