3 WWE Superstars who wanted a Championship reign before retiring and 2 who wanted a title shot

#2 Alex Riley wanted a shot at the WWE NXT Championship

.@RealPaigeWWE WWE Alex Riley theme song 2012 Say it to my face + Titantron 2012 HD https://t.co/KDZolVo26z via @YouTube

— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) March 21, 2020

Former FCW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Riley was a part of WWE from 2007 to 2016. The 39-year-old spent three years in FCW, before becoming a part of NXT and then aligning himself with The Miz.

Riley got to wrestle some big names like John Cena and Daniel Bryan because of his association with the A-Lister. He became a singles competitor after WWE separated him from The Miz during the 2011 Supplemental Draft.

Riley could not achieve much success on SmackDown, and ultimately, he took over the role of a color commentator. The Virginia-based star became well known as 'The Analyst' Alex Riley on the WWE Network.

He wished to return to in-ring competition and started a #FreeRiley campaign on Twitter. Then, he joined the WWE NXT roster when Kevin Owens was the NXT Champion.

Riley claimed that the WWE Network audience would double if the company gave him a shot at the NXT title. Unfortunately, he never received that opportunity and after WWE released him in 2016, Riley quit the world of pro wrestling.

#NowWatching Glass Jaw, and there is former WWE superstar Alex Riley in a supporting role

— Darren Lucas (@newguyreview101) October 21, 2018

Alex starred in a Netflix series titled GLOW in 2017, while he has even been a part of a couple of films.