5 Great Wrestlemania moments from NXT alumni

Tonight, WrestleMania Weekend kicks off in full with the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and the company will present action throughout Saturday and Sunday at its Axxess fan festival.

For folks not in the city of New Orleans, though, and its surrounding areas, the in-ring action for the biggest weekend of WWE's year doesn't kick off until Saturday night, when NXT tries to raise the bar yet again with its third pre-WrestleMania TakeOver special.

When the company's main, full-time roster takes the stage at the Superdome on Sunday, over a dozen competitors (not counting the entrants in the men's and women's battle royals) will be superstars who made their way through the ranks of WWE's Orlando-based brand to hone their craft before a main roster debut.

Here are five of those NXT alumni whose stars have shone brightest on the WrestleMania stage.

#5. Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX

Bray Wyatt begs John Cena to strike him down with a chair.

Anytime you discuss Bray Wyatt and WrestleMania, you have to note that the bayou enigma is completely winless at the event, having dropped matches to John Cena, The Undertaker, and Wyatt Family sleeper agent Randy Orton.

That said, Wyatt's debut at the Showcase of the Immortals was a sight (and sound) to behold, as he held all of New Orleans in a trance from the moment Mark Crozer and The Rels hit the first strains of "Live in Fear".

In a match where Wyatt goaded Cena to embrace his dark side and lash out in anger, Wyatt taunted the Doctor of Thuganomics with a chorus of 70,000 strong singing the children's hymn, "He's Got the Whole World In His Hand".

Wyatt may have come away with the loss, but an unusual, artistic, and risky gimmick transferring to a massive stage in the best way possible has to be considered somewhat of a win.

#4. NXT is 2-2 (or 3-1) in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

If you're not sure who to bet on in an Andre, make sure to at least pick an NXT alumnus.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal can, at times, seem like a pretty transparent way for WWE to cram the WrestleMania card with as many names as possible while promoting their own brand of wrestling history through the continued use of the company's favorite star of all time.

That said, it's also almost always a very welcome diversion on a marathon card, and twice has been won by NXT alumni (three times if you count Cesaro, who won the inaugural Andre at WrestleMania XXX).

In fact, only one superstar who did not compete at Full Sail University, The Big Show, has taken the bronzed Eighth Wonder of the World home; the others have gone to Cesaro, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley.

The usually-stoic Baron Corbin soaks up a big win on his first night as a WWE superstar.

Corbin, who made his debut in the match at WrestleMania 32, and who seemed to find out the night before not only that this would be his promotion but also that he would be victorious (if Breaking Ground's footage of the Dallas NXT event is to be believed), seems to have benefitted the most from his association with the match, and had the most immediate main roster success afterward, although time will have to tell with Rawley.

#3. Kevin Owens institutes KO-Mania

This could easily sell 93,000 tickets.

Kevin Owens has turned WrestleMania season into his own unique brand of sports entertainment heeldom; in just his third leadup to The Grandaddy of 'Em All, Kevin Owens has released a third t-shirt renaming the event KO-Mania.

Each shirt parodies the logo for an iconic WrestleMania event; his Mania debut in 2016 parodied that year's Texas-themed WrestleMania logo, while KO-Mania 2 featured the stylized neon "2" from the WrestleMania 2 poster.

KO-Mania III features the hot main event of Kevin Owens vs. Supersize Kevin Owens.

WWE's "Do Not Try This At Home" disclaimer should not be necessary here.

His record at WrestleMania is 1-1, but his unique branding has helped him feel like a Mania mainstay; the WWE Network's 365 special revealed that Mr. McMahon was less than pleased with the Prizefighter's WrestleMania 33 triumph over Chris Jericho for the United States Championship, but the frog splash Owens delivered to a Sami Zayn lying on a ladder at WrestleMania 32 will surely make the career highlight reel.

#2. Roman Reigns stands tall at consecutive WrestleManias

He's not the first NXT alumnus to close a WrestleMania like this, but he is the most controversial.

Roman Reigns, for better or for worse, is the present and future of World Wrestling Entertainment; every reason that internet smarks seem to hate him (he's Vince's prototypical "body" guy, he's using his family's legacy to get ahead, he's only on top because he appeals to kids and women) is every reason WWE pushes him, and the raucous blend of boos and cheers that greets his entrance theme just sounds like cash registers to WWE accountants.

Reigns entered WrestleMania 32 looking to earn his third WWE Championship, his previous two reigns combined lasting less time than many students' holiday breaks from school. He would face WWE COO and defending champion Triple H, the man whose surprise entrance into the 2016 Royal Rumble match allowed him to take WWE's top title back to Titan Tower.

WWE closed that WrestleMania broadcast with Reigns standing triumphant, championship in hand as pyrotechnics lit up AT&T Stadium, then closed out a second consecutive WrestleMania with a victorious Reigns. This time, however, at WrestleMania 33, the broadcast ended with fans watching Reigns's vanquished opponent, The Undertaker, seeming to abandon his career and character in the middle of the ring.

No title changed hands, but a yard may or may not have.

This, in addition to Reigns seeming to be the Chosen One at WrestleMania 31 before a main event swerve took Santa Clara by surprise; however, claiming the company's two biggest honors (winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania and defeating WrestleMania's most iconic performer) is a huge feat for one of the most noteworthy NXT alumni.

#1. Seth Rollins shocks the world

While Reigns has had the most notable main roster successes of any NXT alumnus, Seth Rollins is the one who has made professional wrestling history time and time again.

The first champion of WWE's new developmental brand, Rollins became the first NXT Champion to win the main roster world title, and the first to stand tall in the main event of a WrestleMania (granted, he wasn't actually booked in that match, but it's a victory nonetheless).

Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to close out WrestleMania 31, a feat which had never been accomplished at the Showcase of the Immortals; some sources say Rollins, Reigns, and Lesnar were notified of this change during the lengthy Triple H/Stephanie McMahon/Ronda Rousey promo (which had a dual purpose of stalling for sundown to improve the darkness-enhanced entrances to come and also to allow producers to meet with talent about changes to the close of the show).

For every Vaudevillains or Ascension, popular NXT gimmicks that fail to transfer to the main stage, there is a Seth Rollins, performers whose path of success just gets bigger.

Roman Reigns's biggest WrestleMania successes might not make the annual WrestleMania Moments packages as each successive show arrives (and, in the case of WrestleMania 33, the story always focuses on his opponent when that match is discussed); however, it's impossible to imagine a WrestleMania promo without the first NXT alumnus to claim golden glory on wrestling's grandest stage.