Not everyone has the ability to be successful anywhere they go. While they have the passion and charisma but fail in places with different management.
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Some wrestlers are great on NXT but fail on the main roster. They might not live up to the hype that was surrounding them when they debuted and fail on the main roster. Let us talk about five superstars who failed on the main roster, but were a big deal on NXT:
#5 The Ascension
Often dubbed as the next Road Warriors, Ascension was a big deal when they were on NXT. The team which consists of Konnor and Viktor even currently hold the record for longest NXT Tag Team Title reign(they held the championship for 364 days) before they lost the titles to The Lucha Dragons which also marked their first loss in NXT.
After losing to Hideo Itami and Finn Balor, they made their way to the main roster. But after two or three wins on the main roster, The Ascension got beaten up by the legends and starting losing all their credibility. Since then, they have rarely won a tag team match and if we talk about now, they don't even get TV time.
The team that was so dominant in NXT was wasted on the main roster.
#4 Bobby Roode
He already made a name for himself in TNA(now known as Impact Wrestling) as a former 2x TNA World Champion and a 6x Tag Team Champion.
He also shined in NXT, being undefeated for almost a year and even won the NXT Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura before holding it for over 200 days. He only lost two matches in NXT-against Drew McIntyre(he lost the NXT Championship) and the last match in NXT to Roderick Strong.
When he arrived on the main roster, things looked bright for him as he won the United States Championship. But he later lost all his credibility as a performer.
Later, he was drafted on Raw but again as a face. Since getting drafted, he has done nothing on Raw and has lost more matches than he has won. He has been lost in the mix and currently feuding with Mojo Rawley. WWE needs to realise Bobby Roode can play a heel role at its best and is not that great as a face.
#3 Bayley
Bayley was probably one of the best acts on NXT. A babyface that everyone loved, she put on classics with Becky Lynch, Charlotte and who can forget her matches against Sasha Banks.
She was a former NXT Women's Champion and an NXT Female Superstar of the Year. Also, her Iron-Woman match with Sasha Banks is considered one of the best women match in NXT history. After getting accomplishments like these, she made her way to the main roster and was inserted into the Raw Women's Championship picture. She also won the Raw Women's Champion and the first woman to beat Charlotte Flair on a PPV(at Fastlane 2017).
But after her segments like This is Your Life with Alexa Bliss, her credibility as a performer suffered and she even lost the title to Bliss. Since then, she hasn't been a champion and is in an on-and-off feud with Sasha Banks.
One of the best babyfaces has turned into a bust and is now in a tag team with Sasha Banks. No one knows what WWE is going to do with Bayley in future.
#2 Asuka
She isn't completely a loser on the main roster but has for sure fallen from the expectations for her.
She was undefeated for almost 3 years(914 days) in WWE. She holds the record for longest reign as NXT Women's Championship which she relinquished due to injury. On the main roster, she won the first ever women's Royal Rumble and was the sole survivor for Team Raw at Survivor Series. She was first defeated by Charlotte when she submitted on Figure-8 at WrestleMania 34. She hasn't been the same since.
She lost a tag team match to IIconics in her first match on SmackDown. When she was again inserted in SmackDown Women's Championship picture but lost twice to Carmella and Carmella became the first woman to pin Asuka(can you believe it!).
At the age of 36, the fans don't see her become any more successful in WWE and after her Streak of Terror ended, she might just not become what she was before.
#1 Finn Balor
Finn Balor previously made a name for himself when he wrestled as Prince Devitt(his real name) and was the founder of The Bullet Club.
Finn Balor was inarguably the best wrestler during his time in NXT. He was great on NXT, the longest reigning NXT Champion ever and the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Samoa Joe(good friends until he turned on Balor) and even won the NXT Male Competitor of The Year.
In 2016, after losing NXT Championship to Samoa Joe(ending his reign of 294 days), he then made his way to the main roster when he was chosen at #7 by Raw in WWE draft. He looked bright there and even defeated Roman Reigns clean. He went on to become WWE Univeral Champion at SummerSlam 2016 by defeating Seth Rollins. But he got injured in the match and was forced to relinquish his title.
After that, all the things went downhill for him. He hasn't won any title after returning from injury and even hasn't got the rematch for the title he never lost. Currently, he is feuding with Baron Corbin and recently lost to him on Raw.