7 most successful NXT call-ups

Modified Dec 07, 2017 18:25 GMT

Seth Rollins — The yellow brand is the ideal place for wrestlers to make their name

#6 Big E

The New Day — Big E held the Intercontinental Championship for 167 daysThe former NXT champion made his debut in December 2012. However, he had his first official match at WrestleMania 29, teaming with Dolph Ziggler to unsuccessfully challenge Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) for the WWE Tag Team championship.

The following night on RAW, Big E wrestled his first singles match, defeating Daniel Bryan. On the November 18th edition of Monday Night RAW, Big E defeated Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Championship, his first singles title on the main roster.

He held the Intercontinental Championship for 167 days. At Extreme Rules on May 4, Big E lost the Intercontinental Championship to Bad News Barrett and failed to regain it the following night on RAW.

However successful his singles career was, it wasn’t until he teamed with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to form The New Day, that Big E rose to prominence. As part of The New Day, Big E won the Tag Team Titles a couple of times in 2015.

One of those reigns lasted a mammoth 483 days. During this time, The New Day became one of the most exciting and interesting acts in the company, selling an enormous amount of merchandise and even guest hosting WrestleMania 33.

Big E is the only person on this list who is yet to win a World Title since his main roster debut.

Big E's accomplishments in NXT and WWE

NXT Championship (1 time)

WWE (RAW) Tag Team Championship (2 times)

WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

WWE (Smackdown) Tag Team Championship (2 times)

Became the longest reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history (483 days)

Comeback of the Year (2015) As a member of The New Day

Second-Best Heels (2015) As a member of The New Day

WWE Wrestlers of the Year (2015) As a member of The New Day

Best Gimmick (2015) The New Day

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

Know More

Edited by Malcolm Tyde