First 5 WWE NXT Champions: Where are they now?

#5 Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn following his Intercontinental title win

Few Superstars can match the experience that Sami Zayn possesses. Having wrestled in over 29 countries, Zayn arrived at NXT in 2013 to much hype and anticipation. Known for his eclectic style of wrestling where he mixes acrobatic maneuvers with hard-hitting strikes, the Canadian born Superstar immediately wowed the NXT and WWE Universe.

After pursuing the NXT Championship for nearly a year, Zayn defeated Neville (PAC) at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in 2014 to become the fifth Superstar to win the NXT Championship. However, the celebration did not last long as it was cut short by a heinous attack from Kevin Owens who seemingly came in to congratulate him at first before stabbing him from the back.

Zayn has had a storied on-and-off friendship and rivalry with Owens from their time in the indies and has also continued their feud in NXT and even on the main roster. However, after always coming withing arms reach of winning a championship only to see it being taken away from him, he turned to the dark side by aligning with Owens for a brief period.

Zayn was drafted to SmackDown as a part of the 2019 draft and became the manager of Shinsuke Nakamura when the latter held the Intercontinental Championship. A few weeks later, he also started managing Cesaro and the trio named themselves as The Artist Collective.

After Braun Strowman defeated Nakamura to become the Intercontinental Champion, Zayn challenged him to a 3-on-1 handicap match at the 2020 Elimination Chamber. Zayn along with Cesaro and Nakamura defeated The Monster Among Men to win the Intercontinental title for the first time in his career which also marked his first major singles title win after 5 years since he last held the NXT Championship.

Zayn will be defending the IC title against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 36.