Grading The First 10 NXT Champions

#10 Bobby Roode

A Glorious Champion.

Speaking of a catch entrance, Bobby Roode held the NXT Title for a total of 203 days. Even though he held the belt after the roster had been weakened because of the brand split, he had a very memorable run as NXT Champion. Unlike his predecessors, Roode didn't have a single defining rivalry during his tenure as champion, but he had many. It started with Hideo Itami, went to Roderick Strong and ended with Drew McIntyre. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III saw the end of his underrated and entertaining title reign.

Debuting on the 22 August 2017 edition of SmackDown Live, Bobby Roode would enter the roster as a babyface, shedding his heel narcisstic persona from NXT. He would feud with professional heat killer Dolph Ziggler for a large chunk of his main roster stay. He would capture the vacant US Title (vacated by the aforementioned Dolph Ziggler) and enter into a feud with Randy Orton and later Jinder Mahal. He failed to defend his title at WrestleMania 34, losing to Jinder Mahal who pinned Rusev in a fatal 4 way match, also including Randy Orton.

Roode had an enjoyable stint as NXT Champion, but has failed to impress on the main roster. His face turn has made him a one-dimensional character who is only over because of his entrance. His heel NXT character needs to be revived for Roode to have a fighting chance in WWE's extremely talented and over saturated roster.

Grades: B+ as NXT Champion, C- on the main roster, C+ overall.