Grading The First 10 NXT Champions

#7 Finn Balor

The Demon King... of NXT

Finn Balor is the longest reigning NXT Champion in history with a reign that lasted for 293 days. He beat Kevin Ownens for the strap, and embarked on an epic run as champion which was highlighted with one epic feud against Samoa Joe. His run saw him go from being a tag team with Joe to mortal enemies. Balor always seemed to get one over Joe, but that stopped after Joe beat him for the NXT Championship at a live event in Lowell, Massachusetts on the 21st of April, 2016.

Balor was called up to the main roster during the WWE Draft as the 5th overall pick, ahead of the likes of John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns. He became the number 1 contender for the new Universal Championship on his first night, last beating Roman Reigns clean. He won the belt at Summerslam 2016 defeating Seth Rollins, however, he got injured and had to abdicate the belt. His return hasn't gone too well, as he hasn't gotten a sniff around the belt since coming back. He is currently feuding with Seth Rollins over the Intercontinental Championship.

Balor was tremendous on NXT and promised to be tremendous on Raw. His injury has really scuppered his main roster career as he has come back into an upper-midcarder role. He may eventually get his belt back, but after being squashed by Kane in December 2017, it seems WWE aren't too hot for him anymore. That doesn't take away the fact that he was electric when he debuted and became the quickest person on the main roster to win a world title.

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