Ranking all former NXT Champions' main roster careers

#1 Seth Rollins

The original.

Out of all the former NXT Champions, the man who has probably succeeded more than any other on the main roster is the division's first champion, Seth Rollins. Compared with guys like Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura, Rollins did not have the luxury of representing NXT during its successful boom period.

This meant that he still had a lot of work to do when it was time for his call-up and couldn't simply rely on fans' desire to see the Wednesday night product succeed.

That being said, Rollins was handed probably the greatest opportunity anyone in his position could have hoped for when he was asked to be part of the Shield. For anyone who claims that WWE can no longer book factions effectively, the Hounds of Justice stand as an example to the contrary. Fans were instantly behind the idea of the three-man group coming in and taking out the best the company had to offer.

The key to The Shield's success early on was the fact that they were actually booked to look strong. People could believe that they had what it took to take on guys like Daniel Bryan and The Undertaker and hold various championship belts along the way. Even their first Wrestlemania match ended in an impressive victory.

As the group gained in popularity, fans assumed it would be Roman Reigns who would be given the first opportunity to branch out on his own, but due to some less than impressive crowd reactions, it would be Rollins who would get the first taste of world championship gold.

By all intents and purpose, Rollins was 'the man' for the WWE throughout most of 2014-2015. While his wins were not always convincing, he did still manage to retain his belt against the likes of John Cena and Brock Lesnar. Much like Balor before him, it would be injury that finally put an end to his monster push.

Rollins hasn't had the best time of it recently, but with the reformation of the Shield he is once again at the forefront of WWE programming and even if nothing much happens between now and his retirement, he already has quite the career to look back on.