Ranking all former NXT Champions' main roster careers

#6 Samoa Joe

Missed opportunity?

The fact that Samoa Joe fails to make the top 5 in this list is more a commentary on the success of the men above him than any particular indictment on Joe himself.

That being said, while Samoa Joe's overall persona has been very effective on RAW since his call-up from NXT, one assumes that in terms of long-term vision, the former TNA and ROH star probably doesn't feature too highly on Vince McMahon's priorities.

Whether it is an age thing or the fact that Vince still resents guys who have been able to make it without his help, Samoa Joe feels like he has already missed his opportunity to be a star for the WWE, despite only being on RAW less than a year.

Things really should have happened straight away considering his debut was so explosive. After literally injuring Seth Rollins in the run-up to Wrestlemania 33, fans were becoming excited at the prospect of a really powerful team forming between Joe and Triple H. Instead, following Rollin's victory over the Game, the whole enforcer gimmick was dropped.

Joe then gained a somewhat unexpected opportunity against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. Again, much promise was raised from this, but ultimately nothing happened. Joe would have made an excellent Universal Champion in Brock's absence and it would have cemented the idea of him being an unstoppable heel monster.

No doubt Joe will continue to play a key role on RAW for a fair few years to come, but it just doesn't feel like he is destined for a considerable push anytime soon. The WWE's handling of him has been pretty good, but there was definitely more than one missed opportunity along the way.