Top 5 Superstars in NXT History

#2 Finn Balor

Balor is the longest-reigning NXT Champion

Before becoming the inaugural Universal Champion at SummerSlam 2016, Finn Balor was a major driving force behind the massive success that NXT would become during his time on the Yellow and Black brand.

Balor made his NXT debut on a September 2014 episode of NXT TV by helping Hideo Itami (KENTA) fend off an attack from The Ascension. The Irishman defeated Kevin Owens to win the NXT Championship at The Beast In The East on July 4, 2015.

Balor's run as the NXT Champion saw the brand scale newer heights and become a global third brand for WWE. He also won the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2015 alongside Samoa Joe. Joe would eventually turn heel and feud with Balor for the NXT Championship. Balor lost the NXT Championship to the Samoan Submission Machine in an NXT Live event in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 21, 2016.

Since leaving NXT and joining the main-roster in 2016, Balor has gone on to achieve major success on both RAW and SmackDown. His NXT Championship reign of 292 days, to this day, is the longest NXT Championship reign. Balor, alongside Bayley and Sami Zayn, were the first Superstars to usher in the Golden age of 'NXT' and help make it more than just a 'developmental ' branch of WWE.