WWE Superstars who were instrumental in getting NXT to where it is today

#7 Samoa Joe

Joe had runs as both a heel and a face in NXT.

Samoa Joe might not have been the first NXT Champion or the best NXT Champion. He's also had a somewhat disappointing main-roster run. But what Joe represents to NXT and the WWE is the change in stance that the company originally had regarding signing Superstars from Impact Wrestling.

Kevin Owens helped to start the "big indie names signing" trend in NXT along with Zayn and others, but prior to Samoa Joe showing up in NXT, WWE had disregarded picking up stars from TNA.

They either didn't think much of the talent or were unaware of how talented a lot of the people were.

But once Triple H started NXT and was allowed slack to operate things how he wanted to, a lot of practices changed. Joe showed up initially as a face to aid Sami Zayn after he had been attacked by former friend Kevin Owens.

After finishing a feud with Owens, Joe would become the first winner of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Finn Balor. That run would also turn Joe heel and see him win the title from the longest-reigning NXT Champion in Balor. Joe was also the first-ever two-time NXT Champion after feuding with Shinsuke Nakamura.