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WWE NXT is quickly becoming the hottest brand in professional wrestling. This is where some of the best young talents in the world refine their skills in the hopes of breaking through to the main stage. These are guys who are still trying to prove that they deserve a shot. It is amazing when you consider how bad it was in the beginning.
For the first 5 seasons, it was a dire homage to reality television game shows. Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) used to be the main developmental territory for the WWE. Just before getting called up to the main WWE roster, a selection of rookies would compete in challenges and matches here. Strangely, the challenges had little to do with a career in professional wrestling, and yet the carried the most favour. It was little more than a badly executed pantomime.
The show jumped the shark at the first elimination stage. Not only was the rookie with the fewest votes eliminated, but so were two others, including the one who got the most votes. Not that it mattered, because the people that the WWE wanted on the main roster were just going to get called up anyway. Further proof of this was when ‘NXT Redemption’ aired. Some of the least liked contestants from the shows history were given yet another chance.
That is enough complaining for now. Let’s look at the contestants who competed on the show.
A.J. – A.J. debuted mainly as a ditsy valet/cute girlfriend of several characters. After kissing Kane during a match, she suddenly became one of the most popular Divas on the roster. She had a short stint as Raw General Manager. She eventually won the Divas Championship. Her first reign lasted a year, the longest yet. She is currently the Divas Champion. Due to her real life marriage to CM Punk, fans tend to chant his name during her appearances.
Aksana – Aksana debuted as a completely repackaged character. Almost every aspect of her new ring attire made it difficult for her to perform. When she was finally allowed to tone down her ring attire, she had lost some of the ability she once had. She was then released because her in-ring ability had diminished so much.
Alex Riley – Riley was immediately promoted to the main roster as The Miz’ assistant. When he was fired, he received a quick push. But he was taken off television after a real life disagreement with John Cena. He now works as an announcer for the NXT brand.
Brodus Clay – Even though he was a heel, he became the breakout star of season 4 by being the only likeable star. He debuted as Alberto Del Rio’s bodyguard, but was quickly sidelined with a neck injury. He returned with the famous Funkasaurus gimmick, and became massively popular. But he was never really pushed or involved with any proper feuds. He was released when his heel gimmick bombed, despite staring in a new WWE movie. He currently competes in TNA as Tyrus, the bodyguard of Ethan Carter III.
Byron Saxton – Saxton had been working as a colour commentator for smaller shows. He made little effort on NXT, and was bumped back into the broadcast position.
Connor O’Brian – O’Brian competed in seasons 4 & 5 with the unlikeable “rat†gimmick. He was repackaged as the leader of the Ascension stable and complete reinvigorated his career. His promotion to the main roster has always been delayed due to the actions of a stable member. Now called Konnor, he is expected to join the main roster soon in a tag team with Viktor.
Darren Young – Young was often called “Cena’s cousin†because of their strong facial similarities and poor wrestling ability. He debuted as a part of Nexus but was ejected from the group for looking out of place. He had a brief singles run, and even helped attack the Nexus. He was demoted to NXT Redemption, but the show went to great lengths to stop him being eliminated. When it ended, he rejoined the main roster as part of the ‘Prime Time Players’ tag team with Titus O’Neal. PTP were a rip-off from Cryme Tyme, and received a similar push with no real direction. Young publicly came out, making him the first openly gay WWE superstar. The WWE chose not to exploit his sexuality on television. He was due to receive a major push once PTP split, but he was side-lined with and injury. He is due back soon.
Daniel Bryan – Bryan was heavily buried in the show, but his popularity just grew. This pattern would continue throughout his WWE run. He was eliminated in a controversial decision change. He almost debuted with the Nexus, but was fired after being seen choking Justin Roberts with his own tie. He was later reinstated and quickly won the United States Championship. Despite losing most of his WWE career matches, he would become a multiple title holder, including multi-time WWE Champion. He defeated all 3 Evolution members to win the championship at WrestleMania. He is easily the most popular star, despite the McMahon family not seeing any potential in him. He is currently recovering from multiple injuries.
David Otunga – Otunga was a reality TV star before graduating from Harvard Law School and became an attourney. He is also married to singer and actress Jennifer Hudson. He was the first runner up in Season 1. He debuted with the Nexus and remained their co-captain until the end. He would win the World Tag Team Championship with both John Cena and Michael McGuillicutty. When Nexus broke up, he had a strong push which ended when he left to make the movie ‘The Call’. He is rarely seen, and will likely return to his law career when his contract runs out.
Derrick Bateman – Batemen competed in seasons 4 and 5. His problem was that the WWE never really knew what to do with him. He was introduced to late into season 5 to make a difference. After his release, he joined TNA Wrestling as Ethan Carter III, the nephew of Dixie Carter. He has been pushed solidly as top-tier star, but has yet to really challenge for the main-event spot.
Eli Cottonwood – Returned to FCW where he was mainly the manager of Bray Wyatt. Got released before doing anything noteworthy.
Heath Slater – Slater debuted as part of the Nexus in a tag team with Justin Gabriel. They would win the Tag Team Championship. They later left the Nexus to join the similar Corre stable. They would win the titles twice more. When the Corre split, Slater would become an enhancement talent for the rest of his career. He earned a lot of respect for jobbing to several WWE alumni in one month. He then headed up the popular stable 3MB, who were all enhancement talents. He is currently in a tag team called Slater-Gator with Titus O’Neal. Despite being an enhancement talent, he gets a lot of television time. He rarely wins a match.
Husky Harris – Harris debuted immediately in a tag team with Michael McGuillicutty. They were both adopted into the Nexus. He was removed from the group after a beatdown from Randy Orton. He was repackaged as Bray Wyatt in FCW. Wyatt would later return to the main roster as the leader of the Wyatt Family stable. He has not achieved much, but is one of the most popular stars in the company right now.
Jacob Novak – Novak showed little charisma or enthusiasm in seasons 4 or 5. While in character, he blamed the fans for his failure to make the main roster. But he continued criticising the fans for too long afterwards. This earned him his release.
Jamie – Jamie was the first person eliminated in season 3, and was released the same week.
Johnny Curtis – Curtis won season 4, and the WWE immediately ran out of ideas for him. After a terrible first run, he was bumped back down to NXT where he adopted a sleazy persona. He now competes as Fandango, and is sidelined with an injury.
Justin Gabriel – Gabriel is the first South African WWE Superstar. He debuted as part of the Nexus in a tag team with Heath Slater. They would win the Tag Team Championship. They later left the Nexus to join the similar Corre stable. They would win the titles twice more. When the Corre split, Gabriel received a singles push that ended suddenly. He now appears on NXT and Superstars mainly. Despite his lack of push, he remains popular and rarely loses.
Kaitlyn – Kaitlyn was a bikini model who was hired just before season 3 began. Despite not taking the show seriously, she would win. The WWE struggled to find things for her to do because of her lack of in-ring training and poor microphone skills. But she was pushed heavily as the new face of the Divas. The WWE tried to train her as a power-house, but she struggled to lift opponents. In the end, she adopted a very lazy ring style. She was given the Divas title just because. She quit shortly after losing the title.
Kaval – Despite winning Season 2, Kaval fought against every piece of advice WWE gave him. He refused to adapt his style to a WWE-sized ring. He was released after injuring several superstars with his clumsy and stiff striking style, including himself. He returned to the independent circuit as Low-Ki. He discovered that WWE advice helped him get more bookings. He retired for a year but has since returned. He recently worked several shows with TNA Wrestling. It is not known if he has a proper contract, or just a short-term deal.
Lucky Cannon – Cannon returned to NXT Redemption. He was released before making it onto the main roster. He had been arrested for imitating a police officer. He was released for his comments about it on social media.
Maxine – A swimsuit model who did not take anything seriously. She was heavily used as the main Diva of NXT, but refused to work on her skills. She eventually quit because she was unhappy with the job.
Michael McGuillicutty – McGuillicutty was the real life son of ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig and the grandson of Larry ‘The Ax’ Hennig. He placed second in Season 2. He immediately debuted in a tag team with Husky Harris. Both were accepted into the Nexus. He would win the tag team championship with David Otunga, and was one of the last two members left in the stable. After several months of little activity, he was repackaged as Curtis Axel. Even though he was the Intercontinental Champion and managed by Paul Heyman, he spent months being beaten up or losing to CM Punk. He was recently in the Rybaxel tag team with Ryback, but is now on his own.
Michael Tarver – Tarver debuted as part of the Nexus. He was quickly removed after an arm injury. Cena legitimately hurt him with stiff chair shots, and has never taken responsibility for this. When he returned from injury, he made a few appearances in backstage segments. He then was released without a proper run.
Naomi – Naomi placed second in Season 3. Despite being the best-rounded performer, it would be some time before she would debut. She debuted as half of the Funkadactyls tag team with Cameron, who were backing dancers for Brodus Clay. Her ring-style suffered from her lack of match bookings and adapting a cheer-leader based style to match Cameron’s. Their tag team recently split. She is involved with Total Divas.
Percy Watson – Watson returned to FCW, but was released before ever being called up to the main roster.
Skip Sheffield – Sheffield first appeared in the WWE as a Tough Enough contestant called Ryan. He almost debuted on Raw with a cowboy gimmick, but yet still got demoted to this show. He was the first person ever officially eliminated. Like nearly all of the season contestants, he was added to the main roster as a member of the Nexus. After being sidelined with an injury, he was never officially removed from the Nexus. When he returned, he started using the Ryback gimmick. He lost his main-event push due to his dangerous ring work and erratic behaviour on social media. He is currently out with an injury.
Titus O’Neal – Was the first person eliminated in Season 2. Returned to NXT Redemption where he had improved greatly. When the show ended, he debuted on the main roster as part of the Prime Time Players tag team with Darren Young. When the team split, he became an enhancement talent. He is currently in the enhancement talent tag team Slater-Gator.
Wade Barrett – Barrett won season 1 and joined the main roster as the leader of Nexus. The group fell apart due to his obsession with John Cena. He was then kicked out of the Nexus, and he formed a new Nexus called the Corre. The group was short-lived. Barrett would remain a fixture in the Intercontinental title division for the rest of his WWE run. He presently competes as Bad News Barrett, but is recovering from an injury.
For the first 5 seasons, it was a dire homage to reality television game shows. Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) used to be the main developmental territory for the WWE. Just before getting called up to the main WWE roster, a selection of rookies would compete in challenges and matches here. Strangely, the challenges had little to do with a career in professional wrestling, and yet the carried the most favour. It was little more than a badly executed pantomime.
The show jumped the shark at the first elimination stage. Not only was the rookie with the fewest votes eliminated, but so were two others, including the one who got the most votes. Not that it mattered, because the people that the WWE wanted on the main roster were just going to get called up anyway. Further proof of this was when ‘NXT Redemption’ aired. Some of the least liked contestants from the shows history were given yet another chance.
That is enough complaining for now. Let’s look at the contestants who competed on the show.
A.J. – A.J. debuted mainly as a ditsy valet/cute girlfriend of several characters. After kissing Kane during a match, she suddenly became one of the most popular Divas on the roster. She had a short stint as Raw General Manager. She eventually won the Divas Championship. Her first reign lasted a year, the longest yet. She is currently the Divas Champion. Due to her real life marriage to CM Punk, fans tend to chant his name during her appearances.
Aksana – Aksana debuted as a completely repackaged character. Almost every aspect of her new ring attire made it difficult for her to perform. When she was finally allowed to tone down her ring attire, she had lost some of the ability she once had. She was then released because her in-ring ability had diminished so much.
Alex Riley – Riley was immediately promoted to the main roster as The Miz’ assistant. When he was fired, he received a quick push. But he was taken off television after a real life disagreement with John Cena. He now works as an announcer for the NXT brand.
Brodus Clay – Even though he was a heel, he became the breakout star of season 4 by being the only likeable star. He debuted as Alberto Del Rio’s bodyguard, but was quickly sidelined with a neck injury. He returned with the famous Funkasaurus gimmick, and became massively popular. But he was never really pushed or involved with any proper feuds. He was released when his heel gimmick bombed, despite staring in a new WWE movie. He currently competes in TNA as Tyrus, the bodyguard of Ethan Carter III.
Byron Saxton – Saxton had been working as a colour commentator for smaller shows. He made little effort on NXT, and was bumped back into the broadcast position.
Connor O’Brian – O’Brian competed in seasons 4 & 5 with the unlikeable “rat†gimmick. He was repackaged as the leader of the Ascension stable and complete reinvigorated his career. His promotion to the main roster has always been delayed due to the actions of a stable member. Now called Konnor, he is expected to join the main roster soon in a tag team with Viktor.
Darren Young – Young was often called “Cena’s cousin†because of their strong facial similarities and poor wrestling ability. He debuted as a part of Nexus but was ejected from the group for looking out of place. He had a brief singles run, and even helped attack the Nexus. He was demoted to NXT Redemption, but the show went to great lengths to stop him being eliminated. When it ended, he rejoined the main roster as part of the ‘Prime Time Players’ tag team with Titus O’Neal. PTP were a rip-off from Cryme Tyme, and received a similar push with no real direction. Young publicly came out, making him the first openly gay WWE superstar. The WWE chose not to exploit his sexuality on television. He was due to receive a major push once PTP split, but he was side-lined with and injury. He is due back soon.
Daniel Bryan – Bryan was heavily buried in the show, but his popularity just grew. This pattern would continue throughout his WWE run. He was eliminated in a controversial decision change. He almost debuted with the Nexus, but was fired after being seen choking Justin Roberts with his own tie. He was later reinstated and quickly won the United States Championship. Despite losing most of his WWE career matches, he would become a multiple title holder, including multi-time WWE Champion. He defeated all 3 Evolution members to win the championship at WrestleMania. He is easily the most popular star, despite the McMahon family not seeing any potential in him. He is currently recovering from multiple injuries.
David Otunga – Otunga was a reality TV star before graduating from Harvard Law School and became an attourney. He is also married to singer and actress Jennifer Hudson. He was the first runner up in Season 1. He debuted with the Nexus and remained their co-captain until the end. He would win the World Tag Team Championship with both John Cena and Michael McGuillicutty. When Nexus broke up, he had a strong push which ended when he left to make the movie ‘The Call’. He is rarely seen, and will likely return to his law career when his contract runs out.
Derrick Bateman – Batemen competed in seasons 4 and 5. His problem was that the WWE never really knew what to do with him. He was introduced to late into season 5 to make a difference. After his release, he joined TNA Wrestling as Ethan Carter III, the nephew of Dixie Carter. He has been pushed solidly as top-tier star, but has yet to really challenge for the main-event spot.
Eli Cottonwood – Returned to FCW where he was mainly the manager of Bray Wyatt. Got released before doing anything noteworthy.
Heath Slater – Slater debuted as part of the Nexus in a tag team with Justin Gabriel. They would win the Tag Team Championship. They later left the Nexus to join the similar Corre stable. They would win the titles twice more. When the Corre split, Slater would become an enhancement talent for the rest of his career. He earned a lot of respect for jobbing to several WWE alumni in one month. He then headed up the popular stable 3MB, who were all enhancement talents. He is currently in a tag team called Slater-Gator with Titus O’Neal. Despite being an enhancement talent, he gets a lot of television time. He rarely wins a match.
Husky Harris – Harris debuted immediately in a tag team with Michael McGuillicutty. They were both adopted into the Nexus. He was removed from the group after a beatdown from Randy Orton. He was repackaged as Bray Wyatt in FCW. Wyatt would later return to the main roster as the leader of the Wyatt Family stable. He has not achieved much, but is one of the most popular stars in the company right now.
Jacob Novak – Novak showed little charisma or enthusiasm in seasons 4 or 5. While in character, he blamed the fans for his failure to make the main roster. But he continued criticising the fans for too long afterwards. This earned him his release.
Jamie – Jamie was the first person eliminated in season 3, and was released the same week.
Johnny Curtis – Curtis won season 4, and the WWE immediately ran out of ideas for him. After a terrible first run, he was bumped back down to NXT where he adopted a sleazy persona. He now competes as Fandango, and is sidelined with an injury.
Justin Gabriel – Gabriel is the first South African WWE Superstar. He debuted as part of the Nexus in a tag team with Heath Slater. They would win the Tag Team Championship. They later left the Nexus to join the similar Corre stable. They would win the titles twice more. When the Corre split, Gabriel received a singles push that ended suddenly. He now appears on NXT and Superstars mainly. Despite his lack of push, he remains popular and rarely loses.
Kaitlyn – Kaitlyn was a bikini model who was hired just before season 3 began. Despite not taking the show seriously, she would win. The WWE struggled to find things for her to do because of her lack of in-ring training and poor microphone skills. But she was pushed heavily as the new face of the Divas. The WWE tried to train her as a power-house, but she struggled to lift opponents. In the end, she adopted a very lazy ring style. She was given the Divas title just because. She quit shortly after losing the title.
Kaval – Despite winning Season 2, Kaval fought against every piece of advice WWE gave him. He refused to adapt his style to a WWE-sized ring. He was released after injuring several superstars with his clumsy and stiff striking style, including himself. He returned to the independent circuit as Low-Ki. He discovered that WWE advice helped him get more bookings. He retired for a year but has since returned. He recently worked several shows with TNA Wrestling. It is not known if he has a proper contract, or just a short-term deal.
Lucky Cannon – Cannon returned to NXT Redemption. He was released before making it onto the main roster. He had been arrested for imitating a police officer. He was released for his comments about it on social media.
Maxine – A swimsuit model who did not take anything seriously. She was heavily used as the main Diva of NXT, but refused to work on her skills. She eventually quit because she was unhappy with the job.
Michael McGuillicutty – McGuillicutty was the real life son of ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig and the grandson of Larry ‘The Ax’ Hennig. He placed second in Season 2. He immediately debuted in a tag team with Husky Harris. Both were accepted into the Nexus. He would win the tag team championship with David Otunga, and was one of the last two members left in the stable. After several months of little activity, he was repackaged as Curtis Axel. Even though he was the Intercontinental Champion and managed by Paul Heyman, he spent months being beaten up or losing to CM Punk. He was recently in the Rybaxel tag team with Ryback, but is now on his own.
Michael Tarver – Tarver debuted as part of the Nexus. He was quickly removed after an arm injury. Cena legitimately hurt him with stiff chair shots, and has never taken responsibility for this. When he returned from injury, he made a few appearances in backstage segments. He then was released without a proper run.
Naomi – Naomi placed second in Season 3. Despite being the best-rounded performer, it would be some time before she would debut. She debuted as half of the Funkadactyls tag team with Cameron, who were backing dancers for Brodus Clay. Her ring-style suffered from her lack of match bookings and adapting a cheer-leader based style to match Cameron’s. Their tag team recently split. She is involved with Total Divas.
Percy Watson – Watson returned to FCW, but was released before ever being called up to the main roster.
Skip Sheffield – Sheffield first appeared in the WWE as a Tough Enough contestant called Ryan. He almost debuted on Raw with a cowboy gimmick, but yet still got demoted to this show. He was the first person ever officially eliminated. Like nearly all of the season contestants, he was added to the main roster as a member of the Nexus. After being sidelined with an injury, he was never officially removed from the Nexus. When he returned, he started using the Ryback gimmick. He lost his main-event push due to his dangerous ring work and erratic behaviour on social media. He is currently out with an injury.
Titus O’Neal – Was the first person eliminated in Season 2. Returned to NXT Redemption where he had improved greatly. When the show ended, he debuted on the main roster as part of the Prime Time Players tag team with Darren Young. When the team split, he became an enhancement talent. He is currently in the enhancement talent tag team Slater-Gator.
Wade Barrett – Barrett won season 1 and joined the main roster as the leader of Nexus. The group fell apart due to his obsession with John Cena. He was then kicked out of the Nexus, and he formed a new Nexus called the Corre. The group was short-lived. Barrett would remain a fixture in the Intercontinental title division for the rest of his WWE run. He presently competes as Bad News Barrett, but is recovering from an injury.