Following a disastrous run as a reality game show, WWE turned NXT into their new developmental system, which proved to be a huge success. Over the years, NXT has had several different eras which has helped to establish its own identity, fanbase, and brand.
16 WWE Wrestlers With The Most WWE Championship Reigns, Ranked By Total Number Of Days
A handful of wrestlers have managed to get their hands on the WWE Championship multiple times and have lengthy reigns with the gold.
Throughout the course of the now 10 year history of NXT, there have been countless champions across every division, though not all of these title reigns have been especially good – in fact some have been objectively bad. This will take a look at the worst title runs in the history of the developmental brand, whether this be down to the booking of the run or the person who held the title – or both!
Solo Sikoa’s NXT North American Championship Reign Was Baffling
Strange Booking All Around For Solo Sikoa
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
September 13, 2022 |
6 |
1 |
All WWE needed to do was give Solo Sikoa a dominant title reign before taking the gold off him due to a full-time main roster call up. He could’ve worked NXT and SmackDown, representing the Bloodline in developmental. Instead, Sikoa won the title, defended it once, and then was stripped due to a technicality of him not being officially set to be in the title match to begin with.
This whole booking decision was foolish, and it led to Sikoa’s reign feeling completely underwhelming. There was a lot of potential here that was not realized.
Dolph Ziggler Did Not Need The NXT Championship
WWE Should Have Solely Focused On Developmental Talent
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
March 8, 2022 |
26 days |
2 |
Despite being in WWE for well over a decade, Dolph Ziggler returned to WWE developmental to shockingly win the NXT Championship from Bron Breakker. He held the gold for around a month with the sole purpose being to put Breakker over more as a babyface.
This didn’t work, and it would’ve been better for Breakker to have just kept the belt instead of winning and losing it. The concept of a main roster star going down to NXT to win a title has always been baffling.
The Way’s Reign As NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Was Over Before It Begun
This Was A Very Quick And Uneventful Run
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
May 4, 2021 |
62 days |
0 |
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell were a popular duo as part of The Way faction in WWE, and winning the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles made sense. However, their reign was a complete failure and did not need to happen.
The Longest Intercontinental Championship Reigns In WWE History, Ranked By Length
Only a few WWE wrestlers have had great Intercontinental Championship reigns. These are the longest ever.
Following the same traps as many Women’s Tag Title reigns in NXT and on the main roster, this served very little purpose. LeRae and Hartwell didn’t even have one successful reign with the titles before dropping them. Considering they held these belts for two months, only one defense (when they lost it) was a joke.
Gallus Were The Most Boring NXT Tag Team Champions
A Long And Bland Reign With Gold
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
February 4, 2023 |
175 days |
6 |
Gallus were a fairly decent act in NXT UK, but their characters and gimmick haven’t really transitioned too well to NXT in the US. Their work isn’t all that bad, but it just doesn’t set the world alight, and their lengthy reign of the NXT Tag Team Championships made the belts feel in purgatory.
Defeating more popular acts like Pretty Deadly and Creed Brothers wasn’t great, as it failed to build them as heels and instead made fans just want to see other teams more.
Fallon Henley & Kiana James Were Pointless NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions
Their Reign Served No Benefit To Anyone
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
February 4, 2023 |
55 |
0 |
The NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships overall had a slightly better time than the main roster belts, but there were still several poor reigns, and this was one of them.
At a time when the titles were struggling anyway, Fallon Henley and Kiana James picked up the gold and held the belts for nearly two months… with zero successful defenses. This was a complete waste of time ultimately.
Samoa Joe’s Third NXT Title Reign Was Cursed
An Ill-Timed Injury Ruined His Reign
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
August 22, 2021 |
20 |
0 |
Samoa Joe is a three-time NXT Champion, though his third reign was the worst of the three. After returning to WWE following a release, Joe was brought back to in-ring competition, dethroning Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship.
Just a few weeks later, Joe announced he would be vacating the belt due to injury, and subsequently left WWE again whilst NXT got rebranded from black & gold to 2.0. This was a sour way to bow out on his WWE career.
Charlotte Flair’s Second NXT Title Reign Did More Harm Than Good
A Desperate Ratings Grab By WWE
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
March 25, 2020 |
63 |
1 |
In 2020, in an attempt to draw more eyes to NXT, Charlotte Flair won the NXT Women’s Championship for a second time. This reign put an end to Rhea Ripley’s momentum, it didn’t boost NXT, and it wasn’t the best work of Flair’s career by a long stretch.
In the end, this two month title reign served no purpose, and Flair simply dropped the gold to Io Shirai and returned full-time to the main roster anyway, not sticking around in NXT.
New Day Did Nothing To Elevate The NXT Tag Team Championship
A Random Main Roster Cameo Was Pointless
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
December 10, 2022 |
56 |
1 |
In 2022, WWE once again tried to elevate NXT by putting gold on a main roster act. This time, it was The New Day, who added to their lengthy list of accomplishments in WWE with another Tag Team Championship reign.
However, in their 56 days with the gold they didn’t help the NXT brand, and despite working with Pretty Deadly, the younger prospects did not get the desired rub. Instead, it was… Gallus who won the gold from the New Day in a questionable decision.
Raquel Gonzalez Lost Her Aura As NXT Women’s Champion
She Failed As A Babyface Champion
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
April 7, 2021 |
201 |
5 |
Raquel Gonzalez naturally gained popularity due to her work in NXT, leading to a babyface turn and an NXT Championship win. However, as a babyface she lost all her attitude, aura, and edge.
The 29 Longest Championship Reigns By Women In WWE History
Many female WWE Superstars have had epic and lengthy title reigns. Which championship reigns stand above the rest?
In her fairly long reign with the NXT Women’s Championship, Gonzalez’s stock kept falling and falling. Her feuds were unimpressive, the matches were not great, and it was a good thing when this run came to an end, despite its potential when it began.
Karrion Kross Was An Underwhelming NXT Champion
Both Of Kross’ Reigns Were Forgettable
|
Date Won |
Days Held |
Number Of Successful Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
|
April 8, 2021 |
136 |
3 |
Karrion Kross’ presentation in NXT was great, and leading up to this first NXT Championship win, he was on a good run of form. An injury led to him immediately vacating the gold, but he won it back as soon as he returned.
However, for whatever reason, his stories and feuds were about exposing how bland and boring he was, so it added a sense of unimportance to his reign that he was never able to shake off. Kross did in fact feel boring as champion, especially compared to the high pace that NXT matches had established.
