With NXT Takeover XXV taking place on Saturday, we take a look at the top 25 Superstars who had a career in the black and gold brand who will secure the future of the WWE for years to come.
Here’s something that you probably already know: the future of the WWE would be a pretty scary place if it wasn’t for NXT. The black and gold brand run by WWE COO Paul “Triple H” Levesque has been a shining example that the future of the company will be in good hands for years to come when it comes to its talent roster.
Even though it might not seem that way at times when, much to our dismay, they are brought up to the main roster and treated poorly and even undergo gimmick or name changes, we know these men and women and we know what they can deliver when given the opportunity.
The cream always rises to the top. We believe that in the future when Triple H inevitably takes over the WWE that these talents will be given new life and rise again to the heights we saw them in NXT and beyond.
So with NXT TakeOver XXV looming, we bring to you the future of the WWE. These are the top 25 talents who got their WWE starts in the black and gold brand and who the company should and will utilize for years to come.
Before we get started, let’s address a few of the questions as to why a few people didn’t make this list. For starters, Roman Reigns does not appear on the countdown because as far as we can tell he only ever wrestled one match for the NXT brand on TV. That’s not enough to truly be considered someone “from” NXT.
We also heavily contemplated Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, however, we believe that they will not be part of the WWE’s future, as we think they will be jumping ship from the company when their contracts expire.
With that out of the way, let’s begin the countdown.
25. Sasha Banks
We kick off the countdown at No. 25 with the Legit Boss, Sasha Banks. The only reason Banks isn’t higher on our countdown is due to the uncertainty with her future in WWE right now. Banks hasn’t been seen since WrestleMania 35 and rumors have been running rampant online ever since.
We won’t be talking about any of those today because we don’t know the real story. And until Banks wants to come forward and talk about it, it’s not really our place to discuss it. Instead, let’s discuss the run that she’s had so far in her WWE career.
It’s hard to believe that Banks debuted for the NXT brand all the way back in December of 2012 in a losing effort to Paige, a woman who, if still active, would have no doubt had a place on this countdown.
Since that time there was no looking back for the Legit Boss, her accolades growing quite impressive. She’s a former NXT Women’s Champion, a four-time Raw Women’s Champion, and had one run with the recently resurrected WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions as part of the Boss and Hug Connection with Bayley.
At this point in her career, Banks is only 27 years old and has her whole career in front of her. For WWE’s sake, we hope the two parties can come to an agreement in the near future and Banks will be back on television soon capturing more championship titles.