10 People Who Did Better On The Main Roster Than NXT

8. Mandy Rose

NXT Run: 2016-2017

Main Roster Call-Up: December 2017

NXT Accomplishments: None

Main Roster Accomplishments: None

After coming second in the 2015 Tough Enough series and debuting on NXT TV the following year, Mandy Rose spent just over a year with the black and gold brand before debuting on the main roster at the end of 2017.

While Rose had been signed with the company for two and a half years, she was still developing and training at the WWE Performance Center and never really appeared as a regular character on NXT TV, and never had a TakeOver match or a proper feud.

While Mandy Rose still may not have won a title in WWE, there is no denying that she has been used more frequently on TV on the main roster compared to her time with NXT, and has been given key feuds to sink her teeth into, something that she wasn’t given during her time in developmental.

In particular, the last few months have been a great step in Mandy’s career, seeing her turn babyface before WrestleMania 36 before going on to have a feud with former best friend Sonya Deville that spanned several months and culminated at SummerSlam last month.

While she may not have the titles to show for it, there is certainly no denying that Mandy Rose has also benefited from a move to the main roster and positioned better than she was during her time with NXT.

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7. Bray Wyatt

NXT Run: 2012 – 2013

Main Roster Call-Up: May 2013

NXT Accomplishments: None

Main Roster Accomplishments: 1x Raw Tag Team Championship, 1x SmackDown Tag Team Championship, 1x WWE Championship, 2x Universal Championship

While Bray Wyatt didn’t have a bad run with NXT by any means, he was a part of the black and gold brand before it became universally recognised as arguably the best wrestling brand out there.

After being repackaged as Bray Wyatt following his run on the main roster as Husky Harris, Wyatt spent some time in NXT before being called up to the main roster to feud with Kane during the Summer of 2013, leading to a match at SummerSlam between the two.

Since then, Bray has gone on to face the likes of John Cena and The Undertaker at WrestleMania, before winning the WWE Championship and defending the title on the “grandest stage of them all” against Randy Orton.

Wyatt’s biggest success was arguably becoming the most over character in the entirety of wrestling as The Fiend. While the character has been mishandled by WWE in many aspects, Wyatt went on to hold the Universal Championship on two separate occasions after debuting the gimmick in 2019.

There have certainly been several issues with WWE’s handling of Bray Wyatt since his arrival on the main roster over seven years ago, but he is clearly a bigger star now than he was when he was with NXT.

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6. Sonya Deville

NXT Run: 2016-2017

Main Roster Call-Up: December 2017

NXT Accomplishments: None

Main Roster Accomplishments: None

Like her former tag team partner, the aforementioned Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville is a far bigger deal now on the main roster than she was in NXT, where she wasn’t ever really given a proper feud or storyline to sink her teeth into.

Especially during her last few months on SmackDown, Sonya Deville transformed herself into one of the women’s divisions top heels alongside Sasha Banks and Bayley, cutting fantastic promos and having great matches on SmackDown.

When she returns from a well-deserved break, Sonya Deville has all the potential to be a massive player for the women’s division, especially with the absences of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, clearly showing how she’s benefited from moving to the main roster from NXT, and is in a better position after leaving Full Sail.

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