Having begun as a developmental brand, NXT broke every expectation and became home to some of the best wrestlers around the globe. It soon became well-known for the incomparable quality of matches. Understandably, WWE has never shied away from bringing some of the best talents of the Black and Gold brand to Raw and SmackDown on a regular basis.

RELATED: The First 10 NXT Champions: Where Are They Now?

While the likes of Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura managed to make their place on the main roster, there have been some top NXT talents who were either released by WWE or waited for their contract to expire. These superstars include numerous names who once held the NXT Championship, the pinnacle of success for the superstars of NXT.

9 Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano Vs Tommaso Ciampa NXT

It's an undeniable fact that Johnny Gargano was the Heart and Soul of NXT. His name would always be brought up when one would talk about the golden days of NXT. However, given his stardom and talent, his only reign with the top gold was lackluster.

RELATED: Johnny Gargano's 10 Best Matches, According To Cagematch.Net

He defeated Adam Cole in an all-time classic match to capture the vacant title. Gargano held the gold for 57 days but defended it on only one occasion where he ended up losing it to Cole. Gargano's contract with WWE expired in late-2021, and he chose not to renew it. He hasn't signed a new contract with any other promotion, either.

8 Keith Lee

Keith Lee Wins NXT World Title

Keith Lee ended Adam Cole's wonderful reign and instantly relinquished his NXT North American Championship to shift his focus to the NXT Title. Fans thought that this may be the beginning of yet another incredible run.

However, Lee's title reign was nothing short of disappointing as he lost his title in less than two months and was soon brought up to WWE Raw. Everything seemed too rushed, and it both titles suffered for it. Lee was soon released by WWE and currently performs on All Elite Wrestling.

7 Aleister Black

Aleister Black as NXT Champion

Aleister Black has a magnetic aura that naturally attracts fans of all ages. He continues to spread his supernatural vibes, now in AEW, as Malakai Black and leads the House of Black. But before joining Tony Khan's promotion and being released by WWE, Black held the NXT Championship for about three and a half months.

The reign was an alright one with not much to praise and nothing to complain about either. Most of his feuds came against the likes of other sinister beings like Eric Young and Lars Sullivan. He eventually lost his gold to Tommaso Ciampa.

6 Bo Dallas

Bo-Dallas-Nxt-Champion

Before Bo Dallas was determined to give inspiration to the stars of the main roster, he was the face of NXT in its early phase. He was the third NXT Champion after Seth Rollins and Big E and became the first superstar to hold the title for more than 200 days, as he did it for 280 days.

Dallas had a good title run, and he entered the Royal Rumble as the NXT Champion, a trend that would go on for years to come. The Rotunda family member was let go by WWE in 2021 and is yet to sign a contract elsewhere.

5 Andrade 'Cien' Almas

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Andrade 'Cien' Almas defeated 'The Chosen One' Drew McIntyre to kick-start his sole NXT Title reign. Most of his reign included his acclaimed feud against Johnny Gargano which gave fans some of the best matches in the history of NXT.

It was Aleister Black who defeated him for the title, after which Andrade moved above to the main roster and subsequently parted ways with WWE in early 2021. He now works with All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Andrade El Idolo.

4 Karrion Kross

Karrion Kross NXT Champion

Karrion Kross is a former two-time NXT Champion. The first of these two reigns lasted only three days because of a shoulder injury. He later defeated Finn Balor for his second run, which was a great reign by any standard.

Not only did he defeat the likes of Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor in singles matches, but he also took on four of the biggest names of the brand (Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Kyle O' Reilly, and Pete Dunne) in a Fatal Five-way match and managed to retain his title. He was brought up to Raw for a lackluster run before getting released. He currently performs for MLW and NJPW under the ring name Killer Kross.

3 Samoa Joe

SamoaJoe-Nxt-Champ-Over-Nakamura

Samoa Joe is so far the only superstar to win the NXT Championship on three different occasions. The final two reigns amount to almost a month combined, and he had barely any successful title defenses.

RELATED: Samoa Joe's Career Told In Photos, Through The Years

However, the first reign was significantly better where he ran roughshod over the NXT roster. Considering he is the first three-time NXT Champion and the last champion under the original black and gold banner, it makes sense to rank him at this position. Joe was released by WWE in late-2021 and joined the rival promotion AEW, where he is the current ROH TV Champion.

2 Adrian Neville

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Adrian Neville defeated Bo Dallas in the first-ever NXT Ladder match to start his celebrated title run. The reign helped shape a significant reputation for the title, and it started feeling like a prized possession.

Most of his matches with the title were incredible and justified every day of his 287 days as the champion. It's been a while since Neville left WWE, and he now works with AEW under the ring name PAC and continues to perform high-flying maneuvers others could only dream of.

1 Adam Cole

Adam-Cole-Nxt-champ

Adam Cole holds the distinction of the longest reign in the history of the title when he held it for a massive 403 days. It was arguably the peak of NXT where the likes of Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Velveteen Dream, Pete Dunne, Finn Balor, and Matt Riddle tried to stand against the forces of the Undisputed Era, but failed.

Cole eventually lost the gold to Keith Lee and performed for another year before parting ways with the promotion in 2021. He joined AEW that year under the same name and has been a mainstay in the main event since.