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WWE's developmental system has been through several interesting changes over the past decade. The best change came back in 2012 when FCW was rebranded into NXT and the company was given the means to create the next generation of Superstars.
Over the past few years, there have been many former NXT stars able to make their way up to the main roster and become some of the best-known wrestlers in the world.
The fact that these stars have made it through developmental and been able to make an impact in the biggest wrestling company in the world has given many other aspiring wrestlers hope, but this isn't the full story.
Since their promotion to RAW or SmackDown, many WWE Superstars have revealed that there were times during their time in NXT where they were almost fired from the company. The following list looks at just five current WWE Superstars who almost didn't make it to the main roster.
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#5 Former WWE Women's Champion Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss is arguably one of the most entertaining characters on WWE TV at present, after allowing The Fiend to take over her mind and becoming a new version of herself.
Bliss has been able to continue the storyline for The Fiend over the past few months since he was defeated by Randy Orton back at TLC and she has become hugely popular with the WWE Universe.
Alexa Bliss is also a former five-time Women's Champion, but it's worth noting that her career didn't start to take off until she was promoted to the main roster.
During her time in NXT, Bliss was mostly used as a valet for Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake. During an appearance on the Not Sam Wrestling Podcast back in 2017, The Goddess revealed that there was a time when she was almost fired from the company.
"From day one I knew it was my sink or swim moment because in NXT as a good guy my character wasn’t getting over and when I was told about the pairing with Blake & Murphy I knew there had to be a character change. Wednesday night we had TakeOver and I pushed Enzo and helped keep them as champions, I came the next day with new gear and different hair and I knew that if I didn’t run with it, I probably wasn’t going to have a job.”
Luckily, Bliss was able to make her storyline with Blake and Murphy work and was then given many more opportunities following her promotion to SmackDown back in 2016.
#4 Former WWE Champion Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins is now a former WWE Champion and has proved his worth over the past few years. However, there was a time when The Messiah was stuck down in developmental and was becoming frustrated with what he was being given by the company.
Rollins revealed in an interview with WWE.com a few years ago that there was a time when he became so frustrated that he almost lost his job and it was Triple H who helped him remain part of the company.
“I literally almost lost my job. I had been there for almost two years. I was very frustrated. I couldn’t get along with anyone. I thought I deserved more than I did...We sat down and talked for a good couple hours. That was an eye-opener for me, I think, in a lot of ways, because it really felt like that was going to be it. And if I don’t do this now [and] make this work now, I may not get another chance.”
Rollins recently made his return to the company following paternity leave, where the former WWE Champion and his fiance, Becky Lynch, welcomed their daughter, Roux.
#3 Current WWE Monday Night RAW star Elias
Elias is currently a part of WWE Monday Night RAW, where he has been teamed up with Jaxson Ryder in recent months. The Drifter has been able to make quite the impact on the main roster since his promotion and is even a former 24/7 Champion.
Elias has been able to run with the opportunities he has been handed on WWE's main roster. However, while appearing on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, the former NXT star recently revealed that there were several occasions during his time on the brand where he was almost fired.
"One thing that I became very aware of when I got there [to WWE] was that the people that said no at my tryout were now running, they were now in charge of my job. And their minds didn’t change, you know what I mean? Their minds didn’t change. William Regal, he always had said yes, and he liked me, and he got me through. But the people that said, ‘No, this guy ain’t for me,’ well they were now running the show, and they’re in charge. I was put on the list to be fired multiple times in NXT for whatever reason. I was made aware two different times, which you can imagine, walking into work every day knowing that that guy right there wants to fire me, that really, it makes you, it’s just everything. You could be working on eggshells, you could be working extra hard because you’re like, ‘No you ain’t gonna take it away from me now.'”
It's hard to believe that Elias has already been on the main roster for almost four years. The current WWE star made his debut on Monday Night RAW back in April 2017.
#2 Current WWE star Tyler Breeze
Tyler Breeze was once one of the NXT's most popular stars before he was promoted to WWE's main roster, where the company seemingly dropped the ball with Prince Pretty.
Breeze has recently made his return to NXT and has continued to team with Fandango. The duo are former NXT Tag Team Champions.
Even though Breeze has made it clear that he prefers it in NXT, the current WWE star recently revealed on Edge and Christian's Podcast of Awesomeness that he was almost fired several times during his time on the black and gold brand.
“We end up having the first NXT pilot at Full Sail [University] to test out and see if Full Sail would work for the venue for NXT. And I ended up having a match with one of the guys in Ascension. He was just basically going to kill me, but he was my friend so he goes, ‘no, let’s have a match.’ So we have this match and Triple H happened to be there and he just kind of looked over at Dusty [Rhodes] and he goes, ‘who’s this guy? Like, why have I never seen anything of his?’ And, all-of-a-sudden, I got saved again. I just kind of keep getting saved along the way. All-of-a-sudden, Dusty says Hunter liked what he saw and I’m off the list again.”
Breeze noted that this wasn't the first time he was almost fired from WWE. He was almost dismissed when developmental was still known as FCW, but he was able to impress the officials and gain himself some more time.
#1 Former WWE Women's Champion Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch hasn't been seen on WWE TV since May, when she announced that she was expecting her first child and was then granted maternity leave. The former RAW Women's Champion had become one of the biggest stars in the company in the years leading up to the announcement, which was quite the turn around for her career.
Lynch was one of the company's more forgettable stars until she repackaged herself and became The Man. She went on to be the only woman who could stand toe-to-toe with Ronda Rousey.
Lynch revealed that she was almost fired on several occasions when coming through NXT. Lynch shared quite an inspirational update on her Twitter account back in May 2019, where she confirmed that there was a time when the company had almost let her go.
The Man revealed that she has been fighting to keep her job since day one and was able to find a way to become the best-known female wrestler in the world at the peak of her most recent WWE main roster run.
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