15 Best NXT Superstars Of 2020

N...X...T!

Io shirai
Source: WWE

Let’s face it, NXT has had a rough year. Not only has the underground alternative to the main roster taken a hit from COVID absences and a few untimely injuries, but they’ve also been struggling to compete against AEW Dynamite in the Wednesday Night Wars. Regardless, the lads and ladies of NXT and NXT UK have managed to consistently present us with some spectacular wrestling, ranging from titanic dual championship matches to the notorious WarGames.

We’re going to run down the 10 best NXT superstars from 2020, a year that was in the world of pro wrestling. Make sure you check out our thoughts on the best from AEW and NJPW as well, as we look back on the art form that helped us forget about all the rubbish this year has dealt us.

 

15. Cameron Grimes

Source: WWE

Grimes debuted as part of the 2019 Breakout tournament and has remained a staple of the NXT mid-card scene ever since. This year was huge for the young hick, who not only left his mark in the North American Championship scene, following Keith Lee’s abdication, but has also found his feet in a comedic feud with Dexter Lumis, highlighted by the weird and wonderful cinematic match from Halloween Havoc.

Cameron Grimes might not have scored many wins this year, but it’s hard to deny that his fanbase has grown exponentially. I see big things awaiting Grimes as we enter 2021, perhaps an underdog babyface star in the making once he wraps things up with the maniacal Lumis.

One thing’s for sure, Cameron Grimes is heading straight to the moon in NXT.

 

14. Breezango

Breezango
Source: WWE

I’d be remiss to not mention the fashionable tandem of Tyler Breeze and Fandango, who both reached new heights as part of the NXT roster this year. Breeze returned to his roots last year, looking like a future contender for the NXT Championship when his time came, but it seems his true calling remained as part of the tag division when his longtime partner Fandango made his return just after SummerSlam 2019.

2020 proved to be one hell of a year for Breezango, who finally achieved their goal of winning a tag championship under the black and gold brand, defeating Imperium for the titles to roaring fan response. This was both superstars’ very first championship gold in the company, making it an even sweeter of a return for the duo.

Unfortunately, Breezango only held onto the titles for a couple months and never had the chance to defend the belts on a TakeOver special. Although I imagine that if fans were indeed present at shows, then the reception for Breezango’s title win alone would have made them two of the headlining acts.

 

13. Timothy Thatcher

Timothy Thatcher
Source: WWE

The former solider of RingKampf has made quite the impression since debuting in NXT earlier this year. Timothy Thatcher has really excelled in the empty-arena venues, allowing his vicious in-ring style to do the talking for him as he battered the likes of Matt Riddle, Finn Balor and a handful of hopeful students looking to learn the ways of Thatch-as-Thatch-can.

Thatcher is slowly building his reputation among the stacked roster and slowly working towards his first championship, having recently competed against Damian Priest for the North American title, it’s only a matter of time before Thatcher has his waist wrapped in gold.

Here’s hoping for more bloody Fight Pits and stiff action from Thatcher as he expands his resume in 2021. Tim is definitely a superstar to watch.

 

12. Candice LeRae

Candice LeRae
Source: WWE

Mrs. Johnny Wrestling has really been a shining star in the NXT Women’s division throughout 2020. ‘The Poison Pixie’ has been an integral part of the joint-Gargano storyline which began with the revived feud between former DIY pals, Gargano and Ciampa, and she’s flourished as a heel challenger to Io Shirai’s top spot. I was honestly expecting LeRae to finally win the big one against Shirai at Halloween Havoc, but it seems NXT are still sitting on her big moment until perhaps a live audience is allowed to return.

In the meantime though, LeRae continues to headline the Women’s division as we enter NXT’s rendition of WarGames, when Candice will captain a team against Shotzi Blackheart. LeRae will undoubtedly find herself in the challengers seat once again when 2021 comes around, and hopefully will lead to a victory for her as she continues to grow in the black and gold brand.

A rare occasion where the heel turn was used to perfection.

 

11. Ilja Dragunov

Ilja Dragunov
Source: WWE

NXT UK has been hit the hardest out of all of the shows underneath WWE’s umbrella. Having spent a long six months out of action, with nothing but re-runs and highlight reels to keep fans interested in the BritWres brand, it was a shock to see them comeback in such a glorious fashion. Most of that hype was thanks to Ilja Dragunov, as he picked things up exactly where he left off, with a banked contendership against NXT UK champion, WALTER.

What followed was a series of excellent singles bouts against the likes of Noam Dar, Alexander Wolfe and then of course, ‘The Ring General’ himself, which went on to receive massive critical acclaim and will undoubtedly be on our list of best NXT matches of the year. Even before lockdown, Dragunov was making waves in matches against the likes of now-NXT champion, Finn Balor. So it’s certainly been a huge year for the young Muscovite.

I doubt we’ve seen the last of Ilja as we close out the year, expect big things from the crazy Russian in 2021.

 

10. Tomasso Ciampa

At the start of 2020, many fans had Ciampa penned in as their next NXT Champion, as he entered the final act of his return feud with Adam Cole. Unfortunately, an interference from Johnny Gargano cost Tommaso his chance at reclaiming Goldie, but that didn’t stop him from going on to have one heck of a year in spite of his defeat.

Ciampa might not be headlining every week’s episode of NXT, but there’s no denying that ‘Blackheart’ is still a huge part of the show. His feuds with Velveteen Dream, KUSHIDA and Karrion Kross have been massive highlights with cracking matches to boot. Despite whoever’s holding onto the biggest prize in the brand, Ciampa is still ‘the guy’.

I’m hoping Tommaso manages to pick up some more steam as we see out the last month of the year, giving him enough momentum to then go on to challenge Balor in the new year. In the meantime though, let’s all get ready for a physical contest between Ciampa and Thatcher at TakeOver: WarGames.

 

9. Santos Escobar

Santos Escobar
Source: WWE

The NXT Cruiserweight division hasn’t really been the centrepiece of the show as of late, but there’s no arguing that those involved in the title picture have put on some absolute classics. The championship itself has had a bit of a rough ride, being won by Jordan Devlin at World’s Collide and then having to be handed over to an interim champion during the absence of NXT UK. Luckily, Santos Escobar was ready to step into some pretty big shoes to help rebuild the division after the substantial hit, and boy did he do a great job.

I’m going out on a limb and saying that Escobar is a future headlining star for NXT. WWE have made huge efforts into finding the next Latino star, with such projects as Andrade and Humberto Carrillo seemingly floundering on the main roster. Santos Escobar on the other hand has a presence like no other, and could easily be taken through to the main event scene once they find a suitable champion to succeed him. His matches with the likes of Drake Maverick and Isiah ‘Swerve’ Scott have been hidden gems of 2020, best go track them down if you don’t believe me.

A match between the two Cruiserweight champions has still yet to go down, presumably Escobar and Devlin will do battle sometime in 2021 to finally decide who is the true ‘top guy’ in the division. As much as I love ‘The Irish Ace’, I’m betting on Escobar.

 

8. Johnny Gargano

johnny gargano
Source: WWE

‘Johnny Wrestling’ has been on a roller-coaster ride since turning heel with his partner Candice. Having settled the score with his former partner Tommaso Ciampa, Gargano then went on to war with Keith Lee and later on Damian Priest over the North American title. Gargano has continued to be a staple of the NXT roster, setting the standard as both a babyface and a heel for the rest of the roster to try and beat.

Gargano’s stock might have dropped slightly since leaving the fans behind and revamping his image, but he’s really coming into his own as a cocky heel. I for one would love to see what Gargano could do with the NXT Championship around his waist, being one of the best in the world today, with the added evil edge on top of his wide skill-set, we’re bound to see some instant classics.

NXT is still Johnny Gargano’s wheelhouse.

 

7. Kyle O’Reilly

kyle o reilly
Source: WWE

I debated between all four of the Undisputed Era to be featured on this list, but I finally decided on Kyle O’Reilly as 2020’s top star of the stable. Yes, Adam Cole is the go-to name for who stands out as the brightest star, but I personally think that the perennial Tag wrestler, Kyle O’Reilly, has truly excelled on NXT throughout the year.

Not only as a duos wrestler in feuds against The Broserweights and Imperium, but also in singles competition as he stepped into the NXT Championship picture for the first time in October against Finn Balor. The match met all expectations and then some and had a big fight feel with O’Reilly receiving massive support from the fans online.

O’Reilly is starting to seem like he’s being held back by UE, maybe a singles push and a feud with leader Adam Cole could go a long way in establishing Kyle as one of NXT’s top stars.

 

6. Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley
Source: WWE

‘The Nightmare’ kicked off 2020 as one of the biggest stars in all of wrestling, having just defeated Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship to close the year. Things continued to be on the up for Rhea as she made her first splash onto the main roster, forging a rivalry with ‘The Queen’ Charlotte Flair, who cashed in her right to challenge for any Women’s title at WrestleMania against Ripley.

The WWE Universe is still in argument today over whether Charlotte was the right superstar to walk away with the win that night, but that didn’t stop Rhea from being seen as one of the top stars in all of NXT. Ripley has yet to recapture her NXT Championship, but she’s never not going to be looked at as a major threat to whoever’s on top.

Ripley and Shirai closed the year in a huge way for the NXT Women’s division and I’m sure this is only the start for ‘The Nightmare’ who may be leaving NXT behind within the next few months. Who knows, but I’m sure wherever she ends up will have big plans in wait for her.

 

5. WALTER

Walter with UK title
source: WWE

As mentioned before, NXT UK hasn’t had the best of years, but there’s one constant that’s been present throughout the downtime and that’s WALTER’s dominance. To start the year, the NXT UK Champion led his team to victory over the Undisputed Era, he then went on to retain his title throughout the year, forging his own tenured reign to match Pete Dunne’s 600+ day run with the title.

His matches have been exactly what you’d expect: brutal, bloody and legendary. ‘The Ring General’ is seeing out 2020 as one of WWE’s most valued stars, even if he’s not on the most watched product on the WWE Network, fans pay attention when his name is uttered.

Who knows when WALTER’s reign with the UK Championship will come to an end, as it stands, there’s not many in NXT UK who can hold a candle to his match quality or his intimidating stature. Maybe Rampage Brown will climb the ranks in 2021? Allowing for WALTER to go on to achieve even bigger feats outside of the UK, either way, I’m proud of the big Austrian and hope that he continues to set the bar for the rest of the roster and beyond.

 

4. Damian Priest

Source: WWE

‘The Rock and Roll Champion’ Damian Priest finally scored his first championship win following Keith Lee’s vacation of the North American Championship. Priest defeated 5 of NXT’s best and brightest stars to win the title in a cracking Ladder match at NXT TakeOver: XXX, making him a star in the eyes of the NXT fans as he went on to celebrate in style, ruining his ring attire in the process.

Damian Priest went on to become a highlight of NXT TV in the following weeks, defending the title against Timothy Thatcher and sparring with the likes of Cameron Grimes and Bronson Reed. Priest proved that he was more than capable of being a singles star in the promotion, earning a lot of new fans with his fantastic title matches against Johnny Gargano and especially from his heavy-metal entrance at Halloween Havoc.

Priest is certainly one superstar to watch as he explores new avenues in 2021.

 

3. Karrion Kross

Karrion Kross
Source: WWE

2020 was the year of Keith Lee in NXT, but there’s a certain demonic superstar who deserves massive praise for being the guy to beat that man less than a month after his big moment. Karrion Kross debuted just after WrestleMania, his and Scarlett’s entrance being the talk of the wrestling world as he made waves after his dominant first performance. Kross was destined for huge things in NXT, which didn’t take long to materialise whatsoever.

His shock win over Tommaso Ciampa instantly made his a top contender to ‘Limitless’ Lee’s title, creating a feud that soon captured the hearts and minds of the fanbase, building to a cracking hoss match at NXT TakeOver: XXX. Unfortunately, Kross suffered a shoulder injury during the main event, but he powered through and ended the night on a high, with the NXT title on his shoulder.

Kross vacated on the following week’s NXT TV, but we can only imagine the huge accomplishments Kross would have gone onto achieve throughout the remainder of the year. Even though he’s been on the shelf, he still comes in as one of NXT’s biggest stars this year and I’m very much looking forward to his and Scarlett’s return next year.

 

2. Finn Balor

Finn Balor
Source: WWE

‘The Prince’ made his return to NXT in 2019, shocking the wrestling world and entering himself into the NXT Championship picture seconds after showing his not-so-smiley face. Balor’s feuds with the mid-card heroes helped rebuild him as the wrestler we all fell in love with in 2015/2016, eventually leading him to the NXT Championship following Karrion Kross’ untimely abdication.

Balor seems so much more comfortable wrestling in the NXT environment, with wrestlers that are able to bring out his very best from days of old. His matches this year have been phenomenal, putting over young guns like Ilja Dragunov and Tyler Bate, while stringing together masterpiece performances against Kyle O’Reilly, Velveteen Dream and Adam Cole.

Finn is absolutely the right guy to be holding onto the NXT Championship, despite his current jaw injury that’s keeping him out of action. My only question is, where’s the Demon?

 

1. Io Shirai

Io Shirai
Source: WWE

Far be it from me to tell Finn Balor that he didn’t put enough of a shift in this year, but personally I believe that it was the NXT Women’s Champion that walks away with the top spot this year. Io Shirai started 2020 with buckets of momentum, with fans begging to see ‘The Joshi Judas’ step up to championship competition against Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair.

Fortunately for her fans, it wasn’t long before Io found herself in contention, having defeated the top female stars on the brand in a thrilling Ladder match. Shirai went on to win the Triple Threat main event at NXT TakeOver: In Your House and has since excelled as the Women’s champion in matches against Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae.

Shirai has plenty of challengers awaiting her in 2021, I imagine her match quality will only continue to get better and better as she solidifies herself as one of the best female wrestlers in the world today.

 

Honorable Mentions

Pat McAfee
Source: WWE

– Pat McAfee
– Drake Maverick
– Dakota Kai
– KUSHIDA
– Adam Cole (BayBay)

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