The Great Eight: The Top 8 NXT Black and Gold Era Men’s Wrestlers

Well, last time we covered the women. So, this week we cover the men. I talked a lot about the importance of this era of NXT already. So, I will keep the intro short and sweet this week.

Fun Facts:

Ranking Explanation:

You won’t see guys like Rollins and Wyatt on here, yes, they were a part of the foundation of NXT. But the Black and Gold Era is usually considered to start at NXT: Arrival in 2014.

Plugs

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Disclaimer:

This is my list; if you don’t like it or have a different list, awesome! Please share your own list and opinions in the comments section. I welcome open discourse about this wacky art we all love. It is an art form, so it is subjective; we all have our opinions on it, and all of them are valid. So, if you want to share your thoughts and opinions, don’t insult others for their opinion. There is already enough negativity in the world; let’s not add to it. And with that, on to the list!

The List

Honorable Mentions: Bobby Roode, Neville, Aleister Black, Andrade Almas, and Tyler Breeze

8: Shinsuke Nakamura

There was an exodus of talent from NJPW in 2016. Among the biggest names to leave would be Shinsuke Nakamura. After spending 14 years making his name in Japan, Nakamura would join NXT.

His debut match against Sami Zayn at Takeover: Dallas is one of the best matches ever in NXT. He would go on to have another great match against Finn Balor, before beating Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship at Takeover: Brooklyn II.

He lost the title back to Joe, making Joe the first two-time NXT Champion, before regaining it a month later.

Nakamura wasn’t in NXT for a long time, only staying for a year before getting called up. But he embodied the idea of quality over quantity. Putting on great matches with pretty much everyone he faced. Including the next man on this list.

7: Samoa Joe

Filed under things we never thought we would see. Samoa Joe signing a non-exclusive developmental contract was one of them. Not only was Joe in the WWE a shocking thing, but it was the fact that he was given a non-exclusive contract that was truly shocking.

After years of killing people in ROH and TNA, Joe finally made his debut in May of 2015. And under more shocking things regarding Joe and the WWE, it was Joe’s merchandise sales that got him a full-time exclusive contract. I remember his t-shirt was sold out in a matter of days.

He would team with Finn Balor to become the winner of the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. But the partnership would be short-lived as Joe would turn on Balor the next month.

While his first match for Balor’s NXT Championship wouldn’t be successful, he would get another shot after beating Sami Zayn in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls match. He would be unsuccessful again but would finally beat Balor at a live event in April.

He would go on to defend the title in rematch with Balor and then trade it back and forth with Nakamura.

From a guy we gave up on ever seeing in the WWE, to selling so much merch in his debut that they signed him to a full-time contract. Joe continued to defy expectations. I wish he could have stayed healthy during this time, because if concussions and knee injuries hadn’t gotten in his way, I think Joe could have been a WWE Champion.

While his main roster run would end in disappointment, his NXT run will always be fondly remembered.

6: Finn Balor

I debated on the placement of the next three guys. All three of them helped to define what NXT was all about. It was the work they put in that laid the foundation. So, like the Four Horsewomen, you can look at all of them as the same number.

Two years before Nakamura and Styles jumped from NJPW to the WWE, Balor would set the precedent. Starting in the Irish Indy scene, Balor would make his way to NJPW. Where he made a name for himself first as a top Junior Heavyweight, and then as the founder of the Bullet Club.

Balor would make his NXT debut in November of 2014. He would team with Itami to beat The Ascension. After that, he would become #1 Contender but would be unsuccessful against champion Kevin Owens. He would get another shot at Owens at The Beast in the East, finally becoming the NXT Champion.

He would hold the title for a record-setting 292 days, a record he would hold until number three on this list broke it five years later.

Balor and the next two people on this list brought an air of legitimacy to NXT. While it was home to future stars before their arrivals. It was their arrivals, along with Samoa Joe’s, that would make it the home for the top independent and international stars.

Balor’s second NXT run was even better than his first. He returned to NXT in 2019 and used his time there to re-establish himself. His run as The Prince reminded everyone just who Balor was. And also provided us fans with some great matches before his return to the main roster.

5: Kevin Owens

Owens had spent years having absolute wars all over North America. His team and feud with El Generico followed them everywhere. Whether it was in ROH, PWG, CZW, or IWS. So, of course, why would NXT (and eventually the main roster) be any different?

Owens would debut at Takeover: R Evolution, with a victory over CJ Parker (does anyone else remember Hippie CJ?) Later that night, Sami Zayn would finally win the NXT Championship. Owens would come out and reignite their feud.

Owens would go on to beat Zayn by ref stoppage, to win the title at Takeover: Rival. This made him the quickest person to go from debut to winning the NXT Championship. This record would stand for nine years before Ethan Page broke it in 2024.

Owens would go on a path of destruction; he would force the ref to declare a no-contest in a rematch with Zayn. After he refused to stop attacking him. During this time, he would also have matches on the main roster. Defending his title against Zack Ryder, Neville, and Heath Slater.

Before losing his title to Balor, he would answer Cena’s United States Championship Open Challenge. He would beat Cena cleanly at Elimination Chamber.

Like Joe and Balor, seeing Owens show up in NXT helped to further establish it as the place to be. Owens was one of the biggest names on the indie scene, and when he brought his brand of violence to NXT, it made everyone else step it up.

4: Sami Zayn

I don’t think anyone thought El Generico would get to NXT, let alone get there before Owens. Some say Generico actually never did make it. He retired to run an orphanage in Mexico, while Zayn was gifted the rights to use his moves.

Honestly, the shift from Generico to Zayn is pretty remarkable if you think about it. Zayn had never really worked without the mask. So, none of us knew what to expect. I’ll also admit, Zayn did debut before the NXT: Arrival event, but his best moments came in the official Black & Gold era (except that amazing Two-Out-Of-Three Falls match with Cesaro).

Speaking of Arrival and Cesaro, the two would have a great rematch at Arrival, with Zayn losing again. Zayn would spend most of his time in NXT trying to win the NXT championship. His current story is kind of a revamp of his NXT run. Even with side steps to try and get the NXT Tag Team Championships.

It all came to a head at Takeover: R Evolution, where he vowed to quit if he couldn’t beat Neville. And as we already went over, he would win, only to be taken out by Owens.

Zayn was the first guy who came from the indies and joined NXT. Not to say there weren’t big indie guys before him, they had been a part of FCW first, though. And FCW, along with OVW before it, was run and presented more as low-budget WWE.

Zayn helped to set the precedent of what NXT was about. It was ROH/PWG as run by Triple H. It gave us the feel of watching a super indie, but with the production values and storytelling of the WWE.

3: Adam Cole

Three years into the Black & Gold era, fans were fully in on it. Every time there was a Takeover before a WWE PLE, it was a given that Takeover was going to blow the PLE out of the water. The match quality and booking in NXT were both so refreshing. The time was ripe for someone to come in and make themselves the new star of NXT. Teaming up with former allies Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole would make his debut by attacking NXT Champion Drew McIntyre.

The Undisputed Era was on. The team would enter and win the first WarGames match in 17 years. Defeating the teams of Sanity and the Authors of Pain with Roderick Strong. Next, he would feud with Aleister Black, ending in an Extreme Rules match at Takeover: Philadelphia.

He would win his first championship by winning a Ladder match to become the inaugural NXT North American Champion at Takeover: New Orleans. He would drop the title to Ricochet at Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

While he would lose to Johnny Gargano in a match for the vacant NXT Championship. At Takeover: XXV, he would beat Gargano to win the NXT Championship. Cole would finally end Balor’s previous record, holding the belt for 403 days. A record that still stands today.

Cole and The Undisputed Era exemplified the Black and Gold Era. They went out every night and put on some of the best matches of the show. Cole had great matches with Black, Ciampa, Keith Lee, Pete Dunne, Seth Rollins, and so many more. His run in NXT from 2017 through his departure in 2021 can be put up against any other wrestler that passed through NXT at the same time. It’s a body of work that I feel doesn’t get enough credit.

2: Johnny Gargano

To me, the next two men are the heart and soul of the Black and Gold era. The absolute wars they had against each other were nothing short of art. If I had to pick Gargano was the soul of NXT. He was the guy who was “too small” to make it. But he fought his heart out every night and showed the world he deserved to be there.

DIY actually started working in NXT before being signed; they would be a part of the 2015 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Gargano would sign a deal like Joe’s initial deal, allowing him to work independent dates as well. He would enter the Cruiserweight Classic (can we bring this back?) He would beat his partner and future rival Tommaso Ciampa in the first round. Though he wouldn’t win the Classic, he would sign a full-time deal afterwards.

DIY would win the NXT Tag Team Championships after beating The Revival at Takeover: Toronto. They wouldn’t hold the titles long, losing them to The Authors of Pain at Takeover: San Antonio. After failing to recapture the belts, Ciampa would turn on his partner. This would set off a feud that, to me, is the feud of the Black and Gold Era.

Watching Gargano and Ciampa go to war over the NXT Championship rekindled the flames of my fandom. When the WWE was at its worst, NXT, led by Gargano and Ciampa, was lighting it up every week. Not even Ciampa’s injury would derail this feud. The fact that two guys deemed too small and lacking in charisma would carry NXT as their top guys for two years was crazy at the time.

Gargano’s unwillingness to die and to always keep fighting was the soul of NXT. A bunch of men and women who went out every night and gave it their all. Putting it all out in the ring to prove they deserved their spot.

1: Tommaso Ciampa

So, we talked about the soul. Now let’s talk about the heart, or should I say the Black Heart. If I’m being honest, it was Ciampa leaving that made me want to write these last two articles. Ciampa has been one of my favorites since he showed up in NXT.

He brings an intensity that few can match. Size doesn’t matter when you are in the ring with a Psycho Killer. We have already talked about his legendary feud with Gargano. But almost every match that Ciampa had during his NXT run was great.

He had an underrated feud and match with Timothy Thatcher and stayed in NXT as it transitioned to NXT 2.0. Being the anchor as they rebuilt the roster with fresh talent. His contributions to NXT are something that can’t be understated, and for that, he earns the top spot.

Preview:

Tune in next week when we cover the Great Eight NXT North American Champions.