AJ Styles & 9 Other Wrestlers Who Bypassed NXT

One of the reasons for AJ Styles’ instant success in WWE was the surprise of his debut. Most wrestlers signing with WWE would join the company in NXT as the ideal path to getting acclimated. Styles proved that not all talents have to go to NXT if they felt it was worth debuting on the main roster. Quite a few other wrestlers received the same treatment for better or worse.

Some wrestlers signed big contracts that would have been foolish to utilize in NXT. Others were just better fits for the bigger audience as opposed to the diehard fan base that NXT typically attracts. The results have been hit or miss with stories going both ways. Find out what happened to the rare wrestlers who got to bypass NXT in WWE.

10 AJ Styles

The signing of AJ Styles showed that WWE was changing its way from a lot of prior unofficial rules. Styles was the first relevant TNA star to get hired by WWE in a long time, and he was allowed to skip NXT for the main roster. He also got to keep the name that made him famous.

Major names like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe had to start in NXT, but WWE signed Styles to a bigger contract. The reputation as the “best wrestler in the world” before signing with WWE influenced an instant push. Styles recently revealed his older age played a role in WWE not wanting to waste any time with him.

9 Luke Gallows

Multiple New Japan wrestlers left the company at the same time with their contacts expiring right when WWE wanted to bolster their roster. Luke Gallows returned to WWE as a completely different performer from what fans expected.

A story from Gallows claimed that Vince McMahon didn’t even remember him for his time as Festus or in the Straight Edge Society. Gallows was coming off a tremendous tag run as a fixture in the Bullet Club to get signed to a main roster deal with WWE.

8 Karl Anderson

Karl Anderson was the tag team partner of Luke Gallows and thrived long before forming the team. Bullet Club featured Anderson as the second most important member when getting it established in the early years.

The singles success of Anderson made him an interesting prospect, but he wanted to continue his tag run with Gallows. Both men received the main roster deals to make the move around the same time as AJ Styles.

7 Mike Kanellis

WWE saw the success of Mike Bennett with his wife, manager, and former WWE diva Maria Kanellis at his side when he hit free agency. The signing came after strong results in Ring of Honor, New Japan, and Impact Wrestling.

Both Mike and Maria joined the company on the main roster with a deal that bypassed NXT. The run turned into a disaster with poor timing and the company never getting behind them. Mike wanted to have a run in NXT, but WWE chose to release him instead.

6 Shelton Benjamin

The veteran status and older age of Shelton Benjamin made him the ideal wrestler to add in 2016 when WWE was entering a new brand split era. Benjamin had a strong stint in Japan working for NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH, still having good matches.

WWE signed him with the intent of adding more depth to the roster when splitting the company's talent into two brands. Shelton has not had many strong pushes, but he’s clearly viewed as a main roster talent with no thought of ever putting him in NXT.

5 John Morrison

John Morrison made his way back to WWE in late 2019 with the idea of reforming his tag team with The Miz. The outstanding in-ring work of Morrison continued outside of WWE after leaving with stints in Impact Wrestling, Lucha Underground, and AAA.

Miz revealed he played a huge role in Morrison coming back by pitching the idea of them teaming up again. WWE specifically signed Morrison with this idea in mind and had no interest in sending him to NXT like a few other returning stars.

4 Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez attacks Brock Lesnar in his WWE debut

The UFC success of Cain Velasquez made him a strong prospect for WWE when entering the wrestling industry. Velasquez received rave reviews for his first few performances for AAA and rumors surfaced that AEW had an interest in him after Cody Rhodes worked with a match with the retired MMA star.

WWE signed Cain to feud with Brock Lesnar and debuted him on the first episode of SmackDown on Fox. The presentation of Velasquez showed he was a future top star in their minds and that’s why he skipped NXT. However, things went so poorly that he was released after just a few months. However, during his time in the company, he had a high-profile match against Lesnar at the 2019 Crown Jewel pay-per-view, which resulted in Velasquez tapping out to Brock's Kimura Lock.

3 Jinder Mahal

Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal had similar stories of getting released together following the 3 Man Band run and making their way back to win the WWE Championship. Mahal did not head to NXT like McIntyre when signing a new deal.

Triple H likely didn’t see much value in Jinder at the time since WWE used him as an enhancement talent for the first few months of his return. Mahal eventually won over Vince McMahon to get the most unlikely world title push in recent memory.

2 Bobby Lashley

Former WWE stars to thrive in Impact Wrestling typically have to get reestablished in NXT before a main roster run. Drew McIntyre and EC3 were signed to start in NXT before the main roster was even a thought.

Bobby Lashley was the rare exception to that rule when coming back after a tremendous Impact run as arguably their top performer. Vince McMahon was high on Lashley in his first run which likely allowed him to skip NXT for a bigger run instantly.

1 Dominik Mysterio

The main roster debut and push of Dominik Mysterio at a young age has been quite surprising to watch unfold. Dominik spent time training at various wrestling schools before ever making his debut in an actual match.

WWE signed Dominik to work with his father Rey Mysterio and as a way to convince Rey to sign a long-term extension. Reports surfaced that the important people in WWE felt Dominik was good enough in the early stages to skip NXT and they’re already benefiting from his potential.

NEXT: WWE Draft 2020: 5 Wrestlers Who Should Come Up From NXT (& 5 Who Should Go Down)