NXT Arrival: Where Are They Now?

NXT Arrival: Where Are They Now?

December 11, 2024

By Ryan Porzl

Many promotions have popped up this century from big ones like AEW, TNA, ROH, and MLW to popular indie promotions like PWG, SHIMMER, SHINE, GCW, among others. One of the bigger and popular ones would be NXT. Originally starting in 2010 as a goofy reality show type concept, NXT eventually settled into becoming WWE's developmental territory in 2012. Mostly operating out of Florida, the promotion has grown from cult like status on the WWE Network to occasionally being considered a third brand alongside RAW and Smackdown on national TV. Many of WWE's current stars had runs in NXT at one point before moving up to the main roster. However, despite NXT beginning in 2012, it wouldn't be until 2014 when they began running big PPV like cards. The first one would be called NXT Arrival and took place at Full Sail University on February 27, 2014. It's now been over ten years since that event so I figured it be fun to do one of my favorite type of articles which is a "Where Are They Now?" In this article, we'll take a look at some of the early stars of NXT and see where they ended up. Who went to big success? Who fell to obscurity? Let's find out.

Note: I don't own any photos. Credit to WWE or whomever owns them.

NXT Arrival Results

Dark Match: Mason Ryan defeated Sylvester Lefort

Cesaro defeated Sami Zayn

Mojo Rawley defeated CJ Parker

NXT Tag Team Championship: The Ascension (c) defeated Too Cool

NXT Women's Championship: Paige (c) defeated Emma

Tyler Breeze vs. Xavier Woods went to a No Contest

NXT Championship/Ladder Match: Adrian Neville defeated Bo Dallas (c)

Tom Phillips

Where Is He Now? After NXT Arrival, Phillips continued working for the WWE and remained busy. He served as NXT's main play-by-play announcer till 2017 and later announced for RAW, Smackdown, 205 Live, and NXT UK while also doing play-by-play for Wrestlemania 33 becoming only the fifth lead announcer in the event's history. Phillips continued working for WWE until he was released in 2021. Since 2022, Phillips (under his real name Tom Hannifan) has become the play-by-play announcer for TNA/Impact Wrestling calling Impact, Pay-Per-View, and Plus Specials with Matthew Rehwoldt (formerly WWE/NXT's Aiden English) who he previously worked with in WWE and Xplosion with Gia Miller.

William Regal

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Regal continued working as an announcer until the Summer of 2014 when he became the NXT General Manager on screen as well as the General Manager for 205 Live in 2020. Behind the scenes, Regal became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center following the passing of Dusty Rhodes in June 2015 and would work recruiting future talent from the indies or other sports eventually becoming Director of Talent Development and Head of Recruiting. In 2022, Regal was released from the WWE due to talent cuts and he joined AEW as the manager of the Blackpool Combat Club stable of Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta. Regal's AEW run lasted less than a year before leaving in December 2022 after asking for his release to return to the WWE to be with his son Charlie Dempsey. Regal returned to WWE in January 2023 and since then has become Vice President of Global Talent Development while mostly working behind the scenes outside the occasional appearance.

Byron Saxton

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Saxton continued announcing for NXT until December 2015 while moving up to the main roster. Since 2015, Saxton has worked as an announcer for all the main WWE shows like RAW, Smackdown, and 205 Live at different points as well as Pay-Per-Views while also having been an interviewer and ring announcer. In November 2021, he also briefly became a champion when he defeated broadcast colleague Corey Graves for the WWE 24/7 Championship but quickly lost it to Drake Maverick. As of 2024, Saxton still works for WWE. 

Mason Ryan

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Ryan continued in NXT until being released from the WWE in April 2014. After his release, he became a journeyman (still using the "Mason Ryan" name) competing in the UK and the Florida independents for promotions like Full Impact Pro as well as internationally for Westside Xtreme Wrestling in Germany, Inoki Genome Federation in Japan, and World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico notably challenging for the WXW World Tag Team Titles and the FIP World Heavyweight Title before retiring in November 2015. Since his retirement, he's gone on to perform for Cirque du Soleil where he performs to this day.

Sylvester Lefort

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Lefort formed the tag team "The Legionaries" with fellow French wrestler Marcus Louis and feuded with Enzo Amore and Big Cass (AEW's Big Bill) which culminated in Lefort losing a hair match to Amore in September 2014 at NXT Takeover: Fatal Four Way which Lefort lost but he escaped before losing his hair but Amore and Cass cut the hair of Louis which resulted in the Legionaries breaking up and briefly feuding. Following the break up, Lefort was taking off TV until returning in early 2016 as a manager for Billie Kay at house shows until being released in February 2016. In March 2016, Lefort signed with TNA where he competed under the name "Basile Baraka" and reformed the Legionaries, now called "The Tribunal" with Louis (now renamed "Baron Dax"). The Tribunal would mostly align with Al Snow and feud with Mahabali Shera and Grado before parting ways with Snow and briefly feuding with him. The team would challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice but came up short before leaving in November 2016. Since his TNA departure, Lefort returned to Europe where he's competed in various European promotions and won various championships. In 2024, he returned to the WWE as a security guard during the R-KO segment involving Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, and the Bloodline with Lefort taking a table bump from Orton. Lefort continues to wrestle throughout Europe under the name "Tom LaRuffa".

Cesaro

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Cesaro returned to the main roster where he won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania XXX in April 2014. He then had a brief period aligned with Paul Heyman but not much came of it. He eventually settled into tag team competition forming successful teams with Tyson Kidd, Shinsuke Nakamura, and most notably, Sheamus as part of the team "The Bar" where he won seven tag team championships. In 2022, Cesaro left WWE and signed with AEW where he uses his real name "Claudio Castagnoli". Debuting in June 2022, Cesaro has also made appearances for Ring of Honor which is now owned by Tony Khan where he became a two time ROH World Champion. Along the way, he's also been a member of Jon Moxley stables like the Blackpool Combat Club and the Death Riders where he's won the AEW World Trios Championships in the latter stable with Pac and Wheeler Yuta. As for 2024, Cesaro still competes for AEW while making appearances for AEW partners like CMLL in Mexico.

Sami Zayn

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Zayn continued working as a top star in NXT, eventually defeating Adrian Neville at NXT Takeover: R Evolution for the NXT Championship before eventually losing the title to former partner/rival Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover: Rival in February 2015. Zayn then began making appearances for the WWE including challenging John Cena for the United States Championship and participating in the 2016 Royal Rumble. In April 2016, Zayn officially moved to the main roster where he still competes in to this day. As part of the main roster, Zayn has won the Intercontinental Championship four times and both the RAW and Smackdown Tag Team Championship with Owens. He's been in storylines with Owens and Roman Reigns' Bloodline as both an ally and enemy for both parties while main eventing Wrestlemania 39 Night One. He's also ended record title reigns including the Uso's record setting 622 day WWE Smackdown Tag Team Title reign and Gunther's 666 day WWE Intercontinental Title reign.

Mojo Rawley

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Rawley would briefly team and feud with Bull Dempsey until an injury sidelined him in late 2014. Upon his return in June 2015, he formed a team with Zack Ryder becoming "The Hype Bros" and largely worked as a midcard team. In August 2016, Rawley would move to the main roster and continued teaming with Ryder outside of a brief period due to injury in late 2016. From 2016-2017, he and Ryder would challenge for the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships mostly at house shows but were never able to win the belts. In April 2017, Rawley would hit the peak of his career when he won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 33. By the end of 2017, Rawley turned on Ryder and went heel but the change in alignment did little for his career and he began losing momentum over the next few years. By late 2019, Rawley began pursuing the WWE 24/7 Championship and ultimately won it seven times from 2019-2020 with his last reign taking place at Wrestlemania 36 Night One. After a few face/heel changes, Rawley wrestled his last WWE match when he lost to Shorty G in June 2020 before sitting at home until he was cut in April 2021. Since his release, Rawley hasn't wrestled in four years though he hasn't officially retired.

CJ Parker

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Parker feuded with Xavier Woods for a brief period scoring wins before eventually settling into a role of a jobber losing NXT TakeOvers to Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens in late 2014. After competing for several Wrestlemania Axxess shows in March 2015, Parker requested and received his release. After leaving WWE, Parker went by the name "CJP" where he worked the independent circuit including CZW's Best of the Best XIV tournament where he went to the semifinals before losing to eventual winner Mike Bailey. After working the indies, Parker switched to his old name "Juice Robinson" and began working for New Japan in late 2015 starting at the bottom and working his way up. Parker would achieve success in New Japan, winning the IWGP United States Championship three times while forming the tag team "FinJuice" with David Finlay where they won the IWGP Tag Team Championship and the 2019 World Tag League and was a member of Bullet Club. From 2019-2020, he made appearances for ROH where he briefly created and led the group Lifeblood before quickly leaving to focus on New Japan. From 2020-2022, Robinson appeared for TNA/Impact Wrestling where he teamed with Finlay and captured the World Tag Team Championship while later teaming with Ace Austin and Chris Bey in Bullet Club. In 2022, Robinson signed with AEW where he still competes to this day as part of the stable the Bang Bang Gang (formerly Bullet Club Gold) with Jay White and the Gunn Club.

Viktor (left) and Konnor (right)

The Ascension

Where Are They Now? The Ascension continued as tag champs for several more months, fending off challenges from R-Truth and Xavier Woods, the Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch), and Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd before losing the belts to the Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara and Kalisto) at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way in September 2014. After failing to regain the titles, the two transferred to the main roster in December 2014 where their look was slightly altered to resemble teams like the Road Warriors. The main roster run proved to be a disaster we they were buried almost immediately. At one point, they would form the Cosmic Wasteland stable with Stardust (Cody Rhodes) but that along with moving from RAW to Smackdown did nothing for them. They continued in the WWE doing little until being released in 2019. After their release, the two worked the independent circuit from 2020-2022 under the Ascension name as well as "the Awakening" with Konnor becoming Big Kon and Viktor becoming Vik with their last match as a team to date being in February 2022 losing to the legendary Rock n' Roll Express.

Outside the Ascension, Konnor has frequently worked the independent circuit by himself. He eventually signed with TNA (then Impact Wrestling) in 2022 and spent 2022/2023 as a member of "The Design" alongside Cody Deaner and Alan Angels where they feuded with the likes of Sami Callihan and Eric Young while Konnor received matches with Josh Alexander. After the group imploded in early 2024, Konnor went on his own and feuded with PCO during the first quarter of the year. As of 2024, Konnor is still with TNA but hasn't been used much since the summer.

Outside the Ascension, Viktor would also work the independents. Since 2023, Viktor has competed in the NWA as a masked wrestler named Zyon where he's managed by Austin Idol. During his time, Viktor has received shots at the NWA National Championship.

Grandmaster Sexay (left) and Scotty Too Hotty (right)

Too Cool

Where Are They Now? Arrival proved to be the last big appearance for Too Cool. After the event, the team worked independent shows over the next two years, even reuniting with Rikishi in one, with their last match as a team taking place in November 2016.

Outside the team, Grandmaster Sexay continued to work independent shows but nothing big to note with his last match being in November 2017. In July 2018, Sexay was arrested for DUI and would later be found hanging in his cell. He eventually was rushed to the hospital but was declared brain dead and passed away after being taking off life support on July 29, 2018 at the age of 46.

Scotty Too Hotty continued to work the independent circuit for years afterwards. From 2016-2021, he returned to the WWE to work as a trainer at the Performance Center eventually requesting his release after five years. In 2023, he joined AEW where he works as a producer and coach. As of 2024, Scotty still works for AEW while doing indie dates on the side.  

Paige

Where Is She Now? After Arrival, Paige would move to the main roster in April 2014 and won the WWE Divas Championship from AJ Lee on her first night. Due to moving up, she would be stripped of the NXT Women's Championship ending her reign at 308 days. After moving up, Paige would win the Divas Championship two times while feuding with AJ Lee and the Bella Twins. In 2015, she would then be part of the Team PCB stable alongside Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. By 2016, Paige would begin to have neck issues and underwent neck surgery which kept her out until November 2017. Upon return, Paige would form a new stable called "The Absolution" with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville but would suffer another neck injury at a WWE live event in December. After managing Mandy and Sonya in early 2018, she announced her retirement in April 2018. After retiring, she worked as the General Manager of Smackdown for 2018 then as a manager for the Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) in 2019 and then frequently contributed to studio show WWE Backstage. In 2022, she left WWE after her deal ended and resumed her in-ring career with AEW under her real name "Saraya". In AEW, Paige has led the stable "The Outcast" which featured the likes of Toni Storm, Ruby Soho, Harley Cameron, and brother Zak Knight. On August 27, 2023, she perhaps achieved her biggest win when she won the AEW Women's World Championship at AEW All In in her home country of England at Wembley Stadium. As of 2024, Paige still competes for AEW.

Emma

Where Is She Now? After Arrival, Emma bounced around the main roster and NXT during 2014-2015 first as a clumsy dancing babyface before turning heel. In NXT, she would align with Dana Brooke and feud with Bayley and Asuka. After Dana recovered from a shoulder injury and debuted on the main roster in April 2016, the two were to continue their alliance but a back injury put Emma out for several months. Upon return, she was briefly repackaged under a glamorous diva character named "Emmalina" but this was quickly dropped when WWE writers felt she wouldn't be able to pull off the character. Eventually, she returned under her heel character before being released in 2017. After her release, she worked the indies for several years under her real name "Tenille Dashwood". From 2018-2019, she then worked for ROH in their women's division where she entered a tournament to crown the first Women of Honor Champion but lost to eventual winner Sumie Sakai in the semifinals. She continued working for ROH as a contender for the WOH Championship and was briefly a member of Juice Robinson's Lifeblood stable before leaving in 2019. In August 2019, she signed with Impact Wrestling (TNA) where she first worked as a singles wrestler challenging the likes of Taya Valkyrie and Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts World Championship while having matches and feuds with Jordynne Grace, Alisha Edwards, and Decay. In 2021, she then found her biggest success forming the tag team "The Influence" with Madison Rayne with the two winning the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship in March 2022 from the IInspiration (Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee) before losing the belts in July at Slammiversary to Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie. Shortly after the title loss, she left Impact in August 2022 following a loss to Masha Slamovich and the expiration of her contract. In October 2022, she returned to the WWE, once again as "Emma", and challenged Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown Women's Championship but came up short. Emma's WWE return lasted eleven months where she did little before being released in September 2023. Since her release, she's wrestled once in April 2024 in her native Australia but is unsure about her future. As of writing, she's pregnant with her first child.

Tyler Breeze

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Breeze continued working in NXT for the next year and a half while making the occasional appearances at WWE live events. He would frequently challenge for the NXT Championship at live events but never won it. He would also take part in big matches with Hideo Itami (KENTA) and Jushin Thunder Liger. In October 2015, Breeze moved up to the main roster but it didn't take long before he lost momentum (which was the case for many NXT call ups). For most of his WWE run, he would team with Fandango in the team "Breezango". While the team was largely a comedy act, this would last several years and get many shots at the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship, mostly at live events. By 2019, Breeze returned to NXT as a singles and as part of the Breezango team. He would challenge Velveteen Dream a few times for the NXT North American Championship and then pursued the NXT Tag Team Championships. In August 2020, Breezango defeated Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) to win the titles, giving Breeze his first NXT title. Breezango held the titles until October when they lost them to Danny Birch and Oney Lorcan. Breeze's last major appearance was teaming with Fandango in the Dusty Rhodes' Tag Team Classic in January 2021 but lost in the first round to Adam Cole and Roderick Strong before being released in June 2021. After being released, Breeze took a two year hiatus from the ring. In 2022, he returned to WWE to co-host Xavier Woods' Upupdowndown Youtube channel while eventually becoming a coach at the WWE Performance Center. In 2023, he resumed wrestling on the indies under the name "Breeze" and still competes as of 2024 while working for WWE.

Xavier Woods

Where Is He Now? Woods continued working in NXT until moving up to the main roster. Since late 2014, Woods has been part of "The New Day" tag team with Kofi Kingston and Big E. The team has become one of the most successful teams in wrestling history, winning nine tag team titles between RAW, Smackdown, and NXT while engaging in big feuds with the Usos and the Bar to name some. Though mostly known for his tag team success, Woods would win the King of the Ring tournament in 2021. As of 2024, he's still with WWE and a member of New Day.

Adrian Neville

Where Is He Now? Neville continued as NXT Champion till December 2014 where he successfully defended against the likes of Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, and Tyson Kidd before losing it to Zayn at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in December. By early 2015, Neville went to the main roster (where his name was shorten to "Neville") where he went on to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on two occasions while making it to the finals of the 2015 King of the Ring tournament while feuding with the likes of Bo Dallas, Akira Tozawa, and Austin Aries. In October 2017, Neville would abruptly walk out on the WWE due to unhappiness and would sit out until his contract ended in August 2018. From 2018-2019, Neville, once again using his old name "Pac", would first return to Dragon Gate where he captured the Open The Dream Gate Championship (DG's top title). Since 2019, Neville has worked for AEW where's achieved big success including feuds with Kenny Omega and being a member of stables like Death Triangle and The Death Riders. He was the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion (now the AEW International Champion) and a two time AEW Trios Champion all the while becoming the first double champion in AEW history.

Bo Dallas

Where Is He Now? After Arrival, Dallas continued in NXT until being sent to the main roster in April 2014. Upon debut, Dallas would spent the next few years largely in the midcard feuding with the likes of Mark Henry and Adrian Neville. In 2016, he would then become part of a stable called "The Social Outcasts" along with Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, and Adam Rose before the group imploded months later. From 2017-2019, he then became part of Miz's "Miztourage" along with Axel and would serve as a sidekick for Miz and wife Maryse until he and Axel broke away and became "The B-Team". At Extreme Rules in July 2018, Dallas and Axel defeated Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy for the WWE RAW World Tag Team Championship. The two would hold the gold until losing them to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. In 2019, Dallas would briefly win the WWE 24/7 Championship before taking a leave at the end of the year. After a year and a half of inactivity, Dallas was eventually released from WWE in April 2021. After taking another year and a half off, he returned to the WWE in late 2022 around the same time as brother Bray Wyatt returned. Originally, Dallas returned under the character of "Uncle Howdy" who assisted Wyatt. However, Dallas would be taken off TV in February 2023 when Wyatt would be sidelined due to heart issues from COVID-19 which eventually led to his death in August 2023. In 2024, he eventually returned as both Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy while leading a new group called "The Wyatt Sicks".