Add as a preferred source on Google Sami Zayn made WWE history at Night of Champions this past Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Canadian star defeated Cody Rhodes and Gunther in a Triple Threat Match to win the Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time in his career.
Beyond the immediate impact of the win, Zayn also reached a very specific milestone. Looking at the modern version of NXT, which became WWE’s developmental brand in 2012, he is the first WWE Champion whose run with the company began directly on that brand.
Zayn debuted on NXT in May 2013, defeating Curt Hawkins before later scoring another major win over Cesaro during his first standout night on the show.
Hay un dato MUY, MUY loco sobre la victoria sobre Sami Zayn.
— MarioWrestling (@MarioWrestIing) June 27, 2026
Sami es el PRIMER WWE Champion (no Universal o World Heavyweight Champion) en toda la historia cuya andadura en la empresa empezó en NXT.
Todos los demás empezaron en FCW, como Roman Reigns o Drew McIntyre, o en OVW.… pic.twitter.com/W6dPJyccmP
The note stands out because several recent champions came through WWE’s previous developmental system. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, for example, started in Florida Championship Wrestling before the full transition to NXT. Big E also began his WWE run in FCW, even though he later became NXT Champion after the brand was revamped.
There is also an important Daniel Bryan distinction. Bryan appeared on the original version of NXT in 2010, but that format was a reality-style show built around “rookies” and “pros,” not the developmental brand that replaced FCW in 2012. Before that, Bryan had also wrestled in FCW.
In other words, Zayn’s win does not just mark the end of a long chase for WWE’s top prize. It also marks the first time a wrestler developed through the modern NXT era has reached the top of the main WWE Championship lineage, which dates back to 1963.