In October 2015, Bononi was announced as part of a class of WWE recruits to begin training at the WWE Performance Center. He made his television debut on the May 10, 2017 episode of NXT, losing to Aleister Black. Bononi had his first televised victory on the May 31 episode of NXT, defeating Andrade "Cien" Almas. Bononi was named "Future Star of NXT" at the 2017 NXT Year-End Awards. Despite winning this award, Bononi would rarely make any more appearances on NXT television throughout the next two years, as he was released from his WWE contract on April 15, 2020.