On April 1, 2016, Roode was shown on-screen standing in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas.
On June 8 at NXT TakeOver: The End, Roode appeared backstage during an interview with NXT General Manager William Regal, where he was seen walking into Regal's office, hinting that Roode was about to sign with WWE or had already done so.
On June 11 during NXT's tour in the United Kingdom at Download Festival, Roode made his in-ring debut and defeated Angelo Dawkins.
On August 3, Roode made his NXT television debut and quickly turned on the crowd to establish himself as a heel.
The following week on NXT, Roode appeared after Andrade "Cien" Almas defeated Angelo Dawkins and informed Almas that General Manager William Regal scheduled a match between the two on August 20 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, where Roode defeated Almas.
On the September 14 episode of NXT, Roode defeated No Way Jose in his Full Sail University debut.
On the September 28 episode of NXT, Roode appeared after Tye Dillinger defeated Angelo Dawkins and later persuaded Dillinger to be his tag team partner for the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
On the October 12 episode of NXT, Roode and Dillinger were defeated by SAnitY (Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton) in the first round after Roode walked out on Dillinger during the match.
Roode and Dillinger attacked each other following their matches throughout the subsequent weeks, leading to a match on November 19 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, in which Roode defeated Dillinger.

On the December 14 episode of NXT, Roode qualified for a #1 contender's fatal four-way match for the NXT Championship after defeating Oney Lorcan.
On the December 21 episode of NXT, Roode defeated Andrade "Cien" Almas, Tye Dillinger and Roderick Strong in the fatal four-way match to earn the title shot against NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
On January 28, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Roode defeated Nakamura to win the title, becoming the oldest NXT champion in WWE history in the process.
On the March 15 episode of NXT, Roode made his first successful title defense, defeating Kassius Ohno.
On April 1 at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, Roode successfully defended the title against Nakamura in a rematch, giving Nakamura his first clean singles loss in his departing match from NXT.
On the April 19 episode of NXT, Roode was interrupted by Hideo Itami, who attacked him with a GTS.
On May 20 at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Roode retained the NXT Championship against Itami.
On the June 7 episode of NXT, Roderick Strong announced his intentions of capturing the NXT Championship and Roode came out to mock him.
Sparking a rivalry, the two engaged in a backstage brawl two weeks later after Roode mocked Strong and his family.
On the July 5 episode of NXT, Roode successfully defended the NXT Championship against Strong.
On the July 19 episode of NXT, Drew McIntyre defeated Killian Dain, earning the right to challenge Roode for the NXT Championship.
On the August 2 episode of NXT, Strong attempted to attack Roode during a backstage interview, in which Roode claimed to be a "better man" than Strong.
On the August 16 episode of NXT, Roode attacked both McIntyre and Strong during their main event to end the show.
On August 19 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, Roode lost the NXT Championship to McIntyre, giving Roode his first singles loss in NXT.
On the August 30 episode of NXT, Roode lost to Strong in his last televised NXT match.
Roode wrestled his NXT farewell match at a NXT live event in Toronto on September 9, when he defeated Velveteen Dream.
On April 1, 2016, Roode was shown on-screen standing in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. On June 8 at NXT TakeOver: The End, Roode appeared backstage during an interview with NXT General Manager William Regal, where he was seen walking into Regal's office, hinting that Roode was about to sign with WWE or had already done so. On June 11 during NXT's tour in the United Kingdom at Download Festival, Roode made his in-ring debut and defeated Angelo Dawkins. On August 3, Roode made his NXT television debut and quickly turned on the crowd to establish himself as a heel. The following week on NXT, Roode appeared after Andrade "Cien" Almas defeated Angelo Dawkins and informed Almas that General Manager William Regal scheduled a match between the two on August 20 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, where Roode defeated Almas. On the September 14 episode of NXT, Roode defeated No Way Jose in his Full Sail University debut. On the September 28 episode of NXT, Roode appeared after Tye Dillinger defeated Angelo Dawkins and later persuaded Dillinger to be his tag team partner for the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. On the October 12 episode of NXT, Roode and Dillinger were defeated by SAnitY (Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton) in the first round after Roode walked out on Dillinger during the match. Roode and Dillinger attacked each other following their matches throughout the subsequent weeks, leading to a match on November 19 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, in which Roode defeated Dillinger.
On the December 14 episode of NXT, Roode qualified for a #1 contender's fatal four-way match for the NXT Championship after defeating Oney Lorcan. On the December 21 episode of NXT, Roode defeated Andrade "Cien" Almas, Tye Dillinger and Roderick Strong in the fatal four-way match to earn the title shot against NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. On January 28, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Roode defeated Nakamura to win the title, becoming the oldest NXT champion in WWE history in the process. On the March 15 episode of NXT, Roode made his first successful title defense, defeating Kassius Ohno. On April 1 at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, Roode successfully defended the title against Nakamura in a rematch, giving Nakamura his first clean singles loss in his departing match from NXT. On the April 19 episode of NXT, Roode was interrupted by Hideo Itami, who attacked him with a GTS. On May 20 at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Roode retained the NXT Championship against Itami. On the June 7 episode of NXT, Roderick Strong announced his intentions of capturing the NXT Championship and Roode came out to mock him. Sparking a rivalry, the two engaged in a backstage brawl two weeks later after Roode mocked Strong and his family. On the July 5 episode of NXT, Roode successfully defended the NXT Championship against Strong. On the July 19 episode of NXT, Drew McIntyre defeated Killian Dain, earning the right to challenge Roode for the NXT Championship. On the August 2 episode of NXT, Strong attempted to attack Roode during a backstage interview, in which Roode claimed to be a "better man" than Strong. On the August 16 episode of NXT, Roode attacked both McIntyre and Strong during their main event to end the show. On August 19 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, Roode lost the NXT Championship to McIntyre, giving Roode his first singles loss in NXT. On the August 30 episode of NXT, Roode lost to Strong in his last televised NXT match. Roode wrestled his NXT farewell match at a NXT live event in Toronto on September 9, when he defeated Velveteen Dream.
Bobby Roode