NXT: Departure 2014

[Doctor Awesome]

I have worked hard to keep up w/NXT since it's FCW days and since it's "Arrival" on the Network 3 weeks ago it became much easier for us subscribers to do so. With the WWE's business model and quotes to back it up, it's clear that they want the NXT brand to be synonymous w/WWE Developmental but still would like to see it stand on it's own as a viable entity. That, coupled w/there not being many vacant main roster spots, it's highly unlikely that there will be a ton of call-ups this year.

At this point, you have a dozen superstars that have come up from FCW/NXT in the last two years who are coming into their own for the most part. You also don't want to extract all of the top NXT talent out at once because it diminishes their product and there are no guarantees that you can fill all those spots out w/equal talent. With that being said, the purpose of this thread is to see who you think WILL be called up this year and WHY?

So, based on your knowledge of NXT's roster, who do you believe is most likely to be called up to the main roster and why? How do you see them coming in, feuding with, etc...Here are mine:

The Ascension: Conor and Viktor are beasts! Conor's original partner getting released was the best thing that could happen for him. Enter Rick Viktor and the Ascension became must-see TV. I know they are doing house shows but so did Moxley (Dean Ambrose) for 6 months. I have a feeling they will be up sooner than later w/there always being room for legit tag teams. They have a big fight feel, dynamite finish and a great tandem look that has made them tweeners in NXT. Unless they give them a heel mouthpiece or figure, the crowd is gonna decide whether or not they wanna boo or cheer them. They are best for business and not getting any younger.

Paige: Possibly a top 5 in the world of womens wrestling right now. She has tons off appeal and can come in several ways. Personally, since their styles are close enough it would be great if she became part of The Ascension. They would be over huge and could you imagine those 3 vs. USOS/AJ or another girl that can really wrestle. If you haven'e seen a match w/her and Emma those two beat the crap out of each other. She's a lock!

Corey Graves: The former Sterling-James Keenan in NXT, Graves is a modern-day Edge as far as characters go. He's not nearly as good in the ring and needs to continue work on his psychology. He's one of those guys at that point where they have to start testing the waters and see if he can get a reaction on Raw or SD.

Bo Dallas: As stated w/Graves, they need to truly see what they have in him. He's still young, younger than most but enough time has been invested in his character that really spawned out of his cup of coffee on the main roster last year. You can bring him in as another Wyatt (I'd rather they didn't) or with the current Bolieve gimmick. I'm all for that one as the crowd will shat on him terribly. His saving grace is that it will turn into heat once people see he can wrestle. If he takes his licks from veterans and keeps coming people may start "Bolievin'"...

Adam Rose/Leo Kruger: Let's rewind 3 years or so when he should have been called up. Great physique, great wrestling ability and ring psychology, mic skills no worse than some of the worst on the main roster. FF to now at 34 years old and after a gimmick change that proved to be his best by far ('ta ta' madman w/that laugh) and one I thought surely would get him to the big leagues. Nope, now he's a flamboyant party guy w/an entourage that includes Sami Callahan (Solomon Crowe) as his DJ? The prancing seems a bit forced (wonder why) but the song is catchy, he has the dance to it so who knows. Looks like this is what they might use to bring him up. If it works hopefully he can go the "faces of foley" route and re-introduce the Leo Kruger character. It could have been so good. Ta Ta...

 

[MoxleyCrue]

I would call up the following talent:

The Ascension: Rumour is they could team with Kane to take on The Shield at WM. They have a great gimmick, good in ring workers and connect with the crowd well. I can't say I've heard them on the mic to say whether they need a mouthpiece or not. They need to move up soon as age is not on their side.

Paige: If Paige isn't in the Divas Title picture by the end of this year I will be amazed. She is definitely top 5 in terms of female wrestlers imo. I agree that she could work great with The Ascension, they could be a great tweener faction, or similar to the Brood. She's also British and her birthday is the day after mine so bonus factors.

Sami Zayn: Top 4 in ring performers in whole of WWE with Cesaro, Rollins and Bryan in my opinion. Over with the fans, and the IWC love him due to his Generico days. Put him in an "indy" faction with Bryan and Cesaro, and if I was in charge have him challenging for the newly brought back Cruiserweight title.

I would've brought up Adam Rose but with the Leo Kruger gimmick, I for one enjoyed it and think he could've had a decent mid card run. I'd also bring up Adrian Neville and Corey Graves, but not too sure what to do with them, unfortunately I can't see them any higher than mid card at best.

I just don't like Bo Dallas. I find him hard to listen to on the mic, his in ring skills are solid but nothing spectacular, and people talk about D-Bryan or Punk not being muscular, this guy has the least excusable muffin top out of the whole roster.

I'd go further and bring in some new guys to NXT to replace this outflux of talent.

Kevin Steen - I don't think there is a more WWE ready wrestler out there today who hasn't already been through WWE. Great mic skills, great worker, proven ability with his work in ROH. I think he could go to a Jericho level, not WWE HWC but better than Intercontinental if you get me.

Ricochet - Great in ring talent, would work fantastically in the Cruiserweight division if it's brought back.

Rich Swann - Same as Ricochet, both work really well as a tag team together also.

Young Bucks - If WWE are looking to revitalise the tag division and the cruiserweight title these guys would be perfect. A mixture of Hardy Boys and The Rockers.

 

[ASKane]

I think the best ones to bring up would be:

Paige: WWE needs a legit challenger to AJ. The only reason AJ has had such a long title run is because there is no one worthy of taking it from her, she did deserve 100+ days with the title but over 250 just shows how poor the divas division is.

Zayn: Give him another 6 months in NXT and a run with the title and then have him form a tag team with either Rollins(Shield would have split and Reigns and Ambrose but Rollins might want another run at the gold and the indy connection is what this team would be former on) or Cesaro(same reason just change Shield with Real American and R & A with Swagger)

Neville: I think the way that these male NXT call ups are going to have success is in tag teams following the path of Shield and Wyatt's and I think they should pair him with a powerhouse or brawler and maybe Barrett due to the English connection. With Mysterio on his way out and Bourne not looking like returning WWE needs a new highflyer and Neville is there man

Ascension - As I said with Neville NXT guys will be more successful coming up as a team and these guys have an already established and successful team and I think they should be called up before Extreme Rules and say they have won every challenge NXT had to offer now they want to see what the main roster has to offer and go into a feud with the Uso's over the titles

Top NXT guys who shouldn't get called up:

Dallas - His gimmick only works as a top 3 guy and he wont be that on the main roster for atleast 5 years so he would get lost in the mid card shuffle

Breeze - Good gimmick but similar to Dallas the lack of time to develop and show a character in the mid card of the main roster will not be enough for Breeze and he will be lost in the shuffle

Rawley, Divas, Rose and Graves - Need another year to develop as wrestlers in the ring and as characters

 

[CeramicDuck]

One thing the WWE should be doing with NXT that it really doesn't do is using it as a place for talented guys who are already on the main roster and had some type of run to go to as an alternative to future endevouring them and letting them pop up in TNA.

People like The Miz or Kofi Kingston would benefit the talent, the brand and possibly themselves with extended stays in NXT. I know for some it will be a hard pill to swallow, but I can see it as a much better option than indys or TNA for a lot of guys, and who knows, they may get called back up one day.

As far as who should get brought up, I am against to many call ups as it thins the talent pool in NXT, unless of course with every bring up someone was sent down.

Here are my thoughts on some of the guys being bounced around.

Bo Dallas - He is incredibly annoying and I hate his look, imo he won't do well on the main roster unless he comes in as Bo Wyatt and his sole purpose in life is to take big spectacular bumps on behalf of the Wyatt family. Other than that, I am not a boliever

Sami Zayn - Man is he good, but I hope his call up is handled well because WWE has a huge talent on their hands here and need to procede accordingly. He is ready now, imo, but wouldn't hurt from a few more months to iron things out in NXT.

Corey Graves - I personally think he is the next Randy Orton, I wouldn't mind seeing him brought in with a stable featuring some veterans to give him a good rub. Maybe as the forth member the the rumored ziggler stable.

Adrianne Neville - Unfortunately I think we are seeing the only time ever that Neville will be in a major championship scenario right now. He could be a great tag team hand but his language limitations and size will hold him back from truly bigger things. I could see him and Evan Bourne being good tag team fodder.

Paige - She is no doubt ready, her and Natty or AJ can bring credibility back to the Diva's scene, but really, I don't know if I want to see that or not.

The Ancension - Great team, will come up soon, if they do get placed with Kane that could be great for them. With their depature the NXT tag team division dies, as it stands they only wrestle jobbers anyway. Lets hope there is a tournament for the belts after they leave and some new talent emerges.

Leo Kruger - I think that ship as sailed, the only way I see him coming up is as a possible replacement for reigns if the shield sticks together after he breaks away. He reminds me a bit of skinner 2.0, which isn't a bad thing per say, Bray did great with Waylon Mercy 2.0... I haven't seen enough of the Adam Rose stuff to have a huge opinion on it.

Mojo Rawley, Big Cas, Tyler Breeze, etc all need a lot more work and are fine right where they are at for now.

 

[gbast]

I'm sensing the Ascension are going to be the first call-ups after WM, since I expect a lot of tag team emphasis on the main roster this year (since WWE years really go from April to April, WM to WM, rather than calender years).

The others, I think will come up if there's a spot open, but nothing guaranteed. The Ascension do have a spot as they are breaking up several teams now and need more.