In the latest WWE rumors floating around the internet, five members of the WWE’s NXT roster are being speculated as future main roster call-ups. NXT has been bringing an influx of fresh new talent to the main roster including The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, and Kevin Owens. In just the past year, the WWE Raw and SmackDown Live rosters have benefited from the addition of new NXT talents including Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode. More recently, there’s been stars from the women’s division joining the mix including Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Mandy Rose. So which five superstars might be joining them on Raw or SmackDown next year?
According to a Sportskeeda report, five superstars who could be making their way to the roster include No Way Jose, The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar), and the Iconic Duo (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce). Of those mentioned, Authors of Pain could possibly bring along their manager Paul Ellering, who is certainly no stranger to working on the bigger stage with WWF or WWE. Ellering previously managed tag teams including Legion of Doom and the Disciples of Apocalypse. That would lend he and his team some extra experience on the main roster.
The Authors of Pain are also the only superstars mentioned above that have achieved a championship while part of the NXT roster. The duo of Akam and Rezar held the NXT Tag Team Championship belts for a reign of 203 days, which is currently listed as the third-longest reign for NXT tag team champions. That success could very well propel them to similar success on the main roster. With that said, Alexa Bliss is at least one example of an NXT star who came to the main roster and has won titles, more than a few times, despite not winning any NXT championship.
It’s believed that all of these main roster debuts are scheduled for after WrestleMania 34. This would make sense as WWE debuted Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger on SmackDown Live following WrestleMania 33 this past April. Meanwhile, Raw received the return of Finn Balor, who was also a former NXT star that was hurt too early into his previous main roster stint.
It should also be mentioned that WWE debuted Tye Dillinger as part of the Royal Rumble 2017 match at the No. 10 spot. He was the only real “surprise” of the event from the roster, aside from Roman Reigns entering at No. 30 to the disappointment of a lot of fans. The fact Dillinger appeared in the match could indicate that any of the five names above could also make an appearance in a men’s or women’s Rumble match in January ahead of their main roster debut.