NXT Stars After WrestleMania

Sort of what is says on the tin here, what would you do with a number of the main stars of NXT after Wrestlemania? Are they ready for the main roster? Do they need more time to work on their act? Here are my thoughts....

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Adam Rose
Think that his gimmick looks great though still not entirely sold on him in the ring (as in it doesn't feel as though his moveset etc is entirely consistent with his character). Think that it would work on the main roster where the additional budgets etc would make a great spectacle. I would give this one quite a bit longer to evolve and see how he is able to build a feud given this gimmick. Feud with CJ Parker may work...

VERDICT: Stay in NXT for the foreseeable

Adrian Neville
The current NXT Champion is fantastic... until he gets a microphone in his hand. I think he will have a valuable place on the main roster eventually as a tag team / mid card specialist. I would look to keep the NXT title on him until July and for HHH to announce that the NXT champ at the time of MITB will gain entry into the MITB ladder match. It would be a great way to get him into the main shows and on the basis of this I would get him into a face tag team with Kofi Kingston.

VERDICT: Stay in NXT until MITB

Aiden English
After seemingly being a jobber English has developed a nice character around his dramatic "talents". I am not sure if this would translate into the main show without additional props / gimmick as the Raw arenas are much bigger. However, I could see a viable double act between him and Fandango in the future.

VERDICT: Stay in NXT for the foreseeable

Alexander Rusev
Rusev has sort of debuted already. His initial exposure at the Rumble and promos suggest he will be involved much more after Mania. Does the character have a long term future? Possibly. Foreign monster heels always have a place though the concern is whether there is longevity after any losses and whether these damage his credibility. I would hope that creative would have a plan for him that didn't involve John Cena. One nice idea if they were bothered about the US title would be for him to be a foreign power looking to "hi-jack" the United States title. If Cesaro turned face but kept the "We the People" gimmick there could be a great feud there.

VERDICT: Main roster mid card heel role

Ascension
The Ascension have been booked as the dominant tag team in NXT. Initially heels, their dominance appears to have put them over as faces as, well, there are virtually no other tag teams in NXT. I would imagine that unless there is a plan to bring more in that they would really need to debut on the main roster very soon after Mania. I am not totally sold on them but without anyone to feud with I am not sure if they can show much more than they are. With plenty of teams disbanding at present it would be a great time to make some more / bring them up to compete with the Usos etc.

VERDICT: Main roster as heel tag team after Mania

Bo Dallas
"No More Bo!" I think that Bo has been great in his heel role over the last few months and has taken a horrible, cheesy face character and turned it around. I think that it could be a good plan for him to stay in NXT for a while and refine that heel character but I would also not be averse to the WWE bringing him up to the main roster immediately into a feud with Cena... it could very well play into the realms of a Trish/Mickie type feud where Bo could be a strange stalker fan and would be another potentially fresh feud for John without the heel being ruined by not going over.

VERDICT: Remain in NXT for a potential debut later in the year

Corey Graves
Graves has been doing some great things over the last few weeks as a heel and I would be delighted to see him debut on the main roster very soon. I could see it happening as a tag team and potentially involving him with Dean Ambrose. Obviously this is contingent on the post Mania Shield situation but imagining that Reigns and Rollins remain as faces Ambrose could be left as the heel and could "recruit" a partner to face off against his former comrades. I could see some excellent promos and good in ring action.

VERDICT: Debut after WM into a Shield breakup storyline

Sami Zayn
Undoubtedly Sami is ready for the main roster. Great in the ring and able to carry feuds I would love to see him as a face on Raw/SD. I would hope that the WWE would let the "Ole" chants grow as I could see it become a signature for him in the large crowds. I would look to push into into a mid card title situation from the get go, particularly if the WWE does not continue with Big E as IC champion.

VERDICT: Main roster mid card face role

Tyler Breeze
"Prince Pretty" is brilliant. From the iPhone to the duck faces and the boots he is a great character (is it just me or does he look the spitting image of Dolph Ziggler??!). It would seem as though he is going to enter a programme with Adrian Neville but the possibilities for him on the main roster are endless. A tag team with Ziggler or even just a gimmick of him attacking "ugly" people and having a manager/agent alongside him would work really well. I would leave it until the summer and tie a debut into the beach, sunny weather and model photoshoots.

VERDICT: Main roster debut in the summer as a heel

Good analysis, pretty much agree with all of it

I'm absolutely gutted they've repackaged Leo Kruger, for me, he was set for the main roster. He could have been the perfect guy for Sheamus to feud with.

Good article. I wasn't as high on Leo Kruger as a lot of people, and think the Adam Rose gimmick is great fun at the moment. Like you I think he needs some time to fully develop the act in NXT.

I think Neville's improving on the mic, but still needs some polish. I understand the thinking behind bringing him up for MITB, but I'd would have him leave NXT completely until the end of the year. A long run with the title will hopefully see him continue to improve as a talker.

For some reason I think English could be a good foil for Damien Sandow. If they take his singer gimmick and turn him into a complete music snob who despises all modern music, he'll go well with Sandow's intellectual gimmick. I'd name their tag team The Culture Club.

Ascension will fill the void left if the WWE decide to split either/both the Real Americans and the Shield, so it makes sense to call them up soon.

I think Bo and Sami are ready now, and can both make an impact in the mid-card. Sami's probably an even more sympathetic babyface then Daniel Bryan, and always has great psychology in his matches.

I'd keep Graves and Tyler in NXT a little while longer. Both have got their characters down well, but I've not been convinced by either of them in the ring, particularly Breeze.

I'd also call up Paige immediately.

When I did WWA (the create a wrestler shows) I put Sandow and English together as a team called "The Gentlemen's Club" as I agree that they are perfect and would probably have brilliant chemistry together due to their snobby styles. Zayn is a guy who I can see being massive...His ring work is brilliant, he works his ass off and for someone who's previous gimmick consisted of broken english he's surprisingly good on the mic.

With Paige I'd have AJ win at Mania and then have Paige attack her claiming that the NXT Women's title was the real female belt and that AJ was just like the total divas...this could lead to Paige vs Tamina to win a Diva title shot.

I think Bo, Paige and The Ascension will be called up soonish as they are the ones who have t-shirts on the webstore and this could be a tester of their selling power.

For me, Rusev and The Ascension should be seen soon. I would then wait a little bit for any others. Too many at once can dilute the impact of one.