7 NXT Superstars who could follow Austin Theory to RAW

This week on RAW, Zelina Vega made a major announcement just days before her client Andrade and Angel Garza’s big RAW Tag Team Championship match against The Street Profits.

Vega announced that Andrade had suffered an injury and introduced us to his replacement for The Show of Shows, Austin Theory. In case you didn’t know, Theory is a 22-year-old Superstar who is one of the hottest prospects of the company and has made the jump from NXT to RAW in no time.

With so much promise and potential on NXT, there are several other Superstars who could make the jump to RAW in the coming days and join Superstars like Shayna Baszler, Garza and Theory, who have recently switched brands.

In this article, we will look at seve such Superstars from NXT who could end follow Theory to RAW in the coming days.

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#7 Dominik Dijakovic

Dijakovic's rise has been limited on NXT for several reasons

Built like a giant and always ready to feast your eyes, Dominik Dijakovic is a mountain of a man who has been making waves on NXT.

The 6 foot 7-inch Superstar has everything Vince McMahon loves to see in a Superstar, although his rise on the Black and Gold brand has been limited due to various other reasons.

Dijakovic has been competing for NXT’s secondary title for some time now and he has struggled to reach the top of the card as NXT values skill, athleticism, charisma, and storytelling more than just great looks and strength.

However, RAW is one place that could do very well with a Superstar such as Dijakovic. The Superstar is a lot like Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in the ring and on the mic, and someone like him could do well on a brand that has always been about the biggest and most ruthless men in the business.

While Dijakovic is playing a babyface character in NXT, he could be a great heel on RAW and give men like McIntyre, Rusev, and even Brock Lesnar a run for their money!

#6 Damian Priest

The Archer of Infamy is in a league of his own

Speaking of heels, let’s get to the top heel in NXT at the moment. Damian Priest joined the company in October 2018 and was immediately thrown into a rivalry with former WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne.

Since then, we’ve seen Priest target the biggest babyfaces of NXT for over a year and make a statement whenever he’s gotten the chance. While The Archer of Infamy hasn’t won any titles in the company yet, he is one man who comes across as extremely convincing and dominating even without a title.

On some levels, Priest can be compared to the legendary Randy Orton, which speaks a lot about his wrestling abilities and heelish character.

RAW is a place where major heels thrive and we could watch The Archer of Infamy move to the Red brand sooner rather than later to spice up the mid-card scene and win some titles.

Priest could even team up with someone like Bobby Lashley or Samoa Joe and form an unstoppable tag team, similar to what Austin Theory will try to do with Angel Garza now.

#5 KUSHIDA

WWE needs to push KUSHIDA ahead

The New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) veteran joined WWE in early 2019 and got into an intense rivalry with WALTER, but he wasn’t able to defeat the biggest man of NXT UK.

Since then, we’ve seen KUSHIDA get some good matches against top Superstars, but he hasn’t been able to get through quite as much as fans would have liked.

The Time Splitter has been having a tough time getting some rivalries going on NXT and he hasn’t gotten many wins under his belt, which has affected his value and image on the Black and Gold brand.

WWE could move KUSHIDA to RAW to give him a fresh start and give him a better run in the mid-card of the brand where he can truly shine as a babyface. We could watch KUSHIDA team up with another babyface such as Ricochet or Kevin Owens, and we could get to watch the Time Splitter perform to the best of his abilities on the Red brand.

Watching KUSHIDA go up against men like AJ Styles and Seth Rollins will be a dream come true as he has already delivered a five-star match in NJPW against Will Ospreay!

#4 Io Shirai

The Genius of the Sky has a lot of potential

If there is one female Superstar on NXT who doesn’t get as much praise as she deserves, it’s Io Shirai. The Genius of the Sky is an excellent performer in the ring and plays babyface and heel characters equally well.

The Japan-born Superstar has tried to get her hands on the NXT Women’s Championship a few times, but the scene has always been too crowded for her to win the title.

RAW, on the other hand, has far fewer women who are convincing enough to compete for the top title, and Shirai’s inclusion to the mix could make things interesting.

Asuka and Kairi Sane, who are also from Japan, are already doing a great job on RAW together and we could see them take Shirai under their wing an make a great three-women heel faction to take over RAW.

While we have seen many male factions emerge in recent times, there have been far fewer female factions. Shirai’s move to RAW could change things around and give the brand another top female competitor who is extremely versatile and well-liked.

#3 Bianca Belair

The EST of WWE

The EST of NXT has been on the brand for some time now. In fact, she has been with the brand for over three years and has chased the top title several times but has always come up short which has been frustrating to see for the fans.

Belair is a one of a kind athlete with a one of a kind character that has clicked with the fans, and her strength and talent have impressed everybody.

Belair is an excellent heel and someone who could do extremely well on a brand like RAW where actions in the ring speak louder than words. With massive babyfaces like Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan looking for some real competition on the brand, it could be interesting to watch Belair step up to the challenge on the flagship brand.

WWE has always worked hard to keep real-life couples together on a brand to help them cope with the traveling and wrestling schedule. Having Belair on RAW would also help her get closer to her husband, and one-half of The Street Profits, Montez Ford.

#2 Roderick Strong

Roderick Strong is phenomenal with or without The Undisputed Era

Roderick Strong may be the pillar of The Undisputed Era, but he was doing a great job in NXT before joining the faction too and has proven several times that he is as good on his own as he is with the faction.

Over the years, we have seen Strong participate in far more singles matches than his stablemates, and he has proven time and time again that he is among the best in WWE.

At Survivor Series 2019, we watch Strong defeat industry veterans Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles in a Triple Threat Match to prove that he is second to none, and having him switch brands without his teammates will only hurt Undisputed Era and not the Superstar himself.

We could watch WWE throw in a storyline where they take Strong away from the faction either by turning him against his teammates or getting a better opportunity than the other members and moving to RAW.

This will allow Strong to once again grow on his own and possibly form a faction on the Red brand parallel to that of Seth Rollins’ or Kevin Owens’ with members such as Austin Theory, Angel Garza, and Erick Rowan.

This will allow WWE to have another top player and leader on RAW who could take the brand into a new direction and give fans some brand new rivalries that will help the creatives mix things up.

#1 Rhea Ripley

The Nightmare is just getting started

Rhea Ripley is one of the youngest Superstars in WWE today. While she hasn’t been with the company for too long, she has managed to not only win the NXT United Kingdom Women’s Championship once but also the NXT Women’s Championship.

The 23-year-old showed immense courage when she walked out to challenge the 2020 Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair on RAW and book her ticket to WrestleMania 36.

This will be the first time that a top NXT title will be defended at the event and the young Superstar is ready to make history once again.

While Ripley has been doing extremely well in NXT and has been leading the women’s division ever since she defeated Shayna Baszler for the title, she has an even bigger task at hand for WrestleMania.

Even though the NXT Universe is hoping and praying that The Nightmare will defeat The Queen at WrestleMania, let’s not forget that Flair is the most decorated woman in the history of the company.

With that in mind, in case Ripley loses her title at WrestleMania and Flair moves to NXT with the title, we could see Ripley make her way to RAW and aim for the top of the brand from the word go.

This will help WWE capitalize on Ripley’s fame and following. Building her into a big star at such a young age will only be beneficial for the company in the long run.