What’s the story?
With WrestleMania 33 out of the way, the attention now turns to the post-WrestleMania season, with a new group of NXT call-ups ready to step up and make their mark on the main roster.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez spoke on the subject on today’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, naming three men who are “100%’ about go get called up” to the main roster, with one popular tag team also considered a possible for a call-up sooner rather than later.
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In case you didn’t know
The RAW after WrestleMania has seen a number of NXT performers make the step up to the main roster in recent years, with Enzo & Cass and Apollo Crews making the jump with varying successes, last year.
WrestleMania is considered by many to be WWE’s season finale in a number of ways, with a number of fresh stories and roster shake-ups coming immediately after the Show of Shows.
NXT itself has seen an influx of new talent over the past few months, and as such the time has come for some of the more established names to move on to bigger and better things.
The heart of the matter
On the Wrestling Observer Radio episode, Meltzer stated that the three men that are about to be called up to the main roster from NXT are Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, Tye Dillinger and the former two-time NXT Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Meltzer also speculated that former NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival could find themselves on the main roster sooner rather than later.
The call-ups of Nakamura and Dillinger have been rumoured for a while. Nakamura has dominated NXT since his arrival last April, and whilst the Japanese star was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, that match was seen by many as the former two-time champ’s farewell to the developmental brand.
Also read: Best and Worst of NXT TakeOver: Orlando
Tye Dillinger has seemingly been on the cusp of debuting on the main roster for a long while, with The Perfect 10 getting a taste of the top table at this year’s Royal Rumble.
The call-up of Almas may be somewhat surprising to some, but the former La Sombra is an elite talent who arguably hasn’t received the support he deserves in NXT. WWE has been looking for a major new Latino star for a number of years, and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas could very well be the man they are looking for.
What’s next?
All eyes are on tonight’s episode of WWE RAW. Will Nakamura, Almas and Dillinger make their main roster arrivals tonight? Which shows will they be on? What about The Revival? Some of these Superstars could even debut on SmackDown Live on Tuesday night.
All of these questions are likely to be answered in front of the traditionally raucous crowd 24 hours removed from The Ultimate Thrill Ride. There is also a chance that there will be late changes to the list of those being called up, so tuning into tonight’s RAW is a must.
Author’s take
No surprises here. Shinsuke Nakamura is an elite-level professional wrestler whose talents were being somewhat wasted in developmental, and much like AJ Styles, he should have bypassed developmental altogether.
Dillinger is a great example of the merits of the developmental system, although the negatives of that system can be seen in Almas’ WWE career to date. All three are fantastically talented Superstars, however, and the main roster will be all the better with their arrival.
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