10 Ways WWE Fixed Broken NXT Call-Ups

8. Nikki Cross

Bayley Sasha Banks
WWE.com

Depending on who you ask, Nikki Cross was never broken, though a strange separation from Sanity looked disastrous for the former NXT star when the group rocked up on SmackDown in 2018 without her. It turned out to be a lifeline.

The ramshackle bunch disappeared as quick as they arrived save for blink-and-you'll-miss-them spots on the blue brand while the abandoned Cross played a crucial role in revealing who attacked Aleister Black in the black-and-gold brand's biggest angle of the summer.

It eventually carried to her to Raw, but things didn't look a lot brighter. Her wacky shtick was a touch on the silly side with Eric Young's gang let alone without, even when the more established babyfaces in the division giving it the old "what is she like, eh?" treatment in tag team matches.

An uneasy relationship with Alexa Bliss seemed to rectify it on the potential strength of Bliss' eventual turn, but Cross' likability in the role turned out to completely subvert expectations for the pair. Natural heel Bliss was suddenly a perfect fit as a babyface, and the duo became as close to a proper singles stars-become-a-proper-tag team success story as the Women's Division will likely allow.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett