10 WWE Main Roster Stars That Could Jump To NXT THIS WEEK
Who will Triple H poach to bolster his army for the Wednesday Night War?
In an ideal world, there'd be no real conversation driving a list like this.
NXT wouldn't need nor want the odd main roster star to shore up the ranks, because it wouldn't be gaining an extra hour and moving to USA Network in order to counter-programme an impending new threat to Vince McMahon's North American monopoly. It wouldn't need nor want the shock of a big surprise arrival on Night One because the race to get on television before All Elite Wrestling's TNT broadcast has resulted in a clunky half-and-half rollout between USA and the WWE Network. It wouldn't need nor want any change at all - it was in relatively rude health as a wrestling show (if not a developmental brand) for several years before it.
Yet here we all are. The potential Wednesday Night War is pretty exciting, even if it's a voyage into the unknown for both brands. AEW will rely heavily on their own talent and the former WWE stars they've already managed to lure over. NXT should operate the same way, but with the advantage of having near-total access to the current bunch.
There's a way to get this sort of thing wrong, but the prospects if they get it right could quickly turn a near-the-knuckle ratings battle into a relative squash. Especially if they start at the very top...
10. Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin's King Of The Ring came after comfortably the best month of his entire career - that is to say that he couldn't be more deserving of the title yet will almost certainly be booked to play up to the heel pomp in the aftermath.
Farting around with the cape and sceptre will suit the 'Lone Wolf' more than most on the roster, but it comes as his credibility rating is going through the roof for his wrestling. Now, more than ever, he could make NXT his playground.
Far more than proffering dread and suffering to all your favourites, Corbin will just have bangers with them instead. King Corbin versus a Johnny Gargano, or Danny Burch or Pete Dunne would mirror everything people have loved about his rise to throne, but with stakes entirely different to his sweeping aside of the rank-and-files on Mondays and Tuesdays.
In NXT, his indifference to the industry could be positioned as the most evil force imaginable. The prospect of him winning the show's top title unthinkable. The idea of him even proposing the idea? Insufferable. Baron's former home could suddenly very easily double as his next bizarre sideways step.