8 Wrestlers To Carry NXT Over The Next Year
NXT has an ever-changing dynamic and superstars come and go, but who will carry the brand this year?
NXT's roster changes on a regular basis.
Stars who do well tend to be called up to the main roster rather quick. Very often wrestlers will stay on the brand for a year, then move up.
Some who come to the yellow brand are not destined to be there for long. More experienced wrestlers such as Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre come to NXT to lend their star power and learn the WWE way of performing things (or in Drew's case, reacclimatise), then move on relatively quickly.
NXT is additionally used to create recognisable faces. These can be home-grown talents, as well as those who have made a name for themselves elsewhere before coming to WWE.
The NFL and UFC are good sources for WWE talent.
The best and worst thing about NXT is the inevitability of the roster being shaken up all of a sudden. We get attached to a superstar who is putting on excellent matches and compelling storylines, then all of a sudden, they are gone.
This is not about them, however. This is about the stars that are going to be sticking round, and represent the focal point of the NXT brand over the upcoming year
8. Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano is the new NXT Champion and the first triple-crown champion at Full Sail University. Gargano is a genuine star of the yellow brand.
His arc somehow still feels incomplete with Tommaso Ciampa out of action with a serious neck injury.
His story to the top of the NXT brand is complete however. ‘Johnny Champion’ was on course to dethrone Ciampa and win the NXT Championship, which would have completed his unlikely journey to the top.
Instantly becoming the flag-bearer for his brand, it will now be his job to help usher in the new class of stars.
This upcoming year will see rivalries with such superstars as Velveteen Dream and Matt Riddle. ‘Mr. Takeover’ will look to maintain his first-rate match streak by continuing to put on wrestling clinics throughout the year.
The reason the champ is the first on the list is because he is the most likely to be called up to the main roster. But before that happen, he will represent the top guy on the NXT brand.