Molly Holly Names WWE NXT Stars Who'll Thrive On The Main Roster

These NXT names could strike it big once they make it to the WWE main roster...

Mar 26, 2023 March 26th, 2023

Nowadays serving as a producer in WWE, Hall of Famer Molly Holly has detailed the NXT stars who she expects to make a big splash on the WWE main roster in the coming years.

Speaking during a Captain's Corner virtual signing event (as per POST Wrestling), Molly had plentiful praise for Carmelo Hayes, Kiana James, Zoey Stark, Nathan Frazer and Dante Chen.

As the two-time WWE Women's Champion explained:

"Carmelo, I think if you're talking about men. I think Carmelo's doing a great job. And as far as the women, her name starts with a K and she was, like, a dancer and she's into gymnastics. She dresses like a businesswoman. Ah, I forgot. Kiana? I forgot her name, but I really liked her, and oh, Zoey is one of the most amazing athletes I've ever seen. So, I think they've got a ton of great talent there. It seems like anyone who comes up for a tryout... Nathan Frazer just did a match against Bronson, I think, and I was really impressed with his stuff too. Oh, and there was a kid who just came up and did a match... Dante. Dante was his name, and I liked him a lot."

With WWE famous for moving NXT stars to the main roster in the aftermath of WrestleMania, there's been plentiful speculation that some of the above names could well be set to head to Raw or SmackDown in the coming weeks. In particular, Zoey Stark seems a shoe-in for a main roster switch in the imminent future, whilst Carmelo Hayes could well be find himself on the move should he come up short against NXT Champion Bron Breakker at Stand & Deliver next weekend.

Taking place next Saturday afternoon, the current card for Stand & Deliver reads as follows:

- NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes

- Zoey Stark vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Indi Hartwell in a ladder match for the NXT Women's Championship

- NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus vs. The Creed Brothers vs. Tony D'Angelo & Channing 'Stacks' Lorenzo

- NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Kiana James & Fallon Henley vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn

- NXT North American Champion Wes Lee vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Axiom

- Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller in an unsanctioned match

- Chase U & Tyler Bate vs. Schism for control of Chase University

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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