Surprise WWE NXT 2.0 Star Set For SmackDown Call-Up?

Is this star's time in NXT 2.0 coming to an end?

by Andrew Pollard
Sanga Wes Lee WWE NXT 2.0
WWE

Could NXT 2.0's Sanga be about to receive a shock call-up to the SmackDown brand? Possibly...

Via PWInsider, the one-time muscle of Grayson Waller was backstage as last week's blue brand taping. While this doesn't confirm anything, it has led to many speculating that Sanga could soon be departing NXT and heading to Friday nights.

Previously known as Saurav and paired with Rinku, aka Veer Mahaan, upon initially debuting in NXT in March 2020 - complete with Malcolm Bivens as the pair's mouthpiece - that run as the Indus Sher tag team was cut short, with some putting this down to Sanga accidentally spoiling Keith Lee's big NXT Championship win. Regardless, Rinku was moved to Raw to align with Jinder Mahal, whilst Saurav would be repacked as Sanga and resurface in NXT 2.0 this past January.

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Friday wasn't the first time that the 6'8" talent has been at a SmackDown taping, for he worked two dark matches prior to Smackers outings earlier this month. Both times, Sanga was victorious over Wes Lee in these bouts.

In terms of NXT 2.0 programming, Sanga has actually struck up a friendship with Lee following the Indian powerhouse's split from the aforementioned Waller.

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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.