3 NXT Superstars who may move to the WWE main roster by the end of the year and 2 who may not
WWE NXT continues to create, develop and build future WWE Superstars for Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night RAW.
Current big name stars on WWE's main roster such as Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Apollo Crews, Riddle, Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair and more have all received their humble beginnings on the black and gold brand.
With WWE's return to touring on the horizon in July and NXT TakeOver: In Your House coming later this month, the discussion amongst the WWE Universe has moved to which NXT Superstars could be headed to the WWE main roster in the next few months.
Since live fans are set to return to WWE programming, it has to be assumed that WWE is looking to "refresh" the rosters of RAW and SmackDown. This could mean several major names will be called up to Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown, while others will stay with NXT to take their place as the premiere stars on Tuesday nights.
But which names will stay on NXT and which names will go to RAW and SmackDown? Let's take a closer look at three NXT Superstars who may move to the WWE main roster by the end of the year and two who may not.
#5 Io Shirai (May move to the WWE main roster)
Former NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai has been the gold standard of the NXT Women's division for the past twelve months.
The Genius of The Sky captured the NXT Women's Championship at last year's NXT TakeOver: In Your House event, defeating former champion Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match.
After months of holding onto the NXT Women's Championship, defending it against the likes of Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae, Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez, Io Shirai lost the championship at NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver Night One in April.
In the main event of the first night, Shirai was defeated by Raquel Gonzalez. This has fueled rumors that Io Shirai was set to leave the black and gold brand, heading to Monday Night RAW or Friday Night SmackDown in the process.
While the former NXT Women's Champion hasn't been seen on an episode of NXT since, aside from backstage segments, she also has yet to appear on the main roster. Many have assumed that Io Shirai is simply taking some time off before returning to NXT, while others believe she is biding her time to make an impactful debut on RAW or SmackDown.
Nevertheless, with little left to accomplish on the black and gold brand, it feels inevitable that Shirai will debut on the WWE main roster before the year is over.