5 NXT stars who could be heading to WWE's main roster
WWE NXT is the company's development brand and made its premiere episode on February 23, 2010. The show started in a reality show format with eight hopefuls competing in a series of matches and skills competitions. The format paved the way for top stars like Wade Barrett, Heath Slater and Daniel Bryan.
In 2012, the brand moved away from its reality show roots and instead featured matches and storylines in a way similar to that of the main roster shows. At the same time, the brand began to welcome more FCW (Florida Country Wrestling) talents and helped develop them into legitimate WWE stars.
This version of NXT helped develop some of the biggest superstars of today such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Big E. Since then, the developmental brand has opened its doors to more international wrestling talents such as Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, and Io Shirai.
For years now, much like NXT called upon stars from FCW, the WWE main roster has called upon stars from the black and gold brand. There have been a lot of success stories to come out of NXT callups.
In this list, let's take a look at five NXT stars who could be headed to the main roster soon:
#5. NXT veteran Johnny Gargano
Feud of the Year 2018
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
#WWE #NXT https://t.co/YzOKAJNMd5
Johnny Gargano made his NXT debut September 2015 together with Tommaso Ciampa. The team would later be named DIY. Together, they competed against some of the best tag teams the developmental brand has ever seen such as The Revival, The Ascension, and The Authors of Pain.
Consecutive losses to Akam and Rezar led to Ciampa turning on his partner and brutally attacking him. This marked the beginning of the storied rivalry between Ciampa and Gargano.
Gargano turned heel and, over the years, continued to become one of the best NXT has to offer. He is the first ever Triple Crown Champion in NXT history, having won the NXT, Tag Team and North American Championships.
There's not much for Johnny Wrestling left to do on Tuesday nights and a move to the main roster is certainly the right move for the NXT veteran.