5 WWE stars that have greatly improved since joining the main roster
There is often debate around an NXT call up once they leave the yellow and black brand and join either RAW or SmackDown. A good deal of stars are deemed "more than ready," such as Shayna Baszler, Asuka or Shinsuke Nakamura. There are then those who get called up or drafted before they might be ready for the big stage of a main-roster show.
The reasons could be given as needing to freshen things up or that someone backstage is a fan and wants a particular star promoted. But regardless of the case, not every performer from NXT is ready for the call to the bigger stage.
It may be because they are either new to the sport or because they didn't seem like a prospect that was ready to be called up. The brand splits and drafts have often seen some stars promoted like when Finn Balor, Carmella and Alexa Bliss all were in 2016. While Balor was a master in the ring, some other call ups from NXT have worked hard to improve on the main roster. Here are five examples.
#5 Carmella
When she was drafted to SmackDown during the 2016 brand split, we weren't sure how she'd perform. Her character work was fine as a feisty woman from Staten Island. The ring work, however, lagged behind her character work and she had a ways to go to reach the level of some of her contemporaries - like Becky Lynch or Sasha Banks.
A run with the SmackDown Women's title didn't help, even as she topped both Charlotte Flair and Asuka as Champion. After that, she sort of floated around until she was paired with R-Truth. She shifted to a face character which seemed like a more natural fit for her. As Truth knocked things out of the park with his goofy antics, Carmella worked great as the serious foil to the multi-time 24/7 Champion.
It was between that run and now that the Princess of Staten Island improved in the ring. She's still not a technical maven like Asuka but compared to where she was in 2016, Carmella is vastly improved. The move set is basically the same but she seems more confident and the moves are crisper than before.
We still don't think the Code of Silence is a truly dangerous finisher because her opponents should just stand up or use their hands to escape. But, for someone who started as a cheerleader and learned the sport, the former SmackDown title holder has upped her game.