The night after WrestleMania has become a night that is almost as important as WrestleMania itself as it serves as a new beginning for the World Wrestling Entertainment calendar year. There have been a number of returns and debuts on the RAW after the showcase of the immortals, including more than a few NXT talents getting the fateful call up to the main roster. This year’s crop included former NXT Champion Adrian Neville (now simply known as “Neville”) and one half of the former NXT Tag Team Champions, the Lucha Dragons, Kalisto. Both men looked impressive in their debuts and seemingly have bright futures.
Not everyone who gets called up from NXT is so lucky. While some manage to meet or even exceed expectations, others fall by the wayside, destined to be forgotten or even take a step backwards. Not everyone can be a main event talent, and since the re-launch of NXT at Full Sail University, the rookies that have been called up to the main roster have had varying degrees of success. Today we look at those that have been called up and give them a grade based on their success since debuting on the main roster.
Seth Rollins
Grade: A+
Rollins made his debut along with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose as part of the S.H.I.E.L.D faction, helping C.M Punk retain his WWE Championship at Survivor Series. The trio quickly went on to dominate in every situation, with Rollins and Reigns capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship, but Rollins true success came once the trio disbanded. Rollins quickly separated himself from the pack by winning the Money In The Bank contract, and securing himself several main event spots. After his WrestleMania 31 cash in and subsequent capture of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, there is no doubt that Rollins deserves the highest grade possible and stands out as a true example of a successful transition from NXT to WWE’s main roster.
Roman Reigns
Grade: A
Another member of the S.H.I.E.L.D, Roman found early success with his brothers. The odd thing about Reigns is that even when part of a group, Reigns was experiencing individual success, single handily taking out an entire Survivor Series team by himself and setting a record for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match. After Seth Rollins broke up the group, Reigns focused on getting to the top of WWE and managed to do so quickly, getting put in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship hunt quickly with several main events added to his resume. Despite losing support from the more vocal members of the WWE Universe, Reigns managed to win the 2015 Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania 31. The fact that he didn’t manage to capture the top prize in WWE after so many opportunities is the only thing that kept him from scoring an A+ grade.
Dean Ambrose
Grade: B+
The final member of the S.H.I.E.L.D was the first of the trio to enjoy single’s success while within the group, capturing the United States Championship and holding it for a lengthy period of time. Despite criticisms of being a paper champion who never defended his title, his reign still must be considered a success. Since the S.H.I.E.L.D split, Ambrose has struggled the most. He did main event a number of big WWE events, but his win/loss record has been less than impressive. Ambrose seems less focused on career accomplishments and more concerned with being the lone hound of justice, a wild dog off his leash. Although his actions have made him extremely popular with the WWE Universe, it may have stalled his progress.
Big E
Grade: C+
Big E first came to WWE’s main roster as a bodyguard for Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee. This was a good place to start the powerhouse as it allowed Big E to demonstrate his immense power while fans got to know who he was. The alliance eventually lead to a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championships with Ziggler. Although unsuccessful in their bid, it proved that Big E could hang on the big stage, which lead to other big opportunities, like the chance to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship, which he won by defeating Curtis Axel on November 18th. Big E reigned as champion until Extreme Rules 2014, where he lost the title to Bad News Barrett. After defending the Intercontinental Championship, Big E began defending the honor of America against Rusev, and while unsuccessful, he did give the Russian Super Athlete a run for his money. Lately, Big E has joined his friend Kofi Kingston and fellow NXT alumni Xavier Woods in forming the New Day, a group that although rife with talent, has failed to leave a mark in WWE.
Xavier Woods
Grade: D
Xavier Woods debuted on the main roster in November of 2013, teaming up with R-Truth to defeat the team of 3MB. For months afterwards, Woods and Truth would team together with minimal success. After the team disbanded, Xavier turned his attention to a pair of men who had seemingly fallen on hard times like himself, Big E and Kofi Kingston. Woods recruited the two and formed the New Day, which seemed to be a bit more aggressive at first, but eventually changed their tune to one of positivity. The team has yet to gain much traction despite the talents of all three men.
Bray Wyatt
Grade: B+
Despite being a part of the New Nexus in 2010, the man known as Husky Harris is long gone. In his place is Bray Wyatt, who began his reign of terror in WWE by attacking Kane, leading to an Inferno Match with the Devil’s Favorite Demon at Summer Slam. After putting the Big Red Machine on the shelf, Wyatt and his family turned to recruiting Daniel Bryan. While they were eventually unsuccessful, Wyatt’s wars with the leader of the YES movement were always met with rave reviews, as were the Wyatt Family’s battles with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Eventually, Wyatt turned his attention to John Cena and despite not turning him into a monster as planned, Wyatt did score an impressive victory over the 15 time world champion inside of a steel cage at Extreme Rules 2014. It is hard to judge Wyatt’s success because his goals and motivations have never been clear. He seems to crave followers, and in that sense, he has been very successful, but he has failed to rise above when it really counts, like in his match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania 31.
Luke Harper
Grade: C
For the first few months of the Wyatt Family’s tenure on WWE’s main roster, Luke Harper was seen as an enforcer, along with Erik Rowan. Once Bray Wyatt’s war with John Cena ended, Harper and Rowan had a competitive series with the Usos over the WWE Tag Team Championship. Although they came close on several occasions, they were never able to recreate their championship success from NXT. A short while later, Wyatt “Set his family free” and Harper set his sights on becoming part of a new family. He found himself aligned with the Authority after attacking a thorn in their side, Dolph Ziggler. Luke was rewarded with a shot at Ziggler’s Intercontinental Championship, which he won. Despite the milestone, he only managed to hold it a few short weeks, then lost the title back to Ziggler in a ladder match a TLC&C. He has been in pursuit of the championship ever since but has been unsuccessful in his bids.
Erik Rowan
Grade: C-
Despite following a parallel path as his fellow former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper, once the two went their separate ways, Rowan began to fall down a slippery slope. While Harper aligned with the Authority, Rowan decided to embrace the cheers of the WWE Universe and join forces with John Cena and the anti-authority movement. It would prove to be a foolish move as Rowan hasn’t had much success since that time, and he continues to fall further and further down the card.
Emma
Grade: F
In January of 2014, Emma brought her bubbly personality to the WWE’s main roster, appearing as a fan of Santino Marella. The two would spend the next few weeks developing their awkward relationship while teaming together to do battle with Fandango and Summer Rae. Unfortunately for Emma, Santino Marella suffered a neck injury that would lead to his retirement, completely putting a halt to any momentum Emma had going for her. She spent the rest of her time in losing efforts buried in episodes of Main Event and Superstars. As of this writing, she has been sent back to NXT in an effort to repackage her character and hopefully earn another chance on the roster.
Rusev
Grade: A
If there is one word to describe Rusev’s run in WWE since being called up from NXT, that word would be dominance. Until WrestleMania 31, Rusev was undefeated. For over a year he defeated every opponent put in his path, including Big E, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Big Show, Sheamus, and even John Cena. That list would be enough to give him his grade, but add to the fact that he has defended his United States Championship with regularity since winning it November and turned back every single challenger has made his short time in WWE most impressive.
Paige
Grade: A+
Paige began a trend the night after WrestleMania XXX, shocking the world with her long awaited debut on the main roster. She came out to pay respect to Divas champion AJ Lee, but instead was met with hostility and an offer to challenge for the Divas Championship. Paige then pulled off the upset of the year by defeating Lee and winning the title in her main roster debut. The amazing thing about Paige is that she hasn’t spent much time outside of that title picture. She had a few weeks to cool down between reigns, but all together she was champion two times in the span of one year. She has spent the vast majority of the time competing for the Divas Championship while simultaneously raising the expectations of what a WWE Diva is capable of.
Adam Rose
Grade: D
After spending the majority of his days in NXT as Leo Kruger, vignettes began running shortly after Wrestlemania XXX touting the debut of a new superstar baring an uncanny resemblance to the party animal character Russel Brand is used to playing in his comedies. Adam Rose debuted shortly after, bringing with him his Rosebuds and his Exotic Express. The character was met with mixed emotions as some fans embraced the over the top nature of the character, while others felt the gimmick was a little too ridiculous for their taste. Sadly, even fans of Rose grew tired of his antics quickly and he was relegated to obscurity where he continues to dwell to this day.
Bo Dallas
Grade: D+
Sadly, it feels like I could do a cut and paste job with the above Adam Rose entry for Bo Dallas. His motivational speaker character is still over with some members of the WWE Universe, but an injury has kept him out of action for many months, just recently returning at WrestleMania 31. Before leaving for the injured list, he actually scored more than a few big victories, but somehow he got lost in the shuffle and never broke through the way many were hoping he would. Recently, Bo Dallas was involved in a confrontation with legend Sting, showing that WWE may still be Bo-lievers.
Final Grade
The current crop of NXT alumni on WWE’s main roster likely falls around a C average. That being said, those that are above that grade have done very well for themselves, and there is still potential for those below that grade. That’s the great thing about the NXT and WWE relationship, there is always room for growth. Where on the scale will The Ascension, Neville, and Kalisto land when we look back in a year’s time? No one knows for sure. You could list the usual things you hear about NXT talent regarding ability, natural born athleticism and that ever elusive ‘x’ factor, but the truth is, there are so many outside issues that can change a superstar’s destiny from the penthouse to the doghouse in moments that it is impossible to predict. All we know for sure is that thanks to NXT programming, we will all be keeping a close eye on these “new” faces as they bolding take the next step in their career evolution.
