The WWE ID program and its WWE Evolve showcases have been relatively quiet recently. So far, it hasn’t destroyed the industry as many expected, and it is just another avenue for independent wrestlers to get into the WWE Universe. Still, most viewers haven’t seen a WWE ID prospect, so who is Swipe Right?
Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes are both independent wrestlers signed with WWE ID, and they are collectively known as Swipe Right. They have quickly become equal parts loved and loathed online.
Their face-off and match with Fraxiom is the most significant opportunity the program has offered prospects yet. It also likely means big hopes for the future.
Fraxiom, meet Swipe Right. 🤝#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/H4TIriJnye
— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 2025
Swipe Right Wrestling as Singles Competitors
Swipe Right’s team has over a year of experience as independent wrestlers, but they are also solo superstars. Brad Baylor is billed from Fairfield, Connecticut. As a native of neighboring Norwalk, it is safe for me to say that the Fairfield County brand is a huge inspiration for his cocky affluent ladies’ man persona.
Baylor trained under Paul Roma in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and debuted in 2021. Since then, he has appeared all over.
He is a regular for Paradise Alley Pro Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling, and Beyond Wrestling. It was Beyond’s weekly Open Wrestling program where Baylor was scouted at the very young age of 20.
The slightly older Ricky Smokes, at just 24, is another New Englander out of Saugus, Massachusetts. His “Smokeshow” moniker is pretty well aligned with the gimmick that Swipe Right’s two performers share as well.
His start in the industry was back in 2019 with what would become his home promotion, the Massachusetts-based Chaotic Wrestling. Still, he has appeared on plenty of other independent cards for promotions like Limitless Wrestling, Fight Life Pro Wrestling, and, of course, Beyond Wrestling.
Swipe Right and the WWE ID Program
Swipe Right Wrestling on the independent scene brought them interest from WWE. The more experienced Ricky Smokes was the first to be ID’d, but not by very much. The team, with a little under a year’s experience, was brought into the program as a unit within a week of one another.
After joining the inaugural class of prospects, both Baylor and Smokes leveraged the essentially perfect characters they crafted for Social Media rage or engagement. That buzz, some of the earliest the program created organically, got them into the main event of WWE’s EVOLVE first main event on Tubi. They lost the match, as all good heels must do in the main event of the first show, but they were more than a little impressive that night.
Baylor was trusted with most of the talking ahead of the match. Once the bell rang, Smokes was clearly the most exciting wrestler on his side of a huge six-man tag. They worked as a team, something that EVOLVE, and frankly, NXT do not have enough of.
They seemed like a cohesive unit and utilized solid tag team wrestling, which is not unlike what fans would see from FTR, The Usos, The Hardy Boyz, or the Motor City Machine Guns. With a trio of singles opponents, Swipe Right anchored the match. Their cohesion and experience were played against the singular personalities of their opponents.
Throughout the main event, the methodical and aggressive Swipers showcased their opponents’ athleticism. With Tubi being the only place to watch the matchup, it is well worth it to watch that inaugural broadcast.
What to Expect When They Face Fraxiom
Fraxiom is another super athletic team, so the roles will not change much more than likely when the young prospects make their televised NXT debut. Nathan Frazer and Axiom, though, have been teaming together for a while and are the current tag team champions on NXT.
That will allow both teams to showcase their dual offense. Baylor will likely keep the pace slower to the ire of the NXT crowd, with Frazer and Axiom looking to speed things up into their comfort zone. Smokes will look to match the pace and work with his partner far better than Axiom will with Frazer.
Losing to the younger duo, even in a non-title match, is unlikely at best. It isn’t impossible, though.
The story direction now is that Fraxiom is heading for a slow split. That could even result in an upset victory for the young prospects, making them a huge target for the EVOLVE locker room. Losing on Tuesday would certainly accelerate a Faxiom fracture.
Most would argue that it shouldn’t happen until their main roster debut. It would make the direction for Stand and Deliver far clearer for the two NXT favorites.
It would also probably make the fellas from Swipe Right a must-follow @smokeshow_ricky and @bradbay1or for the smack talk they will “Hundo” lay down on the experienced tag team champions in the aftermath of that loss. Either way, their interaction means WWE expects us to see a lot more of the young competitors streaming on Tubi, and perhaps Netflix, someday soon.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
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