Who’s Next? NXT Post WrestleMania Call Up’s

It’s WrestleMania Season! But all is not well. Fans are not happy with the ‘Mania build up. So let’s look ahead to the post ‘Mania Raw. A show that always promises shocks, surprises, returns and call-ups. Here I look at five possible call ups following the show known as “The Grand Daddy of Them All”:

1) Adrian Neville: The man formerly known as PAC is probably the most likely person to be called up from NXT. I was a fan of “The Man That Gravity Forgot” on the indies but seeing him regularly on NXT has boosted him into one of my favourite wrestlers. He’s shown throughout his time in NXT that he is adaptable, either as a tag team competitor, the hungry title challenger, strong champion or more recently the former champ who can be relied upon to put on great matches. Neville will easily fit into the main roster and his move set will allow him to get over instantly. Unlike other indy highflyers like Evan Bourne, Neville also has a power game which stops him from being labelled “Just another highflyer”.

Ideal Debut: Fresh off defending his title in a ladder match at WrestleMania, Wade Barrett comes out to celebrate. Neville interrupts to set up a battle between two Englishmen.

2) Kalisto: Words cannot describe Kalisto. The diminutive highflyer is destined to become the new Rey Mysterio. It’s a shame the “Master of the 619” is no longer with the WWE, as Mysterio could have put the young highflyer over, like Mysterio was meant to put over the original Sin Cara. But Kalisto doesn’t need to go down the singles path just yet. His current team with Sin Cara is a great way of introducing him to the wider WWE Universe. He recently debuted alongside Cara against Kidd and Cesaro in what was a very good TV match. He brings something different to the table and is always a treat to watch.

Ideal Debut: Versus the Ascension. They got history and it’s better than throwing the team straight into the title hunt.

3) Charlotte: The theme of the former champions continue. The former NXT Women’s Champion had a great reign as Queen of NXT. Now without the title, it’s only a matter of time before she gets called up to the main roster. Charlotte gets some stick for her push being attributed to her being the daughter of the legendary Ric Flair but I think she deserves everything she has got. She’s a good worker as proven by her matches as champion. There’s been some rumours that the WWE dislike that she doesn’t have that typical Diva look. But I don’t believe it. With her build, she could even go onto taking on men. Chyna 2.0. Anyway, like her daddy, not only can she walk-the-walk but she can also talk-talk-talk. She would be a great addition to the women’s roster, she’s already wrestled on the main roster. And hopefully, if the Divas get given more ring time, Charlotte may have a bright future in the WWE.

Ideal Debut: In shades of the last Raw after WrestleMania, the Bella’s come out to celebrate their title reign and Charlotte interrupts.

4) Finn Bálor: NXT has been fantastic for the last few months and one of the reasons for this is Finn Bálor. Out of everyone in NXT, no-one has the same presence as Bálor. Even without his war paint, the moment he steps out onto the stage everyone is watching him. Everyone loves doing the Bálor pose along with the music. Then in the ring he is one of NXT’s top performers and has adapted well, slowly picking his signature moves to fit alongside his sick double stomp finisher. He is facing Kevin Owens for the title on March 25^th and is unlikely to win which would set up Owens versus Zayn 2. He could find himself losing the title bout and joining the main roster five days later. However, it is unlikely to happen and Bálor is likely to go onto another main event feud before debuting on the main roster later on in the year.

Ideal Debut: [Insert heel winner of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal here] comes out to celebrate his win. Enter Demon Bálor with full theatrics. The smarky Raw crowd will go insane.

5) Rhino: A bit of a wildcard but there is reasoning behind the choice. It’s unclear why Rhino is in NXT. It should be to put over younger talent but he hasn’t really done that yet. Maybe they are building him up so that he can put over talent like Bull Dempsey? What his NXT return has done is remind me how good of a worker he is. He cut a good promo recently and, if given time, should put on good matches. Why not have the “Man Beast” make a surprise return to the main roster just for one night? The fans would be behind him and he could put someone over on the main roster without damaging his NXT reputation.

Ideal Debut: Rusev comes out to gloat/complain about his win/loss against John Cena at WrestleMania. Out comes Rhino who puts Rusev over to either continue Rusev’s momentum or build him back up after losing.

 

Who would you like to see called up after WrestleMania? Let me know @marcusandberg