Two of the NXT stars slated to be called up in the near future wrestled prior to Raw tonight in Orlando, Florida.
Natalya pinned Lacey Evans to start off the night. EC3 then pinned Curt Hawkins in the next match. Despite initial reports, these will not air on Main Event this week and are only dark matches.
The two, along with Heavy Machinery, Lars Sullivan and Nikki Cross, are set to be called up to the main roster in the next few weeks. Vignettes have been airing on both Raw and Smackdown for the last month.
Some of the wrestlers appeared to say their goodbyes over the weekend during NXT house show events. In Atlanta, EC3 and the War Raiders defeated the Undisputed Era and did their chant with them after the match. On the same card, Lacey Evans tagged with Aaliyah in a losing effort to Kairi Sane and Xia Li.
Meanwhile, Heavy Machinery said goodbye to the crowd in Jacksonville, Florida after defeating the Forgotten Sons.
With a promise to change things up, WWE announced tonight that five NXT superstars are being called up to the main roster in the near future.
During Raw, it was announced that the following five wrestlers would be called up. What brand or when exactly they’ll debut isn’t known:
Lacey Evans, who has feuded with Kairi Sane in the past on NXT television and had recently been scoring wins against the likes of Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai.
Heavy Machinery, the team of Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovich who have been wrestling together as a unit since 2016. They’ve wrestled against the likes of War Raiders, Authors of Pain, TM-61 and the Undisputed Era.
Nikki Cross, who used to be affiliated with Sanity before they were called up to SmackDown earlier this year. She is coming off a feud against Bianca Belair.
EC3, who has competed for the NXT North American title in the past and is coming off a feud against Lars Sullivan. He was formerly known as Derrick Bateman during his last run with the WWE that ended in 2013.
These call-ups are in addition to Lars Sullivan, whose vignettes have been airing since Survivor Series.
Much like last year’s Who could be NXT in 2017? column, we have a lot to look forward to as we move in to 2018 with an even more loaded Performance Center roster heading into the new year.
This year will also start out unique on the TV side as NXT will be holding their first quarter tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta, GA, before heading back to Full Sail later in the spring. This will give the TV talent a fresh chance to make impressions and that’s what we’re here to discuss. We all know and have seen great things from the top tier roster, so this is about who has shown the most potential on the Florida tour and who we could be discussing a lot come this time next year.
Buddy Murphy
While this is supposed to be about fresh talents who haven’t had major TV exposure, the former NXT tag champion has evolved into a top level singles wrestler. At 29, the former Melbourne City Wrestling Champion in his native Australia has been in the system since 2013 and to me, he would be one of the premier traveling wrestlers in the world right now if he was on the independent circuit.
The self proclaimed “Best Kept Secret” had countless main event quality matches against the likes of Aleister Black, Kassius Ohno, Lio Rush, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Roderick Strong, Tozawa, and Jack Gallagher this past year, on both the Florida and touring loops. I’ve raved about Murphy’s work in the past (like this) and it’s just a matter of time before he’s back on TV showing what he’s capable of.
Babatunde Aiyegbusi
As we’ve seen recently with the absolute physical marvels like Lars Sullivan and Braun Strowman, strength and size are still at a premium for WWE. There are a few big guys in wrestling, and then there’s Babatunde. Billed at seven feet tall and well over three hundred pounds, the former professional and international football player has only been in the system since 2016 and has already been impressive in his limited ring time.
As with most giants, what we would see on TV would definitely not be what you’d see at live events. Babs only had 18 singles matches this past year but much like Sullivan, I expect, well, giant things from Babatunde in the future.
Marcel Barthel
The former Axel Dieter Jr. of Ringkampf in WXW Germany, as well as PROGRESS in the UK, made his way to NXT and debuted on the Florida loop in June of 2017. In the short time he’s been down on the loop, Barthel has already had standout matches against the likes of Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, Roderick Strong and even a Full Sail dark match against No Way Jose.
A technical wrestling standout, Barthel is different than everyone who ususally comes through the system and that’s what makes him stand out from the crowd. His presence and ability will carry over to TV and his ability to make those around him better is something I am looking forward to seeing more of.
Dakota Kai
The former world-traveled Evie on the indies is a ten year veteran who was a standout in her native New Zealand, her second home in Australia, and on countless tours around the world that included Stardom Japan, SHIMMER, and SHINE in the states. 2017 was an absolute whirlwind as Dakota finished up with Melbourne City Wrestling in Australia before a debut on the NXT Florida loop and then competing in the Mae Young Classic, advancing to the quarter finals against the eventual winner Kairi Sane.
Soon afterwards in one of the rarest talent sharing situations, WWE allowed Kai to wrestle at a pair of PROGRESS shows in NY and Boston before returning to the Florida loop. With the recent main roster call ups in the women’s division leaving spots open in NXT, it seems like the perfect time for Dakota Kai to begin her TV journey.
Lacey Evans
In less than two years training at the PC, Evans has already become a Florida loop live event staple, and with her impressive resume, it’s safe to believe she’s also a leader. The former US Marine has made a few appearances on TV, yet her first true showcase was in the Mae Young Classic as she advanced to the second round against Toni Storm. With her classic pin-up looks and her impressive strength, Lacey is sure to be in the next wave of talent to be showcased in the womens division.
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The 2018 NXT roster is as deep as it has ever been and we’ve barely even scratched the surface on major breakout candidates here on the Florida loop like Donovan Dijak, Lio Rush, Rhea Ripley, and many more who have already had breakout appearances yet haven’t been properly launched such as Bianca Belair and Fabian Aichner.
The stockpiling of talent will continue on in the next few months as we are expecting a fresh class this January. Yet, as of this moment, these have been my top names you should watch in 2018 and beyond.
Approximately 150 people were in attendance last night.
– Dakota Kai defeated Bianca Belair
Kai won with a roll-up.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Chad Lail
A Kimura lock gave Jaoude the submission win.
– Nikki Cross defeated Vanessa Borne
Cross used her swinging neckbreaker for the victory.
– Buddy Murphy defeated Babatunde Aiyegbusi
Murphy got the pin with a roll-up.
– Kairi Sane & Liv Morgan defeated Shayna Baszler & Lacey Evans
The faces won by submission, which came after Sane hit her elbow drop on Evans.
– Raul Mendoza defeated Lio Rush
– Killian Dain defeated Cezar Bononi
The Authors of Pain came out and attacked Dain and Alexander Wolfe after the match until Eric Young and Nikki Cross made the save. That led into the next match.
– NXT Tag Team Champions SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) defeated The Authors of Pain to retain their titles
Approximately 350 people were in attendance last night.
– Demetrius Bronson defeated Chad Lail
Bronson rolled him up for the win.
– Raul Mendoza defeated Brennan Williams (w/ The Ealy Brothers)
A springboard corkscrew splash won this one for Mendoza.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Marcel Barthel by DQ
Barthel beat him down in the corner and didn’t break when the referee told him to. Barthel tried to sneak attack after the match, but Jaoude was able to come out on top.
– Cezar Bononi defeated Kona Reeves (w/ Ming) by DQ
Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler attacked Bononi and did a promo asking for a match. That challenge was answered by The Street Profits.
– The Street Profits defeated Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler
Angelo Dawkins hit a spinebuster to pick up the win.
– Shayna Baszler defeated Zeda
Baszler won by submission with a rear naked choke. Taynara Conti came out after to cut a promo about her being a real black belt and asked for a match with Baszler.
– Shayna Baszler defeated Taynara Conti
Baszler won quickly with another choke.
– Velveteen Dream defeated Nick Miller
Velveteen Dream won with a roll-up while holding Miller’s tights.
With the Mae Young Classic set to begin taping next month, WWE has started to announce participants for the tournament.
The first four names for it were revealed today. Notably, PROGRESS and Stardom’s Toni Storm was listed among the wrestlers. She recently became PROGRESS’ first Women’s Champion over their Super Strong Style 16 weekend last month.
Given PROGRESS’ close working relationship with WWE, the women’s tournament won’t be the first time that Storm has wrestled for the company. She took part in matches at WrestleMania Axxess in Orlando earlier this year.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Storm was a name that had been mentioned for the tournament. She was born in New Zealand and later lived in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Another interesting name from international wrestling was among those announced, with CMLL’s Princesa Sugehit confirmed for the tournament. She is 36 years old and is CMLL’s current Mexican National Women’s Champion after winning the title in February.
Two wrestlers from within NXT rounded out the list, with Lacey Evans and Sarah Logan set to take part. Evans is a veteran of the United States Marines Corps and has a four-year-old daughter. Logan was formerly known as Crazy Mary Dobson and wrestled under her real name (Sarah Bridges) in NXT before being given a new in-ring last name.
Full Sail University will host the first two days of tapings for the Mae Young Classic on July 13th and 14th. It will feature a 32-competitor field. The winner will later be crowned at a live special.
