The 6 Best And 6 Worst NXT Call Ups

From the early 2010s to late 2021, there were fewer brands in professional wrestling more forward thinking than NXT. Originally helmed by Triple H and the late Dusty Rhodes, the former FCW would be retooled into a new brand with a simple mission: prepare the next generation of WWE main eventers for the likes of "Raw" and "SmackDown." As the brand kept building steam, hardcore internet fans would soon swarm like flies to the WWE Network's then-best kept secret. Soon enough the phrase "We Are NXT" became a battle cry for an ever growing section of the wrestling fandom.

For much of the 2010s, when a new face arrived on the main roster, it was directly from the black and yellow brand. Sadly, not every experiment from NXT resulted in a new megastar — and sometimes it was exactly the opposite. Whether it was their behavior or WWE's main roster creative hindering them, not every wrestler successfully transitioned to prime time. These are six of the best and six worst call ups from the original NXT brand.

Few talent arrived with so much momentum and squandered it as quickly as Nia Jax. Making her debut on NXT only a short while after being signed, Jax dominated the women's division. She would feud with the likes of Bayley and Asuka, challenging both for the Women's Title during their respective reigns. Her tenure in NXT would end as quickly as it began, with Jax being bumped up to "Raw" in 2016. Despite a few solid matchups and a Raw Women's Title reign, this is where problems would begin to rear their ugly head for Jax.

From injuring Bayley's shoulder to busting Becky Lynch's nose open to injuring Kairi Sane's head, Jax developed a reputation for being an unsafe worker. With almost no sign of improvement in terms of protecting her opponents, the audience's goodwill for Jax ran out very quickly. Following a Women's Tag Title run and few assorted storylines, she would get released from the company in November 2021.

For a prime example of "how exactly did you mess this up," we have Viktor and Connor, the Ascension. Beginning life in FCW, the Ascension started life with several members, including Conor O'Brian, Kenneth Cameron, Ricardo Rodriguez, Tito Colon, and Raquel Diaz. Eventually this unit would be whittled down to just Conor O'Brian and Rick Victor, who would be rebranded as Konnor and Viktor. The duo would soon become NXT's resident powerhouse tag team, destroying lower level talent and local jobbers. This resulted in a lofty 362 day reign as NXT Tag Team Champions before losing to the Lucha Dragons in 2014.

The Ascension would be moved up to the main roster later that year, souped up with a brand new look. However, this Legion of Doom-influenced design would serve as an omen of what was to come for the once dominant tag team, with commentator JBL verbally burying them every week. Soon enough, the team that dominated NXT for years was being jobbed out to the New Age Outlaws and the APA. At the tail end of 2019, both Konnor and Viktor would see their time in WWE conclude via simultaneous releases.

The former Killer Kross was everything WWE would want in a main event level talent: freakish strength and agility mixed with stellar presentation. From the moment he arrived on NXT in 2020 after weeks of vignettes, Kross wasted no time making a name for himself. Flanked by the lovely and deadly Scarlett, Kross' entrance felt like the arrival of the apocalypse and the end of all things. In only a few short months, Kross would dominate several opponents and eventually conquer Keith Lee for the NXT Title at NXT Takeover: XXX. Sadly, an ill timed shoulder injury would halt his dominant push until his return at the tail end of 2020.

Kross would then immediately pick up where he left off and destroy opponents such as Damien Priest and Santos Escobar. Eventually Kross would take on then-current NXT Champion Finn Balor and win, finally holding the title for a proper reign. Sadly, this is where the wheels would start to fall off for Kross, beginning with a bafflingly botched "Raw" debut. This debut in question would see the dominant destroyer of NXT defeated by Jeff Hardy in under five minutes via rollup. Following the loss of his title to Samoa Joe, Kross' main roster rebranding would be topped off with a horrendously cheesy gladiator costume. He would see his release in late 2021, capping off a disappointing end to what could have been a stellar main roster run.

This is yet another example of the bright lights of the main roster being unkind to a once celebrated NXT tag team. Early NXT was certainly a hotbed for quaint yet effective gimmicks, with none more simplistic than that of the Vaudevillains. The duo would begin their NXT run as quirky heels entrenched in the theatricality of 19th century vaudeville. From their over-the-top intro to a series of quirky black and white vignettes, the duo thrust themselves into the gimmick with gusto. This would lead to the pair winning the NXT Tag Titles at the first ever NXT Takeover: Brooklyn to a thunderous ovation.

After dropping the titles shortly thereafter, Gotch and English would be turned heel once again and moved up to the main roster. Their run started strong with a tag title feud against the New Day in 2015, but would fizzle out fairly quickly. The Vaudevillains would quickly fall down the card, becoming enhancement talent with Gotch subsequently being released on April 5th, 2017. English would hang on a while longer, even experiencing a resurgence alongside Rusev in 2018 while aiding the wildly popular Rusev Day gimmick. After a stint at the commentary desk, English would also be released in April 2020 amidst the COVID-19 layoffs.

When NXT began pushing the monstrous Lars Sullivan in 2017, many were quite impressed with the competitor's intimidating physique. Combined with a face that only a mother could love and a genuinely intimidating entrance, Sullivan was gaining traction quickly. As par of the of the NXT North American Title ladder match at NXT Takeover: New Orleans, Sullivan earned a coveted five star rating from Dave Meltzer. Beginning in late 2018, horror themed vignettes would tease the terrifying behemoth's debut on the main roster. In 2019, Sullivan would finally arrive and begin a tear through "Raw" and "SmackDown," clobbering the likes of Kurt Angle, The Hardyz, and Rey Mysterio. 

But what began as a fairly dominant warpath would soon take a hard left turn into bizarre booking and ill timed incidents. One of these incidents included Sullivan walking out on a "Raw" taping due to his then-ongoing anxiety induced panic attacks (via PWInsider). This would only be the first stumbling block for Sullivan, as archived copies of past problematic internet interactions would soon resurface as well as adult content he'd done under a different name. 

Sullivan would then begin a bizarre feud with the trio of Lucha House Party. This feud would result in an underwhelming three-on-one handicap match at Crown Jewel, and Sullivan injured his knee in the subsequent rematch. He would return in late 2020, mounting a second attempt at a dominant run, but by then it was too little too late. After a series of cringy promos about his childhood, Sullivan would see his release in January 2021.

It's becoming quite common for WWE to let talent slip through their fingers, and Keith Lee is a prime example. Lee would hone his craft on the indies, starting locally in Texas before moving on up to Ring of Honor, Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerilla. After matches with the likes of Matt Riddle, Austin Theory, Jeff Cobb and even Cody Rhodes, WWE would eventually come knocking. Debuting on NXT in 2018, Limitless Keith Lee would quickly establish himself as a unique force to be reckoned with. His matches with Donovan Dijakovic were, for many, among some of the finer hoss fights produced by the WWE in the last few years. His participation in events like Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble would see him face main eventers like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

Add to that being the first double champion in "NXT" history and Lee's spot on the main roster was all but confirmed. Sadly, this is where problems would arise. Shortly after dropping the title, Lee would arrive on "Raw" with some noticeable changes. Not only was his catchy theme song retooled into generic rock music, but he was now forced to wear a shirt as well. Following a bout with COVID-19 and another gimmick change, this time rebranded as the Bearcat, Lee would see his release in late 2021.