5 More Superstars That Should Return To NXT

On September 18th, NXT makes its live television debut on the USA Network. With the black and gold brand moving to a television network for the first time, and a whole new hour added to the run-time, some changes are going to have to be made.

One of those “changes” will be bringing in more talent to add some depth to the roster — don’t be surprised if you see some familiar faces on NXT television very soon. A few months ago, we ran down five main roster superstars that could benefit from a move back to the developmental scene, here are five more superstars who should make their return to NXT in time for the big move.

 

5.  The Ascension

The Ascension (Viktor and Konnor) were, at one time, one of the fiercest tag team in NXT history. Still to this day they are the longest-reigning NXT Tag Team Champions. When they made their main roster debut, everyone expected great things from The Ascension. However, because of terrible booking, they never ascended the ladder in WWE.

Due to their Legion of Doom-esque ring attire, they were viewed as a knock-off of the great tag team tandem and disrespectful. On the January 19, 2015 episode of Raw, The Ascension were confronted and humiliated by three former factions: NWO (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and X-Pac), The APA (John Bradshaw Layfield and Farooq) and The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg, and Badass Billy Gunn).

Following that night, rumors spread about WWE already giving up on the former NXT Tag Team Champions. Shortly after the burial, The Ascension was demoted to Main Event and Superstars. At WrestleMania 31, both Viktor and Konnor competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in a losing effort.

Fast forward to the October 8, 2018 episode of Raw, the last time The Ascension were last seen on live television, when they lost to Chad Gable and Bobby Roode. These warriors have been criminally mistreated since 2014.

NXT’s tag team division has always been loaded with fantastic tag teams, Viktor and Konnor would be perfect additions to the black and gold brand. Who better to clash with the current three-time NXT tag team champions, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, than the longest-reigning NXT tag team champions in history?

 

4. Apollo Crews

Apollo Crews is extremely-talented and gifted but WWE has no idea how to utilize him. After spending two years down in NXT, Crews made his main roster debut on the Post-Mania 32 Raw, defeating Tyler Breeze. He would remain on the Raw roster until being drafted to SmackDown Live via the Superstar Shakeup.

Over the past three years, Crews has switched brands a total of four times, he’s competed in three Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royals and hasn’t won one WWE championship. Last month, Crews defeated the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura but has yet to receive a title shot.

On the July 17th episode of NXT, Crews made a surprise appearance and battled Japanese sensation Kushida in a fantastic match. If Crews returned to NXT, he could easily be inserted into the North American title scene and work his way up to the NXT Championship. That’s more than I can see in his future on the main roster.

 

3. James Storm

“The Cowboy” James Storm has wrestled all over the world for various promotions but he’s primarily known for his fifteen-year tenure with TNA. Storm has won a plethora of championships over the years, several alongside his former Beer Money tag team partner Bobby Roode. Storm left TNA in 2017 and has been working the independent scene ever since.

On the October 21, 2015 episode of NXT, Storm made his surprise debut defeating Danny Burch. A few months later, Storm would resurface and defeat Adam Rose. In December, however, Storm made the decision to go back to TNA, where he reunited with Roode for another Beer Money run. On an edition of SiriusXM Busted Radio, Storm offered an explanation on why he didn’t sign with NXT.

Now would be a perfect time for Storm to give NXT another shot, especially since the black and gold brand will be airing its episodes live, which hopefully means less travel time for the long-time veteran.

 

2.  Kaitlyn

The former Divas Champion was a participant in the 2018 Mae Young Classic Tournament where she was eliminated by Mia Yim in the second round. Kaitlyn originally signed with WWE in 2010, under the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling which later morphed into NXT.

At the time of her debut, NXT was essentially a reality show, where young up-and-coming superstars were labeled as “rookies” and would be paired up with a WWE “pro”. Kaitlyn was unlike all the other season three participants, in that she already possessed great wrestling skills and had no right being relegated to participating in keg-races and singing contests.

Kaitlyn would go on to be named the breakout star of the season and go on to feud with the likes of AJ Lee and Natalya on the main roster. Her matches were genuinely exciting, which were a godsend in the era of the diva. Her WWE career would be a brief one, as she parted ways to focus on her clothing line.

With NXT making this huge transition from the WWE Network to the USA Network, Kaitlyn would be a great addition to the women’s roster to mix it up Mia Yim, Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair and the rest of the division.

 

1. EC3

You may recognize the former Impact standout in the midst of the flood of enhancement talent chasing after the 24/7 Championship on Raw. A few months ago, I would have begged for EC3 to be drafted to SmackDown Live, but now I’m not sure if that’s even enough. He is in critical need of a resurgence in WWE and the way to do that is by returning to NXT.

EC3 burst onto the scene in NXT oozing with confidence and swagger, ready to become the inaugural North American Champion even before having a match on NXT TV. Hey, it’s not arrogance if you can back it up and EC3’s long history with TNA proves that he can back it up. EC3 was involved in the North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to claim gold.

The former Impact World Heavyweight Champion spent only six months on the black and gold brand before making his main roster debut. On the February 4th episode of Raw, EC3 finally made his in-ring debut (as a babyface) against Dean Ambrose, who was exiting the company as a heel, despite the WWE Universe’s support. EC3 won the match with a roll-up in two minutes and the following week they had another squash match where Ambrose returned the favor.

On the May 29th episode of Talk Is Jericho, Jon Moxley (Ambrose) shared his thoughts on his mini-feud with EC3 and on why it damaged EC3’s character development.

“Well…so after that they did the weird press release, then they put me against EC3, debuting from NXT. Great talent, great friend of mine, excited to work with him. They have EC3 come in as a babyface, defeat me in two minutes. I dunno if this is before or after the press release, uh…it’s at like the same time. The crowd does not like this, because it’s transparent what’s happening and this is not a…this is not good for EC3, because now he’s gonna get the backlash.”

The last time EC3 was on Raw (outside of the 24/7 Championship drama) was when he was appointed Baron Corbin’s special guest referee for Stomping Grounds, but was blasted with a chair by Corbin’s opponent, the Universal Champion Seth Rollins.

Unfortunately for EC3, his current career is reminiscent of his initial run with NXT back in 2010-2013 under the moniker “Derrick Bateman”. WWE still has no clue on how to utilize him. Triple H and his brilliant creative team can easily rebuild EC3 as a serious threat, with the right booking. He can easily be inserted back into the North American Championship title scene and a potential run with the NXT Championship.

The sky’s the limit for the black and gold brand when it debuts on the USA Network next week. These five superstars would allow NXT to continue to expand its diverse roster and it’s time they were given the opportunity to shine.