NXT Stand & Deliver is in the rearview mirror, and for the first time since its inception in 2021, the developmental brand’s biggest show of the year wasn’t featured in the same week as WrestleMania. This could be their set up going forward, as NXT isn’t likely to hold a PLE in Saudi Arabia next year before ‘Mania 43. With a few weeks between two of the biggest dates on the WWE calendar, we get extra time to speculate if any NXT talent will get moved up to the main roster as a new wrestling year begins.
The NXT roster took a pretty substantial hit just a few months ago when Trick Williams, Oba Femi, and Je’Von Evans were all promoted, leaving a huge void in the main event scene on Tuesday nights. Those three breakout stars parlayed their promotions into prominent spots on the WrestleMania card.
After those callups though, who’s left?
Here’s a quick look at some NXT stars who could be candidates for a move up to the main roster in the coming weeks. With the NFL draft coming up in just a few weeks, I did my best Mel Kiper Jr. and came up with some comparisons for each potential callup as far as where their Raw or Smackdown career could take them.
Joe Hendry
Joe Hendry got his first official exposure to WWE audiences in 2024 in the early days of the NXT-TNA partnership, earning a shot at the NXT Championship in September of that year. Despite still being on the TNA roster, Hendry found himself in some big spots, participating in the 2025 Royal Rumble and then answering Randy Orton’s open challenge at WrestleMania. It was widely assumed that Hendry would be jumping ship and signing with WWE when his deal with TNA was up. The viral star would continue frequently appearing on NXT until November when it was reported that he had finally officially signed with WWE.
Hendry’s biggest break thus far came this past February when he won a ladder match to crown a new NXT Champion after Oba Femi vacated it prior to moving to Raw. Hendry would hold the brand’s top title for 60 days, losing it to Tony D’Angelo this past Saturday at Stand & Deliver. On this week’s NXT, Robert Stone announced that Joe Hendry would be in concert next week to discuss his future. Could it be time for his callup or does Joe still have some loose ends to tie up on Tuesday nights?
Main Roster Comp: Elias
Elias had a decent run on WWE’s main roster as a guitar-playing vagabond that found himself in a few prominent mid-card feuds along the way. Elias, who memorably shaved his beard and had everyone but Kevin Owens convinced that he was his own brother Ezekiel, had several title opportunities over the years, but only ever managed to win the 24/7 Title on a few occasions. Joe Hendry could fit a similar role if he were to move to Raw or Smackdown. I’d have to tilt my head and squint pretty hard to see Joe Hendry ever becoming a World or WWE Champion, but he could be a mainstay in the US or Intercontinental Title pictures when his stint in NXT draws to a close.
Jacy Jayne
The star that Booker T. affectionately refers to as the Rockstar is one of NXT’s few holdovers from the rainbow paint splotch 2.0 days, and at this point, she’s accomplished everything there is to accomplish for the developmental brand. First memories of Jacy on NXT date back to Mandy Rose’s Toxic Attraction stable, where she would team with Gigi Dolin to become a two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion. After Mandy left the company and Jayne and Dolin had a heated breakup, Jacy would get involved with Thea Hail and Chase U before taking on a new protege in Jazmyn Nyx. Jayne and Nyx would eventually link up with Fallon Henley and the original Fatal Influence was born.
Jacy would become the de facto leader of the stable and finally broke through as a singles star in May of last year when she defeated Stephanie Vaquer for the NXT Women’s Title. Despite initially being referred to as a beatable champion, Jacy asserted herself well and became one of the biggest stars on Tuesday nights. She would also spend considerable time at the TNA Knockouts Champion, being one of biggest benefactors of the NXT-TNA crossover. After losing to the NXT Women’s Title to Tatum Paxley at Halloween Havoc last October, Jacy would win the title a second time, only losing it to Lola Vice this past Saturday at Stand & Deliver. Jacy will get a rematch against Lola on NXT next week, but could it finally be time for Jacy to graduate to Raw or Smackdown?
Main Roster Comp: Carmella
The Queen of Staten Island will be remembered for a few different things during her main roster run, namely, as R-Truth’s dancing sidekick as he compiled a record-setting number of 24/7 Title runs, and winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match with help from James Ellsworth. Mella would hold the briefcase for 287 days, more than anyone in history before embarking on a 131 Women’s title run by cashing in on Charlotte Flair. Like Carmella, Jacy is a serviceable veteran that could fill a role similar to Carmella on the main roster. She likely won’t rack up many World Title runs, but it’s not hard to see her potentially following in Carmella’s footsteps and becoming a champ via Money in the Bank at some point.
Ricky Saints
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In just over a year on the WWE roster, Ricky Saints is already a former NXT North American Champion and NXT Champion, and just participated in the main event of NXT’s biggest show of the year. He defeated Shawn Spears to win the North American Title less than two months after debuting, which led to a high-profile title match with Ethan Page at Stand & Deliver last year. Then, in September, Ricky shocked the world by beating Oba Femi at No Mercy to become NXT Champion, a title he would hold for 70 days before losing the title back to Oba in December.
Ricky is a 14-year veteran of the squared circle and seems like one of the stars most likely to get called up to the main roster. While he could be used for awhile longer to work with some of NXT’s younger stars, moving on to Raw or Smackdown wouldn’t be a surprising development for the 36 year old.
Main Roster Comp: John Morrison
Peeping his Wikipedia page, one would see that the former Johnny Nitro/Impact/Hardy and the current Johnny TV his wrestled under at least 14 different monikers over the course of his 20-plus year wrestling career. In WWE, Morrison is perhaps best known for being a part of two successful tag teams with Joey Mercury (as MNM) and The Miz. On his own, Morrison would win the ECW Championship in WWE’s ill-fated attempt at rebooting the Extreme brand, as well as the Intercontinental Championship on three different occasions. Ricky has a similar type of charisma to Johnny, but may have a similar ceiling. Like Morrison, Saints only stands about 6 feet tall and may have a hard time reaching the main event level on Raw or Smackdown, but fitting a Morrison-type role in the mid-card could be a reasonable level for Ricky to reach.
Sol Ruca
Sol Ruca has been captivating WWE audiences since her debut in the summer of 2022 with her unbelievable athleticism and one of the most awe-inspiring finishing moves in the business, the Sol Snatcher. Despite spending much of the last two years in a partnership with Zaria, Ruca would put together an impressive singles resume and rack up reigns as both the North American Champion and Women’s Speed Champion. The former University of Oregon gymnast would get several shots at NXT’s top prize along the way, but still has not been able to break through.
Despite that, Sol has been a long-rumored potential callup and could be finding her way to the Smackdown or Raw roster in the next few months. Another match with Zaria in two weeks was just signed on this week’s NXT, and could potentially serve as Sol’s swan song on Tuesday nights. Could we see the acrobatic surfer girl on Mondays or Fridays soon, or will HBK and his creative team look to add NXT Women’s Champion to Sol’s resume before she moves up for good?
Main Roster Comp: Charlotte Flair
This one might be a tough sell, so I urge you to hear me out for a minute before you head down to the comments section and tell me why I’m crazy. Sol Ruca obviously doesn’t have the benefit of the last name Flair to give her immediate credibility when she hits the main roster, and admittedly, I don’t see Sol racking up 14 world championship reigns (or being as polarizing as the Queen, for that matter).
The comparison that I can’t shake though is how quickly both women took to the business. Charlotte didn’t originally plan on becoming a wrestler, and began training as a tribute to her late brother, Reid. After just a few years in NXT, Charlotte became a huge star on the main roster and will go down as one of the most decorated champions in history. Sol has only been in the business for a little over 4 years and her growth curve has followed a similar path. Whether Ruca ever gets to Charlotte’s level or it’s just wishful thinking on this fan’s part, it’s clear Sol’s future is bright.
Ethan Page
Since making a surprise debut a little under two years ago, Ethan Page has consistently found himself in high profile spots on NXT programming. Despite coming up short, Page established himself almost immediately when he competed for the NXT Championship just 12 days after his first appearance. All Ego would eventually capture the title and hold it for almost three months that same summer. Page has since added a memorable North American Title reign to his docket that saw him carry around a personalized title belt with the Canadian flag on the strap. He also made several appearances in the WWE-owned AAA promotion, even winning the Mixed Tag Team Titles with fellow Canadian Chelsea Green late last year.
On this week’s NXT, Ethan cunningly stole a pinfall from his three Stand & Deliver opponents in an 8-man tag team match with DarkState, and will now take on new NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo in the coming weeks. Will this match be Ethan’s last hurrah on NXT before getting called up, or is this the beginning of an extended feud with Tony D?
Main Roster Comp: The Miz
Ethan has proven over the last two years that he can fit into a variety of roles on a wrestling program. He has had his fair share of comedic moments, but is also completely believable as a sadistic villain that has no problem inflicting pain (see his matches with Je’Von Evans and Ricky Saints last year as proof). The Miz’s mileage with wrestling fans varies greatly, but the man is nothing if not consistent. His comedic segments with Kit Wilson and Danhausen lately have been well-received, but putting The Miz into a program for the US or Intercontinental Title at this point wouldn’t be at all far-fetched. Ethan Page could easily fill a role similar to Miz on the main roster. Hell, I’d even consider teaming them up and letting them feed off of each other as a heel tag team.
Other Candidates:
- Hank & Tank – The Belly Boys aren’t typically going to win any style points for their in-ring abilities, but their energy could be a solid addition to the tag divisions on Raw or Smackdown, where tag team wrestling has all but evaporated in recent months. There’s not much left for Hank & Tank to do in NXT, and moving them up to the main roster could reasonably happen in the near future. To me, the former NXT Tag Team Champs bring a similar energy as the Hype Bros with a stature and moveset similar to Heavy Machinery, two tag teams who weren’t world beaters but provided solid depth for a limited stretch of time.
- Josh Briggs – Briggs just took yet another ‘L’ on NXT this week, getting pinned by Keanu Carver in a Triple Threat match also featuring Jasper Troy. It’s pretty clear at this point that Briggs’ role on NXT is to help put other stars over. Still, the 6’8” Arizonan is only 33 years old and has a lot of the tools that could help him be a role-player on the main roster. Briggs will never be a World Champion in WWE, but his career could follow a path similar to that of Baron Corbin if he’s positioned properly. On the other hand, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he were ‘future endeavored’ tomorrow.
- Blake Monroe – It’s hard not to lump Blake in a similar category to other AEW castoffs like Ricky Saints, but The Glamour seems like she’s got some time left in NXT before she moves up to Raw or Smackdown. The Vanity Project just gifted her a custom North American Title belt this week, suggesting her feud with Tatum Paxley is set to continue. The former Mariah May could realistically be plugged into the main roster without anybody batting an eyelash, but it seems like Tuesday night is going to be the place to see Monroe for the foreseeable future.
Alright, what do you think, Cagesiders? Will these top NXT stars be appearing on Raw or Smackdown anytime soon? Is there anyone I missed that could be getting called up after WrestleMania? Let us know in the comments below!
