According to a new report those within NXT creative were not told about the raft of recent call-ups before they actually took place.
As part of the 2021 WWE Draft numerous NXT Superstars were moved up to the main roster. Of the movers, Hit Row, Xia Li, Ridge Holland and Aliyah went to SmackDown, while Austin Theory landed on Raw.
However, despite a number of call-ups being expected, it has now been reported that those within NXT were kept in the dark over who was going where.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer notes that the decision to move Hit Row was taken days in advance. Although those within NXT were seemingly unaware of that the faction would be leaving the brand.
“The NXT call-ups were Hit Row, likely as babyfaces, to Smackdown; Xia Li to Smackdown, Ridge Holland to Smackdown, Aliyah to Smackdown and Austin Theory to Raw. While we were told the Hit Row decision was made days earlier, those in NXT were not told, and nobody in the organization really was told anything, even if the switches based on booking patterns to an extent were predictable in most of the cases.”
Meltzer went on to reveal that some inside WWE have pegged former rugby league star Ridge Holland as a future World Champion.
“Dakota Kai wasn’t drafted even though she had been pulled off NXT and was regularly doing try-out matches. The company does have high hopes for Holland, who some in the company have tabbed as a future WWE champion, as well as Theory, who is young and has a good look. I don’t see it in Holland at this point, as he came across as a generic looking guy with generic moves who has a powerful looking body and is a legit athlete. But like with Karrion Kross, who looked very big when next to the generally smaller NXT workers, but on the main roster his size won’t stand out as much with the bigger main roster guys. As far as Aliyah, she has a good look, but really, almost all the women have that. She wasn’t over in NXT and plenty of women were that didn’t get the call, almost all of whom were better in the ring. So she’s a mystery.”
While the 2021 WWE Draft is done and dusted a number of Superstars went undrafted and now stand as free agents. You can find the full list of free agents here.
WWE’s updated rosters come into effect after Crown Jewel on October 21st.