Both Raw general manager Kurt Angle and Smackdown general manager Daniel Bryan were on hand for Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III live special in New York, and WWE made a point of showing them in their own suite throughout the night. The idea was that the two authority figures were scouting talent at the biggest NXT show of the year, as the annual Brooklyn event has turned into something of a homecoming and WrestleMania-style event for the developmental brand.
It’s expected that we’re going to see several big call-ups to the main roster within the next few months. Vince McMahon and everyone behind the scenes in WWE is said to be extremely high on Bobby Roode. After dropping the NXT Championship and Adam Cole seemingly setting himself up as the immediate threat to Drew McIntyre’s brand new title reign, we could be seeing the “Glorious One” on WWE television much sooner than expect.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka has obviously been another name talked about for quite some time. The reason she hasn’t been called up yet has nothing to do with her being “ready”, as the company obviously sees her as one of, if not the single most talented in-ring athlete in the women’s division. She has been a key staple of the NXT brand during live event tours for the last year, and like Roode her presence has been necessary to keep selling tickets in big markets. It came as surprise to many that Asuka retained over Ember Moon at Takeover: Brooklyn, as it seems she’ll be sticking around for at least awhile longer. Once the Mae Young Classic begins airing and many of those women make their way into NXT it’s expected that she’ll be brought up as quickly as possible.
Other names being discussed include Ember Moon, who is free now that her program with Asuka has concluded, the Authors of Pain after dropping the NXT Tag Team Championships, and Aleister Black. There’s been a slow trickle of stars making their way to Raw and Smackdown this year, but now that the company has signed and debuted several big names like Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly and Kassius Ohno (formerly Chris Hero) there’s a bit more room to start sending roster-ready superstars up to the big time.
