5 independent wrestling stars WWE NXT needs to sign
By Carl Gac
Who on the indy wrestling circuit should WWE sign to star in NXT?
In the past few years, WWE has used the NXT brand to bring some of the hottest professional wrestlers in the world into their fold. The likes of Kevin (Steen) Owens, Sami Zayn (El Generico), Finn Balor (Prince Devitt) and Shinsuke Nakamura have used the stepping stone of NXT as the perfect starting point to their WWE career.
Once those stars have made their mark in the supposed “WWE developmental system,” they are called up to the main roster to become big stars on both RAW and SmackDown Live. This process always leaves the company looking for new men and women to make the jump from the indy circuit to the ranks of the NXT roster. It seems to be that a never-ending lineup of stars is coming out of the woodwork on an almost weekly basis, with many of them destined to make a big splash in the world of WWE.
Recently, men like Drew McIntyre and Kassius Ohno have been re-signed by WWE to star in NXT. The NXT Women’s division has recently added the likes of Ruby Riot — the former Heidi Lovelace — and Kimberley Frankele — known on the indies as Kimber Lee — to an already packed roster.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t still a whole host of men and women who could make the move to NXT and make an immediate impact. All over the world, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of talented wrestlers who are more than good enough to make their mark in the rings of both NXT and WWE as a whole.
So who should WWE be looking to sign to be the next big stars in NXT?
5) The Young Bucks
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few years you’ll have heard of The Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson. The real life brothers travel the world as part of the Bullet Club, forming the upper echelon of the group “The Elite” alongside Kenny Omega.
How would it be best to describe these two men? Well, they take some of the most entertaining aspects of pro wrestling and mix them all together to bring their own unique style to the ring. They have openly admitted — albeit slightly tongue in cheek — that they are doing all they can to destroy wrestling as we know it.
They have taken moves like the superkick and given it a life of its own, regularly having a “Superkick Counter” at ringside and racking up more than 20 uses of the move on regular occasions. The “Too Sweet” hand gesture, made famous by men like Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels two decades ago, they’ve taken and made it a universally cool thing again.
Performing in some of the biggest promotions, from New Japan to Ring of Honor to PWG, the Young Bucks will go down in history of one of the most important tag teams ever. They need to spend a portion of their active career working in WWE.
The Young Bucks are one of the most polarizing tag teams in the world. Fans either love them or passionately hate them, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that they are one of the hottest properties in the world right now. Whether it’s the fact they sell merchandise by the truck load, they have a rabid fan base, or they are the highlight of nearly every card that they appear on, NXT could really use the Young Bucks right now.