The WWE brand split is coming up fast, and a lot of things are possibly going to change. Of course, the WWE Draft will help us determine who will end up on each brand, but clearly, the split means WWE has to fill up two major brand rosters. That means they have to go outside WWE to find people who used to be with the company. They’d come in as helpful veterans that WWE could use to help get their current talent where they need to be.
WWE is also planning to raid the WWE NXT roster. At one point, we were hearing that WWE was planning to bring up about six people from the NXT roster, but now that number could get higher. According to Ringside News , as many as 10 to 12 people could be called up from the NXT roster, double what was expected. So why the extra call-ups? It seems WWE is having some difficulty bringing in past talent.
While some have bitten, most of the names rumored, such as Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, and others, may not be brought in. It is still very possible, but as of now, there are very few popular vets willing to come back to do what WWE wants. The plan for them is to basically be in a helping role, and it is unlikely they’ll get a chance to move up the card, which has not been sitting well with some as of now.
That pushed WWE to need more NXT talent, which is the major reason why they seem to be raiding the roster more. WWE is planning to bring up Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, and American Alpha on the men’s side, and the plan was also to bring up Bayley on the female side. The initial plans were pretty much set there with no one else coming up until sometime next year. Now, WWE will be most likely bringing up some other men from the NXT roster such as Austin Aries.
There is a theory that if the reports are true of WWE signing Japanese great Kota Ibushi, the company would have him go straight to the main roster after the Cruiserweight Classic ends. This would mean he’d bypass NXT, but only because of the major need for him on the main roster. Some believe it would be better for him to go up quicker anyway. Outside of Aries and Ibushi, the men’s side really can’t get much bigger due to the fact that WWE has to keep some down on the NXT roster so that the brand is not gutted completely.
In addition to the other men, the women will also get a boost. According to recent reports , WWE plans to have the women’s division on both brands rather than the one that was initially thought. That means WWE has to add extra girls to the roster to help out. Ringside claims that Nia Jax and Carmella may be the two WWE goes with, mainly because Asuka is still needed on the NXT roster with all of the major departures, otherwise she easily would be brought up before them in a regular case.
WWE plans to hire a lot more people from the independents as well, which may help them with the loss of so many workers from NXT. The plan is to use both Bobby Roode and Eric Young more on the NXT roster with Roode most likely getting a top role due to the loss of most top stars. Others who could go to NXT include the likes of Cedric Alexander and Zack Sabre Jr. once they are done with the CWC. It seems interesting things are ahead for WWE.
[Image via WWE]