WWE News: WWE Eyeing Several Top Cruiserweight Classic Competitors For WWE NXT
We all know by now that WWE will be doing a draft this Tuesday on the new live WWE SmackDown. Shane McMahon of the SmackDown brand will make picks for members of his brand, while Stephanie McMahon will pick for her WWE RAW brand. The SmackDown show will be two hours and feature 20 picks from the McMahon siblings. Meanwhile, a post-show was recently announced where they mention other picks and even trades might be occurring.
Due to this brand split situation, WWE NXT will reportedly be gutted, with most of the top stars of the brand heading to either RAW or SmackDown this year. This includes the likes of Finn Balor, American Alpha, Bayley, and even NXT Champion Samoa Joe, among others. Due to this, WWE has been trying their hardest to sign a variety of people to help with the loss of so much talent. Bobby Roode made his official NXT debut this past week during the tapings, while Eric Young is rumored to be with the brand before too long as well.
On top of this, it was recently reported through PWTorch that both Kota Ibushi and Gran Metalik have signed with the WWE and will be starting in the WWE NXT brand. Like Shinsuke Nakamura, Ibushi may very well avoid staying in NXT for too long. However, he is needed there for a time until WWE can sign other top talents. He most likely would debut on the main roster sometime in 2017. WWE is eyeing Ring of Honor workers Jay Lethal and Adam Cole in 2017, both of whom will be available by at least April of that year.
In the meantime, signing two top workers from the Cruiserweight Classic is huge for the company. With them going to NXT, the brand won’t feel as gutted with the top names mentioned above do leave.
Ibushi and Metalik are certainly not the only people WWE would like to sign. They have already signed former WWE Superstar Tajiri and will also be going after a variety of others.
Names like Cedric Alexander, Zack Sabre Jr., Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa, and Lince Dorado have been mentioned. All of the men are considered some of the best in the world at any weight class, so it would make sense that WWE was interested. In the latest taping alone, Triple H came out to congratulate Cedric Alexander after his match. This was essentially the boss saying that he noticed something and had to make sure he made it known publicly that he did.
Some hate the idea of Triple H getting involved with anything publicly on WWE NXT programming or anything like this, but it is considered a huge rub for a legend to do this sort of thing with a talent. It shows respect that this person would even want to be seen with you, and him congratulating you shows his respect for you. On top of this, Triple H does run talent relations and NXT itself. Clearly, he would get involved in things.
As for others like Sabre Jr. and Tozawa, both have been considered some of the best on the planet. Tozawa may very well get signed due to his experience with a variety of current WWE Superstars. Having friends in the business does help. However, due to his ability to speak English pretty well, he can easily work against top talent and be able to be part of storylines and not need a manager. Due to WWE using Japanese stars well lately, Tozawa would be yet another person signed specifically to cater to that market as well as bring legitimacy.
Sabre Jr., on the other hand, has all the skill in the world and has proven he can be a great showman. However, his best skill is his technical wrestling ability. Considered the top technician in the world, WWE has been eyeing him for some time, and it makes sense that they would want him. As for Gallagher, WWE apparently likes his personality and mic work. He’s no slouch in the ring, either. WWE has been promoting the heck out of him on the WWE Network as well.
Finally, Dorado is considered to be one of the most fun lucha libre stars out there, but he is actually not from Mexico despite the mask he wears. He’s actually Puerto Rican. However, he is billed from Mexico due to the lucha libre connection. He is most known for his work in Chikara, however, he has also been around the world at a variety of different promotions. Like the others, he brings something special to the table that WWE feels is useful.
At the end of the day, there are several people in this tournament who WWE could sign. However, they only have so many roster spots. The ones mentioned above may be on their radar now, but they probably won’t stop with them.
[Image via WWE]
