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The collective WWE roster, including talents on the NXT, 205 Live and NXT UK brands, boasts some of the best names in professional wrestling. Whether or not you agree with Seth Rollins that WWE features the best pro wrestling on the planet, it's hard to argue that WWE does not at least have some of the best pro wrestlers on the planet.
But given the upside to WWE's giant talent pool, one has to consider a major downside - misuse of the talents. Even with seven hours of new television produced each week (not counting the NXT UK brand), it's a virtual impossibility to find something meaningful for everyone on the WWE talent roster, forcing several fan favorites to be used in a capacity which leaves much to be desired.
With the above in mind, let's take a look at 10 current main roster Superstars who could move back to NXT in order to strengthen the Wednesday night brand.
#10 Asuka
2018 was an incredible year for Asuka, the former WWE NXT Women's Champion who left NXT with an undefeated streak. In addition to winning the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match, The Empress of Tomorrow went on to defend her SmackDown Women's Title, and her undefeated streak, against Charlotte Flair.
After Flair defeated Asuka for the Title, ending Asuka's historic win streak in pro wrestling, the Japanese import saw a gradual decline in her spot on the WWE women's roster, and now she finds herself struggling to get TV time.
Most recently, Asuka has been partnered up with another NXT veteran, Kairi Sane, in a tag team known on SmackDown Live as The Kabuki Warriors. Despite both Asuka and Sane being fan favorites, and having a strong manager in Paige, the tag team has been mostly lost in the WWE shuffle on the blue brand aside from a random title shot the duo received this week.
Under Triple H's tutelage, Asuka was a major player in NXT and was a big star, and a return to the yellow brand could help not only the former Women's Champion, but could help boost the women's division in NXT as well.
#9 Robert Roode
Former Impact Wrestling star Bobby Roode got off to a hot start in WWE, making a tremendous impact in NXT, and establishing himself as a top star on the Wednesday night brand.
The decision was made after a short run in NXT to have Bobby Roode debut on the main roster in WWE, and his debut was indeed "glorious." Boasting an amazing entrance and charisma akin to Ric Flair, Roode was poised for great success on the main roster.
However, for reasons not quite known, Bobby Roode has seen his push in WWE drastically halted, and he is yet another NXT alumnus struggling for TV time on a weekly basis.
WWE attempted to freshen up Roode by slapping a mustache on him and having him turn heel, but the new "Robert Roode" has yet to take off on the main roster and is floundering once again.
Roode has a great look and persona that resonated well with NXT fans, and he could return to the brand in a main event capacity to help establish younger talents.
#8 EC3
EC3 was quickly moved from the NXT brand to the WWE main roster in a time during which the company was struggling to boost television ratings and experimenting with calling up a host of NXT stars.
The immediate call up for EC3 likely hindered him in that he never quite got the chance to connect with fans in NXT. WWE should have left the former Impact Wrestling World Champion on the yellow brand for at least two years, to allow him to establish his star power in NXT.
If given a lengthy run at the top in NXT, EC3 could have built a significant amount of momentum that he could have carried with him to the main roster.
Instead, WWE decided to jump the gun on calling EC3 up, and without solid creative plans in place for the talented Superstar, EC3 has been lost in the shuffle ever since he made his main roster TV debut.
A reconnect with the NXT fanbase could help spark Vince McMahon's interest in EC3, and help the promising star rebuild his brand on television.
#7 Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews is one of the best pure athletes on the WWE roster, but suffers from a lack of character or mic skills which translates well to the live audience.
Crews is another talent who was hurried to the main roster in WWE, likely because of his tremendous in-ring ability and look, but he has been mostly an afterthought since making his main roster debut.
Crews enjoyed a medium-sized push when he was featured well in the short-lived Titus Worldwide faction, but mediocre creative and not enough time to connect with the audience left Crews mostly unnoticed during his televised appearances.
Crews could have excellent matches with most of the current NXT roster, so moving the talented star back to the yellow brand could be just what Crews needs to help hone the skills he currently lacks. The Titus Worldwide group did have some brief momentum, so it might not be a bad idea to move the entire faction to NXT, as members such as Titus O'Neil and Dana Brooke are being underutilized on the main roster as well.
#6 Bo Dallas
Bo Dallas, former NXT Champion, has been an underutilized talent on the main roster for years now. Dallas has floated through several creative directions on the main roster, with his latest being a tag team alongside Curtis Axel.
Dubbed The B-Team, Dallas and Axel had some early potential before they fell by the wayside along with much of the tag team division in WWE.
Despite rarely being used on television, Dallas and Axel remain a team, however, the time is right to split up the Superstars and return Bo Dallas to NXT.
Dallas is a talent who can likely be repackaged down in NXT, much in the same way his brother Bray Wyatt has been repackaged and is awaiting his return to WWE TV.
Should Dallas spend a couple of years developing a new character and gimmick in NXT, he could return to the main roster with a renewed sense of purpose in WWE and a rekindled connection with the WWE Universe.
#5 Chad Gable
Much like Apollo Crews, Chad Gable is a naturally gifted athlete who has yet to hit his stride on the WWE main roster. Most recently, he was teamed up with fellow NXT grad Bobby Roode, but the two split as a tag team shortly after they were paired up.
Gable has found a modicum of success in various tag teams during his time in WWE, but if pushed as a Kurt Angle protege, Gable could define himself as the next "wrestling machine" in WWE.
Kurt Angle remains under contract with WWE, and is currently without a role on television, and following his in-ring retirement, Angle could be best used paired up with Chad Gable as Gable's on-screen mentor.
A successful concept could be to pair Gable up with Angle as his sidekick down in NXT, and the two could work a heel gimmick which sees them challenging the stars of NXT to face the main roster veterans who are arguably amongst the best in-ring wrestlers on the roster.
#4 Kairi Sane
Kairi Sane is another WWE star who might find her spot on the main roster hindered by her inability to cut the WWE style promo.
Fellow Japanese stars Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura have seen their pushes in WWE drastically reduced as a result of their inability to cut lengthy, main roster style promos, and Kairi Sane could be treated in the same vein.
Sane was most recently paired up with Asuka, only for The Kabuki Warriors to vanish from main roster TV, so a return to NXT could help Sane reconnect with the WWE Universe.
If the current NXT Tag Team Champion Street Profits can appear on main roster TV while holding NXT gold, there is no reason why Kairi Sane cannot win the NXT Women's Title and defend it sporadically on main roster TV. With Shayna Baszler possibly heading up to the main roster in the near future, a recapturing of the NXT Women's Title could help boost Kairi Sane's standing in WWE.
#3 Kalisto
For years WWE has been in search of the next breakout Latino star, and the company at one point had that in the sensational Kalisto.
During his time in NXT, Kalisto teamed up with Sin Cara as the Lucha Dragons, an exciting tag team that wowed the NXT fans in praised rivalries with tag teams such as The Ascension.
Kalisto definitely enjoyed a moderate amount of success on the main roster after being called up, and has been an important part of the WWE 205 Live roster, but Kalisto is a star who could break out and become a major player in WWE.
Should the company return Kalisto to NXT, and possibly give him a refreshed, maskless gimmick, the former NXT Tag Team Champion could return to the main roster as the Latin sensation the company has been looking to build.
With Eric Bischoff taking over SmackDown Live in the coming months, and his track record for showcasing Cruiserweight talents, Kalisto could return to NXT to be groomed for a call up to Bischoff's new SmackDown Live.
#2 SAnitY
Alexander Wolfe, formerly of the SAnitY faction, has returned to NXT to help boost the budding UK roster, but his fellow SAnitY members, Eric Young and Killian Dain, are rarely used on main roster TV.
The SAnitY group was heavily advertised to make its much-anticipated main roster debut before being called up, but almost immediately after they debuted on the main roster, they vanished from TV and were quietly broken up.
It's possible the SAnitY group too closely mirrored the Wyatt Family during their heyday in NXT, but with The Wyatt Family disbanding, there is room once again in WWE for a stable such as SAnitY.
Should all the members of the group, sans Nikki Cross, who is currently in a program with Alexa Bliss and Bayley, return to NXT, the faction could re-establish purpose in WWE and define what exactly makes them such a unique and edgy group.
#1 Rusev
Formerly known as Alexander Rusev in NXT, fans might perceive Rusev as too big of a star to return to NXT, but the fan favorite has been all but banished from main roster television along with his wife and manager, Lana.
Should both Rusev and Lana return to NXT, they could make an immediate impact and freshen up not only themselves for a return to the main roster, but bolster the NXT roster main event picture in a major way.
Rusev could benefit well from a run with the NXT Championship, also making sporadic appearances on main roster TV, as WWE continues to integrate the NXT talents with the main roster.
Rusev's star power could help elevate the NXT Title and see it defended occasionally on main roster PPV events, allowing up and coming talents, such as Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream, to showcase their talents against a veteran main roster star such as The Bulgarian Brute.
Who from WWE would you like to see return to NXT? Let us know in the comment section!
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