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In 2020, many WWE NXT stars were called up to WWE's main roster. Some of the biggest names to move from the Black and Gold Brand were longest-reigning NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, who moved to RAW back at the start of the year, fan-favorite Bianca Belair who was called up at WrestleMania 36 and is now a SmackDown Superstar, and Keith Lee, who dropped the WWE NXT Championship to Karrion Kross shortly before his move to RAW.
Following reports that Damian Priest and former NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley are bound for a call up to either RAW or SmackDown, speculation has begun over who else from the NXT roster could move this year.
Although stars often move around from NXT to RAW and SmackDown, a lot of performers seem to stick with one brand in WWE. Here are five WWE NXT stars who may never move to the main roster of WWE.
#5 WWE NXT Women's division Superstar Mercedes Martinez
Before coming to NXT, Mercedes Martinez was known as one of the most popular stars of the independent wrestling scene. Martinez spent many years as one of the biggest stars of Shimmer Women's Athletes and was a two-time women's champion of the brand.
Mercedes Martinez appeared briefly in WWE before her signing a full-time contract for the company and appeared in both Mae Young classic tournaments, as well as on occasional episodes of WWE NXT.
Between this and her becoming a member of the NXT roster, Martinez made two appearances for All Elite Wrestling in 2019. She was the "Joker" in the Casino Battle Royale and teamed up with Big Swole on an episode of AEW Dark.
Since being a WWE NXT Superstar in January 2020, Mercedes Martinez has taken part in the Royal Rumble, and later became involved in a feud against Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart when she joined the Robert Stone Brand with Aliyah. Martinez later became a part of RETRIBUTION but requested to leave the stable and moved back to NXT.
Given that Martinez asked WWE to go back to NXT, it seems that she is currently more comfortable on the Black and Gold Brand. Considering that Martinez is one of the older members of the active roster at the age of 40, she may want to finish her 20 years long in-ring career in NXT.
#4 Former WWE NXT Tag Team Champions Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango)
Breezango is somewhat of a fan favorite team in WWE NXT, and the pair won their first title, the NXT Tag Team Championship, back in August 2020. The duo has been a tag team for almost five years after they turned on their previous partners R-Truth and Goldust whilst being SmackDown Superstars.
After three years on the main roster, Tyler Breeze returned to WWE NXT in 2019 as a full-time performer initially, in a title feud with Velveteen Dream. Shortly after, Fandango also joined Breeze in WWE NXT to continue working as Breezango in NXT's tag team division.
In 2020, the pair had a successful run on The Black and Gold Brand, winning the NXT Tag Team Championship from Imperium after defeating the teams of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, and Legado del Fantasma to become number one contenders for the titles. Their reign ended at 56 days after they were defeated by Burch and Lorcan.
Considering the success that the pair have enjoyed in WWE NXT in comparison to their main roster run, it would be surprising to see Breezango move to RAW or SmackDown in the future.
The duo feels like they have found their home in NXT, and it would be strange to see them leave the Black and Gold Brand. As well as this, Breeze's integral role in NXT was shown in the 2015 WWE series Breaking Ground, where the star supported and mentored new stars to the brand.
#3 Former WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa
Before becoming a WWE NXT Superstar in 2016, Tommaso Ciampa was signed to WWE in 2005 in a brief run on SmackDown, before his release from the company in Summer 2007. Ciampa later returned to WWE during the 2015 NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, paired up with Johnny Gargano, and later signed a contract to become a full-time WWE NXT talent in April 2016.
Ciampa has enjoyed huge success as a part of the WWE NXT roster, with his career on the Black and Gold Brand beginning in the tag team division as one half of #DIY with Johnny Gargano. The duo had a reign as NXT Tag Team Champions, and after they attempted to win back the titles after losing them, Tommaso turned on his tag partner, establishing one of NXT's biggest rivalries.
Tommaso Ciampa has also had a lengthy reign with the WWE NXT Championship, which lasted 237 days, and ended with the star having to vacate due to injury. More recently, Ciampa has had various feuds with NXT Superstars on the rise in the brand, including Karrion Kross and Timothy Thatcher.
As well as his success in NXT, Ciampa has also commented in the past that he would be reluctant to move to RAW or SmackDown. He may have changed his mind about this since, but it would be interesting to see how he would fit amongst the stars of the main roster.
#2 Current NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano
After years of success on the independent wrestling scene, Johnny Gargano began his WWE NXT career in 2015 and teamed up with Tommaso Ciampa, dubbing themselves #DIY. After a run with the NXT Tag Team Championship, Ciampa turned on Gargano, setting up one of the biggest rivalries in WWE NXT history.
Through most of 2018, Gargano contended for the NXT Championship, with Ciampa often ruining his chances. After Ciampa won the NXT Championship from Aleister Black, this developed into a title feud between the pair, which ended when Ciampa had to vacate the title due to injury. Gargano won the vacant title for a brief reign, before he dropped it to Adam Cole.
Gargano and Ciampa were supposed to be called up to the main roster together, but this was short-lived due to Ciampa's injury. As well as this, following his loss to Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: Toronto in August 2019, Gargano seemed to bid farewell to WWE NXT with his wife Candice LeRae. In the segment, the crowd chanted "Thank you, Johnny" and WWE NXT General Manager William Regal appeared to shake his hand on the ramp.
However, following this, Gargano continued to perform for the NXT brand, signaling that the main roster move was possibly scrapped. Since then, Gargano has made history by becoming the NXT North American Champion for the third time, and he recently established a new stable, The Way, with Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell, and Austin Theory.
As Gargano's past main roster moves haven't come to fruition, it is hard to imagine him leaving WWE NXT for RAW or SmackDown. As well as this, Johnny Gargano has talked often about how he is happy in NXT and has even had WWE merchandise that says "NXT 4 Life".
#1 Current WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor
Like many WWE Superstars, current WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor started his WWE career in the Black and Gold Brand. After making a name for himself on the independent wrestling scene around the world, Balor signed a contract with WWE in July 2014.
Less than a year into his WWE NXT run, Balor won the NXT Championship from Kevin Owens at the special WWE event in Tokyo, Japan, The Beast in the East. Balor had a lengthy reign with the NXT Championship, which lasted a total of 292 days. He lost the title to Samoa Joe at a WWE NXT Live event in April 2016, just months before he became the inaugural WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam. Shortly after his win, he was forced the relinquish the title due to sustaining a shoulder injury.
Balor had success on the main roster of WWE and managed to become a two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion during his run.
The star moved back to WWE NXT in late 2019 and quickly became one of the top stars of the brand, especially after his unexpected heel turn. In September 2020, Balor won the vacant NXT Championship for the second time in his WWE career and has managed to defend the title against Kyle O'Reilly so far.
Recently, Finn Balor has spoken about being happy in NXT, and how it has opened up different opportunities in WWE. There is still potential for more to come from Balor's second run as NXT Champion and other avenues for him to explore on the Black and Gold Brand.
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