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The ratings for Monday Night RAW are currently the lowest they've ever been, which could result in quite a few prompt changes to the product in the coming weeks. The same thing happened in 2018 and WWE decided to directly address it. So, exactly two years ago to the day, the McMahon family came out on RAW and cut a promo about how the fans deserved better.
Triple H said that the fans were now the authority and WWE would give them what they wanted. That was true to some extent, but not entirely. WWE is great at delivering big moments, which have been abundant since this promo. However, it's the storytelling that needs to improve.
While RAW's quality isn't as bad as the ratings suggest, the lack of long-term planning is evident. That is the one change that truly needs to be made. The changes we were promised were new faces and new match-ups. Some of them came from NXT, as six Superstars were hyped up in a joint video package that very night.
They made up five acts at the time, with their WWE main roster debuts spread out over the start of 2019. Their introduction to WWE fans may have been weird, but these names eventually embedded into RAW and SmackDown. Well, at least most of them.
Anyway, here are the six Superstars who were called up from NXT in the aftermath of the McMahons' December 2018 promo on RAW, and how their careers in WWE have panned out so far.
#6 Lars Sullivan: Currently on WWE SmackDown
The vignettes for Lars Sullivan's WWE debut actually played a month before the McMahons' promo on RAW, indicating that the company had been planning to call him up for a while. He was still group with the rest of his fellow NXT alumni and was meant to appear on the January 11th episode of RAW.
However, an anxiety attack delayed his debut and Sullivan instead showed up on the RAW after WrestleMania by attacking Kurt Angle. Quite a strong way to start your WWE main roster career. After a short run of dominance, The Freak's momentum was stunted by a series of setbacks.
Some comments of his on a bodybuilding forum in 2013 were made prominent, all of which were in poor taste. He then suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the ring for around 16 months. Some videos from his past resurfaced at some point during his lengthy absence.
After all the issues, Lars Sullivan returned on Night One of the WWE Draft. He picked up a big win over Jeff Hardy and is currently on the Blue brand. However, after a couple of awkward interviews about his childhood, The Freak has been off TV for over a month now. There has been no word on his status within WWE.
#5 Lacey Evans: Currently on WWE RAW
The first few months that Lacey Evans spent on WWE TV were pretty weird. She debuted by announcing her entry into the Women's Royal Rumble Match, before entering at number one. Following her impressive showing at the Rumble, Evans spent the entire Road to WrestleMania walking up the stage and waving to the crowd.
Immediately after The Show of Shows, The Sassy Southern Belle began a feud with Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship. The program spanned over three months and simply went on too long, even crossing over with Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin for the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Evans could have done with some more refinement in the ring before being thrust towards the top of the WWE card, but she did as well as she could have done. A historic moment followed as she and Natalya wrestled the first-ever WWE women's match in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel 2019. It was quite heartwarming.
Lacey Evans turned face a couple of months later to feud with Bayley for the SmackDown Women's Championship, before turning heel again because she lost a Karaoke Showdown to Naomi. What fantastic storytelling. Evans is now on RAW, where she is trying to form a tag team with Peyton Royce.
#4 EC3: Released by WWE in April
The most established name of the bunch, EC3 was WWE ready for a while before his debut. He was introduced to the WWE fans in the most mundane way. EC3 never said a word and was constantly checking himself out in the mirror. The company should have played to his strengths, which are on the microphone.
The most notable thing EC3 did on the main roster was the short angle with Dean Ambrose, in which he was not allowed to speak at all. He picked up a victory over the current AEW megastar, but things quickly went downhill for the former Derrick Bateman in WWE.
Despite having the perfect look and skillset to succeed in WWE, EC3 was relegated to Main Event and the 24/7 Championship picture. He did not do anything of note in 2019 before a concussion in November ruled him out for a few months. He would not return to RAW or SmackDown following this.
EC3 was let go as a part of WWE's mass releases in the middle of April, but he has found work since then. This has enabled him to 'control his narrative', which he is doing well right now. EC3 has appeared in IMPACT Wrestling and Ring of Honor since his release from WWE.
#3 Nikki Cross: Currently on WWE RAW
Following an exciting 2018 in NXT, Nikki Cross took some time to truly establish herself on RAW and SmackDown. The former member of SAnitY quickly dropped her crazy persona on the WWE main roster, as she started a friendship with Alexa Bliss shortly after WrestleMania 35.
What seemed like a short-term partnership between Bliss and Cross turned into a longer-form friendship. The two of them won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship twice, first in the summer of 2019 before doing so again at WrestleMania 36 against The Kabuki Warriors.
After losing the tag team titles to Sasha Banks and Bayley, Cross challenged the latter for the SmackDown Women's Championship multiple times. She came close to defeating Bayley for the title in July before things went south between herself and Bliss.
With her best friend now aligned with Bray Wyatt, Nikki Cross seems a little lost on RAW. She did try to talk Alexa Bliss out of being with The Fiend, before losing to her a few weeks ago. Hopefully, Cross can find some direction on Monday nights. That being said, she is the more successful woman in this group.
#2 Tucker: Currently on WWE RAW, and #1 Otis: Currently on WWE SmackDown
A widely popular midcard tag team, Heavy Machinery's arrival to the WWE main roster did not exactly set the world alight. That being said, they have been pretty entertaining over the past two years. It all began when Otis interrupted 'A Moment of Bliss' by wandering onto the RAW stage in January 2019.
Since then, he has been a source of comedy and quickly became a crowd favorite. He and Tucker challenged for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship quite a few times but did not win the titles. Otis was part of one of the best-told stories heading into WrestleMania, the love triangle between himself, Mandy Rose, and Dolph Ziggler.
He defeated The Showoff at 'Mania and shared a kiss with Rose afterward, a good moment that would have been electric in front of a crowd. Otis then won the Money in the Bank ladder match on the roof of WWE's Global Headquarters, but the company failed to book him into a credible world title contender.
The big man ended up losing the briefcase to The Miz after Tucker turned on him. Heavy Machinery has now split, both as a team and between brands. Tucker is currently on RAW and has barely featured on TV. Meanwhile, Otis has a much more promising future on SmackDown.
The former Money in the Bank winner has begun a partnership with Chad Gable on the Blue brand. Following the past two years, it is fair to call Otis has been the biggest success out of the six Superstars who were called up from NXT right after the McMahon family's promise to bring change to WWE.
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