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With things slated to truly change the landscape of both Raw and SmackDown next week during the first-ever International Superstar Shake Up, a lot of new faces will be showing up to join the main roster.
Several big names like Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Finn Balor, and Bayley might switch brands. Superstars like Becky Lynch, Asuka, Ember Moon, Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre and the New Day could also be changing red for blue and vice versa also.
But since those names are used to the main roster and a switch from one show to another, there are some recent call-ups from NXT that have been getting used to the main roster since 2019 began.
Wrestlers like Nikki Cross, EC3, Lacey Evans and Heavy Machinery have been appearing sporadically on both Raw and SmackDown.
And if they weren't enough to excite the WWE Universe, Mr. McMahon also had Aleister Black, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa show up about a month later in order to help raise ratings.
While Ciampa is out due to neck surgery and Gargano is the current NXT Champion, Black and Ricochet will also be looking for permanent homes next week.
So where will all of the recent NXT call-ups end up next week? Here are the best possible landing spots for each one.
They may seem lopsided for one brand, but other possible NXT call-ups are better suited for the brand with fewer selections on this slide show.
EC3 to Raw
If WWE is going to start pairing him with Drake Maverick, who also has experience on Raw with the Authors of Pain, then Raw is the perfect place for EC3 to call home.
He's not a technical maven like Daniel Bryan or Cesaro, but he's a more-jacked Miz in that he's good in the ring and better on the microphone.
Surprisingly, he hasn't been allowed to speak all that much in his limited time on the main roster, so perhaps that's for a reason.
He'll likely be spitting fire at the WWE Universe since he's been used terribly since being called up.
EC3 is more of a character-driven superstar, so with Fox looking for SmackDown to be more focused on athleticism, EC3 looks like a better fit for Raw.
Heavy Machinery to Raw
While the jury is out as to how far Heavy Machinery can go as a team, the right home for their type of act would be Raw.
Both men are 'big hoss' types and are not physical specimens in the mold of traditional WWE superstars.
Since they are certainly characters, especially Otis, they seem better suited to have strange storylines on a three-hour Raw rather than crammed into two hours of SmackDown that should be devoted mostly to wrestling, and not Otis grunting.
On Raw, they'll also have more of a chance to win the tag team titles because it seems that everyone is going to get a turn.
Over the Summer, the B-Team won the titles and the current champions are Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins.
On SmackDown, the main champions have been The Bar, The Usos and The New Day with The Bludgeon Brothers and Shane McMahon and the Miz mixed in.
If they want a chance at success and WWE actually wants to book them to have some, the best chance for that is Raw.
Nikki Cross to SmackDown
Cross has been touring with the main roster and competing at SmackDown Live House Shows and live events.
She's been tied to SmackDown for the better part of six months so there isn't a need to change that up.
The jury is still out as to whether she is to be a heel or a face, but she was backstage cheering for Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania, so perhaps she'll be a face.
She's so wacky and chaotic that she might get cheered either way. Her time has more than come but she might have a ways to go in order to join the upper echelon of the women's divisions on either Raw or SmackDown.
Even though she's ahead of Dana Brooke and Tamina and Nia Jax, booking might treat her differently even if she's better than the three ladies above.
She just needs consistent TV time in order to show the brass what she can really do, and SmackDown would be perfect for that rather than have her involved in convoluted storylines on Raw.
Lars Sullivan to Raw
With months of vignettes hyping his arrival, Lars Sullivan went missing before he could join the earlier debuts of NXT call-ups like Lacey Evans and Heavy Machinery.
But his issues are apparently resolved as Sullivan made an impact on Raw this week by attacking the Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle.
And to keep us guessing as to where he will be landing to terrorize people on a weekly basis, he attacked the Hardy Boyz after they captured the SmackDown Tag Team titles from the Usos.
Sullivan is a monster-type in the veins of Braun Strowman, but he is not as big as 'the Monster Among Men'.
He'll likely be targeting the faces on whichever brand he lands on, but Raw would be better suited for him.
Samoa Joe is basically already doing that on Tuesdays, so having someone else like Sullivan do the same thing would be redundant.
Of course, Joe could jump to Raw, but he's already been on both shows. In order to let him develop more, Sullivan should join Raw and attack Roman Reigns at some point since 'the Big Dog' will likely stay put.
Ricochet to SmackDown
All Ricochet needed was one chance to show the main roster fans and brass exactly what he is able to do.
And after his first appearance on Raw, fans were already hooked due to his amazing athleticism and moves.
He's a taller and leaner Neville with a little more flexibility. Because of that, he's able to jump all around, over and through the ring.
Feats like that would be perfect for the new SmackDown once it debuts on Fox in the Fall. He's one of the most athletic specimens in the WWE and Fox wants to highlight that rather than the 'sports entertainment'.
While Raw would seem like a bigger stage and something that Ricochet is suited for, SmackDown would be the right home for him and his athletic prowess.
He's shown that he has chemistry with practically every opponent he's faced on the main roster, but he won't need to talk as much if all he has to do is a 450 splash or aerial maneuver after aerial maneuver.
Lacey Evans to Raw
Since she has already done phenomenal character work in NXT and on the main roster, even if she was mostly reduced to walk down the ramp until this week, Evans is someone that Mr. McMahon is already pushing.
She'll presumably be facing Becky Lynch for a title at the next PPV and is everything the Chairman loves - tall, blonde, beautiful and marketable.
Evans may still need a little time to hone her in-ring skills on the main roster since she's mainly been wrestling at house shows and in the Royal Rumble.
She'd have more time to do so on Raw because the division should be deeper than SmackDown's division due to the extra hour.
Ladies like Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, and Bayley would be better suited for SmackDown, so some voids will be created if those ladies switch shows.
Raw will allow her to continue her character work rather than having to tone it down a bit on SmackDown once the move to Fox is made.
Aleister Black to Raw
Aleister Black has something that the rest of the call-ups on this list don't have - he's the full package.
He's good on the microphone, great in the ring and his gimmick is unlike any of the other call-ups. He might fall into the supernatural side of gimmicks like Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker, but he's a lot more athletic than those two men.
Because of that, he'd be fine for SmackDown now and later. He's already proven that he can strike you to death or hit you moonsaults inside and outside of the ring.
But one technical issue that better suits him for Raw is his entrance. Like Wyatt and 'Taker, his entrance takes a lot longer than others.
He rises from the smoke on the stage well after his music hits, poses on the stage and slowly moves towards the ring.
Since SmackDown only has two hours to work with, long entrances aren't suited to it. For that reason, I'd put him on Raw so that he wouldn't have to change any of his act.
Where do you think the NXT talent already on the main roster should go? Comment below!
