WWE Rumors: Backstage report on why latest NXT call-ups were picked

What's the story?

On the latest episode of Raw, Vince McMahon and his family returned to 'shake things up' due to the recent lagging of Raw's ratings.

One of the announcements was that several new faces would be joining the roster in the near future.

Postwrestling.com and IWNerd.com both carried reports from backstage in WWE that suggest they wanted the NXT call-ups to have defined characters as well as other factors.

In case you missed it...

The main reason for the McMahon Family trotting out to the ring one by one was due to the drop in ratings for both Raw and Smackdown.

Baron Corbin was seen as running Raw into the ground leading to the two lowest-rated episodes of Raw in history. While Vince reportedly wrote both of the episodes in question, the on-camera fall guy for the drop was Corbin.

Also in the night, Triple H mentioned that we'd be seeing several new superstars and new match-ups that we haven't already seen. He also mentioned more opportunities would be given to those who haven't previously received them.

Raw ran a graphic and video package hyping up the six new NXT call-ups we can expect to see, presumably in January.

Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Heavy Machinery, EC3, and Lars Sullivan each will join either Raw or Smackdown in the new year.

The heart of the matter

With so many NXT superstars appearing ready for call-ups, many were left asking why these six and not someone, say, like Aleister Black or the Velveteen Dream?

IWNerd.com and John Pollock of Postwrestling.com reported some of the rational behind why it was these six who were chosen and not others, mentioning that the call-ups needed 'to have defined characters' as one factor.

Pollock also mentioned that the reason why it was these six stars and not other top stars was so not to completely leave NXT devoid of established stars to carry the brand and help sell the upcoming tours for NXT. Hence no promotions announced for Kairi Sane, Black, Dream or the Undisputed Era or any others fans were hoping to see.

Pollock also mentioned that these are the only call-ups for the time being.

He also revealed that some of the higher ups would have loved to see some of the top NXT stars on the main roster but it isn't their call.

Lars Sullivan has had hype packages for at least a month, so his promotion wasn't a surprise.

What's next?

According to the backstage rumors, these are likely the only new additions to the main roster - from NXT, but that doesn't mean someone like Keith Lee, Adam Cole, or the Velveteen Dream won't show up in the Royal Rumble.

On paper, EC3 is the call-up who could have the most immediate impact on the roster

Sometimes the appearances by NXT superstars in rumble matches are only one-offs, like Cole's and Sane's last year. Cross has already had a match on the main roster and has been touring with the Smackdown brand for a while.

As far as the character aspect of each call-ups, each superstar is certainly a defined character.

EC3 is easy to cheer or boo for due to his 'Top 1%' gimmick. He's great on the mic and in the ring.

Cross' wild child nature is something that isn't on either show and will offer new dynamics.

Evans 'Real Woman' gimmick is also something that hasn't been used on the main roster for a while and should be interesting to see how it plays in the current era of women's wrestling in the WWE.

Sullivan should be fine and the jury's out on Heavy Machinery.

Will they be a comical act and jobbers or legitimate threats?

Only time will tell.