 Let's get George the board rocks back out again with another video. So we're gonna check out wasted potential NXT's biggest failed call-ups We've had this discussion plenty of times on how wrestlers were Well received an NXT and then when they went to the main roster They received several changes and it seems like the momentum they had there didn't transfer To the main roster now some people can say well, maybe they didn't have the charisma Maybe the the casual fan couldn't really relate to him And then some could also say that Vince McMahon really didn't too much have high hopes for some of these individuals anyway So he kind of didn't really give them that same type of intensity and in care for their character as much as it was in NXT since NXT at the time was ran by Triple H So we're gonna check out some of these moments and you know have our discussion Whether we agree or disagree with some of the NXT call-ups and how they were handled Do we think they were handled properly? Do we think they were mishandled and we're gonna go into that appreciate all the love and support you guys to show Our own channel. Let's get right into this one comes to their future direction in the company And the reason for this is because prior to Triple H taking over as the head of creative There was a definite sense that no matter how good of a run someone had down on an xt There was a pretty good chance the boss was gonna screw them up once they moved on to rawr Smackdown very much Yes, it's been one of the biggest critiques of WWE over the last few years But which wrestlers experienced the most egregious examples of this well To carry across one. Yeah, what they did to his costume It's like a ring attire How he lost on his debut night on raw to believe Jeff Hardy in the way the fashion that he lost in our granted even though he's back doesn't he's I Guess you can say his character isn't a slight bad like it doesn't look goofy like this But at the same time he hasn't really caught much of any type of like when he first got there New Year's feud with drew it was looking promising But then it kind of faltered off. So he's kind of stuck in this limbo right now. He's still Taking somewhat seriously, you know, I think fans still take him as a Sears contender or a Sears threat But I don't think he's he's got into a great feud outside of the Drew McIntyre thing I think it's kind of falling off like his hype has kind of died a little bit So it'd be interesting to see what they do with him moving forward, but it was way better than this This abomination get it off my screen. Yes We'll join us today as we take a deep dive into wasted potential NXC's biggest failed call-ups And if we're going to start somewhere where better to start than with perhaps the biggest missed opportunity from all of the Black and gold call-ups over the last few years to black because when it comes to Alistair black Turning him into a huge star should have been easy Yes, after having built a nice reputation for himself on the European Indie scene throughout the years prior Tommy and knew exactly how to get himself over So when he was signed up to an NXT contract in June of 2016 at this point being rechristened Alistair black He would have no problem creating excitement everywhere. He went of course part of that was due to his gothic Alistair Crowley inspired character and martial arts based in ring style two elements of his personality Which when combined together created something truly magic and with fans immediately getting behind this then it wouldn't be long Before black was working his way up the ranks of the developmental brand with him rising so fast here that by April 7th 2018 he'd have become an NXT champion after defeating Andrade Cien almas at takeover New Orleans Unfortunately though despite having all the momentum in the world by time He was called up to the main roster the following year Things would quickly stall when upon failing to win the tag team titles with ricochet at WrestleMania 35 He'd be drafted to Smackdown where he'd spend the next few months seemingly stuck in a dark room cutting promos on no one in particular That's right It became apparent at this point that Vince McMahon didn't really know what to do with the Dutch destroyer And so after putting him in a brief midcard feud with Cesaro He moved him over to Raw where he'd disappear back into his dark room once more all while his relevance slipped away each and every week So realizing that he was gonna get nowhere under this regime then black would make the jump to all-elite wrestling in July of 2021 there immediately entering into a main event program with Cody Rose That said in the months following this a back injury and a subsequent hesitation from AEW boss Tony Khan to push him The singles act would see black be moved into the trio's division alongside Brodie King and Buddy Matthews instead Of course when it comes to other failed NXT call-ups who ended up jumping ship to AEW however Well, they'd have a much better time And here's the thing about this situation. I think even in AEW. I don't think he's really getting the right I guess you can say attention. He deserves I think they've kind of dropped the ball with his booking there over well over there as well He I don't know what happened with that one I think it definitely should have worked, but I just don't think they had anything Substantial for him, which I'm sure they could have made something for him. I'll just or black Could work People can get behind him his move his ring set in my personal opinion is fucking crisp as hell You can get behind them. You deliver some pretty good promos You know, even if you wanted to turn them he'll back that could have worked put them with someone that the fans like and kind of go With that route, but they just they really had nothing for them Like they just they they weren't trying to have nothing for him. Let's say that I'll put that but then given how talented Keith Lee is This should come as little surprise to anyone Yes, on the face of it Lee should have been perfect for Vince McMahon. After all, he's big He's athletic and he can cut a promo in his compelling Frazier Crane cadence So it seemed like a no-brainer then that after he was signed up to the black and gold brand in May of 2018 It would be a quick path between there and the main event scene on the main roster for him And at least initially things appeared to be going this way as after spending a year and a half working his way up The ranks Lee would defeat Roderick Strong to win the North American Championship on January 22nd 2020 Then after that a cameo appearance in the Royal Rumble, which seemed to impress Vince McMahon greatly would lead him to unifying the North American and world titles down on NXT when he pinned Adam Cole on July 8th of that same year Yep, but this would end up marking the big man's high point during his time with WWE as Despite things initially looking bright when he was brought up to the main roster full-time not long after this health issues would see him have to take time off TV for a while and When he returned following that the boss seemingly having lost interest in his new toy would try to rebrand him as Bearcat Lee A pretty awful gimmick that likely would have done more to harm his career than to help it if it were not so short Of course, the only reason it was short was because in November of 2021 Lee would be released from the company with him at this point signing with AEW where he would become tag team champion alongside Swarff Strickland That said, well Keith Lee has been able to prove his old boss was wrong about him as a result of his subsequent success elsewhere He wasn't the first person to see little in a main roster push with WWE and use this as his reasoning for jumping over to Tony Kahn's promotion No, in fact To count that adds more to that point Him getting sick And dealing with healthy shoes that kind of hindered him And you know, he's not the I wouldn't say he's the greatest on promos But he's he can be serviceable and he can he can work in the ring, you know I just think honestly, that's what kind of stopped his moment Once he got once he was dealing with health issues Vince Vince is one of those people if if he doesn't see you like, you know at your peak and then something happens Especially if you're relatively new there's a good chance When you come back you're gonna try to repackage you and and he'll you know, he won't have that same Enthusiasm for his brand new toy as we've seen in the past. So I think that just kind of kind of really hindered him And then once they let him go he went to AEW and he's found better success in a sense I still think his NXT run was his greatest run I've seen on television me personally but You know, definitely the fans, you know get to see him more and it's all about really just TV time and TV time being used correctly not wasting TV time act way back when that company was first getting started They'd sign a man who had during his time up north gone by the name of Adrian Neville Oh, he might be better known as Pac today back in 2012 It was never would begin setting the wrestling world on fire when a dog after signing a developmental contract with NXT at this point He'd begin putting on stellar performance after stellar performance all of which eventually led to him becoming that brand's champion in March of the following year Unfortunately though despite being the reigning king on the black-and-gold brand for 287 days after this when he was called up to the main roster in March of 2015 Things would quickly fall apart as being only five foot eight in height He was immediately pigeonholed as a cruiserweight by Vince McMahon With this pretty much killing his potential of rising anywhere past the midcard in WWE That was it Sure, he would get a lengthy run as the cruiserweight champion between 2016 and 2017 But with that division being considered so secondary by main roster management It wasn't long before Neville began growing frustrated with him Eventually requesting his release after being asked to lose to backstage heat magnet and zoa more Luckily for him though following this he would get a second lease on life when he became an og member of the AEW roster Yeah, I'm here getting to have classic matches against the likes of Kenny Omega all while becoming an all-atlantic and trios champion And it is running in XT was it's still going going on I loved his appearance in his character in NXT, you know, he comes off as a serious Dangerous threat and I love it Soon as he got caught in the main roster in WWE and they deemed him as a cruiserweight. It was over His ceiling was here and that's it. It wasn't getting past this point right here So was perhaps seeing the success that people like Pac and Keith Lee were having in this company Which convinced yet another failed NXT call-up to sign on the dotted line with Tony Khan herself recently Of course had Vince McMahon known how to use her though There would have been no need for Ember Moon to do this at all back Yes, she may not be as big of a star as Becky Lynch or Sasha Banks But Moon could easily hold her own with either of those women in the ring Something she's been proving since she first got her start way back in 2007 So when she was signed up to an NXT contract in September of 2015 Triple H would immediately set about harnessing her abilities and pushing her to the top of that brand's women's division With it not being long before she found herself in a feud with then-women's champion Asuka And after a couple of failed attempts to get the better of the Empress of tomorrow It would be on November 18th of 2017 that the up-and-comer finally got her hands on the title With her from there going on to defend it against the likes of Shayna Baszler Yeah, of course despite all her success on the black and gold brand though The main roster would be a far different story as with Vince McMahon's frequently erratic booking It made it hard for anyone other than a select few to gain a foothold with fans And this would end up hurting Moon more than most between 2018 and 2020 Because with her never seeming to get any sustained storylines to sink her teeth into She'd end up being returned to NXT in September of 2020 Only to then get released altogether the following year But while she's since gone on to have more success in AEW as a recent challenger to Jade Cargill's TBS title Another woman whose NXT call-up failed to gain steam has instead returned to her And the crazy thing is the crazy thing about this whole situation is she could have been someone that outside of the Ford horse woman could have really been someone that they could have elevated in the women's division because they need more women Ford horse women they have is cool. It's awesome, but you need more women to really elevate and sink your teeth into, you know, and I think they could have definitely done that more with her within Bermond. I think I love her fucking finisher. She is fucking great Like she has a nice in ring presence and I think people can get behind that. It's just I think I don't think she was Not to say she wouldn't give an opportunity But like you said, it wasn't substantial fuse they had even she you know came out with what they were doing NXT and how she was going to rebrand herself and all this other stuff and then they just didn't do nothing with her, you know, it just kind of sucks in the end Her old stomping ground of impact and while this may be a much smaller platform for her Chelsea Green seems much happier than when she was under the eye of Vince McMahon Sure, she was never going to be one of the top stars of his women's division But given she'd already proven that she could get over with her prior hot mess gimmick in TNA As well as her brief time in NXT where she'd become a member of the Robert Stone brand She deserved better than being stuck in lower mid-card hell over on SmackDown when she was drafted there in November of 2020 In fact, so low was her profile here that she would barely ever appear on TV at all And it's crazy that she's back in WWE now That's the funny thing she's back in WWE now And while a broken wrist did account for part of this there's really no excuse for the fact that throughout pretty much the entirety of what remained of her run she was completely AWOL Not even getting a chance to prove that she had what it took with her eventually being released altogether in April of 2021 Still though for as disappointing as this was at least Green could take solace in the fact that she wasn't the only NXT call-up being wasted at this point because around about the same time as this was happening Karrion Kross was crashing and burning in spectacular fashion And this one was particularly shocking because even more than Keith Lee Kross looked like he'd been bred in a lab to be a Vince McMahon guy What the size and muscle making him look like a villain ripped straight out of the 80s On top of that, with the Buxom blonde by his side in the form of Scarlett Bordeaux it seemed like there was no chance he could fail on the main roster especially as prior to this he'd had a successful run on NXT which saw him become that brand's world champion on two separate occasions between 2020 and 2021 Unfortunately though once he was called up to the main roster in July of the latter year he'd quickly find himself struggling when in his debut match he'd be booked to lose to Jeff Hardy in less than five minutes Then to make matters worse as the weeks went on he'd have everything that got him over taken away from him as he lost his valet, his entrance and his ring gear in short succession So it really should have come as no surprise then that after botching his debut so massively Vince McMahon would decide to cut him from his contract not long after That said with Vince now gone Triple H has taken the opportunity to bring Kross back into the fold in recent weeks with it currently looking like he's heading for an eventual showdown with Roman Reigns at some point down the line But not everyone who failed on the main roster then got fired from the company And it's crazy because like I was saying at the beginning of the video with him there was a lot of upside you just had to keep what you did there on the main roster get people accustomed to him get people used to his brutal tactics would have worked Now they're doing it now granted Once again is he still kind of in this limbo situation I know you're having this little mini feud with Rey or whatnot He's doing better in my opinion and I think a lot of people's opinion This time around on the main roster then last time Initially, but we will see what triple H has for him in store going forward I do think he could potentially be a name that you know You know gets his get his stock up as well Company has had a second chance to return as of yet Because when it comes to someone who Kross recently worked for as part of his control your narrative promotion EC3 is still waiting for that second chance Of course EC3 is another one who had the muscular look and verbal skills that should have made him a slam dunk on the main roster of WWE For some unknown reason though after he'd built up a name for himself in TNA as both a former world champion and grand champion then made the jump to NXT where he'd become a top player on that brand's midcard Ethan Carter III would immediately be buried upon his arrival on Raw in 2019 Seriously, this was worse than anything else on this list as EC3 never even got the opportunity to get over No, while some were given bad gimmicks they were at least given the chance to make these work with Carter though He'd been sent straight down to the comedy 24-7 title division pretty quickly after debuting meaning that no one would ever take him seriously any time he appeared on screen And with it being visibly evident that he'd stopped caring at this point It was no surprise that he'd be cut in April of 2020 Bro, he's in the back and catering bro drinking and eating snacks He was dead on arrival that bro they they didn't give What was the point you might as well just left him in NXT Jesus Him to go it alone and start his own Fight Club inspired promotion Control Your Narrative A promotion which hasn't met with much success critically or commercially That said he has a job somewhere right now The same of which can't currently be said for our next entry, Bo Dallas Even though some are saying this is Uncle Holly who knows but we'll see how true that is Yes, Bo Dallas was likely never going to be a main eventer on Raw or Smackdown But that didn't mean he didn't have something which could have gotten him a nice spot in the upper mid-card At Bolivian While he was down in NXT between 2012 and 2014 He'd build a heel character who delusionally saw himself as the brand's top baby face Someone who could show fans the way forward if they would only Believe in him bro. It was working, bro He was he was this it was so good because he's the baby face Even though he's not but he's the baby face that you want to believe in he's the the good guy But he's not really the good guy. He's he's selling the image like he's a great guy, but he's not I love that that that was a cool character. They they kind of jump unfortunately though Once he was called up to Smackdown in May of the latter year Nothing would really be done with this potentially fun gimmick as with Vince McMahon apparently not seeing anything in it He'd relegate Dallas to the role of comedy jobber for the most part Yeah, and while he would occasionally get semi-notable roles on the show Such as when he was part of the Miztourage or the social outcasts It always felt like he was a background player in these with any potential He had never really being exploited But while some others are now beginning to realize their own potential under triple h's new regime Bo will sadly never get a chance to do this because after suffering a serious neck injury in january of 2020 He'd be forced to retire from in ring competition altogether. I didn't know that well I know a lot of people were speculating all his bow dollars. Well He's retired. I didn't even know he was retired damn So I don't know that's crazy. I did not know Well, I mean, I don't mean he can't he can't still be out there as the character, but I don't know I didn't I know he had to retire Yes, it's sad that we'll never get to see what the bow leave gimmick might have been able to do on the main roster Had it been given a proper chance That said at least he can watch as others find better opportunities in 2022 wwe And that's especially lucky for the viking raiders because when they were first called up in 2019 It would be quite the experience for them Oh, boy Of course They'd already made a name for themselves in both ring of honor and new japan pro wrestling in the years prior to this Where they'd gone by the moniker of war machine Then when they signed the war machine was fucking tough. I don't care what nobody says. That's that's it works NXT in 2018 They make an immediate impact upon defeating the undisputed era to become that brand's tag team champions And the fact that their name had been changed to the war raiders by now Didn't even seem like that big of a deal because well, it might not have sounded as cool as war machine It still was a decent enough name for the team It could work that said once they were called up to the main roster in april of the following year Vince McMahon would decide he didn't really like the sound of the war raiders And that was why he would take to naming the team the viking experience instead. It sounds so fucking stupid I just that was dumb Which pretty quickly turned the duo into a laughing stock amongst fans So bad was it in fact that even when they altered their name again to the viking raiders soon thereafter The damage would already be done and no one would take the once feared duo seriously anymore But then given the state of wwe's main roster tag team division at that point It was unlikely they'd have a real chance to get over no matter what they were called So that's why it's lucky for them that with triple h now in charge He seems much happier to push the duo as a more serious threat again Though how high their ceiling will be remains to be seen. They're there They need more people in the tag team division. Uh, they you know, they're back as these, uh, These extreme viking individuals, uh That are here to send you to Valhalla, you know, and i'm okay when i rock with it They're i focus with their their matches man. I do like their matches I've always liked their matches just the names and the gimmicks war raiders Fucking works war machine Fucking works, you know i'm saying The viking experience fucking trash just this this is People understand a name Is It's part of the complete package if you ruin the name People start to lose interest. That's just what it is if your name sounds stupid Why don't why would I care some people say it's just a name like The few example the rare example Let's talk about Walter When they changed his name to go through a lot of people weren't happy with it because we just knew They were going to ruin him once they changed the name A lot of times. Oh man, they're about to ruin him and the reports was he wasn't going to really get You know the push that he deserved but Now under triple h's regime and even a little bit before triple h got in a complete control I will say this Even though I wasn't a big fan of the name change goonther He's made that shit work. He is looking like a very imposing incredible Intercontinental champion and I love it. I love it I don't really care for the name as much but i've gotten used to it so it works But initially when we when we first heard they were changing his name People got scared because they're like, well, he's dead on arrival Because vince once he gets vince has to switch something and change something That doesn't really have to be changed sometimes and you know a lot of times, you know It deals with maybe some copyright issues and stuff like that and I get that but A lot of us were just feared. Oh man. It's he's done for and ultimately that wouldn't the case So I'm it's one of the few times where the name change doesn't really sound as good But the character development worked and people have gotten used to it Whatever happens though It certainly can't be any worse than what took place back on another tag team was called up from nxt to the main roster in 2014 because despite being a fun 80 style throwback act the ascension were pretty much dead on arrival Sure, they were never the best tag team in the world Especially not on the black and gold brand where the likes of diy American alpha and the revival would regularly be tearing it up by a certain point Despite this however, what they had were gimmicks which stood out and which really should have appealed to vince mcman Given his liking for cartoon style characters. That is Unfortunately though It seems the boss never really took to the duo as even if they looked like a modern day incarnation of the road warriors They'd be inexplicably buried pretty hard soon after their main roster debut when on the january 19th 2015 episode of raw the nwo the new age outlaws and the apa would all take turns at tearing them to pieces Making it clear that they were no threat to anyone on the roster And with this being established in the fans minds then it wouldn't be long before connor and victor The two men behind the team would be reduced to jobber status as they regularly found themselves on the losing end of Whatever match they had that week So by the time they were finally released from their contract in 2019 then it was almost a mercy for them As this allowed the duo to return to the indie circuit and try to repair some of the damage which had been done And as it happens using the indies to try and repair the reputation is something another team has been forced to do After their main roster call-up and wwe failed so badly Who's this why it's the authors of pain of course Of course the authors of pain are another group who really should have succeeded under vince mcman's watch As with them also looking like something straight out of the hulkamania era They appeared to be right up his alley at first glance And it wasn't as if triple h wasn't a fan of them either because during their run on an xt between 2016 and 2018 They'd become tag team champions after defeating diy at takeover san antonio On top of that they'd also gain a huge boost to their credibility when paul ellering former manager of the road warriors Started appearing by their side guiding them on their path of destruction each and every week Just as he had done for hawk and animal years before Unfortunately though once the act made it to the main roster in april of 2018 Ellering would be removed after the boss seemingly decided he was too old with him quickly being replaced by drake maverick Which makes no fucking sense that bro. What are you talking about? What are you? You give them that little bit of credibility for for the old school fans of oh, okay. They got him with him. It makes sense I guess at this point And while maverick would help the aop to briefly win the raw tag team titles soon after that Things would soon go downhill from there as following this they'd be reduced to the role of lackeys for seth ralands All before being released from their contracts in september of 2020 But at least aikum and razar can take some solace in the fact that well Their main roster run may not have gone as well as they'd hoped it didn't go as bad as sanities did Because when they were moved up from nxt in 2018 the whole act pretty much fell apart right away Yeah, yes Well on the black and gold brand they'd been a feared stable of heels made up of eric young killian dane alexander wolf soil falton and nicky cross With young and wolf at one point winning the tag team titles from the authors of pain By the time the group made it to smackdown Carlson falton would be separated from the pack And the three remaining members would be treated like little more than jobbers to the stars In fact, so bad would things get that after being almost completely absent from tv for most of the year following their debut sanity would lose to the miz and a handicap match making them look like absolute failures in the process So perhaps it was for the best when you listen to the miz and a handicap match Forget it. Miz is a former world champion grants them champion. That's awesome. But We leave that there then that they'd disband completely soon after this with each of the three members going their own way As young went to raw dane returned to nxt and wolf moved over to nxt uk When it comes to our next entry today, however, he'd simply refused to give up after his failed start on the main roster And as a result of this attitude then He's been able to carve himself a spot out in the mid card division on raw in the years since That said when it comes to someone as glorious as bobby rude He really could have been so much more if he was used right back Hell he'd already proved this in tna and nxt where he became a world champion in both promotions During his time in the black and gold brand in fact He'd go as far as to dethrone the mighty shinsuke nakamura One of the greatest in ring wrestlers of all time in order to earn the title But despite having the look and in ring style which should have been right up vince mcman's alley Once he joined the smackdown brand in august of 2017 Things would quickly falter for the glorious one as there he'd be portrayed as more of a mid card act One good enough to win the united states title But nowhere near the level of real main event stars such as roman reigns or aj styles And this would leave him hanging in limbo for a while then as despite being a very skilled performer rude rarely had anything to work with That said in the years since he's been able to fill a role as a bit of a tag team specialist on account of his partnerships with both Chad gable and dolf ziggler so at least in that sense He's not been completely wasted like so many others have But as with everyone else we've mentioned on this list his legacy in wwe will likely go down as someone who Had he come around just a few years later than he did would have likely had a much easier transition under triple h Yeah, that said with vince mcman being in charge at that point and seemingly having forgotten how to create any stars in his later years They'll unfortunately forever be remembered as failed call-ups Yeah, man It just it sucks because With his gimmick, I mean it's kind of like a a rick flare ripoff honestly But it still could have worked, you know say his his entrance alone Was it it worked? It just worked Like people would sing along with it and I think uh there were reports that vince had issues with people singing along with the heels Like entrance, but it worked It when you got the people with your entrance, you're good You can't you know say people care when they hear their music. Okay, they get into it and get lively with it Like it works. They just Vince just didn't see it. You know, we'll see what happens. I'm not sure if he is I think he's still in recovery right now But we'll see what triple h has for him coming back from injuries, but some of these On here, man is just bad timing when they came in I really would have loved to have seen how all these guys if triple h was over The main uh like over the Monday night, uh raw and Smackdown creatively back then when these guys were hot. Oh my gosh. I can only imagine What the division and what the shows would be now? You never know But comment down below. Let me don't let me know. Do you guys agree with uh this list of of individuals? You know, you know, not really getting the the proper push that they deserve Do you feel like it was more they they were misused by Um creative rather than just their character themselves. How do you feel about that? And what are some other wrestlers you feel like had great potential but was wasted when they got to the main roster? Let me know down below, but I appreciate all the love and support you guys have shown on channel Row to 150k and I'm still you understand youtube restaurant champion. We appreciate y'all kicking me. See y'all next one. Peace