WWE Royal Rumble 2026 saw several NXT stars make their debut on the main roster throughout the course of the premium live event.
After seeing so many talents from NXT appearing in the Men’s and Women’s Rumbles, there could be some crossover in the other direction in the weeks and months to come.
Whether it is underutilized stars or those who have been absent from WWE TV over the past few months, there should be some main roster names moving from Raw and SmackDown to NXT in the near future.
Here are six WWE Raw and SmackDown stars to potentially sign with NXT.
6. The LWO (Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde)
Over the past year, there have been several different names from WWE Raw and SmackDown who have started appearing on Lucha Libre AAA.
Among those WWE stars who have shown up in Mexico have been the LWO’s Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde.
The duo have been making a name for themselves, but Wilde and Del Toro have not appeared on WWE Raw in a number of months.
The LWO making their way to NXT should see them becoming a prominent part of the tag team division and helping to bolster their ranks moving forward.
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5. Grayson Waller
Following their breakup with Big E at the end of 2024, The New Day aligned with Grayson Waller last year.
The Australian star has mostly played a secondary role to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, while putting his singles career on hold.
While Waller has played this role well, he should resume his singles efforts in the near future and could do so with a return to NXT.
Waller is someone who has the charisma, microphone skills and the in-ring ability to be a major part of the men’s division on WWE NXT in 2026.
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4. The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
On the February 2 edition of WWE Raw, Oba Femi made his official debut on the brand by destroying The War Raiders.
This marked Erik and Ivar’s first appearance on the red brand for the first time in two months.
After being wrecked in their first appearance on Raw since December 2025, The War Raiders could be ready to make a move to another brand.
Adding a lot to the NXT tag team scene, The War Raiders could become top contenders for the current champions Darkstate.
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3. Rusev
Back in April 2025, Rusev made his return to WWE for the first time in five years and looked to play a major role on Monday Night Raw.
Unfortunately, the “Bulgarian Brute” did not get quite as over as he once was back during his first run with the company and he was absent from main roster TV for over two months.
While he did appear in the Men’s Royal Rumble on January 31, Rusev lasted less than one minute after a brief back-and-forth with Oba Femi.
With his fortunes looking bleak on Raw, Rusev moving from Monday Night Raw to WWE NXT could see him become a top star on the brand and potentially challenging for the top prize on the brand upon his arrival.
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2. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
After playing a crucial role in the SmackDown tag team scene for much of the year, Street Profits have been absent from WWE television since October 2025.
With little update on the reason for their absences, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins began appearing on NXT live events this past weekend.
Being one of the most popular duos to ever step foot on the NXT brand, it would feel fitting to see Street Profits make a return to the show at this time.
Ford and Dawkins mixing it up with the likes of Darkstate, Hank & Tank and Vanity Project could revitalize the tag team scene on WWE NXT for the rest of the year.
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1. Aleister Black & Zelina
Returning to WWE in April 2025, Aleister Black looked to have a more prominent spot on the roster than his previous run in the company.
This led to a major feud with Damian Priest that saw Black align himself with his wife Zelina.
Black and Zelina have made for a unique pairing, but they have not been seen on Friday Night SmackDown since Aleister’s loss to Priest in an Ambulance Match on the January 2 episode.
Considering he was left off the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 premium live event, Black could make a return to the NXT brand alongside Zelina where they could be a main event level act for the show moving forward.
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