With the brand extension and draft nearly a month away, plans are being made behind the scenes to move up talent from the developmental brand NXT to the main roster to provide more bodies and fresh storylines going forward. Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer has been quoted as calling this a "raid" of NXT talent and there appear to be plans for more than six names to be brought up to the main roster.
Before that happens, this will be a look at some of the most likely candidates to be called up. This is based on both the talent they possess as well as how main roster ready they are in terms of mic work and character.
Tag Teams
In terms of tag teams that could be called up, there are two at the moment that seems completely ready to be up with the big boys on Raw or SmackDown. Both American Alpha and The Revival have the in ring work, ability to talk, and the characters to make a pretty good impact on the main roster tag division.
American Alpha have been ready ever since their incredible match with The Revival at NXT Takeover: Dallas. In that match, they proved how incredible they were in the ring. On the main roster, however, there needs to be a bit more to the act than simply being able to be great in the ring and the lead up to that match let the audience know that these guys could cut a promo. Drawing from their real life losses, they made sure to gain the audience by playing the underdog role extremely well. They are ready and very likely to get called up.
The Revival is the old school style of American Alpha, good in the ring and on the mic. The difference is that right now they hold the tag team championships for NXT. By taking them from American Alpha, they have almost guaranteed that it will be Gable and Jordan who move up at this point and leave The Revival boys in NXT, for now, to help rebuild the tag scene when they leave. The Revival will most likely be staying in NXT for a while longer.
Women
The Women's Division in NXT has gotten smaller and smaller after Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, Emma, and Dana moved up to the main roster. Asuka and Bayley have had to hold down the division as more women have had to create their characters and prove themselves in the ring. The process has been slow but it is starting to build the division again.
The only two women who are main roster ready are Bayley and Asuka. Like the American Alpha and Revival, Bayley no longer has the title while Asuka is still champion. This fact alone points to the idea that it will be Bayley who is going to be called up while Asuka will continue in NXT with the women that it hopes to train and build.
Bayley arriving on the main roster is exciting because now there can be multiple women feuding and it doesn't always have to be about the title. Plus, Bayley will be huge with kids and sell so much merchandise that not bringing her up at the split would be a bad business decision.
Men
This is the most difficult set of superstars to predict the call-ups for. There are several names who should be brought to the main roster, but, one of them, Samoa Joe, has the title. There is no doubt that the main roster could use Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe right away. Each of those guys are a talent that a show could build around. They can all be, and have all been, the guy at their perspective promotions.
Other than the three of them, there doesn't seem to be anyone who is ready yet. The only other possibility is Tye Dillinger but if called up, that gimmick will die just as fast as Fandango and Tyler Breeze's did. He needs to perfect the perfect ten before he sets foot on the main roster.
The betting money is on the guys at the top Balor, Joe, and Nakamura to move up to the main roster with the possibility that a guy like Bobby Roode could be a surprise brought to the roster if the top brass at WWE thing the former TNA star has what they want in terms of style. Honestly he along with the other three are ready to be stars in the WWE and the rest of the guys in NXT simply aren't ready for the biggest stage quite yet.
So, to recap, the names that are most likely to be found on the main roster in a month are American Alpha, Bayley, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and as a wild card, Bobby Roode.