WWE News: Tag Champions Share Thoughts On Which NXT UK Stars Deserve Main Roster Call-Up

As a whole, the NXT brand is offering a more grassroots approach to building the next WWE stars as they give performers an opportunity to shine in the promotion's developmental system without the pressure of being on the main roster.

This also applies to their United Kingdom counterpart.

NXT UK aims to develop the British wrestling scene while giving homegrown talents a chance to build their name and work towards stardom, much like current Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley who started her WWE career as part of the said brand's original roster.

"Pretty Deadly" is currently on that trajectory as they won the NXT UK Tag Team Championships from Gallus in February, ending their 479-day reign.

The fashionable duo used great tag team chemistry and a bit of Eddie Guerrero-esque tactics to win the tag titles.

Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley’s championship win was a testament to NXT's ability to create stars from the ground up.

Speaking at a virtual press conference, International Business Times was able to ask the pair about who among their peers are deserving of a call-up to the main roster.

Stoker fired first by saying, “He’s a man who is in a tag team, his name is Lewis Howley. I’d love to see him, this man (pointing to his tag team partner), rise up.”

“Well, you can definitely join me,” replied the blonde-haired Howley. “You know we’re front-runners for that, of course. That call-up is not gonna be long.”

“The obvious answer is us but fine, [we’ll give chances to others],” he added jokingly.

Howley went on to mention that former NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray is more than deserving of a call-up since she had “dominated the women’s division in NXT UK.”

“Let’s be honest. She’s been poised to dominate NXT UK’s women’s division. Even Raw’s women’s division and Smackdown’s women’s division,” Howley stated.

For Stoker, he believes that it’s the inaugural NXT United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate.

“He’s a phenomenal performer. He’s everything that British wrestling is and he just represents the brand so well. He’s a technical wizard and he’s got this silent charisma about him and I see him going to the top,” Stoker explained.

The pair also praised NXT UK, and WWE for giving British wrestlers a platform to grow as performers.

“With NXT and NXT UK, we get to see talent in the early stages [of their careers] on such a big brand and we get to see them [develop through the years]," said Stoker.

“Not only a wealth of talent [can be found] but there are different, different styles [of wrestling], different experiences on the brand."

Featuring the likes of Bate, Adam Cole, Finn Balor, Io Shirai and NXT UK alum Toni Storm, NXT has quickly risen to the top of many fans’ favorite wrestling shows.