The Lengths They’ll Go To: WWE May Be Promoting Someone From NXT To Keep Them In The Company

That’s a reward? Back in 2019, NXT took some major steps forward and upward. Not only are they now live for two hours every single week on the USA Network, but they also defeated Monday Night Raw and SmackDown in the Battle for Brand Supremacy at Survivor Series. Those things combined made NXT into a full fledged monster and now WWE may be willing to see them as such as well.

One of the major differences between NXT and Monday Night Raw/SmackDown is the salaries. It makes sense, as the NXT talent were originally signed to developmental deals. While that is still the case, NXT does not quite feel like developmental any longer, meaning a wrestler may not be as thrilled with the same compensation as before. It turns out that WWE may be trying to get on top of something like this.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE may be ready to bring Io Shirai from NXT to one of the main rosters. While there is no word on Shirai being unhappy in NXT, the Japanese women’s promotion Stardom is interested in offering both Shirai and Kairi Sane large deals to return to Japan. There is no word on if Sane or Shirai is interested in returning to Japan or when their contracts are up.

Shirai and Sane are both valuable talents. Check out what they have done so far in WWE:

The Kabuki Warriors vs. Tegan Nox & Dakota Kai - WWE Women's Tag Title Match: WWE NXT, Oct. 30, 2019

Opinion: This is one of those situations where you can see both sides. If Stardom is willing to pay Shirai or Sane the same amount of money, maybe they would be happier being back in Japan. Then again, maybe they prefer being over here and like the challenge. It’s whatever they want to do and if they make enough money and are happy with everything, good for them either way.

Do you think either Sane or Shirai will leave WWE? Should Shirai be promoted? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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