VIDEO: Here He Comes! A Big Time Independent Name Makes His NXT Debut And Gets A Title Shot

Someone has to get a chance. NXT is one of the biggest and best things going in wrestling today. There are very few fans who don’t see some kind of a positive in the place and it isn’t a surprise after all of the great matches and moments that the promotion has offered us over the years. What matters most though is how they present new stars, and that was the case again this week.

One of the more interesting things that NXT has done is promote a partnership with Evolve Wrestling. Evolves, a smaller promotion with a lot of independent talent, has offered some big names to WWE, including Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano among others. The Evolve Tenth Anniversary show aired on the WWE Network and featured one of their top stars who is now under the NXT umbrella.

This week on NXT, former Evolve and WWN Champion Austin Theory made his NXT debut. Theory appeared in a losing effort as he challenged North American Champion Roderick Strong, who had issued an open challenge. This was Theory’s first appearance in NXT, after spending time on the NXT house show circuit since his signing on August 15. There is no word on if this is a permanent move for Theory or just a one off special appearance.

I’d call him a keeper. Check out Theory’s NXT debut:

Opinion: This is one of those things where it feels like it’s probably just a one off appearance but throwing Theory out there for a holiday showing is a good idea. He’s 22 years old and someone whole could be a star in the future. At some point the solution is to give him some time against some big opponents. Even if he didn’t win, he got to come out there and that is a big step.

Did you like Theory’s appearance? How far can he go in WWE? 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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