We are in the shadows of another mass purging of the NXT roster. Let’s look at 6 superstars who should stay far far away from the “main roster” and remain NXT for life.  

6. Meiko Satomura The Final Boss embodies everything that RawDown isn’t. 1) She’s a wrestler, not a sports entertainer. She doesn’t have a painfully long and choreographed intro. She entertains through wrestling, not dancing. 2) There is a language barrier. She’s more convincing in Japanese than English. 3) I say this with nothing but respect, but there is no way to make her the eye candy that RawDown wants. I would hate to see her legacy tarnished by what would almost certainly be an underwhelming stint on WWE’s flagship programs. She deserves better.    

5. Bobby Fish Can you say Drew Gulak 2.0? If Gulak stayed in NXT that would be high praise. Serving job squash in under three minutes every week, and on Main Event, is not the aspiration for a professional as talented and accomplished as Fish…or Gulak. And now I’m realizing what a bad ass team Fish & Gulak would be.     

4. KUSHIDA He’s the male Satomura. He’s a wrestler, not a sports entertainer. I would hate to see him pigeonholed as a ninja or Akira Tozawa’s sidekick. Almost anything they would give him would be beneath him. Also, there is a language barrier. There are places where in-ring ability isn’t allowed to speak for itself. Luckily, there are places where it does. 

3. Mercedes Martinez We saw what happened the last time they dragged Retaliation to RawDown. I am 100% convinced Retribution wore masks because Vince didn’t think they were attractive enough for tv. Maybe he got bored with people kissing his ass? Nobody deserves that level of disrespect. Absolutely nobody deserves to suffer that fate twice. 

2. Timothy Thatcher A better case could be made for Thatcher on RawDown than others on the list. They already have Sheamus, a rugged bully who likes to beat people up. But that’s the problem. I don’t think they could have two of them. If Sheamus ever leaves (and I get the feeling he’s a lifer), Thatcher could take his place. Until then, Toothless Timmy shouldn’t stray too far from the Fight Pit. 

1. WALTER The mat is sacred. WALTER fights to preserve the sanctity of our sport. He will not subject himself to a love triangle with Nia Jax and Gran Metalik. They would make him wrestle in a t-shirt to hide his body. It would be sad and demeaning. The Ring General is on the short list for best wrestlers in the world, and I have zero faith that RawDown would know what to do with him.