WWE Worlds Collide: NXT vs. NXT UK is scheduled for this Saturday night, and now that the go-home episode of NXT has aired, we have a firm grasp of which superstars will be participating in the pay-per-view and which men and women are being left out in the cold.
As always, cards are subject to change and there could be any number of alterations to this lineup with surprise appearances, impromptu matches and so on, so nothing is truly set in stone. However, as far as the event is currently being advertised, the following NXT talent is not being promoted as part of the program.
It’s your call to judge whether these missing stars are being left off the card for justifiable reasons or not, so let’s take a look at the superstars missing from WWE Worlds Collide: NXT vs. NXT UK.
From the NXT and 205 Live Men’s Division
— Ariya Daivari: Since this is NXT vs. NXT UK, the people who wrestle more on 205 Live and not elsewhere don’t have the same level of expectations to appear.
— Arturo Ruas: Despite wrestling numerous times as both Adrian Jaoude and Arturo Ruas, WWE had advertised Ruas as “coming soon” recently, only to not bother advertising him again. Curious.
— Austin Theory: Theory only recently made his debut. There’s no need to rush.
— Boa: Boa is out with a shoulder injury.
— Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze): Fandango is injured and Breeze had his chance to get into the Fatal 4-Way for the Cruiserweight Championship, yet failed.
— The Brian Kendrick: Kendrick had a shot to be in the cruiserweight Fatal 4-Way as well, but lost to Travis Banks.
— Bronson Reed: Reed is someone they’re using on a semi-regular basis, but there is no need to force him into a spot.
— Cameron Grimes: With so few spots available to fit on the event and Grimes without a feud at the moment, there were bigger fish to fry.
— Cezar Bononi: The once future star of NXT has not been seen on TV in such a long time that I bet they aren’t even sure he’s still on the roster.
— Damian Priest: Priest is getting a lot of attention, but not everyone can be the focal points at the same time.
— Danny Burch: Despite how Burch could have easily been part of the NXT UK side of things, he’s more of a 205 Live wrestler nowadays and was skipped over.
— Dexter Lumis: We haven’t seen Lumis since his one match in the breakout tournament. What’s up with that?
— Dominik Dijakovic: Had there been another match or two on this card, I think Dijakovic would have been booked for something. I guess there just wasn’t anyone on NXT UK’s roster WWE felt was interesting enough to put up against him.
— The Forgotten Sons (Jaxson Ryker, Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake): Insert “forgotten” joke.
— Gentleman Jack Gallagher: GJG is more of a 205 Live guy and has been on a losing streak. There’s no room for someone like that.
— Joaquin Wilde: Wilde is just starting to build up some steam. With no feuds going on, it’s understandable he wouldn’t be a given for this card.
— Keith Lee: Surprisingly, despite his popularity at the moment, no match was set aside for Keith Lee. Curious.
— Killian Dain: Dain simply hasn’t been doing anything at all in the past few weeks after having lost his feud to Pete Dunne and Damian Priest.
— Kona Reeves: Low priority.
— Lio Rush: The Man of the Hour had a shot to fight for the cruiserweight title and lost that match to Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
— Mansoor: In typical fashion, WWE is ignoring this guy and he probably won’t come back into the limelight until the next Saudi Arabia event.
— Matt Riddle: Like Keith Lee, Riddle is a major player, but WWE just opted to not book him for anything. Not everyone can compete on a small card.
— Oney Lorcan: We haven’t seen Lorcan since he claimed to leave WWE. He does appear on NXT UK in the coming weeks, though.
— The Outliers (Dorian Mak & Riddick Moss): If they’re outliers, they pretty much need to be missing from the card, right?
— Pete Dunne: Dunne’s focus is on the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Riddle.
— Raul Mendoza: Mendoza is more of a 205 Live guy and he isn’t factored into the title hunt, so there’s no room for him.
— Shane Thorne: Nothing going on right now with Thorne, let alone anything worth putting him on the card for.
— The Singh Brothers (Samir Singh & Sunil Singh): Low priority.
— Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & Kushida): These guys lost their first round match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament and that didn’t even factor into this event, so that’s why they aren’t doing anything.
— Tino Sabbatelli: Sabbatelli is still inactive from his torn pectoral injury.
— Tony Nese: Between Raw, 205 Live and NXT, Nese is part of three brands and still can’t get something to sink his teeth into.
— Velveteen Dream: Dream is still out of action with his back injury with no set timetable on his return.
— Performance Center Male Talent: Alexsandar Jaksic, Babatunde, Big Jordan Omogbehin, Brendan Vink, Cal Bloom, Chase Parker, Daniel Vidot, Denzel Dejournette, Edgar López, EJ Nduka, Faisal Kurdi, Hussain Aldagal, Jeet Rama, Jorge Bolly, Malcolm Bivens, Marcos Gomes, Matt Martel, Mohamed Fahim, Nick Ogarelli, Omari Palmer, Rik Bugez, Rinku Singh, Rocky, Saurav Gurjar, Tehuti Miles
From the NXT Women’s Division
To sum up the majority of the women’s division situation, there is only one women’s match on this card, which features Rhea Ripley against Toni Storm. That means every other woman from both NXT and NXT UK aren’t factored in.
Personally, I think they missed an opportunity to do a Survivor Series style elimination match to get more of the women on the show, rather than having Storm fight for a title she isn’t going to win. However, that’s not the direction they went, so that leaves tons of names sitting this out with all the same explanation: WWE just didn’t care to add them onto the show.
For the sake of keeping track of who this applies to, here are the women from both sides who are not on the card:
— NXT: Aliyah (injured), Bianca Belair, Briana Brandy, Candice LeRae, Catalina Garcia, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Deonna Purrazzo, Indi Hartwell, Io Shirai, Jessamyn Duke, Jessi Kamea, Kacy Catanzaro, Karen Q (injured), Kavita Devi, Kayden Carter, Marina Shafir, Mercedes Martinez, MJ Jenkins, Rachel Ellering (injured), Reina González, Rita Reis, Santana Garrett, Scarlett Bordeaux, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi Blackheart, Taynara Conti, Tegan Nox, Vanessa Borne, Xia Li
— NXT UK: Isla Dawn, Jazzy Gabert (possibly gone from the company), Jinny, Killer Kelly, Nina Samuels, Piper Nivn, Xia Brookside
From the NXT UK Men’s Division
— A-Kid: Low priority.
— Amir Jordan: Low priority.
— Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter: Low priority.
— Dave Mastiff / Kassius Ohno: Technically, these two did just have a match on NXT UK television that could slightly be billed as a preview of this event. Ohno is officially on the NXT UK roster, but he’s an American getting heat saying he’s the best British wrestler, so it kind of plays into that demographic of this Worlds Collide concept.
— Eddie Dennis: Nothing for him to do.
— Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews: There are only so many spots available and not everyone can be on the card.
— Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang): With the NXT tag team champions caught up in the Imperium match, there’s no parallel to even put Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish against Mark Coffey and Wolfgang. Given the circumstances, I’m pretty sure everyone would agree the eight-man tag team match is more of a draw and worth sacrificing champion vs. champion.
— Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson): These guys have been involved in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on the side of all this.
— The Hunt (Wild Boar Mike Hitchman & Primate Jay Melrose): Low priority.
— Jack Starz: Low priority.
— Joseph Conners: Conners is always talking about how he’s TakeOver worthy and continues to fail to be on those cards. He hasn’t bothered to claim to be Worlds Collide worthy.
— Kenny Williams: Low priority.
— Ligero: Ligero had his shot to be in the Fatal 4-Way for the cruiserweight belt and came up short.
— Noam Dar: Surprisingly, nothing is going on with Dar. I would have thought he’d be a go-to guy for this.
— Ridge Holland: Holland is firmly in that spot where they’re using him sparingly so everyone can warm up to him.
— Sam Gradwell: It has been well over a year since we last saw Gradwell. There is no time table for his return.
— Saxon Huxley and Tyson T-Bone: Low priority.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
