Shawne Merriman, Kofi Kingston and Latest WWE NXT Developmental News

Kofi Kingston will be the latest WWE Superstar to mix it up with the NXT roster, but on the horizon, former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman could possibly be sacking developmental prospects as well.

WWE hosted another set of tryouts, giving various independent wrestlers a chance to impress officials, but it's the three-time NFL Pro Bowler's work between the ropes that has people talking. His feeling out of the ring may have been just a bit of fun for him, but fans have to wonder if this is the genesis for something bigger.

In other NXT news, an NXT referee made his main roster debut. The prospects seen working recent a dark match for WWE Superstars may be just a few steps behind him.

Kofi Kingston Headed to Full Sail

Photo: WWE.com

Big Show, Antonio Cesaro and Rob Van Dam have all appeared at Full Sail University recently, merging WWE's present and future. Kofi Kingston is set to make his way to NXT as well.

WWE announced via Twitter that Kingston would be bringing his high-flying offense to the Nov. 21 NXT event.

A showdown with Sami Zayn or Adrian Neville would result in a dizzying experience, but quite a few prospects would be an intriguing pairing with "The Wildcat." 

WWE Hosts Tryouts

The WWE Performance Center will continue to host prospective talent and the company took a look at a number of pro wrestling prospects before Monday's Raw and Tuesday's SmackDown tapings.

Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com reported the following:

"

Students from The Team 3D Wrestling Academy worked as extras and did tryouts for WWE before RAW on Monday. Talents from the Team Vision Dojo, which Scott Hall and Larry Zbyszko are involved with, also got a look from WWE officials at RAW. Talents from both schools were also present for Tuesday's SmackDown tapings.

"

Both the Team Vision Dojo and Team 3D wrestling schools are located in Florida and WWE took advantage of being in that state over the last few days to see if there were any candidates for NXT.

WWE has recently been aggressive in signing independent talent such as Sami Callihan and Ryan Drago and doesn't appear to be stopping soon.

Santana Garrett, who trains at Team Vision Dojo, recently worked a few matches for NXT, including a bout against Charlotte. No word yet if Garrett or any of the other wrestlers WWE saw during these tryouts have been offered a developmental contract.

NXT Referee Works on Main Roster

A member of NXT quietly worked on the main roster. Referee Shawn Bennett, who previously worked for the Independent Wrestling Federation, took another big step in his career. 

PWMania.com reports that "Bennett made his main roster debut at Monday night’s WWE Superstars tapings."

The news won't excite fans like Paige debuting on Raw would, but it's always great to see hard work pay off for someone in the business. Bennett has been playing the unsung part of wrestling referee for over a decade now.

We could soon see him counting pinfalls on the biggest stage the industry has to offer. 

Dark Match, Autograph Signings

Photo from NXT's Facebook page

Bo Dallas, NXT champ

WWE continues the wise move of having NXT overlap with its main-roster product. 

As reported by WrestlingInc.com, Adrian Neville battled Sami Zayn in the dark match before Tuesday's SmackDown tapings began. WWE can not only use a match like this to gauge fan reactions to these NXT talents, but also expose the audience to them.

Should either of those wrestlers make their way to the main roster, the more the general fans are aware of them, the better. One of the issues with Bo Dallas' getting called up the first time was few folks knew who he was. 

That's why having all of NXT's current champs do a meet and greet for Monday's Raw and Tuesday's SmackDown events is such a good idea. Per WrestlingInc.com, "WWE had several NXT stars signing autographs and meeting fans." Paige, The Ascension and Dallas were among those who attended.

Shawne Merriman Steps into the Ring at Performance Center

After the retired NFL linebacker and defensive end posted a photo on Twitter of the vicious results of running the ropes during his time at the WWE Performance Center, many assumed he was signed with WWE.

TMZ.com later reported that he was in fact not signed with the pro wrestling company, but there is a possibility of that happening in the future. TMZ reports that "the WWE people enjoyed having Shawne" and that it was Triple H who invited Merriman to the WWE Performance Center.

While Merriman was apparently just "messing around" in the ring, the fact that Triple H personally invited him down could be a sign of this relationship blossoming.

Merriman would have a ready-made rival should he decide to pursue a WWE career. He and CM Punk once traded harsh words on Twitter, including Punk implying he was a creep.