Finn Balor, Zack Sabre Jr. and Latest WWE NXT Developmental News

Finn Balor made news with comments to the NXT crowd. Zack Sabre Jr. made his headlines by earning a place in WWE's Global Cruiserweight Series tournament.

Balor stirred up speculation about a potential move to the main roster. WWE went along with it, asking the question that was on plenty of fans' minds: Is Balor leaving NXT soon?

Sabre is headed in the opposite direction. He will soon be a part of WWE programming after being one of two men to qualify for the upcoming cruiserweight tournament.

In other news, some new prospects made their debuts, WWE announced another qualifier for the Global Cruiserweight series and Austin Aries offered his thoughts on NXT's place in the WWE hierarchy. 

Pair of Wrestlers Qualify for Global Cruiserweight Series

It's official: Zack Sabre Jr. will be wrestling on the tournament set to air on the WWE Network this summer. 

WWE announced, "Zack Sabre Jr. and Jack Gallagher, two of the United Kingdom's brightest stars, earned their way into the WWE Global Cruiserweight Series by winning qualifying matches at a PROGRESS Wrestling event." Zabre defeated Flash Morgan Webster, while Gallagher bested Pete Dunne.

Sabre is the biggest name of that bunch, a rising star creating buzz with excellence in both high-flying and mat wrestling. Having him be a part of the tourney instantly elevates it.

WWE would be smart to have him advance deep into it. He is certain to make his airtime memorable.

New Prospects Make NXT Debuts

Three recently signed NXT wrestlers stepped into the ring at a live event on April 22 in Tampa, Florida.

As seen on an event report from PWTorch, Nikki Glencross (previously known as Nikki Storm) and The Mighty Don't Kneel debuted that night. Glencross teamed with Mandy Rose in a losing effort against Liv Morgan and Aliyah. Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls, meanwhile, faced Sawyer Fulton and Alexander Wolfe in their first NXT contest.

Look for all three talents to make their way to TV before long. They don't have nearly as much seasoning to do as many of their peers.

And both the NXT tag team and women's division will get a boost from those arrivals.

New Qualifying Match Announced

The Global Cruiserweight Series field will continue to take shape when Revolution Pro Wrestling hosts a qualifying match. On its official website, WWE announced Noam Dar will face Josh Bodom on May 1 at The Cockpit 8 event in London.

Dar is tailor-made for this tournament. He's an electric, promising performer, but his Daniel Bryan-like size would make a WWE run an uphill battle. Like Zack Sabre Jr., he enters as the favorite thanks to his having the bigger name.

It's thrilling to see WWE work with promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling.

The cross-promotion is good for both companies. The British-based indy outfit will garner buzz thanks to its involvement with WWE. And WWE gets to show off the talents of either Dar or Bodom on its network this summer.

Finn Balor Buzz

Finn Balor sure knows how to get folks talking.

After losing the NXT title to Samoa Joe over the weekend, he told fans outside the arena, "See you all on Monday." That had many believing that Balor was headed to the main roster.

He seemed to take that proclamation back, though. At an event in Poughkeepsie, New York, Balor explained to fans, "I'm staying in NXT." 

WWE ran with the buzz Balor had created. It addressed the speculation, with Cathy Kelley examining Balor's future in a YouTube clip.

Even if Balor doesn't make the move from NXT any time soon, all this teasing is smart. Fans are talking about Balor far more than they would have had he not lost the title and not inferred that he would show up on Raw.

By the time that he does arrive, fans will be plenty psyched.

Other News, Notes

Samoa Joe's win over Finn Balor to become NXT champ surprised many because it came at a house show in Lowell, Massachusetts. Fans who didn't attend the event will get to see the title change, though.

NXT will air Joe's victory on Wednesday's show. 

NFL All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski attended an NXT event in Kingston, Rhode Island, on Friday. On Instagram, WWE posted a photo of Gronk in the crowd.

He is friends with Mojo Rawley of The Hype Bros. 

Appearing on The Ross Report with Jim Ross, Austin Aries talked about NXT not being a step down. He said, "I don't necessarily think it's this big step down that some people perceive it. I do understand that they are developing talent down there, but they're also touring the country. They're selling out thousand-seat arenas, and it's a third brand."

He's spot-on there. It's hard sometimes to view NXT as strictly a developmental brand the way that Ohio Valley Wrestling was. When your roster includes Balor, Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and Hideo Itami, there is nothing minor league about it.