Zilla Fatu may have only just walked through WWE’s doors, but the company sure isn’t treating him like some rookie who needs years to figure things out. The son of Umaga has been thrown straight into major NXT angles, already challenged for the brand’s top title, and there’s now growing belief his stay in developmental might not be a long one.
Fatu made his NXT debut on August 11, 2026, and WWE wasted zero time making him feel important. He crashed the NXT Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match between Grayson Waller and Cruz Montana, wrecked both men and immediately put himself on the radar of then-NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo.
One week later, Fatu signed his NXT contract on television. By August 30, he was already competing in the NXT Championship Fatal 4-Way at Heatwave. That’s a hell of a jump for someone who had barely been on WWE television for three weeks.
Fatu then picked up his first NXT victory on September 1, defeating Tristan Angels with the Triple Z before rejecting BirthRight and going after Lexis King. WWE quickly moved him into another featured storyline instead of slowing things down.
That rapid push came up during the September 10 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, where Dave Meltzer said Fatu has something that fans seem to connect with almost immediately.
Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio that the reaction isn’t just about Fatu getting a big pop inside the building. He pointed to the attention surrounding Fatu’s debut online and compared those numbers to some of WWE’s biggest names.
“Whatever it is, you know what I said about freaking Borden, this Zilla Fatu is another one. Whatever it is, it’s like the people just gravitate towards him. So there you go. I mean, like, you know, it’s not just he got a big pop in Full Sail. Lots of guys do that. But I mean, he — it’s like he’s a — I don’t know why he’s a difference maker, but he is. And like the YouTube, you know, the YouTube numbers for his debut were just like the biggest NXT numbers in God knows how long. I mean, they were right up there with, you know, like your Seth Rollins-level guys and your Cody Rhodes and Punk and people like that. That’s how big they were. You know, not Roman Reigns, not Oba Femi, not Brock Lesnar. You know, Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar, like, the biggest by far. But his numbers — on NXT, you know, NXT is like a tenth of the, whatever, you know, as far as that type of interest. And so there’s something there with that freaking Zilla Fatu, and I’m sure he’ll be on the main roster relatively soon.”
That last part is where things get interesting. Fatu hasn’t even been in NXT for a full month, and there’s already talk that WWE may not need to keep him there for the traditional lengthy developmental run. The September 8 episode only added fuel to that idea. Fatu’s issues with BirthRight continued when Charlie Dempsey confronted him, leading to Fatu getting jumped and put through the announce table. Once again, WWE gave him a major featured segment and positioned him as someone the entire group needed to take down. While discussing that angle, Meltzer made another comparison that says plenty about how WWE appears to be handling Fatu.
“They’re booking him just like Oba.”
That’s a pretty telling comparison. Oba Femi was pushed as a monster almost immediately in NXT and quickly became one of the biggest forces on the brand. WWE now appears to be giving Fatu that same kind of urgency.
Nothing has been announced when it comes to an actual main roster call-up, but WWE clearly isn’t taking the slow road with Zilla. He debuted in a top-title angle, got an NXT Championship match within weeks, scored his first win and was immediately thrown into another major feud.
At this rate, Zilla Fatu’s NXT run may be less about spending years developing and more about getting him ready for the main roster as fast as possible. WWE has slammed its foot on the gas with him from day one, and if the reaction keeps coming, there might not be much reason to hit the brakes.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
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