WWE announced earlier today that WWE ID talents The Vanity Project (Jackson Drake, Brad Baylor, & Ricky Smokes) and Eli Drake and WWE EVOLVE talent Keanu Carver recently signed official developmental contracts for their NXT brand.
Vanity Project is taking over Tuesday nights. 😎
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 13, 2026
Welcome to #WWENXT, @JacksonDrake03, @bradbay1or and @smokeshow_ricky! @avawwe_ pic.twitter.com/a3UkQjRqeq
Congratulations to the newest member of the #WWENXT roster, Eli Knight!
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 13, 2026
Welcome to Tuesday nights, @stepupplease! @avawwe_ pic.twitter.com/GbjXHG1p3U
Get ready. 👀@KeanuCarverWWE is the newest member of the #WWENXT roster! @avawwe_ pic.twitter.com/XhERBaoeTR
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 13, 2026
Prior to their official signings, Drake, Baylor, and Smokes had been under WWE ID deals since November of 2024 and had been working in WWE’s WWE EVOLVE brand. Drake is the current holder of the WWE EVOLVE Men’s Championship.
Knight had been under a WWE ID deal since this past October and had been working in WWE’s WWE EVOLVE brand.
Carver had been under a WWE developmental deal since November of 2023 and had been working for WWE’s WWE EVOLVE and NXT LVL Up brands.
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