On January 22, 2016, after much speculation, Austin Aries made his NXT debut, as GM William Regal introduced him as one of the greatest signings NXT has ever made. While I wish the made more hype of this signing, using a tag line such as “The Greatest Signing Ever Made” (A play on the Greatest Man That Ever Lived), it was still a great signing by WWE. Aries is one of the most talented wrestlers in the past decade, stacking wins and titles in TNA, ROH, and DGUSA.

As WWE and NXT have been stacking up their roster with amazing signings, such as AJ Styles, Nakamura, Gallows, and Anderson, where does Austin Aries fit into WWE in this situation?

Aries’ more than proved himself during his run in TNA, which he (arguably) found most of his fame and success. While his first run didn’t go so well, (He was suspended, and asked for his release), his return to the company in 2011. He would capture the X-Division title after chasing it for months, and hold it to become the longest reigning X-Division champion in TNA’s history at the time, with it ending at 298 days, however, the reign ended only because he was offered a shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Title. He would defeat Bobby Roode at Destination X to capture his first TNA World Heavyweight Title. After some odd booking with Aces and Eights, and more X-Division title reigns, Aries left TNA after his contract expired.

When he first arrived in NXT, I was pretty excited and hyped up for it. The roster was even more stacked, and Aries’ veteran experience is such a great help to all the young talent in the locker room, however that is also an issue. Aries is 38, and is past his prime. He still has a decent amount left in the tank, but how long until Aries’ health gets the best of him? His size is another issue, however size is becoming less of an issue in WWE nowadays. What are we going to see in the future of Austin Aries?

NXT

As mentioned, Aries made his debut after much speculation after he was backstage at NXT events beforehand, and even signed autographs for fans. He defeated Baron Corbin at NXT TakeOver: Dallas via roll up, but where does that leave Aries now? Corbin got called up, which took away any chance of a rematch. So far, it seems he has no direction except to wrestle lower tier guys and hype the crowd up, and recent tapings don’t show anything more for him either. But with recent call ups of Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, and Apollo Crews, A-Double seems like he’s closer to the NXT Championship than I had ever anticipated.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of people that seem as qualified as Aries to win the title and become the face of NXT. However, Balor is going to be very tough to defeat, especially since he don’t have a specific timetable for his call up, which many anticipated at the Raw after WrestleMania. Currently, only Nakamura and Samoa Joe seem like the next realistic contenders for the NXT Title, with Austin Aries coming in right behind them for it. But at the age of 38, it doesn’t seem likely that Aries will wait that long to reign atop of the developmental system, especially when he is already adapted to the WWE Style and has better in-ring ability than much of the main roster.

It’d be nice to see Aries start getting put into matches with better opponents, and making them longer. He’s gone up against Corbin and Angelo Dawkins, who is nowhere near Austin’s level. The match was alright, but he shouldn’t be wasted just defeating enhancement talent at his age. Putting him up against Samoa Joe, Christopher Girard, Johnny Gargano, or Tommaso Ciampa, with Aries’ preferrably winning and getting more and more over with the audience. While he may not win the NXT Title, he certainly deserves to main event a Takeover event for it. Aries has had multiple classic matches with guys like Jeff Hardy, Nigel McGuinness, and Bobby Roode, and the NXT Roster has enough talent to put on tons of phenomenal matches for the Greatest Man That Ever Lived.

Main Roster

I would anticipate a main roster call up within a year from now for Aries. Him being 38, WWE needs to capitalize on his popularity while he still has the passion. While my favorite way to debut would be an Open Challenge (Don’t judge me), Aries could easily work with any form of promotion. Be it a teaser, saying that the Greatest Man That Ever Lived is on the way to the WWE, an Open Challenge for the US or IC title, or maybe reignite a rivalry with Baron Corbin.

I feel as if Baron Corbin is going to be treated well, as he fits part of the mold Vince would want for a monster heel, and he’s progressed well enough to get a push in my opinion. Corbin could be on a tear for months, but his biggest demeanour would be defeating stars of the Independent Scene. He would defeat guys like Zayn, Crews, Cesaro, and Kalisto. He’d cut promos and backstage segments, saying the fans don’t like him because he never went up the “right way”, through the indy scene. Whilst cutting a promo, Aries could make his surprise debut, and call himself one of the biggest independent star’s the world has ever seen. This could stretch either 1 or 3 months, depending on whether a rubber match would be needed.

A great feature about Austin Aries is that he is a phenomenal heel, but also can be a great face and underdog. His size and age could be used into a storyline, as WWE is the “Land of the Giants”, and Aries’ is literally the size of a high schooler. Having him go up against a big guy for the title could really play into Aries as a phenomenal underdog, which is something the company truly has been lacking since the loss of Daniel Bryan.

Can Aries win the WWE World Heavyweight Title? Sadly, he most likely won’t. With his age and the crowded main event scene with guys like Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, and with many more guys ahead of him for a main event push like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, it’s very hard to see Aries become the face of the company. But, he could take a “CM Punk-esque” rise to the top, using his strong mic skills and amazing wrestling ability to skyrocket him to the very top.

However, Austin Aries could be a phenomenal leader in the mid-card scene. Seeing Aries face off against Ziggler, Harper, Wyatt, Ryder, or Samoa Joe would make for fantastic matches, as well as promo battles with someone like Joe or even Paul Heyman making must see TV.

Aries is a strong grappler, and an extremely refined technician. He’s a genius when it comes to getting the crowd’s attention and keeping it. If WWE gives him the ball and lets him roll with it, he can go extremely far with it. However, his age is one of his biggest problems. It’s a phenomenal signing, but hopefully he won’t just go wasted.

FINAL PREDICTIONS

2x Intercontinental Champion

1x United States Champion

1x Tag Team Champion

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Hopefully we can see a lot of Aries in his time with the company. I’d love to see him main event, but it seems to be a long shot. Who else should I predict success for? Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time!