Austin Aries Debuting in WWE is NXT’s Latest Game-Changer

Austin Aries arriving in WWE NXT is yet another coup for “developmental”.

Despite this being somewhat spoiler worthy, WWE announced that Austin Aries debuted at Friday’s NXT taping from Orlando, FL. This will air on Mar. 2.

There was talk of him finalizing a deal with WWE earlier this week, which went under the radar with all the AJ Styles talk. Obviously, the two sides reached an agreement—the former ROH World Champion even wore his first piece of NXT merchandise to the ring.

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Spoilers on the details of Aries’ debut will be seen throughout the rest of this post. Stop here if you don’t want to see what he did.

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Aries coming to NXT continues the trend of top veteran independent stars heading to Winter Park, FL to join the fun. Things started taking notice with Samoa Joe’s debut at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in May 2015 and James Storm’s two appearances in the fall.

Technically, the ball got rolling when Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Hideo Itami arrived in 2014. They were part of the arrival of NXT to the forefront of wrestling with the star power and great matches they put on.

Aries now gets to be the next top wrestler that will step in and provide a presence on TV and on the road, which NXT started doing in 2015 and has continued in 2016. They are set for a slew of live events outside of Florida in Feb.

The focus will be on the TV product in the fans’ eyes, though. They want to see how well the former TNA star will be used. Will he be a main-eventer?

Well, after NXT GM William Regal introduced Aries to those in attendance, he walked down the ramp and stood in front of the ring. Before he could step foot inside the squared circle, resident Indie Crusher Baron Corbin attacked him from behind and spoiled the big moment.

Since Aries’ debut and attack will air in the first week of Mar., it could mean we see him at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. Given his impending feud with the Lone Wolf, a match between these two at the live special seems like a guarantee. It would be a chance to have Corbin work with a talented in-ring worker. Meanwhile, this could also be Aries’ first NXT match if he doesn’t wrestle at the TV taping on Jan. 27. A few backstage segments or even an in-ring promo on Wednesday would seem more likely for the veteran.

From there, a main roster spot for Corbin would seem possible.

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As noted, NXT is set to have a slew of live events coming up next month. Things won’t stop there, even though they haven’t announced dates past NXT TakeOver: Dallas. A continuous tour throughout 2016 seems likely, as the developing talents will be left to work the Florida events. Aries being brought in for the nationwide tour will add star power and fill fans in the seats.

It could also be an indication that Triple H and company are aware of the future of NXT, as in main roster call-ups. Vince McMahon could phone his Son-in-Law one evening and ask for Corbin, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Bayley to come up on the Raw after WrestleMania 32. This would leave NXT without their biggest draws on the men’s and women’s side, diminishing the talent on the tour of the country where up to 1,000 or more fans need to fill a venue. This is where Aries’ presence would step in. He could fill that gap in the main event scene while being one of the poster guys for advertising. This worked effectively with Samoa Joe, who has become one of the main draws since having his role increased in the closing months of 2015. It’s possible Aries can do the same.

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The aspect of this that’s lost in the shuffle is TNA, who continues to lose former headliners to WWE. Joe was the first one after he parted ways with the company in the beginning on 2015. Storm was seemingly NXT-bound until he re-signed to show up on Impact Wrestling for the Pop TV debut and the next two years.

Then there is Styles, who was the face of TNA for over a decade. He was someone who fans thought would never make the jump to WWE. However, that will seemingly end on Sunday night if the Phenomenal One debuts at the Royal Rumble. That may be the biggest slap in the face, especially if these claims made by Dixie Carter’s company are true.

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So, Austin Aries is now signed to NXT. It’s going to mean big things going forward in all aspects and should be a lot of fun to watch.