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In an abrupt turn of events, 'The Dutch Destroyer' Aleister Black made his debut in the main roster run along with fellow NXT superstars Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Ricochet on the February 18th, 2019 episode of Monday Night Raw.
Considering the NXT credentials of all these wrestlers, their respective main roster debuts should have ideally been a spectacle. However, their debuts garnered an underwhelming reaction from the audience who attended that show in Lafayette, LA.
The WWE creative team has completed the character course of all these wrestlers for the sake of increasing the ratings for the main roster shows. However, this has undermined the years of hard work done on these characters at NXT. One particular wrestler out of the four has been more hurt due to this main roster run: Aleister Black. Let us look at the reasons why this so.
#1 His character has been heavily compromised
Black had always been known for his unusual character which could be described as dark and brooding who was alone in his ascension to the top of the mountain in NXT. This character is well supported by his cold-hearted mannerisms and his heavily inked body.
In the NXT, Black had the creative freedom to explore this character further through his rivalries with Velveteen Dream, Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano. A key thing to be noted was that Black was never presented as a tag-team specialist, or as someone who could have friendly relations with other superstars in the locker room.
In the main roster, he has pitted in a tag team with Ricochet. Even though they share good chemistry together as a team, this is a team of two singles specialists that has been put together almost forcefully. Black is suddenly being portrayed as someone who is genuinely friends with Ricochet. This clearly compromises the specific characteristic of Aleister Black of being a 'loner.'
#2 Being restricted as a tag-team wrestler
As mentioned previously, Aleister Black had never been portrayed as a tag team specialist in NXT. However, in his main roster run, he is a part of a tag team with Ricochet. Taking into consideration the success he has had as a main-event singles wrestler in NXT, it seems to be a step backwards for The Dutch Destroyer to be pitted in the tag team division.
It may be argued that many wrestlers have begun their main rosters runs as tag team wrestlers and have gone on to gradually progress as singles superstars. The same may very well be the case with Aleister Black as well. However, the tag team divisions in both Raw and Smackdown Live are in dire straits.
Raw, particularly, has been struggling to make the Raw Tag Team Championships feel more relevant among the fans. The tag teams have been unable to generate positive crowd reactions and intrigue in the WWE Universe and their cause has not been helped with the dismal booking in the last 6 months.
At Smackdown Live, although the quality of wrestling has been fairly good, the number of tag teams competing for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship has been restricted to mostly three teams. Any entry of another team is more than likely to restrict the superstars involved in that division only.
Hence, we must only hope that Aleister Black does not get typecasted as a tag team specialist even though he clearly has the potential and the calibre to be a main event star.
#3 NXT storylines being compromised
With the main roster debuts of four of its biggest superstars, NXT has excessively rejigged its storylines. The biggest example of this is the sudden reunion of #DIY, with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa joining hands out of nowhere after months of a vicious rivalry.
In line with the stories being portrayed on the main roster, both #DIY and the team of Ricochet and Aleister Black have recently participated in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, with the team of Ricochet and Black going on to qualify for the finals of the tournament.
However, in the recent months, a number of well-renowned wrestlers from the independent circuit such as Matt Riddle, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic have signed up with NXT. Each of these superstars is of immense value if given the push at the right time with the help of the right people.
Although Aleister Black is still being addressed as an NXT superstar, considering his tenure with the brand and his on-going main roster run, it is only a matter of time before he makes the full-time jump to the main roster. While he is still associated with the yellow brand, it is the perfect opportunity for utilising him to raise the stocks of wrestlers like Matt Riddle and Keith Lee in singles rivalries.
Along with delivering quality matches that would certainly be remembered for ages, it would pave the way for the next crop of main event NXT superstars. WWE will be unable to achieve this if it restricts Aleister Black in the way it has done in the past few weeks due to his main roster run, which has been rather uneven, to say the least.
