5 future plans WWE might have in store for Aleister Black

After weeks of hyping him up with backstage interviews, WWE finally pulled the trigger on Aleister Black's singles run. The Dutch Destroyer kicked off that run with an impressive victory over Cesaro at Extreme Rules this Sunday, leading many to wonder just what the future holds in store for him.

Taking what we've seen from both his NXT Championship winning singles run in NXT, along with his popular tag team with Ricochet on the main roster - as well as a little bit of intuition and, let's be honest, straight-up guessing - we're putting together a few ideas we have for what the former Tommy End will do following his first main roster singles win.

#5 A feud for the WWE Championship

Now, out of all of these, this one's probably the most unlikely - but it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Take a look at another former NXT Champion's first singles run on the main roster - Finn Bálor. Both wrestlers are from Europe, both had big followings on the international and independent scenes, and both involve dark, theatrical characters and elaborate entrances. Bálor also was the first Universal Champion, winning the title at SummerSlam in 2016.

So, there's some precedent there.

It's hard to imagine that WWE would to recreate history, this time on the SmackDown brand. After all, Finn's Universal title reign only lasted a day before he had to relinquish the championship due to an injury he suffered during his match. Of course, there's no reason to believe that the same fate would befall Black should this plan go forward, but it's also certainly a reason why WWE would be a little hesitant to go forward.

Plus, there are plenty of other possibilities to explore with Black without throwing him in the title picture immediately.

See WWE Extreme Rules Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Extreme Rules Results page

#4 A feud with Andrade

Just on paper alone, a feud between Black and Andrade (also, can we just start placing bets on how long WWE changes Aleister Black's name to just "Black"?) sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Both are former NXT Champions - in fact, Black won his title from Andrade back at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans in 2018, so the two have some history to play on.

There's a reason why their feud in NXT was so great, too: the two just have great ring chemistry together. Black vs. Andrade would be a brilliant mid-card attraction on any main roster PPV - even without a championship being involved.

But, there's also another reason - one that under any other circumstances wouldn't make a lick of difference, but something that seems to be in WWE's wheelhouse these days: Black is married to Andrade's manager, Zelina Vega.

Of course, that would be opening a whole bunch of cans of worms: would Vega have to turn face, or would Andrade have to turn face after Zelina aligns with Black - if that even happens? Would they then have to acknowledge Andrade's relationship with Charlotte Flair (they did reveal it publically during this year's Hall of Fame pre-show)? Is this even the kind of storyline you want a character like Black to be involved in?

This is another unlikely scenario for the Dutch Destroyer (does he have any other nicknames yet?), but one that can't be ruled out. With WWE apparently trying to reach a bigger teen audience, this is just the sort of nonsense they would think would be a draw for that demographic (I haven't been a teenager in over twenty years, so I have no idea).

If they can match these two up without all the melodrama, however? That would be a great series of matches.

#3 A program with The Undertaker

So far, it's only happened in video games...

Boy, I hope not.

Sorry, just wanted to get that out of the way.

Ever since Black's debut in NXT, there's been plenty of chatter regarding him being "the new Undertaker." It's easy to see why: the two are pretty similar, with their dark personas with occult-like characteristics, for one. Also, both employ a lot of MMA elements in their ring styles - you know, how Undertaker is the "best pure striker in WWE"?

WWE has been trying to find the "next Undertaker" for a while now, especially since the actual Undertaker keeps making people think he's finally retired. Black seems to be the closest to that (now that a certain Eater of Worlds... well, more on that guy in a minute), so if Undertaker's going to keep hanging around anyway, why not have him work with his supposed replacement?

Now, obviously, nobody can replace The Undertaker, and having him plan his "seal of approval" on someone who is, theoretically, supposed to do just that... just feels a little hokey. That doesn't mean WWE won't do it, of course - this is Vince McMahon and WWE we're talking about. Barring that, the only other option would be to have them in a feud - which really isn't the best idea, either.

Nothing against Undertaker - in fact, he showed at Extreme Rules on Sunday that he can still pull off some fun matches with the right people surrounding him. And, of course, 'Taker himself seems to have no qualms about hitting the ring every now and then.

Nothing against Black - he's going to be a huge, huge star if WWE lets him (he's also way better on the mic than you guys are giving him credit for, come on) - and he's by no means a rookie. But, asking him to carry any sort of load in a one-on-one feud with The Undertaker is stretching the limits of credibility.

But, it's possibly on the table, so we have to consider it.

Who were we talking about earlier?

#2 A program with Bray Wyatt

Could Black be taking on THIS loveable lunkhead?

Doesn't Aleister Black and Bray Wyatt feel like it could be the friendship that would never, ever end?

While Wyatt's persona has taken a bit of a... left turn as of late, although when it comes to spooky, supernatural-like characters, he's still in the running. In fact, it's pretty much just Black, Wyatt and Finn Balor when he feels like being The Demon, isn't it? So, it's natural to think of pairing Wyatt and Black, just by their personas alone - much in the same way it was a no brainer to put together a feud (and then a team) between Wyatt and "Woken/Broken?" Matt Hardy (which, again... that was awesome, you guys).

Of course, WWE will need time to actually establish the former Eater of World's persona in the actual ring now that the Firefly Fun House segments have wrapped up (and thank you for the slow burn on this one, WWE - it's working beautifully), which means Aleister will need something to do until then. So, while this one is way much more of a possibility than all the previous entries, there's one a little more likely to happen beforehand.

#1 A feud with Dolph Ziggler

OK, just kidding.

#1 A feud for the Intercontinental or United States Championships

Could we see Black going after *this* bad boy here soon?

Now, we're not saying that he's going to win either of these (although that's certainly within the realm of possibility), but it's been tradition to groom - for lack of a better word - a future main event star with a run with either of these titles or, at the very least, a program featuring him and the champion.

Yes, he's on SmackDown and that brand has the Intercontinental title (for now), but when has that been a hurdle to anything before?

If Black is going to set himself up as a dominant force in WWE, he's going to need to go after some gold. He doesn't necessarily need to win some right away - in fact, establishing he can be beat (even by nefarious means) is important unless you want to get him into that whole "winning streak" corner WWE paints a lot of these new guys into. But making him at least a contender for some gold adds some credibility to his character, which will go a long way towards carrying him up the card in the future.

These are only five possibilities creative can do with Aleister Black now that he's on a singles run on SmackDown. What do you think is next for him? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Edited by Gabby Duran