Last night at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Tye Dillinger was defeated by Eric Young of SAnitY in a highly competitive and entertaining match. If the management have the right idea, it will be Dillinger’s last appearance in NXT.
Dillinger has been main-roster ready for a very long time. In fact, he has already briefly appeared on WWE television, albeit way back in 2008 for the dying ECW brand, under the ring name Gavin Spears. He never really made much of an impact during this time, but in 2017, things will be a lot different.
Momentum really started to shift in Tye’s direction last year, when his “Perfect 10” gimmick morphed into a huge fan hit, when it was initially meant to portray Dillinger as an arrogant heel.
However, Tye has taken the ball and run with it, his crowd reactions are growing stronger by the week as his connection with the fans improves. During a recent NXT tour of Australia, Dillinger teamed up with the hometown hero (the show was held in Melbourne) Buddy Murphy.
Dillinger’s fan reactions dwarfed those that Murphy elicited, emphasising just how popular he really is. If he were to show up in the Royal Rumble match, the crowd would undoubtedly love it.
It would make perfect sense for Dillinger to debut at the #10 spot at the Royal Rumble. His perfect 10 gimmick would align perfectly with the number that he would enter at and it would be the best thing for him at this stage of his career.
At this point, it is reasonable to suggest that Dillinger has been in NXT far too long. His current stint in the developmental system has lasted over three years, and leaving him down there any longer would surely be a signal that there is no potential of him progressing to RAW or Smackdown Live.
Not only that, but he has pretty much hit his ceiling in NXT. With fresh talents such as Bobby Roode, Roderick Strong and Kassius Ohno around, there is no real chance that Dillinger would be pushed to win the NXT Championship at this stage of his career.
Heading to the main roster is basically his only option, aside from leaving the company entirely and attempting to make a name for himself in NJPW or ROH.
At the time of writing, only 22 entrants are confirmed for the Royal Rumble, meaning 8 spots are still open.
Also read: WWE Rumors: Backstage push for Tye Dillinger to enter Royal Rumble at Number 10
Whilst some of these spots are highly likely to be taken by more high-profile guys like Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura, there is a very good opportunity to finally push Dillinger up onto the main roster in emphatic fashion and that’s what should be done.
The possibility of Dillinger entering at #10 and the crowd subsequently losing their minds is one of the main reasons I’ll be staying up until 4 AM local time to watch the Rumble match.
Is Dillinger truly ready for the main roster, even after the long length of time spent by him in NXT? Will the fans warm up to him on RAW/Smackdown Live in the same way as they currently do at Full Sail University?
Only time will tell, but what’s for certain, is that the only way the 2017 Royal Rumble can be defined as a “Perfect 10” is if Tye Dillinger was involved.
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