5 Reasons why Aleister Black might be turning heel

On his first night on SmackDown Live, Aleister Black cut a simple promo about how the man and the character aren't always one and the same. But what was more noteworthy was the tone with which he addressed the WWE Universe.

What was notable during his promo was that he said "we (the fans) don’t know what he is" and that he "can’t even begin to explain the complexity of my tragic caricature.” The closing words, however, are what got some people thinking that Black might be turning over a new leaf with his character. He concluded the speech with “but as all good things, give it time and I’m sure that the world that you grew up in will have me condemned.”

His words appeared to be hinting that he would be bringing up some of his dark past and the reasons behind some of his many tattoos. He's said before in NXT that all of his tattoos tell stories from his life, but those aspects of his character were never explored. For that reason, he might be turning heel on SmackDown. Here are five possible reasons why.

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#5 SmackDown needs more main event heels

The successful run of the New Day as a group has helped propel them and Kofi Kingston into the main-event scene.

The New Day have been a fixture in the tag team scene for over five years. Throughout that tenure, not only have they been successful with five tag team title reigns, but their promos are among the most creative and funniest in all of WWE. Due to those two factors, and their ability to shill merchandise like no one's business, they are acting as a main event faction now that Kofi Kingston is now the WWE Champion.

The group is more than deserving of their spot, but one thing that the Superstar Shake Up did to SmackDown was leave it devoid of several main event level heels. Things are being done to rectify that currently as it appears Elias will become one of the top heels on Tuesday nights. Kevin Owens also finally turned heel again on SmackDown after attacking Xavier Woods and Kingston following Kingston's match with Shinsuke Nakamura.

SmackDown will allow both Elias and a potentially heel-turning Aleister Black time to grow into their roles. If done correctly, each performer could traditionally challenge for the main titles in WWE. Randy Orton is still around, but new heels with major potential need to be created to carry the brand year round. Orton is a part-timer and if Black is turning to the dark side, it will benefit everyone else in the long run.

#4 He's been primarily a face in NXT and on the main roster so far

Black and Ricochet joined the main roster earlier this year as a face tag team.

Black's entire run in NXT was as a face. He took on all comers from Lars Sullivan to Velveteen Dream to Johnny Gargano. And when he and Ricochet debuted on the main roster a few months ago, they did so as faces.

A decent amount of superstars from NXT debut on the main roster as the opposite of what they were in NXT. Bobby Roode was a brilliant heel in NXT but was a face up until this week. Drew McIntyre was a face during his time in NXT. Ruby Riott was bullied in NXT but joined the main roster as the leader of a trio of ladies who sought to cause chaos.

With all of that time spent as a face for Black, it's certainly a good choice to explore what he can do as a heel. He has plenty of backstory due to his tattoos and persona, but those two facets of the man have barely been explored.

#3 There are more potential feuds for him as a heel on SmackDown

Finn Balor's move to SmackDown might grant him the ability to be a main-event face.

Even though the rosters of both Raw and SmackDown are relatively equal in terms of faces and heels on each show, if Black becomes a heel of some kind instead of the face he's portrayed, he'll have plenty of faces to feud with.

While the likes of Kofi Kingston and Ali were already members of SmackDown, both Finn Balor and Roman Reigns joined the blue brand during the shake up. In terms of big-time heels, there are really only Orton, Elias and Kevin Owens at the moment. Andrade could also join the upper echelon if given the chance, but Black would likely have more potential initially if he feuded with the aforementioned faces of SmackDown.

The quality of the matches would never be in doubt, but if WWE wants to paint Black as someone to be reckoned with, toppling Kingston, Reigns or Balor at some point would likely get him over. And that's not to mention the ability of guys like Kofi, Ali, Finn selling the Black Mass kick.

#2 It's the perfect time to do it

The shake up not only allowed superstars to switch brands but to also alter their characters.

While the Superstar Shake Up is traditionally used to give both shows a 'freshening up' of sorts, this year's shake up has been notable for another reason. Several superstars not only switched brands but many also either added tweaks to their characters or completely revamped them altogether.

Bray Wyatt's turn away from the 'Dark Bayou Preacher' to a child's variety show host was a much-needed revamp of a character that had been booked into oblivion. He was still magic on the mic, but his words were hollow after he lost practically every major feud he was in (John Cena, Reigns, Seth Rollins, the Undertaker).

Bobby Roode dropped not only his tag team partner and beard but also decided to go by a different first name. Rebranding himself as Robert Roode and with a glorious mustache, Roode might get a chance to run over some of the Raw roster like he did as a smug, arrogant heel in NXT.

It only makes sense that Black also get some tweaks to his character since there are a lot of potential stories which WWE can play on. They can even be taken from his life to add more realism to the stories he will tell. The Superstar Shake Up was literally a reboot of WWE and also a good portion of its wrestlers.

#1 His gimmick is dark and suited to a heel

He's not the Undertaker, but Black could be portrayed as someone from darkness.

Corey Graves always said that Black represented 'the left hand path' or one not taken by most of the conformed in society. Since he represents an alternative way of thinking to the norms of society, he might be presented as a cult-like figure or anarchist type due to his ways of thinking. In terms of representation, his has been more focused on his wrestling thus far and less on his character. He might share similar rhetoric of Killer Kross in Impact, or he could form his own way to bring his message to the masses.

Unfortunately for those with many tattoos, they were previously represented unfavourably in society as recently as 15-20 years ago. Only more recently has it become something truly accepted throughout all levels of society. You can't throw a stone in a crowd of people in the US without at least hitting 20 people who have some sort of ink.

Another interesting aspect of Black's backstory, although it hasn't been explored yet, is that he's said in NXT that each of his tattoo's is a scar and represents a story from his life. How dark or serious are those stories?

Are they crazy war stories from the battles he's been in or are they cautionary tales to be avoided? If they explore his tattoos and the potentially macabre stories behind them, then WWE could easily add those cryptic meanings to his character along with his foggy entrance to the ring.