2018's NXT call-ups: How successful will they be?

#5 Andrade "Cien" Almas

After his battle for the ages with Johnny Gargano last week, Almas' stock has never been higher. Yesterday's tapings confirmed what we've all suspected - the NXT Champion will be defending his title at TakeOver: New Orleans against Aleister Black. He'll likely drop it there.

Whether Almas gets called up immediately afterwards is up in the air. He could be on the way to a rematch in Chicago or Brooklyn and then make the jump after SummerSlam, but he'll almost certainly arrive on Raw or SmackDown at some point this year.

Almas has been a revelation since joining forces with Zelina Vega. With her at his side, WWE has at last found the Latin American star it's been desperately seeking to replace Rey Mysterio. Alberto del Rio failed in that role, but Almas has the formula to succeed.

The perennial threat on the main roster for international talent is to be pigeonholed into the role of foreign heel, and that's the kiss of death. One need only look at Rusev since the Rusev Day gimmick started and compare it to his earlier foreign heel character to see the difference. Fortunately, the treatment of Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura so recently suggests that WWE may, after decades, finally be turning the corner on this, but those two could easily be the exceptions that prove the rule. We did just suffer through 6 months of Jinder Mahal, after all.

Will Almas meet this fate? Will he immediately win the U.S. title for the sake of Mexico? Let's hope not. He's better than that and can easily be a main event player on whatever show he's on. Fortunately, his work and WWE's desire for a top Latin star make me cautiously optimistic.

Chance of success: good