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

#9 Aleister Black

Aleister Black will return to where it all began for him in NXT, with a match against Andrade "Cien" Almas. The match in New Orleans will be a more difficult challenge for him than the match in Orlando, but Aleister Black is set to prevail and take the NXT title.

Black should have a good reign, with him probably dropping the title to either Adam Cole or Johnny Gargano before the year is out. His call-up won't be far behind, though we might not see him until early 2019.

Aleister Black's silent charisma, swift ring work, and intriguing character make him NXT's most popular star, but as we've seen with the likes of Bray Wyatt, WWE doesn't have a great track record with acts like his. Messing him up would be a travesty, as he could easily be a main event fixture and even the franchise player of whatever show he's on. I'm salivating at the prospect of him against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 in a passing of the torch moment.

But that's getting too far ahead of myself. WWE is anathema to complex storytelling. Aleister Black is great in the ring and the fans love him, but that's no guarantee of success. WWE has messed slam dunks up far too many times to count. Let's hope that this isn't one of those times. It will ultimately be up to them.

Chance of success: fair

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