When Austin Aries made his way to NXT he was already a huge star and his profile has only risen following a victory at TakeOver: Dallas over developmental veteran Baron Corbin.
The former Total Nonstop Action star's stock continued to grow as he was handpicked to do battle with the company's most exciting import Shinsuke Nakamura at the most recent Takeover: The End.
Following his loss to the King of Strong Style the future of Aries is for the most part, unclear but after showing he is capable of performing at the highest level in WWE could he be welcomed to the main roster soon?
On Nakamura match
When the match of Aries - Nakamura was announced for the Takeover event that would be housed at Full Sail University, their home setting, the NXT Universe went into a frenzy as they were to witness a dream bout between two of wrestling's greatest performers.
It would be the King of Strong Style who would ultimately pick up the victory following a mistake by the 38-year-old American allowing the man from Japan to capitalize.
Aries said "He (Nakamura) is a unique and charismatic performer and really someone who, for a lot of American Wrestling fans who have never had the opportunity nor did they ever think they would get the opportunity to see him live."
He continued saying that his shock arrival was all part of the "mystique" and "allure" of the performer as he is a "unique individual."
With many calling this the match of the night, he said it offered him the chance to "show people a little bit who maybe are not convinced or sold on Austin Aries" that he can "stand with a guy like Nakamura" and "match him move for move" while also being able to "put on an entertaining match."
The NXT crowd seem to be sold on Nakamura already as the import is already one of the top merchandise sellers in the entire company alongside The New Day as his 'Rising Sun' theme song was the first WWE theme song to reach 1 Million views on YouTube, hopefully following a terrific match between Aries and the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion some of the stardom will have been shared between the two rising faces of the developmental company.
On WrestleMania 33 prospect
With NXT for the first time ever, featuring a Takeover event two days before WrestleMania 32 their draw was a huge success and displayed a number of main event matches with superstars that could easily make the transition to the main roster.
Aries is one many believe will make it to either Raw or SmackDown sooner rather than later as The Main Event has already showcased his ability he said "As I lay out my goals in front of me, that is that I put on the board but there is so many different factors that play into that I cannot say I expect it."
With The Grandest Stage of Them All in the sights of the Greatest Man That Ever Lived he says that he is gong to "do the best" that he can "with everything" that is "put in front" of him but he believes that it would be fitting if he was to "break through" at the next "WrestleMania" as the number "33" is one of his "favorites."
Aries says he still has "enough left in the tank" so if he does not feature in Orlando, Florida next year then there is always "the year after that" as he "does not plan" on "going anywhere for a long time."
With the subject of retirement lingering in the air he said "I think there is a lot of other roles I would love to have the opportunity to try and fill. Hopefully one day I will be able to cross that off my bucket list."
However for the mean time, Aries continues to be a huge draw for NXT alongside the likes of Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and his Takeover opponent Nakamura and will continue to be a huge player on the main event scene in the developmental company.