Best Booking Options for Austin Aries with WWE NXT

The early part of 2016 has been packed with WWE signings sure to please many hardcore pro wrestling fans.

While the likes of AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura might be making the most headlines, there's also plenty of interest in indy stalwart Austin Aries, who's set to make his NXT debut imminently. The two-time Ring of Honor world champion signed on the dotted line earlier this month.

Now, it's a question of whom Aries should face off with. And fortunately, the packed NXT roster offers up a bevy of potent choices.

Apollo Crews

Credit: WWE.com

Like many NXT debuts, Aries will no doubt have the support of NXT audiences wherever the brand is putting on events. Stars of the independent scene are always warmly received, but that can be counterproductive when the wrestlers in question work better in the role of antagonist.

Aries has certainly proved himself as a fan favourite as well as a convincing villain, but given the current crop of NXT talent, he might be better served in the latter role. If that's the case, there's little better than Apollo Crews as an opponent.

Few wrestlers on the WWE roster can get the crowd's support during a match like Crews. He's an excellent in-ring competitor with a varied war crate that always gets the people going. In fact, his biggest weakness is the fact his character work can sometimes seem generic when he's not actually wrestling.

A microphone master such as Aries would be the perfect person to cover for that weakness—and the pair would no doubt create magic between the ropes.

Baron Corbin

Credit: WWE.com

In recent months, Baron Corbin has made huge leaps in terms of his character work, targeting independent-scene darlings as a no-nonsense career athlete. He's an ideal foil for the self-styled Greatest Man That Ever Lived.

As 2015 was getting underway, Corbin was shaky in the ring at best, largely competing in squash matches that lasted a matter of seconds. However, extended programs with the likes of Rhyno and Samoa Joe helped demonstrate what The Lone Wolf is capable of.

Both of those feuds saw Corbin face off with someone of similar height and build. That provides a solid foundation for a competitive, hard-hitting match, but it doesn't allow for someone as physically imposing as him to make the most of his or her size.

Pitting Corbin against Aries, on the other hand, provides an immediate size disparity that should emphasize just how big The Lone Wolf is. The nimble, lithe Aries facing the powerful, but lumbering Corbin would make for a very engaging faceoff.

Finn Balor

Credit: WWE.com

Thanks to his tenure with TNA and PWG, we've already seen Austin Aries fight current NXT main eventers such as Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn elsewhere. However, there's one competitor who's never crossed paths with "A Double": the current NXT champion.

While Aries is well-known to many pro wrestling fans, he's untested within the WWE system. Starting out with a competitive performance can do wonders for a debuting talent performing to an unexposed audience—just look at the response to AJ Styles' memorable Royal Rumble appearance.

Finn Balor is so firmly established as NXT champion that he's in a prime position to help establish the next generation of the territory's main event talent. Of course, Aries is certainly on that level based on ability and experience, but he needs competitive matches against stiff competition to demonstrate that fact.

One of the biggest advantages of NXT's ever-growing roster is the opportunity for dream matches featuring wrestlers we've never seen in competition before. This has the potential to be such a bout, and hopefully it's one that we see sooner rather than later.

Who do you want to see Austin Aries face in NXT? Let us know in the comments section below.