Aliyah has had a NXT contract longer than some men and women have had main roster careers. Even though she had brief moments on Smackdown in 2018, she had losses against most of the Smackdown roster.

It was a tag team match that gave Aliyah her first victory in over a year. Soon after a short departure, Aliyah was found back in NXT. She had become the epitome of enhancement talent but was never released and continued to remain an NXT fixture. Aliyah became an NXT fixture because she was never anything but an NXT fixture.

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Aliyah Has Always Been A Victim of Bad Booking

Fans have argued that the women did not have luck with booking until the creation of the Smackdown’s Women’s Title, the Women’s Tag Team Title, and the implementation of the Women’s Money in the Bank briefcase. With changes in the main roster came the Mae Young Classic and NXT’s Women’s Tag Team Championship in NXT. However, it was not until most recently that Aliyah was booked for a No.1 Contender Match on a March 2020 episode of NXT which she lost to Io Shirai. Aliyah had not had a qualifying match since 2016 and has not had one since her losing effort.

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Lack of Identity For Aliyah In NXT

Throughout Aliyah’s time on the roster, her use as an enhancement talent continued to prevent any character evolution. Aliyah’s two-year run on the independent circuit before her signing in 2015 allowed her to be an adequate in-ring worker, but blocked her from ever being granted an opportunity to become a worker that improved in front of the WWE audience.

A significant example of this is Eva Marie's evolution into the main roster. While Aliyah was always a better in-ring competitor, both served the role of enhancement talent. Although Eva had a start on the main roster with her appearance on Total Divas, Eva was always positioned in front of fans as a heel. Even when Eva was out of the ring, or off Total Divas television, Eva was blasted for her lack of in-ring ability and given promos and a character to capitalize on that heat.

With the heat she earned came the matches and time on television. While Eva reportedly went back to NXT per her decision, Aliyah never had an identity to allow her to evolve past a change in entrance music or entrance gear.

Aliyah Is Early In Her Career

Even with her indie wrestling career past her, Aliyah is barely 26 years old. When Aliyah signed her WWE contract, she was one of the youngest competitors on the roster.

She continues to have no significant injury proving to WWE that she is durable. While there might not be a significant role for her, the hub for talent became the place for her proven such niche.

The Future for Aliyah

Although there had been speculation for weeks that Aliyah could replace Duodrop to fill a tag team role on Raw with Eva, nothing has been put into action. While the rumors had been the first spark of hope for a future for Aliyah post-NXT, the recent set of NXT call-ups see it being farther from fruition.

Since Aliyah has not had much action as of lately on NXT television, however, there is hope that she is allowed to be portrayed in a different spotlight whether that continues to be on NXT or the main roster.

One thing that has continued to be certain, however, is that her WWE departure is nowhere in sight. It is up to WWE to create a niche for her on the main roster or leave things as they are.

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