When WWE signed Parker Boudreaux as part of their 2020 NXT recruiting class, it felt like a really big deal.

A collegiate offensive lineman who started his career off at Notre Dame before transferring to Center Florida, the tackle-turned-grappler stood an imposing 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, and had a certain kind of look – muscular and wide with blonde hair – that drew the attention of noted manager of monster Paul Heyman, who presumably put in a good word for him during the tryout process.

Dubbed the “Next Brock Lesnar” by more than a few publications, Boudreaux was renamed Harland, given the gimmick “The Destroyer of Gods,” and given carte blanche to build up his skills and body in the pursuit of becoming the next great monster in the WWE Universe.

*spoiler alert* it didn't happen.

Though Harland did appear in six matches for the promotion and recorded a 4-0 record in singles action with squash wins over Gru Raaj, Andre Chase, and Draco Anthony, on NXT 2.0 and over Javier Bernal on NXT Level Up, Nick Khan and company (presumably) felt underwhelmed by the prospects of his development and chose to let him go in the final round of budget cuts alongside Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, and the man now known as Stokley Hathaway.

Now to some, this may be news; if you're not an aggressively online WWE fan, you may have simply thought that Harland was back at the Performance Center honing his craft and would eventually return to television when he was ready, but unfortunately for Boudreaux, that isn't the case. While Boudreaux could theoretically return to The Fed at one point or another, for now, he's been relegated to the indies to build up his hype and hopefully put some respect on his own, given name.

Fortunately, with an appearance at MLW's Battle Riot IV in the books and a surprise appearance on AEW's Dark tapings in Orlando officially filmed and to be aired in the not-too-distant future, Parker Boudreaux's time to shine may soon be here.

Opportunities will always be there outside of NXT for a performer who looks like Parker Boudreaux.

In wrestling, there's nothing quite like a monster. Sure, there are undersized performers who get over in a big way, with some of the best wrestlers in the world today standing much shorter than 6-foot-4 and weighing much less than 300 pounds, but when a performer has the size, goodness, it certainly helps. It's worked for Rusev-turned-Miro, for Braun Strowman-turned-Adam Scherr, and ultimately worked for Brock Lesnar, who has ridden the concept of being a human Kaiju to incredible success in promotions across the wrestling world.

In his first appearance outside of WWE, wrestling as part of MLW's Battle Riot IV, Boudreaux locked horns with another former WWE performer in Killer Don't-call-him-Karrion Kross, Bordeaux throw a particularly brutal series of fists that knocked the former NXT champion to the floor and dazzled the fans in attendance.

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The blacked-out silhouette of Gunther with a text bubble reading “I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen” next to the blacked-out silhouette of Brock Lesnar with a question mark on his body with the WrestleMania 40 logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Eric Bischoff “WWE is the 800-pound gorilla” next to Vince McMahon with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Bron Breakker opposite the blacked-out silhouette of Brock Lesnar with the WrestleMania 40 logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Though Boudreaux didn't win the match, which hasn't technically aired yet, his efforts drew positive reviews from the fans in attendance. Whether Tony Khan saw Boudreaux in person or was informed of his efforts via a scout in attendance, the “The Destroyer of Gods” clearly caught someone's eye, as his next scheduled match came in an AEW ring as part of the AEW Dark tapings. Though the match won't be aired on television and may not end up on Dark for as long as a month, the prospects of seeing Boudreaux in an AEW ring, even if it was with Ariya Daivari, formerly of NXT, and Slim J, formerly of Ring of Honor as part of their Trust Busters stable. Still, according to Wrestling Headlines, Bordeaux won his match against Serpentico, presumably in a squash match, and entertained the fans in attendance who are always looking for a surprise to say they saw first at Universal Studios.

When a wrestler gets to squash Serpentico in their debut, you know Tony Khan and company have something up their sleeves moving forward; it's practically a right of passage.

So what's next for Boudreaux? Will he become a fixture of AEW moving forward? Will he go on a Jade Cargill-esque undefeated run on Dark? Or maybe fall somewhere in between, with a spot in Ring of Honor officially secured on a long-term contract with independent wrestling dates available to him if he sees fit? Either way, if Parker Boudreaux can get his body into Brock Lesnar-esque shape, there's little reason to believe he couldn't have a long and healthy career in business, too, with a malleable style that promoters the world over would love to book.