The Heath Slater Drama

One of the stories coming out of the brand split was Heath Slater not ending up on either brand. What would become of Heath Slater? Where would he end up? He has shown up on both Raw and Smackdown over the last few weeks trying to get a contract. He has had various matches and segments during this angle. He has faced Rhyno on Smackdown. He has stood up to Brock Lesnar on Raw. He now finds himself teaming with Rhyno and in the hunt for the Smackdown tag titles.

The WWE is showing how easy it is to make a new Damien Sandow. Sandow was a guy that played an entertaining gimmick. It turned into him standing up for himself against Miz. He got pretty over. And the WWE just fumbled with him and didn't do anything good with him for months, releasing him this year.

This is just a recipe for success you might see in other areas throughout WWE history. Just look at some of the women. Look at the divas. First, you have Sable. She entertained fans through her sex appeal. You eventually had that moment she stood up to Marc Mero, even powerbombing him. Trish Stratus was a woman that entertained with her T&A. She eventually stood up for herself against the McMahons. She became a respectable character, and still flaunted her sex appeal at times. That is pretty much how the WWE tried to create centerpieces during the diva era. Sex appeal will help the women get over, then you work to get them respected, both in terms of their wrestling ability and their overall character.

I don't want to make it sound like Damien Sandow did nothing and deserved to be released. The WWE definitely could have done better with him. No need to push him as a main-eventer, but a solid midcard run would have been nice. Nevertheless, it is no huge tragedy that he was released. He can make something of himself in TNA, if they figure out how to use him right.

Back to Slater. The WWE has created a compelling storyline for a lower-midcarder. He has shown to be entertaining. Standing up to Brock Lesnar was his big moment of respect. He has had other moments where he showed heart. It does all remind me of Sandow.

I do not think the WWE will immediately fumble with Slater. They might eventually fizzle him out for the sake of putting another guy at his level through a similar push, but Slater will still be featured well for now without fans having to riot for him. All the way to the tag titles? I will talk about that more next week when I preview Backlash.

Let me do an aside about Smackdown's viewership this week. It had more than 2.8 million viewers. Not the most for Smackdown in 2016. It didn't get more than Raw this week. Not more than Raw has been averaging during this down year. Nevertheless, still better than I expected. It seems some fans did buy into the hype from Talking Smack last week.

But did the WWE deliver something that would keep the fans coming back? If the fans were hoping to hear that Daniel Bryan would come out of retirement for at least one more match, they got nothing like that. If fans tuned in because they wanted to see if Miz would get a monster push, which I doubt, they were probably disappointed with just Dolph Ziggler coming out. They got a pretty mediocre Smackdown. They got some random guy stripping to his underwear and getting chokeslammed by Kane. That was followed by a mediocre main event between Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin. That is not a knock at those two, but it just wasn't a big main event, especially after Raw crowned a new Universal Champion the night before. The WWE did not deliver. If they had really planned the whole time to create something big from that Talking Smack segment, they failed to do it. It does look like unexpected hype came up and the WWE couldn't make something great out of it.

Sandow Released

The WWE had some releases last week. I have said that there is a lot of dead weight on the roster that the WWE needed to do something about. There was no way they could properly utilize everyone, especially with the WWE continuing to hire and bring back more and more people. They had to let some of these people go. And they did it. Looking at the individuals released, there is nothing shocking. These are all people who have had some usage on the main roster over the years. Some went down to NXT after a while. Lately, however, none of them were relevant.The exception might be Wade Barrett, but his contract was expiring this year and he did not want to stay. As for the rest getting released, I just see it as something the WWE had to do. If you can't utilize them in a meaningful way, why keep them?

Damien Sandow was one of the people released and the only one I want to talk about. Looking around, fans seem most upset about his release. #ThankYouSandow was trending on Twitter. He got very over with his impersonation gimmick a few years ago, especially when working with Miz. And the WWE just failed to follow up with him. There was no big fan backlash to get him a proper push after that. Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan did get better fan support when the WWE was not eager to push them better. Nevertheless, Sandow did get over enough to earn better.

I would say this guy is an asset. He is a solid in-ring worker. He can talk. He has proven that he can play various gimmicks in an entertaining way. The WWE definitely could have done more with him. He can be useful to some other promotion. I am not saying he should go to TNA and be handed their top title. Use him to entertain. Build him up to be a true star that might actually help the promotion grow, then worry about handing him title reigns.

Sandow wasn't even that demanding. I remember hearing that all he wanted was to be used every week. He would be content with just that. On the one hand, there is something to be said for not being too demanding. Being too pushy might lead to someone being labeled hard to work with or rumors that he has a backstage attitude. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with knowing your worth and not settling. Some people might respect that more. There is nothing wrong with having a little bit of an ego to help motivate you and give you some pride. I do think Sandow should have not settled. And if the WWE was not going to treat him better and he did not like how he was being used, he should have been the one to ask for his release. He didn't need to let the WWE have their way with him and toss him aside. Leave the WWE, make a name for yourself elsewhere, and then maybe they will want him back one day. It still might work out like that, but Sandow needs to not settle.

It is a new era in the WWE, supposedly, but they might still have that issue with giving workers fair opportunities. That is what has really screwed them up in the last decade. They stick with things that may not be working that they do want to work and hold down things that are working that they do not want to work. I don't think workers should have to be playing backstage politics and complaining constantly to be utilized better. The system should just be fairer. Aside from mistreating their workers by handling things like this, and upsetting fans, the WWE is just messing themselves up. I would like to see what the WWE does if another man or woman becomes more over than the WWE would like. AJ Styles has not yet broken out. Fans can definitely get hotter for him than they are. Sasha Banks has her fans, but the WWE doesn't take those chants seriously at all. All they have to do is give her a typical credible jobber push and most fans wouldn't even know better. I want to see someone get so over that the WWE will feel that pressure to push them. What will they do? Legitimately push them better? Use them to put over whom they want over? Ignore it? This will really tell just how much the WWE has changed.

What Do You Do With Sheamus Now?

The WWE once felt like it had too much filler. Sheamus was one of those guys during this time that was getting filler matches, getting no real direction. He eventually won the Royal Rumble and the World title. The WWE once again feels like it is heading down the realm of filler. It feels like there are some guys that are just there. The WWE has to find something for them to do. You often either see them feuding for someone way too long or just left with no real direction at all. They might get tossed into someone else's feud.

What about Sheamus? He may have the briefcase, but does he have a true direction? He had a feud brewing with Randy Orton around the time he won Money in the Bank. That feud just got boring. Thankfully, it is over. I am definitely not suggesting the WWE continue that feud. Randy Orton has moved on. Sheamus is just there. What would I suggest for him?

How about going to your reserves and having Sheamus feud with a former World Champion that also won Money in the Bank once? He's a face, so that should make it even easier to set this feud up. I am talking about Jack Swagger. And I am not talking about just one random match on Main Event. Develop a true feud here. It is obvious Swagger would lose the feud in the end, but he can at least do for Sheamus what he did for Rusev last year. Not only would it be giving Swagger something to do, it might help Sheamus look a little more interesting.

A wrestler with the briefcase does not need to look interesting to successfully cash it in. There are a lot of instances where Mr. Money in the Bank looked pretty mediocre and still won the title. Then there is Sandow. He did not look good and he is the only man to win the briefcase and never have held a World title in the WWE. Sheamus has already held World titles. The mediocre treatment does not suggest he will fail to cash in, but I think it does suggest that they are not grooming him to be an A+ player. If they were doing a worse job with him than they are, I would be more confident that they wouldn't actually give him the title. And that would be such a waste of the briefcase. Until he does cash in, however, they are wasting the situation by not doing more with him.

Assorted Thoughts

The big news in wrestling outside the WWE might be ROH coming to Destination America on Wednesdays. TNA is going to have some company. I think this is a great thing. There are a lot of interesting things TNA and ROH can do together. This is also a step in ROH growing. I know a lot of wrestling fans hold ROH in high regard. A lot of great workers have wrestled there. But the company has never felt like competition to take that #2 spot, until now.

Ryback won the Intercontinental Championship. It's about time he won something. I think it is a good move. He is liked. Maybe the WWE can soon pick back up that feud against Bray Wyatt and one day let Wyatt hold a title.

Someone you did not see in an Elimination Chamber match last Sunday was Damien Sandow. He has been teaming with Curtis Axel. Did they have a chance of getting in the match for the tag titles? No, they're not worth it. Considering some of the teams that were in this match, that's saying something. They are a comedy team. The thing about Sandow, he was very over a little while ago. He had so much momentum, they could have given him a great singles push and even put him in the Elimination Chamber match for the Intercontinental Championship. And yet, he gets nothing.

This is something you see a lot. A worker the WWE wants to feature well is given a sidekick. No partnership seems to last forever. When the split happens, you usually see the sidekick get lost in the shuffle and the other continue in a good position. Sandow was paired with Miz. Sandow got very over. The WWE has not properly followed up. You need a proper midcard to help draw for you. Just running an efficient system is half of it. The other half is having workers that are over. There are a lot of guys that are over, or were over, that could help the midcard. The WWE cannot take things like that for granted. They cannot think that they got those guys over through how they pushed them and they can do the exact same thing for everyone. Once some fans get connected to a wrestler they like, they might not just sit there and watch their favorites always get demoted like this. There is plenty of space that you don't have to see Roman Reigns so much on a 3-hour show. Treat guys like Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, and Zack Ryder better.

Miz Vs. Mizdow: Who Is The Real Miz?

The feud between Miz and Sandow (Mizdow) is pretty good. You might say they have been wrestling each other too much prior to a PPV singles match. Their next encounter will have an interesting twist to it. The winner gets to keep the gimmick.

It seems obvious which guy should win this match. Miz. He is The Miz. Sandow does not need the gimmick. He can go back to being an intellectual. He can go back to copying other superstars. He can be a generic face and see how that works out for him. He really does not need to win this. If Miz does not win, what is he really left with? Will he start going by his real name? It might be interesting to have him lose just to see what he does. Nevertheless, I am expecting Miz to win.

Summer Rae is also involved in this feud. Miz and Summer Rae are movie stars. Problem is, Summer Rae is siding with Sandow in this feud. Good of the WWE to get a diva involved. I would pull a swerve and have Summer Rae help Miz win. Reveal that she was on Miz's side the whole time. I know I just said a few days ago that there are issues with the face depth in the diva division, but there are other options to fix that than Summer Rae. Besides, entertaining the fans and utilizing your workers to help them do that is the real goal. If Summer Rae stayed face, would she stay aligned with Sandow? Will he be pushed well in the months to come? Or will this angle fizzle out like when Summer Rae and Layla paired up? I believe Summer Rae staying with Miz can be good for her. She has been around on the main roster for a while, but I don't feel they have really developed her character well at all. Miz and Summer Rae might feud against Sandow and some other diva, like Layla, if the WWE wants to do anything meaningful with her. I have also seen some fans suggest Maryse will return to side with her husband, Miz. That will leave Miz/Maryse vs. Sandow/Summer. I think they should put the focus on the divas there now and in development. But if Maryse does return, I will talk about it. Until then, utilize Summer Rae right in this storyline.

Tag Division Developments

There are a few things going on in the tag division. That is good. First, the Tag Team Champions, Miz and Sandow, are feuding against The Usos. There also happens to be a storyline there. Second, you actually have a feud developing outside of the title scene in the tag division. That is between The Dust Brothers and New Day.

They had a match on Raw to determine new contenders for the tag titles. When The Usos won, I anticipated that this would just be a dull jobber push for them. They would be developed just to put over Miz and Sandow. And you might get a little tired seeing so much of The Usos in the title scene. However, they are actually developing a little bit of a storyline with this feud that goes beyond the titles. Jimmy Uso is married to Naomi. They are running a little jealousy storyline with Miz involved. You can just chalk it up to a heel playing mind games with a face, but it is still good to put some creative interest in these tag feuds. Would these kind of storylines be going on right now if Total Divas was not around? Would this creative interest be here if Miz was not involved? He is someone the WWE wants to push as a star. That's fine. I just do not think he needs to be handed so many titles. His overall overness may not be great, but he can make for some interesting storylines. And the fact that Naomi is involved shows how divas can make men's feuds interesting. You have to improve that periphery.

The other feud being developed is between Stardust & Goldust and New Day, the new faction consisting of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods. When New Day did not win that #1 contenders match on Raw, I was thinking the WWE would drop the ball with them. No, it looks like they will develop a feud for them. It is obvious the faces will win this feud. They just debuted the new gimmick. Stardust & Goldust are not top priorities now. New Day will still likely be facing the Tag Team Champions down the line. This can just build some momentum for them. Smart development.

Which of these two feuds should involve the tag titles? Let's say you had the option of undoing the title change that happened a few weeks ago and everything else stays the same. The feud between The Usos and Miz and Sandow is just a grudge feud over Naomi. The feud between The Dust Brothers and New Day is for the tag titles. Would you make the switch? Obviously, you do not want to rush the titles on New Day. On the other side of that, if you are going to put the titles on them, you don't want to wait too long until they lose that momentum. That is the mistake they made with Stardust and Goldust. Reading about the kind of promo that happens on this week's Smackdown, I just got the feeling like this is a feud between good and evil with New Day and Stardust & Goldust. You can say every face vs. heel feud is like that, but this really feels like it is just the good, righteous guys against the bad guys. Would that feud mean more if the tag titles were involved? I think it also would have been a defining feud for The Dust Brothers recent title reign. That title reign was very brief and lackluster as it was. They could have kept the titles on them and this feud right now would have been a step back in the right direction. Where does that leave Miz, Sandow, The Usos, and Naomi? A lot of great storylines have been over women, without any real title focus. Remember the triangle you had between Test, Scott Steiner, and Stacy Keibler? That story wasn't focused around a title at all. They could have had a non-title tag feud right now that put great focus on Naomi. As it stands, she might end up just being a pawn Miz is using to help him retain the tag titles. Nice story, but you could have told it without the tag titles. And the story might have ended up being even better. As it stands, I think either way of doing it would be good. This is a step in the right direction for the tag division.

How about the diva division? You are seeing a little right now how divas can be utilized in the periphery to help make storylines more interesting. This is a dark age. The first dark age remained interesting primarily because of periphery divas. It is about time they start doing more with these women, outside of AJ Lee and The Bellas. What more can the WWE do? More mixed-tag matches. Trish and Lita wrestled a ton of those during the first dark age. Lita was paired with Matt and Jeff Hardy. Trish was with Test & Albert. They also teamed with multiple other guys, including main-eventers. Naomi is unlikely to get into any mixed-tag matches with the current storyline she has, but a feud against Tyson Kidd and Natalya might happen. Tyson Kidd might have Cesaro as a partner for that. Outside of the tag division, you can pair some of these women with midcarders you are willing to push. And I don't just mean Lana with Rusev. Pair some of the other divas without anything to do with guys. Ivory was a part of Right To Censor during the first dark age. Why not add a diva to some kind of midcard or upper-midcard stable? Could a diva have fit in with New Day? As for your A-tier periphery divas, now might not be the good time to pair a diva with a top star. The Authority is gone, a lot of main-eventers are still out, the depth at the top is bad, and it just might not be smooth to do right now. But these are the kind of things they need to do to make this dark age as interesting as the first. You are not going to have women parade around in their thongs and expose their breasts like you did back then, but you can be more efficient in how you utilize them.

Let me go back to what I was talking about yesterday. I was talking about how having an ego can be a problem, but can also be good to some extent. I want to bring up one last example to consider.

I have been following my alma mater's football team regularly since last year. They have a quarterback that is very good and has helped them reach the FCS playoffs two years in a row. As the story goes, this quarterback was actually at a college in Connecticut. The coaches there would not let him be the starter on the football team. What does he do? Does he put up with being a backup? He transfers to my school in New York City. I cannot imagine making a decision like that hinged primarily on whether I can be a starter on a football team. Of course, I never played sports in college. Students make decisions based on sports every year. Would you say that quarterback must have had a somewhat high opinion of himself? Did he make a little bit of an ego decision right there? Thing is, he actually went out there and proved himself. He has won awards. He has broken records. If he ever gets a Wikipedia page, there will be a lot of positive stuff on there that might not have been there if he had chosen to stay in Connecticut. He thought he was worth more than staying in someone else's shadow and he happened to be right. Instead of waiting around for an opportunity to possibly come to him, he made a decision and moved on. You have to know your worth. Don't sell yourself short. That is how you are often able to go out there and do great things.

Now, let's look at a different scenario. Let's say some other quarterback in the same situation turns out a little different. He doesn't get to be a starter on the school's team. He thinks he's better than that and transfers to a different school just because he feels he is good enough to be a starter. What happens? He sucks. He gets benched. He switched schools just to get benched. What would you think of a guy that thinks so highly of himself, makes a big decision like that, and then fails miserably? He's a big doofus? Well, you might say that. As I said last time, having an ego can be a problem when you have this high opinion of yourself and you are really not that good. Knowing your own worth does not mean thinking you are better than you really are.

Back to Vince McMahon. Whether you believe his problem rests in he thinks he knows what the fans want, thinks he is some kind of genius, thinks he can make a star out of anybody, or whatever, that problem is magnified due to his ego. If he didn't have such a belief in what he was doing, he might be more open to doing things differently or stepping aside to let someone else do it. You look at what Vince McMahon is ultimately responsible for. I don't want to blame him for everything, but some major blame has to fall in his lap. Does the quality of that product look like it is the work of a man that believes in himself and his ability to know what the fans want, believes in his intelligence, and believes in his ability to make stars? Or does it look like the work of someone that has that high opinion of himself and really isn't that great? Is Vince McMahon essentially just a big doofus?

Miz & Sandow Win The Tag Titles

Miz and Damien Sandow won the tag titles at Survivor Series. Am I supposed to call him Mizdow? I'm not going to call him Mizdow. That is Sandow's first real title reign in the WWE. Good for him. What about Miz? It wasn't too long ago that this guy was holding a title. He does not need them. Unless the WWE is out of business by then, Miz will eventually be inducted into their Hall of Fame. It isn't because he earned it. It is because they gave him a career that will obviously end up in the Hall of Fame. And part of that is all these title reigns they keep on giving him.

I have mentioned many times that the WWE had been good about giving the tag titles to teams with momentum in recent years. Giving it to Goldust and Stardust was a step back. They may have had more momentum a few months ago when Cody Rhodes first debuted the new gimmick, but they had cooled down by the time the WWE finally gave them the titles. And their short time with the titles this year was not too great. Is giving it to Miz and Sandow a step back in the right direction? I don't think so. This is not a legitimate team. This is just two guys in the midcard that were tossed together a few months ago. You can easily see them feuding with each other soon. They were pretty much at that point where they either got the tag titles or started feuding with each other. Even though Sandow is getting over with the fans with his comedy gimmick, as a team, momentum wasn't really there for them to win the tag titles as it was for many other teams in the last few years. The tag division has not really regained that momentum.

There is still a lack of contenders. A lot of the teams on the main roster do not have a lot of credibility and are obvious lower-midcarders. Enter New Day. The New Day is a stable consisting of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods. They look to be faces. It is not hard to imagine that two of these guys might eventually be going after the tag titles. I just think the gimmick is stupid. It is a good move to give your workers gimmicks and not push them as generic characters, but the WWE is just going overboard. Creative interest goes beyond just a gimmick. What about feud and storyline development? That is where the WWE often fails these days. And you just have too many stupid gimmicks floating around and not going anywhere. What you have these days is gimmicked lower-midcard filler. Guys like Tyson Kidd and Fandango are relevant again. Are they really being pushed? Or is this just filler? Main-event depth is not the only issue in the WWE. Midcarders like Barrett and Bo Dallas have also been injured. Who takes up their spot? Adam Rose and his Bunny? A lot of the things going on right now feel like El Torito vs. Hornswoggle. The WWE obviously did not follow up on those two. That is the same feeling you should have for a lot of these gimmicks you see now. They are just rotating these gimmicks. And this might be a low point in Kofi Kingston's career in the WWE. He looked very credible at one time. He might have been better off when he was generic. What will this gimmick do with his connection with the fans? As for those other two, this is a step up from what they are typically used to. Overall, the tag division is not too great right now.

Big E Langston Vs. Damien Sandow At TLC

Big E Langston will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Damien Sandow at TLC. Since getting done with Curtis Axel, this is Big E Langston's first feud with the title. As for Sandow, this is the best thing he's gotten since losing to John Cena when he tried to take the World's Heavyweight Championship away.

Who should win? I believe Sandow deserves a run with a midcard title. He is a good midcarder. Some midcarders that have not even been on the main roster as long as him have already had title success. Big E Langston would fall into that category. Problem is, Big E Langston just won the title a few weeks ago. Why take it away so fast? Sandow is deserving, but I cannot picture them ending Langston's title run now. I don't think they should do that. Big E Langston will most likely retain here, but I don't think that means Damien Sandow will be completely out of the picture after.

Let me switch slightly to talk about the other midcard title. That would be the U.S. Championship, which is held by Dean Ambrose. When he is the only member of The Shield with a title, it kind of makes him look like the leader. Is there really any contender in sight to take the title off him? He is always so engaged in whatever The Authority is having The Shield do, the title just gets lost in the shuffle. He has not gotten a good title feud in a while. If they ever get around to transitioning that title to a face, that might give Damien Sandow another title to go after. To put that in a broader sense, getting the title off Dean Ambrose might open up title feuds for other people. The title isn't doing anything right now on him.

Injured Cena Wins, Then Wins Again

John Cena returned at Hell in a Cell and took the World's Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio. The story was the typical Cena match. Could injured Cena overcome a vicious foe? Yep.

The fun didn't stop there. On Raw, the first 30 minutes were devoted to Cena. After his return promo, Damien Sandow cashed in on him, after brutalizing Cena's injury even further. Could a hurting, one-armed Cena possibly overcome a fresh and unexpected threat to his title? Yep.

This is the kind of thing that might make you want to change the channel to the World Series or Monday Night Football. There were also some horror movies on, if you like that kind of thing. The only reason I had to look forward to seeing Cena return was a fresh player coming into the major storylines. Instead of getting some of that, you get Cena overcoming the odds. If they do have him wrestling on a regular basis, I hope all his matches aren't focused on his opponents exploiting the injury, then Cena pulling off the win in the end.

What does this mean for Sandow? He is the second man to cash in and fail to walk away with the title. But look at the first man to fail and the match in which he failed. It was John Cena, who had held World titles multiple times prior to getting the briefcase and went on to win the title again after that failure to cash in and win. And Cena wasn't even pinned or submitted in that match. Big Show interfered. Sandow is actually the first man to get beaten when he tried to cash in. Couldn't have happened to a better guy? Sandow could have been the first brand-new World Champion in almost 2 years. They weren't developing him very well for it, so it is not shocking to see him not get the title. Many might say that he didn't deserve it. Fact is, if they had developed him better, not as many people would be saying that. Do I think Sandow will eventually get the proper build to be a World Champion and get the title run? Personally, I don't see it happening. Still, would be nice if they eventually gave this guy some kind of midcard title run.

Cena comes one step closer to tying and breaking Ric Flair's record for most major World title wins. Ric Flair's official record is at 16. It doesn't seem likely that Cena is going to retire in a few months. It doesn't seem like the WWE is souring on him in the main-event scene. He will definitely take the record. That has a lot of fans talking about whether he deserves it. Some say he is not as good as Ric Flair. Some say he deserves it because he is the top guy. Some say it doesn't matter because title reigns are meaningless. Pro wrestling is a funny business. Wrestlers typically "make history" by having it booked for them. There is a slim chance that an injury or botched finished can screw them out of what they were booked to get, but it happens not that frequently. So should you make too much out of these records? Is it all trivial? Let me say this, if a wrestler goes out there and accomplishes something for the company or industry that sets him apart from his peers in a major, positive way, he deserves to be booked to make history. Is he a top draw? Is he amazingly over? Has he introduced a style that is revolutionizing the industry? Is he truly paving the way for future stars that are influenced by what he did? If you are only getting booked to make history because the bookers want people to think you are that great, then it really isn't an honor. It is a tool to get you over. Moreover, I don't think people should be booked to break major records just because they are a solid worker or just because they were a loyal worker. Hand them a midcard title, but save the better treatment for those who earned it by excelling. Getting right to the point, do I think Cena deserves to break Ric Flair's record? Going by what I just said, whether you like him or not, Cena is a top star in the company. One of those little kids that love him so much may grow up to be the next big star in pro wrestling. I am not going to be upset if Cena breaks the record. This is coming from a true Ric Flair fan. Cena breaking that record won't make me prefer Cena over Flair, but Cena is definitely someone who has earned making history.

Cena Returns At Hell In A Cell?

I was wondering what Alberto Del Rio was doing at a hot spot last night on Raw at the top of the hour. He has not been featured prominently on a regular basis for a while now. I had also been wondering what other contenders the WWE could push against Del Rio if they did not transition the title to someone else at Battleground. One thing I was not wondering about, when is Cena coming back?

Put it all together, JOHN CENA will challenge Alberto Del Rio for the World's Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell. When Vickie first announced it, I thought it was some kind of trick so Ricardo could pick up the cheap win. It looks like it isn't a trick. Wasn't Cena supposed to be out for a couple of months? It has barely been 2 months since he left.

I have been complaining here and there about the WWE not developing anything too great for the other World Championship. I am not going to complain about Cena feuding against Del Rio. I think it is good for both Del Rio and the title's credibility. Keep in mind, Cena never got his rematch for the WWE Championship. They could have very easily have inserted him against Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. All three men have a claim at that title. At the very least, they could have named Cena as the special guest referee for that match. None of that. I think it is good to spread Cena around like this. Even though Cena is still in a World title match, they are spreading around the spotlight better like this.

Is it a swerve? Will Cena really compete? Or are they just baiting fans in, then will pull some swerve? Christian coming back? Rey Mysterio? Mark Henry? How healed up is Cena? The original report said he would be out about 4 months. You can pretty much picture this being just one match, then Cena going back to recover. They can have Sandow cash in on Cena, should they book Cena to win the title. Even I can't picture Damien Sandow beating John Cena, but it is an option and it might be a hard shot of credibility for Sandow. Seeing as how the WWE is not developing Sandow any other way, it is either the hard way or they won't give him the title at all.

The reaction to many might be that the WWE is eager to get Cena back quickly due to poor ratings. I think it would be foolish for the WWE to have that thinking. Ratings were going to drop around this time of year. Raw cannot compete against Monday Night Football. Even with Cena around, ratings have still been declining. That very low rating the WWE had a few months ago, it came at a time when football was not a factor and Cena was still around. And December will be most unkind to the WWE, with or without Cena. Does the WWE think hyping Cena now will save them from having 2013's annual ratings average drop below a 3.0? I would hope that they know better. Nevertheless, if they are going to save themselves, it would help to have the centerpiece back.

Alberto Del Rio Vs. Rob Van Dam At Battleground

Battleground hasn't had a ton of time to be built. Some of the matches are rematches. You have some filler. And it just doesn't seem like anything really deserves to be settled at this PPV. The rematch between Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam for the World's Heavyweight Championship may be one exception. This is a match that might end the feud between the two.

You also have the fact that it is hardcore rules. That makes this match more special. What will RVD do in this environment? They have hyped that for this match. That is another reason why this might be one of the best matches on the card. I remember having great expectations for a match between Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger a few months ago. That didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Nevertheless, RVD is still impressive with some of the spots he can do and ADR has that vicious side that should combine for a good match in terms of quality in a hardcore environment.

Will this be the point Ricardo finally goes back to Del Rio? I can't picture him staying with RVD after this feud. RVD just doesn't need a ring announcer. I am still anticipating a heel turn for Ricardo.

Will Sandow finally cash in? He has been pretty quiet recently. To put it another way, the WWE has been pretty dry with him recently. Not much being done. Yes, he will face Dolph Ziggler this Sunday, but no feuds or storylines for him. You can easily picture that setting up Sandow cashing in out of nowhere, but I don't like it. You should be developing this guy as someone worthy of holding a major title. At least one great feud with a main-eventer would be nice. Having him win the title now will just cement the title more as a midcard title. Nevertheless, because this match is hardcore rules, it isn't hard to see the exhausted winner having the briefcase used on him right after the match. The situation is perfect for it.

Who is likely to win between RVD and ADR? If Alberto Del Rio does retain, and assuming there is no cash in, who is there for him to feud with? Most of the top faces are either injured or involved in some major angle. I could see Dolph Ziggler going back to feud with him, but they just feuded a few months ago. It just feels like it is about time for Alberto Del Rio to lose the title. Let Rob Van Dam get it so he can join the few that have held the WWE Championship, World's Heavyweight Championship, and ECW Championship in the WWE. He can then drop the title to Sandow, back to Del Rio, or some other upper-midcard heel. A title change should be coming sooner rather than later.

Will Sandow Cash In At Night Of Champions?

Whenever you have a briefcase hovering around, you have to be asking when it will be cashed in. Does that mean I will be writing about that every week? No. Once a month around the time of a PPV? Maybe. Sandow still has the briefcase and Night of Champions is coming up. Will he cash in at the PPV? Possibly on the Raw or Smackdown after the PPV?

First of all, who will be the World's Heavyweight Champion that he might potentially cash in on? It's Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam. This has been a very dry feud. If it wasn't for Ricardo being involved, this feud would be even more horrible. Even with him involved, the storyline build has not been great. RVD has looked mostly great during the feud. Christian looked great when he feuded with Del Rio last month. Christian, however, did not win the title. I would expect Del Rio to retain again. However, and this is where the wildcard comes in, if the WWE is going to have Sandow cash in, it would make sense for the heel with the briefcase to cash in on a face. A rule like that is not written in stone, but if they are going for the cash in, RVD winning it just to drop it to Sandow would not be unimaginable.

That leads to the big question, is now the time to have Damien Sandow use the briefcase? If you are going to develop someone to be a World Champion, it would help to, you know, actually develop him. Sandow has not had any proper development since his feud with Cody Rhodes ended. Since then, he has been getting random matches. He has been losing a lot. I know I have pointed out the World's Heavyweight Championship's fall from proper focus, but just handing it to Sandow right now would be even worse. I am not saying he should never be a World Champion. They just need to develop the guy better. Fluke wins against Sheamus and Miz won't do it. They need to get around to giving him bigger feuds. Why is Fandango the guy feuding with a former WWE Champion, while the guy that might become the first first-time World Champion in the WWE in over a year is getting nothing? If they have him cash in without proper build, I am not confident they will book him to win. There is still plenty of time for Sandow to cash in. I don't think he will cash in this quickly and I imagine Alberto Del Rio will retain his title.

Assorted Thoughts On Summerslam 2013

Christian gets one more match. Will he win the World Championship from Alberto Del Rio? If you look at how the WWE has developed this feud, Christian looks way too strong over Del Rio. Momentum is on his side. What does that mean? You usually see the person with so much momentum lose. Or is the WWE developing Christian's credibility so he can be a credible Champion when he wins the title? He didn't look too credible against Randy Orton a few years ago when they feuded over the title. Is the WWE trying to make up for that now? With the way they have been treating Christian, I wouldn't be surprised if he does win the title.

And what about Damien Sandow? His match against Cody Rhodes is just a grudge match. The briefcase will not be on the line. Will Sandow cash in and win the title, regardless of who wins between Christian and Alberto Del Rio? I don't think so. I just talked about how much the WWE is developing Christian's credibility recently, but the same cannot exactly be said for Damien Sandow. You go back to when Dolph Ziggler had the briefcase last year. They developed his credibility by having him feud with the likes of Chris Jericho and John Cena. Who has Sandow been feuding with since getting the briefcase? Just Cody Rhodes. Sandow had that feud against Sheamus prior to Money in the Bank, but I only remember him beating Sheamus in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Not too impressive. I can't imagine him cashing in at Summerslam. He may attempt to, but Cody Rhodes might spoil it again. I can't picture Sandow beating either Alberto Del Rio or Christian just yet. He is still being treated too much as a gimmick and a midcarder. The WWE will probably groom him better prior to cashing in. And having him cash in just to lose at Summerslam would be a waste.

Let me talk about something that may not be happening at Summerslam. No Kofi Kingston vs. Ryback? Kofi would have a reason to want to face Ryback, the man who took him out in terms of kayfabe. In terms of just booking, it isn't like either guy is doing anything right now. It is very stupid to not develop a feud between them. Ryback has been featured regularly at PPVs now for a long time. And he has had some big matches. A match with Kofi may be seen as a drop back into the midcard, but it is still better than no feud at all. Kofi Kingston would not have had to win this match, but a feud would help to make things interesting in the midcard. What are the odds it gets added during the show as a filler match?

Just a general note on the divas that doesn't even have too much to do with Summerslam. It seems they are developing Natalya. AJ is going to need a fresh challenger for Night of Champions. They are phasing Kaitlyn out and rotating in Natalya. It really isn't hard imagining that. What other faces are there in the diva division? Even though it is too early to say anything, should Natalya win the title? As I said, not a lot of face options. AJ dropping the title back to Kaitlyn is an option, but would they have a reason to do that? Natalya is fresher. Besides, that can potentially then lead to Natalya transitioning the title to one of The Bellas.

And one last thing that doesn't really have to do with the WWE at all. Recently, I brought up analyzing TNA's KO division in terms of what is getting primary focus, secondary focus, and minor focus. A while before that, I mentioned that TNA's agenda for the division may be forced to change if they don't bring in more women. How can they feature those women so much if they are so few of them? Bring those two ideas together. Pretty soon, if things don't change, you won't be talking about primary, secondary, and minor. You will only have major and minor. What is the top focus of the KO division and what is the other feud? They really need to integrate more women into the division. Integrate? What do I mean? Don't just debut them, use them scarcely over a few months, then release them. Bring them in and actually make them a part of the division. That is the only way to properly keep up the division you have had for so many years. And no matter how you choose to read the KO division, never forget the golden rule. They are always going to rotate everyone. What is in the major focus and minor focus will always be changing. But how well will it work with so few women?

Damien Sandow Vs. Cody Rhodes At Summerslam

I like midcard feuds. In recent times, the WWE does not give you good ones unless a title is involved. This feud you have between Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes is a midcard feud with a good storyline and it has produced some good segments. Even though the briefcase is involved, this is not a real title feud. For all these reasons, I really like this feud.

Now, what do I not like about this feud? The Money in the Bank briefcase has become kind of a comedy prop in this feud. Not only is the storyline about the heel duo breaking up, but Cody is messing around with Sandow's briefcase, which represents that title shot. That is what has really made this feud interesting and led to some of those good segments from these two recently. And yet, is it really helping to build Sandow's credibility? I am a believer that some guys can have good careers in the midcard. For that, you don't need too much credibility and development. Just feature them to entertain. However, the WWE pulled the trigger on giving Sandow the briefcase. So many other heels could have used a push, since the main-event scene lacks fresh top heels. The briefcase could have been the first step in developing Sandow. I didn't like him winning it in the first place. It's hard to buy into him as anything more than a midcarder. His current storyline isn't helping.

I am not saying the briefcase needs to be held sacred. The fact is, after Summerslam, it would be nice if they did develop Sandow. I'll give them credit for a good midcard feud between Sandow and Rhodes, but how about actually developing a new heel out of the midcard? If they just keep treating this guy as a gimmick and give him these comedy segments, I find it hard to believe they will give him a successful cash in. That might end up being a waste of the briefcase. Who should he feud with? I won't say Sheamus. You have already seen that recently. I won't say Kofi Kingston, who has just returned. That would be another midcard feud. Kane is usually the easy answer in these situations, but I think his issues with Bray Wyatt should last after Summerslam. If Miz ever gets around to wrestling again, he should feud with Sandow. That would be a feud a little higher up the card than Sandow currently has.

Sandow Has A Briefcase

I have thought for a long time that Damien Sandow should have a midcard title run. The WWE took it a step further. They had him win the World's Heavyweight Championship contract briefcase. I wouldn't have gone that far with him. Not yet. He doesn't really have the credibility for a big push with a World title. If they are serious about following through with him, they will most likely be injecting a lot into him. They didn't start on Raw. And he really didn't look amazing in his feud against Sheamus. Aside from that, I can't think of a good feud with stars above him in which he really looked good. He feuded for the tag titles against Kane and Daniel Bryan. I don't think he really gained much ground there. Almost none of the guys involved in that Money in the Bank ladder match had amazing credibility, but there were guys deserving it more than Damien Sandow.

Sandow is now officially split from Cody Rhodes. They had been teasing it prior to the PPV. Cody Rhodes then attacked Sandow on Raw. Cody Rhodes going face? Should Cody Rhodes take the briefcase away from Sandow or just be used to put over Sandow? There is also the possibility that Cody could win the feud and not take the briefcase. Cody Rhodes is one of those guys I feel deserved the briefcase more than Sandow. He has more credibility than him. He has beaten main-eventers before. He has won titles in the WWE. Is the WWE trying to develop Cody Rhodes to be a top star? Not having him win the briefcase at the PPV could be a roundabout way of developing him to be a top star and eventually give him the briefcase from Sandow. And yet, I wouldn't do it. The WWE is short on top heels. With Mark Henry potentially turning face, that is one less top heel. If Sandow is the heel they handed the briefcase, they need to run with him. Again, he's not the guy I would have chosen, but they need to develop new heels and he is in that position right now.

Money In The Bank 2013 Ladder Matches Preview

The WWE has had a few weeks to develop the two briefcase ladder matches since I first talked about it. My main complaint was the imbalance of star power, as well as a face/heel alignment imbalance. I understand they were going for "All Stars" and "Rising Stars" themes, but have they developed things well enough to really showcase those themes? I don't think so. They have just had some random matches here and there featuring the wrestlers in these two matches. The few promos have not really pushed the themes very well. You gave the matches themes and don't really do much to play on those themes. I would have had the WWE mix things up. Don't separate things like they did. How do you decide who would end up in which match? Have the General Managers have qualifying matches. You might not have enough talent for that, but how about making things easier by having 6 guys in each match? What about RVD? He obviously wouldn't be in a qualifying match. Have Vickie give him a guaranteed spot to please one of the McMahons. It would have worked in with that storyline. And it could have all even culminated on Smackdown with a battle royal to find the final participant in that Money in the Bank ladder match for the World's Heavyweight Championship contract. It would have mixed things up, made things intriguing throughout all the weeks building up to the PPV, and it wouldn't be as lackluster as just naming the participants and having them wrestle each other after.

All that out of the way, I am not even going to bother predicting who will win the two matches. I am just going to talk about the storylines involved in each match and talk about who I would like to win.

The match for the World's Heavyweight Championship contract has all those heels involved. It also features two sets of teams. You have Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger and Rhodes Scholars. A split isn't likely in the former duo, but it is in the latter. They have been teasing issues between Sandow and Rhodes. That will definitely play into this match. And that will eventually lead to the split. Who turns face? Most likely Cody Rhodes. Swagger and Cesaro may trade a few blows in the match, but there is no reason to split them up before they really got to do anything as a team. Having Dean Ambrose, the U.S. Champion, win the briefcase would be unnecessary. He already has something going for him and hasn't really connected with the fans amazingly, yet. There will be time for him. I would personally like Wade Barrett to win this one. Of all the guys in this match, he is really the one with nothing right now. Cesaro and Swagger are starting a team and have a gimmick. Rhodes and Sandow have a break up coming. Ambrose has a title. Fandango has his gimmick. What does Barrett have? Give him a briefcase.

The match for the WWE Championship contract has so many former World Champions in it, it deserves to be the true main event of the PPV. I know they sold the idea that someone could win that briefcase and cash it in later in the night against Cena, meaning Cena vs. Henry would be the main event, but it would make sense for all the stars to get the main event. Last year's Money in the Bank ended with the ladder match. Then again, it also ended with Cena. The return of Rob Van Dam is obviously a big storyline for this match. Would they hand him the briefcase right away? I don't think so. Then again, he probably has a better chance than Christian. As far as CM Punk goes, everyone can picture CM Punk about to win the match, then Brock Lesnar comes out to screw him. That sets up the match for Summeslam. They have really been pushing Daniel Bryan hard in recent weeks. Building him for the win? He has won it before. He really doesn't need it again to enter a feud with John Cena. If he still had that "weak link" angle going, then it would make sense for him to win this. Not there, so why bother? And it's not like he's in the midst of a title drought. He held the tag titles just a few months ago. Randy Orton has also been getting a bit of the attention lately. That is who I would like to see win. He has not held a title in a long time. He has never won a briefcase. He obviously doesn't need it, but John Cena needed it even less than him. It would be a good way to make Orton relevant again.

2013 World's Heavyweight Championship Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Fandango, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, and Dean Ambrose will compete for the briefcase for that World's Heavyweight Championship title shot. No Jinder Mahal? How do they expect to sell PPVs?

Should this match be considered underkill? That isn't even a word. Everyone in this match is a heel at the moment. But that isn't the real issue. Aside from Jack Swagger, none of these guys have ever held a World title in the WWE. And even Swagger is arguably an upper-midcarder at best these days. Everyone else are midcarders. That briefcase is going to lead to a huge push for someone, but the match is still lacking great stars. Then again, this match will probably not be the biggest draw of the PPV, anyway.

Would it have been better if they mixed up things a bit? Have Christian and Sheamus get involved in this match, and put Wade Barrett and Jack Swagger in the other ladder match? Or any other combination like that? Unless they are planning something unique with this huge imbalance in star power and face/heel alignment between the two matches, I think they should have mixed things up better.

Who wins? How likely is it that Jack Swagger wins a briefcase again? I don't think so. It would be a huge push for Dean Ambrose to get the briefcase. He doesn't need it. Getting to it, I am thinking they will have Wade Barrett win it. He had a ton of momentum over a year ago. An injury killed that. Many thought he was closing in on Money in the Bank back then. Will they follow through now? I think there is a chance.

Let me change gears completely. I rarely ever reread and edit my blog after I post anything. If I see a dumb spelling or grammatical mistake, I might fix that. But this is something more than that. A few weeks ago, I talked about the search engine data for my blog off of Google Analytics ( link here). I realized that I did not explain something that might confuse some people and does have an impact on the data. Just for the sake of trying to do a better job analyzing, let me mention that now. If you look at the keyword data I provided, the term "(not provided)" appears a lot. Google started doing that in 2011. People logged onto a Google account while searching get their searches blocked for their own privacy from people using Analytics. I can't tell you with any real certainty what those people were searching. Does this mean that the analysis I gave back then is completely null and void? No. The "(not provided)" term has only accounted for about 8% of my search traffic since Google started doing this. All it really means is that more people are visiting for various wrestlers and topics than the numbers are showing, which is another reason why it was the right thing to do to give an estimate of that information. Moreover, I really don't think that there is going to be that disproportionate a number of visits within that 8% than from the results I can see for any particular wrestler. For example, I have about 1,460 visits off of people searching for something having to do with Mickie James and about 30 for Jinder Mahal through all my years on this blog. I sincerely doubt that 8% I am unsure about is all searches for Jinder Mahal and none at all for Mickie James. It is going to be a mix. Lastly, the keyword data is what it is. That is an exact number of the top 10 search terms, including the number of ones that I could not see. I knew I was going to botch something when I wrote that analysis up. I don't think it really makes a big difference, but I'll just let you decide for yourself whether or not the data is still relevant to you. Just wanted to go back and explain myself on that.

Sandow Vs. Sheamus

Sheamus has entered a feud with Damien Sandow. Looks like this will actually be a good feud. It is about more than just beating each other up. I like feuds like that. They have been having these segments where Sandow tries to show off his intelligence and Sheamus just comes in and does what he does. It is similar to the feud Sheamus just had with Mark Henry. Mark Henry went out there to show how strong he is, then Sheamus makes a fool of him. I just hope this doesn't become the regular pattern for Sheamus. Might get predictable after a while, even though it does give other guys a chance to showcase their own gimmicks.

You have a feud that is obviously not between equals. Demotion for Sheamus? Big push for Sandow? This is not a punishment for Sheamus. Just because he is not in the World title hunt, that doesn't mean the WWE is not high on him. At the same time, I don't feel they are developing Sandow for a bigger push after this feud. Sheamus will likely go over Sandow, continue to be an upper-midcarder, and Sandow will still be lost in the midcard. Sandow might at least get a win against Sheamus during the feud. Maybe? Hopefully? But when he does eventually get depushed, you don't need to believe it is because he did something wrong.

Changing topic, Raw got a 2.66 in the ratings this week. They were up against the last game of the NBA playoffs. Nevertheless, that number is significant. That is the lowest they have ever done this early in the calender year in over a decade. They did not do this badly for Memorial Day. They did score lower on July 4th, 2011. That makes 5 weeks in a row under 3.0. And it isn't even football season yet. With the WWE getting these kind if numbers now, what can they expect when NFL competition is a factor?

Wrestlemania 29's Diva Match

This is the worst diva match at Wrestlemania in a long time. That is really not a shot at the women involved as much as it is a criticism of how the WWE has been developing those involved. Tons of Funk and Naomi and Cameron will take on Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins.

Brodus Clay and Tensai have been lower-midcarders prior to the recent push they are getting. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow are solid midcarders. The problem with them is the WWE has not been able to decide whether to push them as a team or solo over the last few weeks. Cameron and Naomi have been eye-candy periphery divas since their debut. This is their first real push. The Bellas just returned a few weeks ago. This match was just randomly developed over the last few weeks, but at least there is development.

When you look at the past diva matches in recent years, the quality of the feud and match have been brought down by having too many divas involved and sometimes bringing in celebrities. This is another multi-diva match, but at least no celebrity is involved. Nevertheless, in terms of star power, the divas in this match are pretty weak. Should they have ran with the feud involving AJ and Kaitlyn? I would say so. Even if not a title match, get them involved in some kind of diva tag match. AJ Lee is the top diva right now, as a periphery diva. I doubt the WWE will be developing any of the women in this tag match as the next centerpiece. Who wins? Should be the faces.

Last thing to consider, should this have been the match bumped off the card and put on the pre-show? Would it really have upset Diva-Dirt that much? This is the only match on the Wrestlemania card that does not involve a former World Champion. The Intercontinental title match deserves to be on the card more. That is a title match. What is really on the line in this 8-person tag? Nothing. This is one of those matches that would be fine at any other PPV of the year, but just doesn't seem big enough for a Wrestlemania. 

What Do You Do With A Midcarder Like Sandow?

The usual problem you see with midcarders in recent years is the WWE not giving them good feuds and storylines. In the case of Damien Sandow, you have a different issue. This guy has two feuds going for him right now. At one time, it looked like his partnership with Cody Rhodes was over and he would feud with R-Truth. Recently, it looked like the two were back together and were getting involved in a diva angle with The Bellas. Last week, it looked like they were going back to the singles feud with R-Truth a little.

What would be the best feud for Sandow around now? His feud with R-Truth isn't worthy of Wrestlemania, mainly because it just got started and isn't really that big of a deal. You can say the same for certain other feuds brewing, but a tag-team feud would at least be able to feature more guys, and possibly some divas. That could get more people involved on the card. That is what they should be trying to develop properly right now. Unless they plan to add R-Truth to that match, they should just give him something else to do. Sandow and R-Truth can always revisit their feud after Wrestlemania.

This is just another example of inconsistency. Why is it bad? What do you want your fans to get excited to see? You start going down one path, the fans start getting attached to it and get their hopes up, then you kill it and move on to something else. And then you try to get back on the previous path too? And you end up not developing either feud as best as you can. I spoke before about the potential in a feud between R-Truth and Sandow. What the WWE is doing is definitely falling short. The WWE needs to pick a path for their midcarders and stick to it.