R-Truth & Goldust

R-Truth and Goldust have a lot in common. They both have unique goofy characters. They have both been a part of some interesting tag teams in the past. And both are no longer seriously pushed these days.

The WWE has been having these segments where Goldust is trying to form a team with R-Truth. If nothing else, the segments at least have some comedic worth. It gives these guys something to do at a time when injuries have hurt the product.

What if the WWE does pull the trigger on these two as a team? They probably will do it. But will they go far? There are a few teams with comedy gimmicks. New Day have a comedy gimmick. Social Outcasts aren't exactly serious heels. I doubt R-Truth and Goldust will take the tag titles. They might be one of those teams that fade out very easily, like The Dudley Boys. They might end up like Curtis Axel's push last year where he was imitating Hulk Hogan. He was getting depushed even before the Hogan controversy popped up. Nevertheless, a bit of creative interest with these two is better than nothing.

Previewing The Elimination Chamber Match For The Intercontinental Championship

Just a quick recap first. Daniel Bryan won the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania. Not too long after that, his health once again became an issue. He had to surrender the title a few weeks ago. There will now be an Elimination Chamber match for the title. It will feature Sheamus, Ryback, King Barrett, Rusev, Dolph Ziggler, and R-Truth.

It is a solid group of midcarders. I would just make one change. No R-Truth. I know he was involved in the Intercontinental Championship feud for Wrestlemania, but he just isn't featured as well on a consistent basis these days. He seems out of place. I would put Neville in there. He was involved with Barrett recently. He was featured better in recent weeks than R-Truth. Neville still has something to do, but putting him in the Elimination Chamber might have led to some great spots. I am not saying he had to win the title, but just having him in there would be enough.

Who wins? If you go by Internet rumors, Sheamus has it won. But where is the fun in just accepting that? Who should win? I usually like saying that the person that is the freshest and has great momentum should win it. R-Truth definitely should not win it. I feel like Sheamus has lost momentum in recent weeks. They might book him to win it, but I don't like that. Rusev does not need a title reign again so soon. Ziggler? He had some title success not too long ago. Ryback has not. Thing is, I don't feel momentum is on his side. Barrett? Yes, I would say he should win it. He won King of the Ring recently. A great push is not always connected to that these days, but a midcard title would be nice. If they want to keep his push fresh, a title reign would help. I would have him regain the title.

King Of The Ring 2015

I am glad they brought back King of the Ring. I like things like this. It can raise some interest in the midcard.

But there are a few criticisms. First, it would have been nice if they brought back the King of the Ring PPV. If not that, devote an entire episode of Raw to the tournament. Make it a special. Second, there are too few guys involved in this. I would have added in a few more names. I think they have enough guys to make it interesting, especially if they are utilizing some guys that are obviously lower-midcarders these days. A 16-man tournament would have been nice. Last thing, Chyna is the only woman to have been involved in this tournament.  That was over a decade ago. I know the WWE isn't going to go far with male-female action these days, but it would have made it fun if a diva was included somehow. This issue is obviously not huge, but the first two things I mentioned could have helped this seem more important.

Who wins? Barrett. Sheamus won it before. I cannot imagine R-Truth making it to the finals. If Barrett, a heel, makes it to the finals, it is unlikely Sheamus, another heel, also goes that far. He will probably lose in some cheap fashion to Neville. I know I said Neville should be pushed well in Daniel Bryan's absence, but he just debuted. He does not need to win this. He's not the next Brock Lesnar. That leaves Barrett. Why not? I like that.

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 2

The feud development between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins could have been better. I can picture this feud going beyond Wrestlemania. I can also picture Orton beating Seth and Seth going on to cash in his briefcase to win the title. I know no dirtsheets are reporting that, but if the WWE is starting to realize that the main event is horrible, they might pull some kind of swerve to create some drama.

The Undertaker lost his streak last year, but he is still coming back for more. Bray Wyatt has been pestering him with promos for weeks and weeks. Match quality will most likely not be amazing here, but you have a legend fans love seeing and two guys with unique gimmicks. It would have been better if Taker was around to help push the feud. I will say The Undertaker wins.

You have a 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. This is the match many predict will steal the show. Barrett vs. R-Truth vs. Ambrose vs. Ziggler vs. Harper vs. Stardust vs. Bryan. I wouldn't mind Ambrose winning the title from Barrett, but then they added in all these other guys. I think it will be either Ziggler or Bryan.

There is a chance a main-eventer might also be winning the other midcard title. John Cena vs. Rusev for the United Stated Championship. Rusev has the momentum. He already beat Cena last month. This one seems obvious. Cena regains the title. 

Bo Dallas Loses

Bo Dallas has taken his first loss. And to R-Truth. It was pretty much a fluke win, but it isn't like Bo's character is to be taken seriously. I knew it would be fun to see Bo react after he did lose his first match. Wasn't expecting it so soon. There were probably a few more jobbers he could have gone through.

What becomes of Bo Dallas now? Undefeated streak is over. Gimmick is still there. Aside from that, he has had no real feuds. You have a situation where you have a guy with a gimmick that can lead to good feuds, but nothing is being done with him. Should they start a legitimate feud with R-Truth? He's a lower-midcarder. I don't see how a feud with him will help Bo now. Maybe when he first debuted. Do you stick Bo with his brother? Probably too soon for that. I don't like the idea of putting a midcard title on him. He's too much of a comedy character. He's got his "Bolieve" catchphrase and the fact that he's annoying going for him, but I don't think he really deserves a title reign because of anything he has done. I'll just see how long it takes for him to get lost in the shuffle for the sake of some other gimmick they debut down the line.

Let me give my personal opinion of Bo Dallas. He looks creepy and he annoys me. In my eyes, he's down there with Fandango. He does have his moments here and there, but I still don't like him. And it isn't because he is such a great heel. I usually like great heels. He's not horrible in the ring, but he's not amazing. He's okay. Overall, I think time can be better spent on other guys. 

Random WWE Thoughts

A lot of small things going on right now that I want to give my thoughts on. First, Brodus Clay is back to being a heel. He was a heel prior to the whole dancing gimmick. This has also coincided with the debut of Xavier Woods. The supporting players, R-Truth and Tensai, also end up with something to make them relevant for a while. Given the WWE's lack of pushing midcard workers consistently, I would not imagine them to go too far with anyone involved in this feud. What was Brodus Clay doing prior to this push? Nothing. He will be doing that again soon. The same goes for Tensai. And R-Truth. As far as Xavier Woods, I cannot imagine great things for him. Nevertheless, give the WWE some credit for creating a storyline for some workers that have not been pushed well for a while.

"Bad News" Barrett. Wade Barrett has himself a gimmick. It is getting him some segment time. I like it. I really like his character. Of course, the obvious problem is that he is not getting any feuds or actual storylines, yet. All he has is this gimmick and a small amount of segment time to do his promo. This is better than nothing. He has not been relevant since he held the Intercontinental Championship earlier in the year. But it shouldn't be too hard for this to branch into a feud for Barrett. Just have him say something that offends one of the faces. The face comes out to confront him, and there is a feud. How long before they do that? Normally, I would say that doing the same thing over and over again will lead to things getting stale and you have to know when to develop things. In this case, I think Barrett handles these segments well enough to keep this going for a while. That is, as long as they have fresh material for him.

Alberto Del Rio suffered a concussion that has kept him away from wrestling recently. This seems to be the only December injury, so far. December has proven to be the month in recent years where you get injuries to big stars or performers that were in the midst of important pushes. Del Rio is a former World Champion, but he wasn't doing anything too important. He was involved in that mini-feud with Sin Cara. Seems like basic filler. Now that there is only one World title, what is a guy like Del Rio to do? A lot of fans say that this guy has always been chasing after a World title since he debuted. He has spent a lot of time doing that. They are going to have to think of something else for him. I have always said this guy's character has a lot of potential. Will they finally start utilizing that more?

Big Show and Rey Mysterio are a tag team. Another instance of the WWE simply sticking two guys together that they want to feature, but cannot come up with good solo feuds for at the moment. Moreover, they are in the tag title hunt. I am not going to complain about trying to get these two something to do, but the WWE continues to keep more legitimate tag teams down in favor of having these kind of tag teams made up of singles wrestlers getting the title feuds. Some fans point out that the WWE has so many tag teams. Some say that this is great for the tag division. Problem is, a lot of these teams are just being used as filler. Have Los Matadores gotten a legitimate feud yet? Are The Usos ever getting the tag titles? What can you expect from Xavier Woods and R-Truth? Having Kane and Daniel Bryan dominate the tag division for a while was acceptable, since there was a good angle between them, but I hope Big Show and Rey Mysterio do not last too long as a team.

Finally, let me talk about Layla. Layla? She's not doing anything. What is there to talk about? Well, I think she should get something to do. Of the divas currently on the roster, she is my favorite. That was not true during her first few years. Maybe I just didn't like her hair? And I didn't like her during her run in LayCool. Not only did I not like the gimmick, but Layla and McCool did not perform it well to make me like it. They were often too dry and annoying in their execution. A little more arrogance/cockiness and youthfulness would have been nice. They were the kind of heels that made me want to change the channel, not like them, which I usually do for good heels, or see them get owned by the faces. Enough of that. Since then, Layla has grown on me. I liked her face run after that. Nice fresh spirit. She has definitely become very good in the ring. And she is sexy. Of course, she is an eye-candy credible jobber, so I don't need to ask why the WWE is not pushing her. Nevertheless, I still believe the WWE needs more creative depth in the diva division right now. Give Layla something meaningful to do. Periphery angle or an in-ring push? I don't know how well she would work in a periphery angle. If the WWE starts developing a better midcard, that might make things better for a periphery angle for her. Give her a feud. I would make her face. Given the WWE's desire to push eye-candy divas as the centerpiece of their diva division, I would have Layla get that position. Not happening. I wouldn't be surprised if Layla is not kept around by the WWE. They aren't exactly treating her as someone they would keep around.

Big E Langston: Big Face Jobbber To The Stars

One of the bad things about not following through with Team Heyman vs. Team Punk at Survivor Series is that guys that could have benefited from being supporting players in that feud are left with nothing important to do. One of these individuals is Big E Langston. He turned face during this storyline. He looked like he would enter a feud with Curtis Axel over the Intercontinental Championship. That didn't work out.

What has he been doing? Pretty much being used as a jobber to the stars. He wins here and there against guys at his level and under him, but he also got used to put over Randy Orton recently. No storylines or legitimate feuds. That is what it means to be a midcarder these days. It was obvious that this would eventually happen to Big E Langston after his face turn, but having him actually remain involved in the feud between CM Punk and Paul Heyman would have made him look more interesting for a little while longer.

What about the other supporting players in that feud? Some of them are in an even worse position than Big E Langston. Both Kofi Kingston and R-Truth feuded against Curtis Axel in recent months, and both would have been obvious choices to keep in the storyline. Nothing from them now. Ryback is lost in the shuffle just like Big E, while also being used as a jobber to the stars. And then there is Curtis Axel. He still has his title. Many are left wondering why. He is also not doing anything major. In the end, all this was to be expected. Would have been better if they booked Heyman/Punk better.

Has CM Punk Found Yet Another Friend?

If the WWE is planning to have the Punk/Heyman feud lead to a big tag match at Survivor Series, CM Punk may have found another member for his team. Big E Langston turned face on Smackdown last week to stand with CM Punk against Heyman's guys.

Is this a good thing for Big E? Obviously, in terms of a short-term push, this is great thing for the guy. However, in terms of the long-term potential of what will likely happen, I would not expect too much. How many years now has the WWE had an issue with keeping the ball rolling properly with midarders? Even though Big E is getting pushed and a part of a storyline, he is merely a supporting player in someone else's storyline. Don't make too much of that.

Should he win the Intercontinental Championship from Curtis Axel? I wouldn't be surprised if he did, but I would have chosen to give it to R-Truth. Big E is still in his rookie year on the main roster. R-Truth as never held this title before and he has been almost as solid a midcarder as Kofi Kingston. Do more with R-Truth. Big E will still have time to solidify his overness. If they rush the title on him, I can picture things going for him as they did Big Zeke. Remember his run with the Intercontinental Championship? No? If they do give Big E the title, hopefully they make his reign a little more memorable.

Has CM Punk Found A Friend?

A while ago, I said one of the likely things to do with this feud between CM Punk and Paul Heyman was to give CM Punk someone to help him against Heyman's henchmen. Two against one just screams for that lone guy to get a friend, or get one of the antagonists out of the way or be prepared for one to conquer two. Getting CM Punk a friend just seemed like the best option. Recently, R-Truth has been thrown into the mix. He teamed with Punk on Raw. He has been feuding with Curtis Axel. Is this the start of a beautiful relationship?

Part of me likes how things went down on Raw in regards to this storyline. The story in the tag match was pretty good. Punk actually acted pretty friendly towards R-Truth. If they are going to start pushing these two as a team as long as Ryback and Curtis Axel are a team, this is a good way to get things started.

Part of me also dislikes how things went down on Raw in regards to this storyline. This feud between CM Punk and Paul Heyman had so much heat to it. It looked like a lot of fans and critics would be naming this the feud of the year. They still might, but it has taken a step back. CM Punk was talking and acting like he was out to murder Paul Heyman for weeks and weeks. This week, that emotion was not there. I would be the first to say never jump to conclusions after just one week, but if CM Punk was so determined to get Heyman, didn't he have a good chance on Raw? He takes out both Axel and Ryback, leaving R-Truth to clean things up and win the match, and doesn't chase after Heyman? Not to blame the writers, but I wonder if the WWE knows how to progress things from here between CM Punk and Paul Heyman in a good way.

Lastly, assuming they do run with R-Truth in this angle, is he a good choice? Considering I was saying they should run with Kofi Kingston, I wouldn't say picking R-Truth instead is a bad idea. Considering that this storyline could lead to Curtis Axel eventually dropping the title to someone aligned with CM Punk, why not R-Truth? He has not held as many midcard titles as Kofi Kingston. They just need to get him involved a lot more in promos. Make this thing more interesting. If they don't do that, and they don't bring back that fire between Punk and Heyman, this storyline may not be as great as it could have been.

Fandango's Summertime Sadness

What has Fandango been doing lately? Nothing much. Months ago, I remember talk about how much Vince McMahon loved this guy and the gimmick. Even Chris Jericho mentioned it in an interview. And yet, he is lost in the shuffle lately. That is why I don't like putting too much worth into what is being said, whether it is dirtsheet rumors or direct sources saying things in interviews. I am not implying Chris Jericho lied. The fact is, with the problems the WWE has had with pushing a great midcard in recent years, it seemed very likely that Fandango would suffer a bit of a depush.

What should Fandango be doing right now? Obviously, he doesn't need a main-event push. He doesn't need an upper-midcard push against guys like Mark Henry or RVD, even if they were available to feud with him right now. Right now, he is where he should be. He is a midcarder. They teased developing a feud between him and R-Truth. And why now? Their gimmicks are similar in the dancing aspect, but contrast from there. It would be great to have them get a legitimate feud. This is one of those situations where the storyline might even write itself. They can even give R-Truth a diva to be his dancing partner.

And let's look back at the age-old question. Is Fandango over, or his theme song? You can still see fans doing that little dance. But that's pretty much it. I still don't see this guy being legitimately over. Some comedy characters, even heel ones, eventually do get over. Will Fandango ever be as over as his theme song?

No Need For The Truth?

R-Truth returned from injury earlier this year. At the time, it looked like he would enter a feud with Damien Sandow. However, Sandow also had another feud going for him at the same time. Sandow has continued to be featured well, while R-Truth is lost in the shuffle.

What should be done with R-Truth? He is obviously a popular midcarder. With Kofi Kingston injured, that should open up the need to push someone else in the midcard in his place. Continuing that feud with Sandow is obviously not an option for R-Truth right now. Sandow has a feud with Sheamus. Wade Barrett is currently in a feud. How about the U.S. title picture? It would be sad if they just put all those titles on The Shield for decoration. The Shield may look good holding all those titles, but will the WWE book them to help the tag division and midcard? Have Ambrose feud with R-Truth. R-Truth doesn't need to win the title, but a title feud would be nice. Right now, I would say that is the best way to use R-Truth in the midcard. After whatever the WWE has planned for The Shield at Payback, start a feud between Ambrose and R-Truth.

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.

The Truth Vs. The Scholar

I am a believer that good midcard feuds will help the WWE get back on the right track. It won't fix everything, but there are a lot of guys with potential and uniqueness the fans might be drawn to. On the road to Wrestlemania, the WWE has actually taken some time to formulate a midcard feud between Damien Sandow and the returning R-Truth. These are two true midcarders. Neither have held a World title in the WWE. And this definitely has potential.

You have two guys with two very clear gimmicks and styles. Just having them feud against each other is one thing. It isn't too hard to book. You can see the eventual tag match between Sandow/Rhodes and R-Truth/Kofi. After that, the 1-on-1 match between Sandow and R-Truth. After that, move on. But how about you drag it out just a little more? Have these guys actually have some real promos against each other. As I said, they have clear gimmicks. And these gimmicks kind of go against each other. R-Truth is a rapper and Sandow is an intellectual. Make use of that. R-Truth has also been a bit crazy in the past. They can even bring that in. Needless to say, this can be a very entertaining feud, if they allow these two to really do more than just attack each other and wrestle.

All that being said, I don't think they will do it. I remember seeing potential in a feud between Jinder Mahal and Ted DiBiase over a year ago. Nothing good came of it. And considering what time of year it is, even easier to lose focus on this midcard feud. It doesn't need to culminate at Wrestlemania, but it can bring some entertaining segments. Let's see how long until it ends.

R-Truth Follows Kofi's Path

Before I talk about what I want to, let me go back to what I talked about last time. I went on and on, so it may have been hard to get my point. My point was, when looking at how the WWE is currently using Askana and Kaitlyn, you could either view it as the WWE's standards are dropping for their diva division or eye-candy periphery divas are being used s credible jobbers because of a shortage of real female wrestlers. Lowering of standards or credible jobber shortage? Is the problem a mix of both? Which is worse? You can argue that one is leading to the other. Point is, before you can solve your problems, it helps to know exactly what your problems are. Just saying the WWE diva division sucks is a generalization which will not help too much.

Onto R-Truth. He is in a feud with Antonio Cesaro, the U.S. Champion. It looks like he is following in the path of his former tag partner, Kofi Kingston, who is now holding a  midcard title.

Should R-Truth win the title or just be used to put over Cesaro. I don't find Cesaro too interesting, so maybe I should be saying R-Truth should win the title. And yet, I don't think he really needs it. He and Kofi just had a long run with the tag titles. R-Truth is popular and has held the U.S. title before, but I don't think tossing him a title just to save him from getting lost in the shuffle is the way to go. There are other good workers in the midcard who could use a title run to either reward them for solid work, develop them to move up the card, make midcard matters more interesting, or whatever other reason there might be. As for R-Truth, it shouldn't be hard to develop some kind of non-title feud for him.

Let me tell you how I would have handled Kofi and R-Truth after they lost the tag titles. Have both of them feud against either Miz or Cesaro. Triple threat. Neither of them would have to turn heel, but the possibility that it could happen would get fans talking and interested in the feud. At Survivor Series a few years ago, you had The Undertaker defending his World title against Big Show and Chris Jericho, who were a team at the time, and John Cena defending his World title against Triple H and Shawn Michaels, who were a team at the time. Would trying this kind of thing in the midcard have been that bad? I don't think so.

R-Truth And Kofi Kingston Split

They were the Tag Team Champions back when it looked like the WWE would revive the tag division through putting better focus on those teams that were being poorly featured. And now, after losing the tag titles and knocked out of the tournament to find new #1 contenders, R-Truth and Kofi Kingston are splitting up. Just as easily as they came together, they separate. And it doesn't look like either will turn heel.

Kofi Kingston looks like he is entering a feud with Miz over the Intercontinental Championship. Kofi Kingston has held many midcard titles, aside from the tag titles. For as long as I can remember, he just seems to be passing from one title feud to another. While a lot of people might say that it is great that the WWE is loading him up with all these titles, what's the point? I would rather see him getting more feuds like the one he got with Randy Orton a few years ago. Kofi looked very credible there and it showed a different side of him. He still proved he can get aggressive on Raw when he attacked Miz, but the Kofi you had in that feud with Orton had more attitude. Instead of loading him up with titles, more character development would be nice.

As for R-Truth, he seems to be the odd guy out. Whenever a tag team splits, a lot of fans try to figure out who the "Marty Jannetty" will be. That is to say, who will be the less successful guy? It is probably too soon to judge, but on that same Raw that had Kofi Kingston enter a title feud, R-Truth only had a comedy segment with Brodus, which then got cut short by Vince McMahon. And what about Brodus Clay? He doesn't seem to have focus on him, either. Why not pair up Brodus and R-Truth? Since the tag division is turning into this playground where you team up midcarders and upper-midcarders, why not give it a go? They can enter a feud with Heath Slater's band. If they don't want to team up R-Truth with someone else, how about have him feud with Antonio Cesaro, who is also without a good opponent? There are good options for R-Truth. He should not be lost in the shuffle.

Friendship Prevails

Daniel Bryan and Kane have beaten Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the tag titles at Night of Champions. That was not a shocking outcome at all. There are a few things to say about this.

First, what does this mean for the tag division revival? Legitimate interest was being put into the tag division for months now. The Prime Time Players looked to be the chief benefactors of it. It looked like they would finally win the titles. Had this storyline between Kane and Bryan not have come about, I think they would have won it. Kane and Bryan did not win the titles to improve the revival. The proper way to do that would be to bring in more legitimate teams. Do more with the teams you have. People can say that Young and O'Neil are not over, but how can you expect them to get over if you do not follow through with how you are pushing them? The titles were put on Kane and Daniel Bryan to further their storyline. The revival, if you ask me, is done.

Is Daniel Bryan face or heel? Kane seems to always be a tweener. Daniel Bryan seems to be in that zone again. He has been so entertaining with his current heel character, the fans are cheering for him. A true face turn should be coming for him very soon. Keep him heel by having him eventually turn on Kane? That is the other option, but you might as well just run this storyline to it's eventual finish and have them finally be "friends" in the end.

In less than one year, Kane goes from being a monster to being a comedy character. Aside from going from heel to face rather easily, that is something else you see the WWE do with Kane a lot. He can destroy multiple people is a single segment. When that's over, he can be involved in a comedy segment with Santino. I know a lot of people prefer the monster, but it is good to have that versatility. If nothing else, he's winning titles.

Finally, what happens to R-Truth and Kofi Kingston? After the rematch, assuming they do not win the titles back, where do they go? As I have pointed out before, if they were not paired together and holding the titles these last few months, they would have gotten lost in the shuffle. Good thing is, since the U.S. Championship and Intercontinental Championship are both held by heels, R-Truth and Kofi can eventually be challengers for that. How about both at the same time in a triple threat? Turn one of these guys heel? I don't think that's necessary. Point is, the WWE will either have to work something out for these two midcarders or they will be on Superstars more often in the coming weeks.

Nice Tag Division Development

When you look back at last night's Money in the Bank PPV, you will see that the tag-team division got featured pretty well. Not only did R-Truth and Kofi Kingston win a pre-show match, but the actual PPV featured a tag match, as well. Primo and Epico took on Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. You can say it is weird that the Tag Champions didn't get on the actual PPV card for their match, but the challengers did. However, this is good to get the focus on other teams that need it.

There is something that is even more surprising than good focus on the tag division last night and the Champions performing on the pre-show. The challengers to the tag titles actually lost. Epico and Primo are not being buried, yet. I like that. That means that you have a lot of potential here for a good feud in the tag division.

Go back to last year, when the WWE hyped that there was going to be some kind of revival of the tag division when Kofi and Bourne won the titles. I didn't buy it. They didn't have enough resources for a proper revival. More importantly, they didn't really push a proper revival. Even before Bourne had his issues, possibilities were running dry. Now, however, I see some kind of proper revival happening. Actions are speaking louder than words. How long will it last? Unless they create more teams when the time comes or start signing more teams, it will run dry sooner or later. Until then, the WWE is continuing to push the tag division better. And it isn't just hype.

Jobbers Take Over Tag Division

The direction the tag division has taken recently is kind of funny. In the last few weeks, you had Ziggler and Swagger, who are arguably the top heel team, split up for the benefit of Ziggler getting more of a singles push. As far as R-Truth and Kofi Kingston went, they were obviously the top tag team of the division and held the titles. Problem is, R-Truth got injured. That pretty much leaves your two major teams broken.

What does the WWE do? With the tag division showing even fewer resources to run optimally than the diva division, they pulled in four tag teams for a #1 contenders match at No Way Out. There were actually four other teams other than Ziggler/Swagger and Truth/Kingston? Yes. They were hidden away in the lower-midcard. These teams would be lucky if they even got to job on Raw in recent weeks.

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil have been getting some good exposure lately. They are the ones who ended up winning the title shot. They also have developed a little feud with Epico, Primo, and Rosa, after A.W. betrayed his former clients. An actual storyline in the tag division? Epico and Primo have held the titles before, so it is good that the WWE is still giving them attention. I did find having them win on Raw this week stupid. If you are going to build up Darren Young and Titus O'Neil, they will need some wins to build up their credibility. Even a cheap win would do. Instead, Epico and Primo get the cheap win. But I do realize that the WWE pretty much needs to do this. Even if the current Tag Champs were at 100%, they would have to break up eventually. And then what? You start building up new teams? Why not start now, especially when R-Truth is not ready to go? Overall, I have to give the WWE credit for their recent interest in the tag division. It's too bad it took the possible short-term collapse of the division for them to do it, but still good.

Rabiosa Returns

That is to say...


Such a lovely face. Shakira ain't too bad either.

R-Truth returned on Raw tonight. He attacked the Miz, which would be payback for the attack a few weeks ago that ended the team. Also, this would make R-Truth a face. With the way things went, that is not a surprising move at all.

A feud between Miz and R-Truth will be what it will be. An empty statement, but you have seen many feuds like this before already. What I want to point out that I really like is that R-Truth still has his crazy gimmick. He's ranting like a raving lunatic again. I love seeing that. As a fan of gimmicks, especially since there were so many unique characters a long time ago, I have to love what the WWE is allowing with R-Truth. Even if they had ended this gimmick, he most likely would have returned to his rap gimmick. R-Truth is a guy who has always had a gimmick and will probably always have one as long as he's in wrestling. That makes things more interesting. And he can handle the gimmick well.

Back to Miz. When he took out R-Truth, the WWE ran this story where he was taking out people who had held him back throughout his career. They followed up with John Morrison as a victim, since he didn't want to stay in the WWE anyway. After that, nothing. There were still possibilities, but the WWE dropped it and gave Miz a shot at the WWE title, which he did not win. Now that Daniel Bryan is the Champ on the other show, it might have been even more interesting if the WWE continued Miz's angle. I know, Big Show is still in the picture, but Big Show was Miz's partner at one time too. Miz still would have been involved with two guys who he can claim were holding him back in the past. There is a lot of potential there that I will not bother going into. It won't be happening. People can try to say that R-Truth feuding with Miz is the continuation of Miz's angle, but it pretty much really has been phased out. This is now just a feud between two former partners after one turned on the other.

Do I expect anything great from this feud? R-Truth will be bringing it with his character. The character they were developing with Miz has been killed. What he is now is pretty basic. Nevertheless, it will be something good for the midcard. I really do expect R-Truth to be a lovely face. What I mean to say, he will be a good face character for Raw. Match quality will be okay. Miz can go through a match. He isn't grand, but he can go. R-Truth is more entertaining in his style. I would expect their matches to be more heated anyway. Will Miz take on the cowardly role? That would be a switch after how cold he was when the angle first started. Nevertheless, should be good.

The Awesome Rebirth?

After taking out R-Truth last week, Miz follows up with taking out John Morrison this week. I already talked about Morrison, so this is going to be about Miz this time around.

They are selling this idea that Miz is taking out people who have held him back. The next man on his list will obviously be Alex Riley, who was shown backstage with John Morrison this week. Riley was Miz's sidekick for a few months. Back earlier this year, they had mistakes by Riley be the reason for Miz failing to regain the WWE title. This led to problems in the team, and Riley eventually turning face. Riley looked very impressive against Miz in some of their matches. I'm talking "Kofi Kingston Beating Randy Orton" impressive here. Remember where that one went? Absolutely nowhere for Kofi. He remained in the midcard. Following looking so good, the WWE also demoted Riley back down as well. Up to this point, he has done nothing too interesting. He now finds himself possibly once again in the path of his former mentor.

I like that Alex Riley is going to get used again. Some people can say that R-Truth turning face was meant to replace John Morrison, but you could have easily have just promoted Riley back up again and left Awesome Truth as a heel tag team. You can also have Mason Ryan who can be pushed even more as a face, if need be. Send over DiBiase from Smackdown to Raw more often. The WWE seems eager to get him over. Before I get too lost from what I'm talking about, let me pull it back in to Riley. If it had to take Awesome Truth splitting up and John Morrison leaving for Alex Riley to get used again, I can live with that. Point is, he will still be getting a chance to go out there. Obviously, when R-Truth returns, the WWE will pretty much have to have him feud with Miz. That will most likely make Riley's push just filler. Nevertheless, I hope it does not end up being Miz killing Riley on the stage next week in the same way he took out Morrison and R-Truth. Make it a real feud. Take it to TLC. That is what I am expecting. I doubt the WWE will push Miz against Big Show right now. Big Show was one of Miz's former partners, as well.

Miz seems to be getting a new character. He still thinks he's awesome, but his promo on Raw had less of that cockiness and energy to it. This Miz is colder. I like it. Do I think the regular fans will? No. That is why his actions will have to speak louder than his words. Having him be violent like this is good. Depending on how the WWE works this, Miz can be bringing something interesting in the midcard in the coming weeks.