Ten Things
1st Edition
Once again that time of the year has come, WWE's Spring cleaning session is in full throttle and already 8 superstars have faced the axe as WWE begins its Main Roster clean out with the establishment of a new era bringing in new stars to the forefront from NXT.
With more likely additions from the popular "development" brand soon to come [most likely Bayley, Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura], it's a surprise only eight took the cut after all there's such wasted space as well as underused talent already.
I'll do a companion piece soon on Ten WWE Members Who Should Quit or Be Fired in the Near Future.
For now I've got two specific names on my list who should voluntarily join the other eight.
So here goes, what should these ten people do after being fired/resigning from the WWE.
10. Ryback/Ryan Reeves
Just this past week, WWE's resident Big Guy slipped that contract negotiations were ongoing with the WWE but things didn't look good. This slip up was the cherry on the cake that was his lengthy tumblr blog on his dissonance with the company regarding equal pay for all participants, the roles of a jobber [wrestler used to lose and put over his opponent] and his declining position in the company.
It was heartfelt and almost felt like a shout out that the man who was once touted to be Vince McMahon's choice as John Cena's successor to become relevant again...elsewhere. In his bid to be fed more, Ryback was fed to the resident face of the company in an ill advised heel turn, since then he has never been the same despite his improvement in the ring and on the microphone.
What Next? I'm sure Ryback would love to join the UFC and crack some punks skull [despite weight class differences] but the best place would be to head to New Japan Pro Wrestling. The company loves its monster Gaijins and with the slow fading of the Bullet Club into the Elite, he could make a new addition to the team.
9. Titus O'Neil
Early this year O'Neil made the mistake of crossing the boss during Daniel Bryan's retirement episode, it was a sad night made much more sad by the heinous unfair suspension of the charismatic workhorse.
O'Neil in the past year or so has become a media friendly persona with some goodwill to his name which has allowed WWE fair share of mainstream publicity. Due to rough but fun act on the Chairman Vince McMahon, O'Neil saw his growing push disappear, the loss of a big Wrestlemania payday and some tough suspension cuts.
He returned but not much in capacity as wrestler but in a tepid questionable commercial.
What Next? He might just be silently let go in the next few weeks, but till then O'Neil isn't getting much to do. Better late than never, he should take his friend Batista's advice and leave the company heading for greener pastures. While not as big as Ryback, O'Neil could also play the same role in NJPW or make for an intriguing addition in the Indies or even Lucha Underground.
If not why not join his pal The Animal in Hollywood, I'm sure there's a lot of Guardians he could plays in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now onto the eight that were fired and do need to look for a place to go;
8. Hornswoggle
The Leprechaun like short man of the WWE was the death kneel of comedy in the company, while the company has never had a penchant for politically correct or general humor in the sense; the use of Hornswoggle was both baffling and a well derided aspect of the growing PG Era of WWE.
The man killed DX for gods sake.
Anyways, in the past few years his involvement has grown thin despite actually being a competent performer [remember the WeeLC match against fellow alum El Torito?].
Still to be honest, Hornswoggle wont be sorely missed.
What Next? Anything besides wrestling, maybe new low budget straight to dvd Leprechaun movies?
7. El Torito
The Mini wrestler and former manager of the Los Matadores is aptly gone with the transformation of his tag partners back to Primo and Epico. After gaining early popularity in a feud against Hornswoggle, El Torito was mostly lost in the shuffle.
What Next? Well El Torito should return to one of the Mexican promotions, primarily AAA and resume his stint as Mascarita Dorada, a title he began and has held for years.
The Mini wrestler and former manager of the Los Matadores is aptly gone with the transformation of his tag partners back to Primo and Epico. After gaining early popularity in a feud against Hornswoggle, El Torito was mostly lost in the shuffle.
What Next? Well El Torito should return to one of the Mexican promotions, primarily AAA and resume his stint as Mascarita Dorada, a title he began and has held for years.
6. Zeb Colter
The former Dutch Mantel returned to the big E as a heel radical pro-American manager to Jack Swagger, he made for a natural heat magnet for the floundering superstar and also helped kick of the start for his first face turn as well as the popularity shoot for his other client Cesaro.
Sadly no profound Cesaro-Swagger feud materialized and soon the face turn turned into a reason to put over other stars. Colter returned late last year beside former Swagger rival Alberto Del Rio in an ill fated MexAmerica gimmick.
Once that broke down, Colter completely faded away.
What Next? Maybe he should take his gimmick along with Jack Swagger to Lucha Underground, a Pro America/Anti-Mexican and Luchador gimmick would work wonder there.
5. Cameron
Recently weighing her support for Ryback's controversial statements, might be the trigger that found the former Funkadactyl and Total Divas star, out in the cold.
Cameron was never much a skilled performer and lacked any discernible personality or heel heat to be anything more than a "wrestler" from a bygone era known as the Divas division. This is a sign of the slow start that could be in weeding out the talented female competitors from the formerly wanted Models of old.
What Next? She could continue down her music career path, but stepping into the ring is highly unlikely.
The former Dutch Mantel returned to the big E as a heel radical pro-American manager to Jack Swagger, he made for a natural heat magnet for the floundering superstar and also helped kick of the start for his first face turn as well as the popularity shoot for his other client Cesaro.
Sadly no profound Cesaro-Swagger feud materialized and soon the face turn turned into a reason to put over other stars. Colter returned late last year beside former Swagger rival Alberto Del Rio in an ill fated MexAmerica gimmick.
Once that broke down, Colter completely faded away.
What Next? Maybe he should take his gimmick along with Jack Swagger to Lucha Underground, a Pro America/Anti-Mexican and Luchador gimmick would work wonder there.
5. Cameron
Recently weighing her support for Ryback's controversial statements, might be the trigger that found the former Funkadactyl and Total Divas star, out in the cold.
Cameron was never much a skilled performer and lacked any discernible personality or heel heat to be anything more than a "wrestler" from a bygone era known as the Divas division. This is a sign of the slow start that could be in weeding out the talented female competitors from the formerly wanted Models of old.
What Next? She could continue down her music career path, but stepping into the ring is highly unlikely.
4. Santino Marella
Making a stirring debut in 2007 winning the Intercontinental Championship and going onto becoming one of the most intriguing comical acts of the PG Era, despite some big misses; Santino Marella built a great niche for himself and safe position.
He in fact got some meaningful moments that showed with a slightly serious bent, he could have become an over main event talent even. However a third neck injury in 2014 cut his career short, eventually making him a sporadic act in the WWE. It was only a matter of time before his release.
What Next? Marella never got the chance to prove his adept hand at wrestling, but now he can fully focus and channel this to his abilities as a trainer in his own Battle Arts Academy. A conditioning and MMA gym he opened and runs since 2013.
3. Alex Riley
After partaking in the Season 2 reality TV version of NXT, Alex Riley became a staple act of his mentor Miz's rise to the top towards his inevitable World Championship win. As soon as Miz lost the title and the act died down, Riley turned into a natural face to take him on. This brought a change of fortune; win against Miz, teaming with Cena and more.
Soon however Riley would be lost in the shuffle despite reports of him receiving massive pops from the audience at house shows. Riley then soon transitioned into commentary both for the C-Shows such as Main Event/Superstars as well as eventually NXT as the "Analyst". He however begged for some action on twitter with his FreeRiley movement and got his wishes with a mini feud with Kevin Owens and losing efforts against NXT's rising stars.
What Next? His last match against the charismatic Shinsuke Nakamura is still to play out on TV, while Riley himself could look to TNA: Impact Wrestling as a place to make his future, since from what little I've seen of him he seems a better fit for that place rather than the Indies.
2. Damien Sandow
One half of the two biggest mistakes WWE made in this spring cleaning, but a mistake maybe for the better.
Since returning to the company in 2012, the former Idol Stevens made a name for himself as the Intellectual Savior of the Masses, it got him over as a condescending and striking heel character until like always WWE dropped the ball.
Floundering for a while, Sandow also got over the what could have been horrendous gimmick of Miz's stunt double dubbed Mizdow to the masses, becoming a beloved face with massive pops that could have struck at the mid card. Once again WWE dropped the ball and the rest is history.
What Next? A return to the indies, there's one star in the formerly great TNA that made a similar name for himself by imitating superstar specifically Randy Macho Man Savage [something Sandow did to]. Well TNA dropped the ball with him and years later he is the hottest act in Ring of Honor, does Damien Sandow have the same shot?
1. Wade Barett
The other half and my favorite guy on the list, Wade Barett's Nexus storyline attracted me back to Wrestling for a moment in 2010 until John Cena had to go on and bury the poor fellow. Since then, Barett moved from gimmick to gimmick and never recovered.
It's one of the saddest modern WWE tales of a man who could have been a white hot heel for years to come but turned into nothing more than a joke. It's a sad thing that I'd rather not recall, but WWE truly dropped the ball with the British Bruiser. It's Bad News [Pun Intended] that he decided to quit and finally make a statement.
What Next? While Barett has said his move from WWE will result in him taking a much deserved break from the Wrestling world, hopefully he will be back soon. With his talents he could make his name anywhere, he could become another superb addition to the growing Bullet Club and a popular champion material for them or he could be a nice British Bruiser/Royalty character to enter the quirky world of Lucha Underground giving it a new dimension not to mention getting either two acts over that WWE failed to for him.
So this is it...for now, there's a chance much of WWE's spring cleaning is still to come. yet these eight got the first boot there are more than two others who should escape the hell hole the company can become sometimes...
If You Smell,
What Aneesh is Cookin...
Making a stirring debut in 2007 winning the Intercontinental Championship and going onto becoming one of the most intriguing comical acts of the PG Era, despite some big misses; Santino Marella built a great niche for himself and safe position.
He in fact got some meaningful moments that showed with a slightly serious bent, he could have become an over main event talent even. However a third neck injury in 2014 cut his career short, eventually making him a sporadic act in the WWE. It was only a matter of time before his release.
What Next? Marella never got the chance to prove his adept hand at wrestling, but now he can fully focus and channel this to his abilities as a trainer in his own Battle Arts Academy. A conditioning and MMA gym he opened and runs since 2013.
3. Alex Riley
After partaking in the Season 2 reality TV version of NXT, Alex Riley became a staple act of his mentor Miz's rise to the top towards his inevitable World Championship win. As soon as Miz lost the title and the act died down, Riley turned into a natural face to take him on. This brought a change of fortune; win against Miz, teaming with Cena and more.
Soon however Riley would be lost in the shuffle despite reports of him receiving massive pops from the audience at house shows. Riley then soon transitioned into commentary both for the C-Shows such as Main Event/Superstars as well as eventually NXT as the "Analyst". He however begged for some action on twitter with his FreeRiley movement and got his wishes with a mini feud with Kevin Owens and losing efforts against NXT's rising stars.
What Next? His last match against the charismatic Shinsuke Nakamura is still to play out on TV, while Riley himself could look to TNA: Impact Wrestling as a place to make his future, since from what little I've seen of him he seems a better fit for that place rather than the Indies.
2. Damien Sandow
One half of the two biggest mistakes WWE made in this spring cleaning, but a mistake maybe for the better.
Since returning to the company in 2012, the former Idol Stevens made a name for himself as the Intellectual Savior of the Masses, it got him over as a condescending and striking heel character until like always WWE dropped the ball.
Floundering for a while, Sandow also got over the what could have been horrendous gimmick of Miz's stunt double dubbed Mizdow to the masses, becoming a beloved face with massive pops that could have struck at the mid card. Once again WWE dropped the ball and the rest is history.
What Next? A return to the indies, there's one star in the formerly great TNA that made a similar name for himself by imitating superstar specifically Randy Macho Man Savage [something Sandow did to]. Well TNA dropped the ball with him and years later he is the hottest act in Ring of Honor, does Damien Sandow have the same shot?
1. Wade Barett
The other half and my favorite guy on the list, Wade Barett's Nexus storyline attracted me back to Wrestling for a moment in 2010 until John Cena had to go on and bury the poor fellow. Since then, Barett moved from gimmick to gimmick and never recovered.
It's one of the saddest modern WWE tales of a man who could have been a white hot heel for years to come but turned into nothing more than a joke. It's a sad thing that I'd rather not recall, but WWE truly dropped the ball with the British Bruiser. It's Bad News [Pun Intended] that he decided to quit and finally make a statement.
What Next? While Barett has said his move from WWE will result in him taking a much deserved break from the Wrestling world, hopefully he will be back soon. With his talents he could make his name anywhere, he could become another superb addition to the growing Bullet Club and a popular champion material for them or he could be a nice British Bruiser/Royalty character to enter the quirky world of Lucha Underground giving it a new dimension not to mention getting either two acts over that WWE failed to for him.
So this is it...for now, there's a chance much of WWE's spring cleaning is still to come. yet these eight got the first boot there are more than two others who should escape the hell hole the company can become sometimes...
If You Smell,
What Aneesh is Cookin...
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