Anyone else interested in the Slater/Rhyno program?

[@smarkmouth]

On Tuesday's Talking Smack, the former tag team champions of Beauty and the Man Beast teased a volatile disbanding. Rhyno aggressively blamed Slater for their loss on Smackdown, while Heath defensively acknowledged Rhyno taking the pinfall at TLC. The relationship is rocky, with all signs pointing to a split and feud.

I gotta say, I'm surprised at how excited I am.

Slater has been the most unlikely of breakout stars since the brand split. You have to assume this opportunity was given to him after years of loyalty to the company, but Slater has made the most of it. While his contract pursuit was told with humour, he had a few moments of terrific intensity. It was a side of the character I didn't expect. This is the kind of character I can get behind as a solo act, and one I'm very intrigued in watching evolve in a grudge feud, with of all people, the last ECW (original) Champion.

I think what excites me the most is the potential aftermath. While I'd prefer Heath ends this one on top, Smackdown has been good at protecting the loser of a program. The fallout could lead to an Intercontinental Championship program for Heath in a few months, and a veteran like Rhyno sniffing the edges of the World Championship scene has only ever helped.

Seriously, anyone else looking forward to watching this one play?

 

[OYDK]

I think it will be a decent little undercard feud, but I really can't see them getting a PPV match out of it. If they do, it's likely to be on a pre-show but really, who knows. Perhaps fans will get behind this thing and we'll see them face off on whatever SD PPV is after the Rumble.

I'm not sure where either guy goes from here though. If I'm being completely honest, I see Rhyno going away for a bit and Slater kind of fading back into jobber obscurity, but again, who the hell knows. SD lacks depth in a lot of areas so if the crowd gets behind Heath enough, I wouldn't mind seeing him move up the card a bit.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It could be interesting, possibly even a good way of elevating Slater's status as a singles wrestler. I doubt it'll be the stuff that dreams are made of and they might get one, MAYBE even two ppv matches out of it before ultimately moving on.

Slater has gotten over pretty well with his "I got kids" angle and if fans keep behind him, I'd have no issue with him moving up the card a bit. Slater's worked hard and most definitely paid his dues in WWE, so rising to greater prominence as a singles wrestler wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Yeah, I like Rhyno and there's got to be at least 6 more Smackdown PPV events to pad out before Mania.

 

[ComeOnVince]

I absolutely am.

It's a lower/mid-card feud that some energy has been put into, and could be the start of a boost for Slater. or not, I don't care.

This kind of feud is exactly what WWE needs MORE of.

 

[NxtBigThing]

I'm sure they will break up with a possible feud. I think Slater goes over Rhyno in the feud giving the Miz a possible contender for the IC belt leading up to Wrestle Mania. I don't see Slater winning but helping him get some credibility as a singles guy since he already has the personality and fans.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Agree 100% that WWE needs more undercard non-title feuds - as in actual, well written, planned out feuds.

Maybe WWE is acutely aware that Smackdown is a little lacking in top liners, and with Elimination Chamber rumoured to be a Smackdown ppv, which needs 6 wrestlers in the main event, they are doing a bit of forward planning for February. Have Slater and Rhyno stay together until the Royal Rumble match, maybe Rhyno eliminates Slater or causes him to be eliminated. They have a match on the undercard of Elimination Chamberwhich Slater wins, and then goes on to the Intercontinental Title ladder match at Wrestlemania (assuming they have that for the third year in a row) whilst Rhyno enters the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal.

Beyond then, probably not a great deal from either of them tbh

 

[Navi]

Not opposed to this at all. Slater has done amazingly well since the brand split, and he and Rhyno are the best examples of having one. The "He's got kids" is the funniest thing ever, but again it proves that the fans can and will latch on to the most idiotic things. In other words, things they can identify with. Most of them probably have kids as well, so they can understand why he's doing what he does.

It as has been said will be a nice undercard feud and it had better beginning to it than most. I can see it lasting for a couple of months until one or both are involved in something else.

 

[ColeMc]

I loved the angle and it was the best thing about the WWE schedule for a good solid few weeks. However since they got the belts, it's like creative had no clue what to do with them.

I am sure Rhyno was brought in on a short term deal and hopefully that'll be extended to get Heath over and into the midcard. He's criminally underrated and a solid push and maybe a program with the likes of The Miz could solidify him as a regular performer instead of what felt like a jobber tag team champion.

 

[ShinChan]

Yes, I'm.

Heath Slater has never made me indulge in what he does or what's next for him. He does have good mic skills though.

But this is the first time that I am interested in seeing what's next for him. His rise towards the tag titles and the evitable victory of titles was executed in a basic yet effective way.

Still, I would like to see him do some more to justify a bigger singles push.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Slater and Rhyno splitting up would leave only American Alpha and the Hype Bros as the face teams on Smackdown. Obviously that's a pretty terrible division, so they shouldn't split up. Slater would most likely go back to being a jobber while Rhyno would be nothing more than a glorified jobber. They're going to split eventually, but they should wait until they can build more depth in the tag team division.

 

[kadroan]

On Tuesday's Talking Smack, the former tag team champions of Beauty and the Man Beast teased a volatile disbanding. Rhyno aggressively blamed Slater for their loss on Smackdown, while Heath defensively acknowledged Rhyno taking the pinfall at TLC. The relationship is rocky, with all signs pointing to a split and feud.

I gotta say, I'm surprised at how excited I am.

Slater has been the most unlikely of breakout stars since the brand split. You have to assume this opportunity was given to him after years of loyalty to the company, but Slater has made the most of it. While his contract pursuit was told with humour, he had a few moments of terrific intensity. It was a side of the character I didn't expect. This is the kind of character I can get behind as a solo act, and one I'm very intrigued in watching evolve in a grudge feud, with of all people, the last ECW (original) Champion.

I think what excites me the most is the potential aftermath. While I'd prefer Heath ends this one on top, Smackdown has been good at protecting the loser of a program. The fallout could lead to an Intercontinental Championship program for Heath in a few months, and a veteran like Rhyno sniffing the edges of the World Championship scene has only ever helped.

Seriously, anyone else looking forward to watching this one play?

It depends on how they book it. Slater deserves a push. I'd love to see him feud with The Miz.

 

[ShinChan]

It depends on how they book it. Slater deserves a push. I'd love to see him feud with The Miz.

Yeah, it surely depends upon how Heath Slater is booked.

Considering the current situation, I don't think that Heath Slater is a credible challenger to The Miz. The Miz is doing the best of his work as of now and I don't think that Slater is viable enough to defeat him or even challenge him.

 

[kadroan]

Yeah, it surely depends upon how Heath Slater is booked.

Considering the current situation, I don't think that Heath Slater is a credible challenger to The Miz. The Miz is doing the best of his work as of now and I don't think that Slater is viable enough to defeat him or even challenge him.

Miz is great at getting people over. I could imagine those two could do some entertaining stuff.

 

[@smarkmouth]

In what may be Smackdown Live's biggest sin, they really dropped the ball on this. It's been weeks since the most recent tease of dissension. Last time I remember seeing either of these two, Rhyno was breaking up a fight between Ziggler and Crews.

I'm disappointed, but I have to acknowledge SmackDown's jam packed 2 hours. It is always devoid of filler, save for a half minute backstage celebrity cameo here or there. They didn't ignore these guys for the sake of squeezing Breezango or some other act on the show for no good reason. Still, I'm let down by the absence of this angle. Maybe they refresh things at the Rumble, but I'm considering this one dead to rights, unfortunately. I hope I'm wrong.