Hawkins and.... Ryder?

[buddyriffic]

Hey guys. I was just thinking about the whole Tyler Reks retirement thing, and was pondering where exactly this leaves Curt Hawkins. Hanging by the skin of his teeth for a release? Quite possibly. He does have some untapped talent....I think....and possibly could be worth keeping around, at least to give him one chance for an attempt to get over with the crowd. So how can we maximize an attempt to do this? I was thinking about teaming him with Ryder, who although he probably isn't in any danger of being released is also hanging in there by the skin of his teeth career-wise. The fact is that Ryder is MASSIVELY over with the crowd still, or at least isn't too far gone. This would be a far cry from the last time they teamed as those dweebs the Major Brothers. I suppose they could play off the fact that they're former tag team champions, they already mention Hawkins all the time as a former tag champ. What do you guys think of Hawkins/Ryder 2012 and beyond?

 

[Dagger Dias]

Hawkins and Ryder should not get back together, at least not right now.

Ryder is much better off as a singles star. The gimmick change did wonders for him and I have been saying for a couple of years now that the same can happen for Hawkins if they gave him something different that he can make his own. They started out as identical characters, the Major Brothers who ended up getting a random push as Edge's clones. Then they won the Tag Team Championship and split up. Ryder went on to become who he is now, while Hawkins has had a revolving door of tag team partners. The Gatecrashers with Archer and more recently with Reks.

I don't understand why Hawkins has not been given a chance to debut a new gimmick. If it worked for Ryder why can it not work for him? There is more to Hawkins than tag teaming, the potential is there. Notice how I said not right now, for Hawkins & Ryder getting back together. If/When Hawkins has gotten a chance to see some success in singles action under a new gimmick, then it would be interesting to see them get back together as a team under their respective new personas. They need to stop finding random partners for Hawkins and let him show what he can do, try giving the guy a new gimmick and see what happens. Bringing back the tag team now would just seem weird with Ryder's current persona being next to Hawkins who has remained virtually unchanged since their days of being Edge clones.

I'd like to see it somewhere down the line, but not now. Hawkins and Ryder both need singles runs under unique personas first, then a reunion and second tag team title run would be great to see after that.

 

[Workrate]

I definitely think they'd be better served as a tag team. I've never been a fan of Ryder (I hate his gimmick, mostly), so maybe it's just perception influenced by bias, but it seems like his momentum is completely dead. I don't mean "creative stopped pushing him and it's all their fault." I mean the crowd's interest seems to have vanished.

The reason he got the push he did in the first place was because the audience forced WWE's hand. That's how Daniel Bryan became a main eventer and Santino got to hold the US strap for a while, among a bunch of other examples. But, as tends to happen sometimes, once fans get what they clamor for, they stop wanting it. And that's what I feel like has happened with Ryder. The fans still pop for him, but it isn't anywhere near what it was. Without that, there's no reason for creative to invest in him.

Having said all that, I don't see why Ryder would have to abandon his current gimmick, since it obviously can work, in order to get back together with Hawkins. It would require Hawkins to change, but that shouldn't be that difficult. And if him changing means they end up with functional members of the roster, that's better for both guys. Neither wrestler is a fixture of WWE programming now, but if they would be as a tag team, why not go that route?

 

[TJ Matics]

I don't see Hawkins getting himself over at all, he'll get lost in the shuffle in no time. I say partner him with Slater, they have a similar look, heel or face these two could be succesful in the tag team division. I see them as possibly having a Miz/Morrison tag run and maybe afterwards they can have a singles run. This may seem as an abrupt and random team, but Reks left abruptly sooo...

I say don't hide the fact that Reks asked for a release. Show Booker on Smackdown telling Hawkins that Reks didn't have what it took to make it, and if he doesn't find a partner soon, he'd be futured endeavored. I know Slaters on Raw but AJ's still a Smackdown diva so *shrugs*

 

[Ballin247]

I say they continue with the male stripper gimmick. Its something different and is popular right now with that Magic Mike movie. I think they should pair Hawkins with Alex Riley since he isn't doing anything and looks like a male stripper. It could be a comedy gimmick or even develop into a Billy and Chick kind of tag team.

 

[The mind]

Seeing how Justin Gaberial and Tyson Kidd are being paired, and the WWE is actually starting to have a healthy tage team scene, I'd keep Hawkins as a singles wrestler. Having him re-form his tag team with Ryder wouldn't make any sense.

Hawkins would make a nice fringe challenger for the IC or US belts, and Mick Foley has praised him several times in interviews. With how Hawkins has willingly put over Ryback...he's shown his worth and willingness to be a team player to the WWE brass. I don't see him being released any time soon.

 

[sdelfin]

I'm a big fan of Hawkins. Met him too. Nice guy. The dude is extremely crisp in the ring. His execution is great(check out that heat-seeking elbow). He was involved in some very good matches a couple of years ago. Just that those matches were on Superstars and had no meaning. That's the problem with WWE in general, they keep doing way too many meaningless matches, and that's why no one new gets over at all.

If WWE is serious about strengthening their tag division, though there is little evidence this is true, then they need a lot more teams than they have. Of course, since about two-thirds of the roster isn't doing anything worthwhile, it's not that hard to make teams. The tag division is the perfect place to develop young talent and create the stars of tomorrow. With that said, I think Curt benefits from being in a tag team. I really liked his partnership with Archer. There was no good reason to break that team up the way they did. At least feed them to the champs on TV a few times before doing it to get some benefit. So, who to team with Curt? Since WWE seems dead set on sabotaging Ryder as a singles wrestler, despite how over he is, that's one great choice. Along the same lines, Hawkins has a history with Trent Baretta so there should be a natural chemistry between the two that would help them get over as a team. Apparently Trent is still under contract.

 

[trashboy]

Yes, I keep wanting Zack Ryder to get rid of his stupid gimmick and re-team with Hawkins and reform their old tag team. Neither guy is doing much, they both suck as single stars. They could help with the tag division. But since there's no chance of Ryder reforming the team with Hawkins, I say team Hawkins with his old FCW Dudebusters pal, Trent Barretta. Trent's doing absolutely nothing since The Dudebusters broke up. So, since him and Hawkins have a little history together, they'd be perfect as a team as well.

 

[TempestH]

I say do Hawkins & Ryder. Ryder may have fallen off, but he's at least somewhat recognizable now. Also, I think Ryder & Hawkins might be a better team to build the tag division around.

At the moment, Kofi & R-Truth would offer more to the table as singles guys than Hawkins & Ryder would, while Hawkins & Ryder obviously have better chemistry as a team. Re-teaming the two of them would allow Kofi & Truth to drop the tag belts, go back into singles contention and freshen up the upper midcard a bit.

 

[Wrestling101]

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What I've been thinking about for months....To revamp the tag team division, they need tag teams with gimmicks, not just randomly placed people, like even Hawkins and Reks were. Have Ryder spend a few weeks trying to 'recruit' Hawkins and make him 'convert' to whatever the hell Ryder is. Maybe they can be called the Ice-Z's or something, but at least they would have matching ring gear and a gimmick. WWE needs to have 4-6 legit tag teams with gimmicks and some kind of storyline. This would be a great over tag team....they don't even need the belts.

It would keep Ryder on television, and even though I'm not a huge fan of his, there's no denying he's over and should be seen on TV more with a storyline being written for him.

 

[jerry20xx]

I say don't hide the fact that Reks asked for a release. Show Booker on Smackdown telling Hawkins that Reks didn't have what it took to make it, and if he doesn't find a partner soon, he'd be futured endeavored.

This sounds like something that actually would happen but I think it would be done on Raw.

Here's my take on the situation/topic; AJ tells Hawkins that he has a tag match next against the PTP. Hawkins explains that his partner is not longer in WWE and can't have the match. AJ tells him too bad and that he either finds a partner or it's a handicap match. Come back from commercial with PTP already in the ring. Out comes Hawkins, he stands at the edge of the ramp and waits for his partner.....

WOO WOO WOO, YOU KNOW IT!

I think this would be good for Hawkins, Ryder and the tag team division.

This would put Ryder back on TV and would probably boost his merchandise sells and it keeps the tag team division flowing steady without missing a beat.

They could have Hawkins change his gimmick into a broski type guy or you don't have to change a thing at all. Either way would work. People already know that the two started out as a team and even captured the tag team titles as apart of the La Familia stable.

I'm all for the idea of Ryder & Hawkins teaming together again.

 

[The Great King]

I say have Hawkins team with McIntyre. The only way I see Hawkins teaming with Ryder is for Hawkins to turn face, and that would make way too many face tag teams.

 

[James]

Hawkins is the boss and he's always been the boss. I wish that Vince Archer was still around because Hawkins, Archer, and Tyler could've been an awesome team.

Hell, I think think they could've bust dudes up.

 

[james99]

I don't think they need to re-unite. I think WWE needs to see how Hawkins fares by himself. Also if they did re-unite, this will either lead to Hawkins turning face, or Ryder turning heel. WWE usually turn the face heel in these situations, Ryder's massively over with the crowd so a heel turn at this point in time wouldn't make sense.

 

[TempestH]

I don't think they need to re-unite. I think WWE needs to see how Hawkins fares by himself. Also if they did re-unite, this will either lead to Hawkins turning face, or Ryder turning heel. WWE usually turn the face heel in these situations, Ryder's massively over with the crowd so a heel turn at this point in time wouldn't make sense.

I think Hawkins needs to be face because it will be fresh for him. And I don't see Hawkins OR Ryder getting a serious singles push any time soon. But Kofi & Truth offer a lot to the table as singles stars and I don't see them lasting once they drop the belts anyway. So let Kofi & R-Truth drop the belts and go back to the uppercard and Hawkins & Ryder can take their spot, solving the "too many face teams" problem.

 

[R.K.O]

I think this move is good for the both of them, it's not like it can get any worse for them anyway. Zack is barely on TV and Hawkins was jobbing to Ryback regularly with Reks. The tag team division is a good way for both of them to get TV time. Look at what it did for Primo, before he got in a tag team he was getting less TV time than Tyson Kidd.

If they do reform the tag team though it should not be a rehash of Major Brothers, maybe have them co-host Ryder's shows or make a new show like Miz and Morrison did with the dirt sheet, get a new name like the Broskis or something. With Zack's popularity I think they can get over fine and probably carry the tag division once Kofi and Truth are done with it.

 

[lazeric]

I like the idea of pairing the two of them up again. They could become either the 2nd best face team or they could be a major heel team which would be the route i personally would take. I would pair them up and add a guy like Mason Ryan in for the muscle and portray them as A list party guys who look good, talk trash, and hang with the ladies. Its obvious that Hawkins has talent but a horrible gimmick. Guys like Mick Foley vouch for the guy and am I the only one who remembers that this was one of the guys who The Rock trained with while preparing for Wrestlemaina so that has to tell u something there

 

[GameOver]

They were a great team almost the best team at one time, don't see why they can't revisit, Zak could go out saying he feels like he has no friends now and can't cut it solo and his former partner has a change of heart with his current partner leaving WWE.

personally i'd prefer them as a heel team to complement PTP since Primo and Epico are tweeners and they need more teams anyway, Ryders aint gonna get any further in singles and Hawkins hasn't done anything solo.

 

[IHW]

I actually think Hawkins and Ryder could benefit from getting back together. There characters are similar in a way. They both are Party Boys. Now, of course Ryder is way more exaggerated. But, Hawkins refers to himself as "The Party Starter" and Ryder fits in that general area. I think their in-ring styles are both sub-par and can and will continue to get better. They have experience together, and they obviously have nothing going on right now so... why not?

 

[HBsam31]

I say let Hawkins go out on his own for a while, and then pair them. I wouldn't mind seeing them as a team at all. They would be a good edition to the tag division as it is to. Honestly, not much is being done with Ryder now, and Hawkins is left without a partner. I would rather see them as a team and help improve the division than them not be used at all.

 

[Greatness_]

I dont want Ryder and Hawkins to tag again.......Ryder's gimmick is to odd to pair in a tag.....they arent gonna change him because he is over with the kids........That would be like tagging Orton and Lesnar.....just wouldnt make sense....I think Hawkins and Riley would be good if you turn riley heel.......maybe Hawkins and Ted jr.




But i just see once again Hawkins going back to the Jobber role doing nothing til they find someone to tag with him.

 

[TempestH]

I dont want Ryder and Hawkins to tag again.......Ryder's gimmick is to odd to pair in a tag.....they arent gonna change him because he is over with the kids........That would be like tagging Orton and Lesnar.....just wouldnt make sense....I think Hawkins and Riley would be good if you turn riley heel.......maybe Hawkins and Ted jr.




But i just see once again Hawkins going back to the Jobber role doing nothing til they find someone to tag with him.

Riley and Ted as heels have already been done. Riley has just regained his footing as a face and is winning matches again. He's too over of a face to just randomly turn him, while Ted hasn't gotten the chance to actually settle into his face role due to injury. I think the Ryder/Hawkins team could be done if Hawkins turned face. It would be offer a lot of fresh matches. Ryder isn't gonna get a serious push any time soon, so it's not like Hawkins would be "holding back Ryder's potential as a main eventer" if they re-teamed. Ryder's gimmick isn't too odd to put in a tag team. He has been randomly paired with Santino quite a bit in the past few months. Just keep Ryder as he is, and keep Hawkins as he is, but have them wear matching colored gear or something. Hawkins already makes appearances on Ryder's show anyway, so that can be their connection.