I'm afraid I've got some BAD NEWS....You're Welcome

[gasM]

So Bad News Barrett's podium schtick during the Miz-Brodus match on SmackDown has been well received on here and it seemed like the crowd were into it (although in fairness SmackDown is pre-taped and edited). Barrett certainly seemed to be enjoying himself and has invested in this character enough to make it believable and entertaining.

Someone on the proper Barrett podium thread mentioned that the gimmick might be slightly too similar to Damien Sandow's with him berating and talking down to the audience - quite literally in Barrett's case from the podium. It seems for the moment Barrett is being protected by not getting physically involved, and his removal from the Rumble tells me they wanted to keep him strong by avoiding an elimination in his first match under the Bad News Barrett gimmick. Sandow has received no such protection - he lost to R-Truth on Main Event this week - but he did look very good against John Cena on Raw and does still get plenty of focus from the creative team, even though the resulting material isn't great.

What would you make of a Barrett-Sandow tag team? I think it could work especially in the post 'Mania months when the part timers drift away one by one. Their gimmicks are similar enough to find common ground, and both men can and will excel on the mic. Ditto for in-ring work, though I'd say Sandow shines on the former and Barrett the latter. It would also give Sandow some relevancy, provide someone else to take any losses to keep Barrett strong, and give both men a clear goal - the WWE Tag Team championships.

Barrett-Sandow vs The Usos, vs The Brotherhood (if they stick around), vs a face Real Americans, all sound like quality programs to me. And with the rumoured Shield breakup and the inevitable departure of the New Age Outlaws when they outlive their usefulness, they could really lead the way in terms of heel tag teams.

I'm afraid I've got some bad news...You're Welcome! Thoughts on this potential team?

 

[DetectiveZelix]

I completely agree. I was thinking the same thing..they'd be loads better than Team Rhodes scholars. I dont know about how their chemistry would be or any cool duo moves they would execute but entertainment wise on the mic they would dominate

 

[shafe_41]

Terrible idea. For two big heels you're trying to push into the future of the business, putting them together is an awful concept. You throw two random superstars together into a tag team because you have nothing for them to do. Case and point... Ryback/Axel. They have nothing for these two. Nor should they. They're two guys nobody cares to see. I personally didn't like either of them. So they throw them together to job for random teams for 3 minute matches with no significance whatsoever. Bad News Barrett is a new character that is gaining steam every single week BY HIMSELF!!! Why the hell would you throw him into a tag team and halt that progress? It doesn't make any sense and that would be a terrible booking decision.

 

[LODemolition]

While there's no doubt that they'd mesh well and make a good tag team, I think they're going to give Barrett a decent push soon. They might have struck gold with this new gimmick, and he should at least be competing for the IC Title within the next few months. There's been talk of him possibly joining The Authority, and now questions of a tag team. He'd fit just fine into either of those situations, but let's see how far he can go on his own before trying to fix what isn't broken.

 

[Trill Co$by]

I honestly think this is one of the worst ideas ever. For starters, it would be terrible for them to start making Sandow more serious as a singles star, only to have him revert back to being a grammar Nazi. Second, Barrett's not entertaining [to me] and couldn't be even if he got hit with a frying pan. Even still, it wouldn't serve him any purpose either because the mic time he does need and get would be shortened to help Sandow out as well. So that's another problem.

 

[The Butcher]

I could see Barrett and Sandow as a viable and entertaining short-term pairing, but it shouldn't be done anytime in the near future. Like Shafe said, Bad News is getting over by himself. He's gaining momentum and fans every time he ascends that scissor lift and starts talking. At the moment, he really needn't do more than that. I'm with LODemolition in thinking that he will receive a push soon. If he does and it doesn't pan out, then by all means tag him with Sandow. As long as he's on the rise and getting over, though, he should be allowed to take it as far as he can on his own.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Eh...it has potential but both guys need the mic to succeed and we all know WWE isn't going to give it to both of them. But like I said there is potential here, if teaming together eventually gets them pushed to the titles it would be a improvement to what they're both doing individually.

Of course I like many of you rather see these guys go up the ranks in singles but since that doesn't seem to be on the horizon teaming together wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, especially if it gets Barrett actually in the ring and Sandow some decent wins. Has to beat losing to R-Truth on Main Event.

Also the tag division is a lil crowded right now, but that'll clear up post WM assuming NAO, Shield and Brotherhood are gone.

 

[tvcolosi]

Great minds think alike! I actually mentioned this idea in passing on some post about 4-5 weeks ago, I forget what for, might have been a comment on the main board.

I dig it, they have a similar look, a few vauge similarites in gimmick, but very different styles. I also think "Welcome News" or "Unwelcome News" would be a fun name. Problem is there are SOOOOO many good to average heel teams so they likey would get lost in the shuffle.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

It would be a good pairing, but I agree with the rest. Let Sandow and Barrett go on their own. You don't need a good team to go for the Tagteam titles. Look at Rated RKO. 2 young guys that really had nothing in common except climbing the WWE ladder, but it worked and Randy & Edge became close friends from working together. However, Barrett and Sandow should be booked strong.

 

[Cody Trail]

The problem with this scenario is Wade Barrett is finally gaining some momentum, and 2014 may be his best year since 2010, while Sandow has fallen so far down the card it's tragic. When you go from winning MITB to literally have to threaten to quit on-screen just to win a match six months later, you know something went wrong in your career.

 

[OrionDown]

love and hate it.
Im a huge fan of barret, i believed he was going to be a mitb winner, and be whc for a year ish ago, so giving him ring time and mic time im all over.
Why i hate it.
These two are both superstars that are great, but are missing something. Barret had it, but lost it with creative, Sandow missing it, but well received by wrestling fans.Pair this two up, you just get a unoriginal heel team, that have a win/loss record of the real Americans.

How it could work. Im loving this none physical Barret. It can be the debut of nexus idea (not a new nexus just a new fraction) all over again. He can start an up roar, and waiting for the right time. People are taking him as a joke. Maybe him, sandow, throw in few others guys, maybe Axel, and get a big guy (NOT RYBACK) and they just take out the tag team champs, or the champion, and right before that event goes off the air, Barret grabs the mic and says while looking into the camera, "i've got some bad news wwe"

 

[The Perfect Max]

The only issue here is timing. In 2013 I would have said yes, but time is running out. Wade Barrett has been irrelevant for so long that its now or never. For Damien Sandow, I hope to God they give him something to do, he is really good in my eyes.

I think if they were to put them together, there would be chemistry, and collectively on the mic could be hilariously superior, but my worry is that they'll be thrown into the tag team division. This happens so many times that the real tag teams never get an opportunity.

Anyway, if the WWE put them together, fine. But do it to push both at the same time, separate from the tag team division, and as a main event tag team.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I don't see the comparison between them, and lately I am seeing them like two characters from Animal House...

Barrett who is quickly becoming the "Otter" type of the WWE... a bit of a scumbag in what he does but ascerbic, very funny put downs and you find yourself WANTING him to say more and go further... and you know he is very likely to attract others to his fans (you know he's a good leader) and you have Sandow who was always basically the Greg Marmalade/Neidermeyer type, snooty, up himself, you hate the superiority but really wanted to be an Omega till the Delta's showed up and you realised they're doing similar things, full of geeks like you but much more fun!.

Those who haven't seen the movie won't think I am making any sense, but it's right... To some Barrett the other night was a throwaway, but having him so high up was genius and you can easily see that this is probably gonna happen during the Rumble tonight as well... The fans were getting into it and more to the point Barrett was, he was smiling, laughing - this was the closest he's ever been to a face... and I think it might end up going that way. Perhaps "serious" Barrett isn't the way forward at all but a fun loving, piss taking guy who will be able to "back it up" when the heels try and take him to task for it.

Sandow cannot work that way as his schtick is all about pomposity... Barrett's gimmick right now, if they keep up with it is about making fun of people and being our "interior voice", if he's saying what we are thinking how is he a heel? He was literally ripping the product apart, having fun doing it and knowing that 90% of the fans were not only digging what he was saying but he was getting to be the guy who says this stuff and NOT get in shit for it... Look how the other guys who speak out of turn fare, yet Barrett is being featured for doing so... that's not being buried or irrelevant... it perhaps just has occured to them that Barrett is actually the guy who can finally carry off the snarky character without Punk's backstage edge and some genuine humor to it.

I am really hoping they feud these guys, with Barrett as the face. I can see it kicking off tonight, with Barrett in his big podium slating most of the Rumble participants till it's suddenly gone a bit quiet around 26 and there he is, dumping out some of the guys he took the piss off until Batista or Brock, whoever get hold of him... or if he really isn't in the Rumble, I hope he's gonna critique the Cena/Orton match, causing Orton to lose his cool (and perhaps the title)... Sure we've seen it before but not with Barrett as a face...