Main Event Potential...?

[ShinChan]

Damien Sandow has been recently released from WWE.

A simple question about Sandow...

"Did Damien Sandow possess Main Event Potential?"

I think that He surely had main event potential.

What is needed to be a potential main eventer? In-ring work, Mic Skills, Getting over with crowd, etc.

He had it all. He was a good in-ring worker. Great mic skills. He was very over with the crowd and that too with two different gimmicks.

All he lacked was WWE's proper booking. He could easily one of the top heel/babyface in WWE, had WWE shown trust in him.

For me, Sandow would remain one of the most misused and unutilized WWE talents.

Thoughts & Votes?

 

[@smarkmouth]

I was disappointed in Sandow's release, but I never felt so up in arms on the topic. While I was a fan, my biggest disappointment in all this was WWE squandering the organic reaction he received.

That being said, can you name one marquee Sandow match?

Sandow was a great midcard, and there is nothing wrong with that. WWE failed Sandow, but it wasn't because they didn't make him a main eventer. WWE failed Sandow by not allowing him to perform.

 

[ShinChan]

I was disappointed in Sandow's release, but I never felt so up in arms on the topic. While I was a fan, my biggest disappointment in all this was WWE squandering the organic reaction he received.

That being said, can you name one marquee Sandow match?

Sandow was a great midcard, and there is nothing wrong with that. WWE failed Sandow, but it wasn't because they didn't make him a main eventer. WWE failed Sandow by not allowing him to perform.

That's what I am askin' here. If WWE booked him rightly, could Sandow ever become a legit main eventer? If WWE would give him good opportunities, does he has the potential to become the top babyface or heel?

 

[@smarkmouth]

That's what I am askin' here. If WWE booked him rightly, could Sandow ever become a legit main eventer? If WWE would give him good opportunities, does he has the potential to become the top babyface or heel?

Eh, over the past year I've somewhat adopted the philosophy that almost anyone can be booked properly and hit a legitimate main event status. Nonetheless, I misread your OP. My mistake.

So yes, vis a vis, Sandow had main event potential. Certainly more than some.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

No. He wouldn't have the staying power to main event PPVs. Sandow was a great talent for the mid card but wasn't used properly after Mizdow.

 

[ShinChan]

Eh, over the past year I've somewhat adopted the philosophy that almost anyone can be booked properly and hit a legitimate main event status. Nonetheless, I misread your OP. My mistake.

So yes, vis a vis, Sandow had main event potential. Certainly more than some.

Agreed.

Anyone could hit a legitimate main event status but that person needs to possess skills enough to entertain us, isn't it? Like wrestling and promo skills. And I think Sandow had that skills.

What a wastage of talent by WWE.

No. He wouldn't have the staying power to main event PPVs. Sandow was a great talent for the mid card but wasn't used properly after Mizdow.

I totally disagree with the bolded portion. Unbolded portion is very true though. I would really like to know the reason behind your thinking that he wouldn't have the staying power. Possession of promo skills is very rarely found in WWE.

Let's see who are good mic-workers in WWE- Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks, Enzo/Cass, New Day and Rollins. Just pointing about the new ones.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Damien Sandow was probably a genius(not the renaissance man/genius persona). Everything he did, whether on the mic, or through gestures, was just brilliant. We all loved him as the Saviour of the Masses, and as Miz's stunt double.

I'm not so sure about his in-ring skills. I don't really think he could be a maineventer(like Punk or Orton) on Raw.

But I definitely think that he could've been a solid B-show maineventer and an entertaining world heavyweight champion on Smackdown. So like Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, and The Big Show, all of whom who were the WHC on Smackdown between 2011-2013, Sandow could've been one.

Unfortunately, the WWE treated the Gold like shit and pushed all sorts of idiots like The Miz, R-truth, Kofi Kingston(the Orton feud) instead. Not to mention the undeserved multiple title wins of Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio, the latter of which was boring as fuck.

IMO, Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow deserved all the pushes which were received by Sheamus, Del Rio, etc.

So in a way he did have MAIN EVENT POTENTIAL based on his ability on the mic, as well as the fact that he was over. And when it comes to Charisma. But Damien Sandow as the WWE Champion? I'm not really sure. May be I'd be convinced if he won the other titles- like IC, US, or WHC first.

They're doing the same misuse with Cesaro now. Well, unless they've booked him to win the IC title at Extreme Rules.

At least Kevin Owens is definitely being recognized as the WWE's next star, even though they may not view him as "the face of the company". He probably will be winning the MITB, and if not him, I won't mind Cesaro winning it.

We can at best hope.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I liked Sandow and thought that he had talent, but I never really got a "main event vibe" from the guy. I enjoyed his work as a whole because he was good at it and genuinely put a lot of effort into making everything he was given work as well as possible, that's what a pro is supposed to do instead of pissing and moaning all over the internet like some entitled baby.

However, I think Sandow was someone like Zack Ryder in that the crowd investment in him would have died down once he'd started getting pushed. I remember when people were going on about Zack Ryder as to how great he was, how charismatic he was, how much personality he had and how they felt he should be given a strong push. There was elation among the masses when he won the United States Championship...for about 2 weeks and then that monumental support for Ryder just plain dried up. I compare it to something akin to an underground recording artist that's built up a strong following of fans, people who're really into him, proclaiming him to be a great artist, etc. but then quickly become indifferent or turn on him when/if he starts to achieve some mainstream success. In Ryder's case, it was almost like a lot of fans were cheering him so they could flip the metaphorical finger to Vince and I think the same would've gone down for Sandow.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I always felt that Damien Sandow could have Main Evented whenever the WWE wanted him to. To be fair, I feel that way about every WWE SuperStar that walks past the Gorilla position, down the aisle, through the ropes, and into the ring.

I was hoping that the Meta Powers storyline took off, if not on Raw and Smackdown, at least on Main Event or SuperStars. One storyline I came up with in my head was to bring back the Hardcore Championship Title Belt. I’d have a 14-man tournament on Main Event and SuperStars, where the finals would feature Macho Man-Dow vs. Ted DiBiase Jr. After interference from Big Show on behalf of DiBiase, AxelMania would come down to help Macho Man-Dow to even up the odds. Macho Man-Dow wins the (broken) Winged Eagle and the Meta Powers celebrate. A few weeks later, the Meta Powers Explode!! Well, we all know what happened there.

Now I know this was just a comedy act, but the parents of WWE’s current target audience would have enjoyed this storyline very much. This could have been a gateway to selling more WWE Network subscriptions. Parents would have loved to show their kids how the Mega Powers storyline actually went down. I actually did show my Son, and now he’s a fan of the Mega Powers, Mega Maniacs, Ultimate Maniacs, Monster Maniacs (WCW’s version of the Mega Powers), and of course, the nWo.

 

[dsotm5150]

Not everybody is meant for main event status and I don't personally see Sandow as main event. Atleast not long term anyway. He easily is one of those talents that is better suited for mid and upper mid level tiers. Nothing wrong with that either, after all you need a cake to put the frosting over.

 

[resignedknight]

I think the more interesting question is how much the fan response was a result of the perception that he was being held back. In other words, would we have even liked it if he got pushed that far?

I, for one, was a big fan of the intellectual savior gimmick from day one. I remember JR blogging about how it was apparent he just "got it" from day one, and I completely agreed, but the crowd was never that keen. It seemed like he only really took off once he was viewed as being relegated to second fiddle behind the Miz. And there has been a tendency in recent years to do that, getting behind guys who we feel are being misused. He was no doubt talented, otherwise we wouldn't have cared at all, but I feel like there would be some buyer's remorse if the WWE had actually listened to all those cheers.

 

[thekooljt]

I think the more interesting question is how much the fan response was a result of the perception that he was being held back. In other words, would we have even liked it if he got pushed that far?

I, for one, was a big fan of the intellectual savior gimmick from day one. I remember JR blogging about how it was apparent he just "got it" from day one, and I completely agreed, but the crowd was never that keen. It seemed like he only really took off once he was viewed as being relegated to second fiddle behind the Miz. And there has been a tendency in recent years to do that, getting behind guys who we feel are being misused. He was no doubt talented, otherwise we wouldn't have cared at all, but I feel like there would be some buyer's remorse if the WWE had actually listened to all those cheers.

Some of you guys just don't get it. I've said this in other threads especially when discussing Sandow. There comes a time when you have to protect whats yours. A WWE performer is no different. In the WWE, the wrestlers are their own brand for themselves and for the company. Sandow's downward spiral began the moment he lost his match to John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship. Creative should have allowed him to win. Yes he took jobs while having the MITB briefcase, but if he had won the World title all those previous sins would have washed away. Instead Creative jobbed him till they couldn't job him no more despite Sandow's uncanny ability to recreate himself. And what happens after that THE COMPANY LOSES INTEREST, AND THEN THE FANS LOSE INTEREST.

 

[Navi]

I loved Sandow and thought yes why not he could have main evented. Obviously the WWE did at one time as well by giving him the MITB briefcase. He took every gimmick they handed him and made it his own, even the bad ones he turned into comedy gold.

He wasn't bad in the ring and quite frankly outstanding on the mic. He had the backing of the fans but he for some reason lost favour with the people in charge, and it went downhill from there. I remember watching a podcast with Miz and he said he hoped the fans didn't abandon Sandow after the Mizdow gimmick was finished. They didn't, the WWE abandoned Sandow instead.

Anyone can be a main event talent if given the right push, but you have to have the skills to go along with it. He had the goods but unfortunately no one behind him. It seemed they punished him for getting over in spite of their efforts to quell it. But hey it's not like it hasn't happened before or will again.

Sandow was one hell of a talent and he'll find work anywhere.

 

[Hem]

Heres the thing, people love Damien Sandow. Why shouldn't they, he was a well spoken wrestler who knew how to give the crowd what they wanted. That's great, but really thats not enough.

John Cena, Punk, Jeff Hardy, Roman Reigns, HHH, Edge, Orton, Rollins etc all were true main event talents. Yes, Sandow is better than some of them in one aspect or another but the difference between these people and Damien is that he does not posses an aura that makes you want to tune in.

I loved watching Sandow as the intellectual savior of the masses and as Mizdow but I would never tune into Raw just to see him. He never kept my attention the whole time and I found myself looking down at my big black phone at some point. He didn't captive and hold my attention the way a true STAR does. Sandow is only US/Tag Team title level. Maybe a IC title reign.

 

[Azane]

I think most of why Sandow was "over" on the internet, is because they didnt push him. When he had the MITB and was teasing a world title run, the dude was getting NO reactions in most buildings, and it was a roll your eyes moment.

The way he talked and the way he fit into all the strange gimmicks means he should of been about a Goldust Calibur star, couple midcard runs, a lot of talking, and mild success, but not really main event level.

 

[MWRedskins]

honestly, when he had his first gimmick (the intellectual savior of the unwashed masses), Damien Sandow had MAJOR main event potential. he had the character of a top heel because people dont like a guy who claims he's smarter and better than them. now when he was Mizdow, i dont think he was anything but a mid carder at best. the stunt double and mocking people was funny, mainly the stunt double, but it isn't something that is main event worthy. i think Sandow has the in ring skills to be a main eventer anywhere in wrestling, he just needs the right character.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

honestly, when he had his first gimmick (the intellectual savior of the unwashed masses), Damien Sandow had MAJOR main event potential.

Actually that's the exact opposite of true.

If you look at Sandow's most over gimmicks, they were all goofy. If you really took his savior of the masses gimmick seriously, you clearly still think wrestling is real. The guy did a cartwheel for heavens sake.

Some people do their best work in goofy/comedy characters. Santino Marella for example. Cody Rhodes' best stuff has easily been very gimmicky.

The reason so many people around here wanted him pushed more is because he was so good at the goofy aspects they gave him. When they tried making him more serious, he floundered. Then he went back to goofy with Miz and was a highlight.

He always left you wanting more, which is a concept most who frequent the Internet don't understand. When he tried to be serious, he didn't.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Well I think a lot of wrestlers have main event material, but let's be realistic - only so many wrestlers can/will become main eventers.

Sandow was incredibly talented and over. He did a lot with the little he was given. However the main event scene is so stacked that he didn't fit in. He's firmly behind Styles, Wyatt, Cesaro, Ambrose, Cena, Owens, Orton, Reigns, Zayn, Rollins, and Sheamus in terms of talent and card position.

With that said he was greatly underused. He could've easily been a upper mid-carder. The Intellectual Savior of the Masses gimmick was gold.

 

[Boubou79]

I think they should have tried him with the IC title for at least 3-4 big ppv matches... Maybe he would have been good and then try him main event... but honestly I don't think he was serious enough as a character to be a WWE champ.
I loved his savior of the masses gimmick and mizdow was funny as hell. But when you go that route its pretty tough to be a believable threat in my opinion, even if you change drastically, people remember...

Also, look at all the talent in WWE right now (and coming) that didnt get the chance to main event yet. He had no chance... He will shine everywhere he goes now so it's better that way for him.

 

[resignedknight]

Some of you guys just don't get it. I've said this in other threads especially when discussing Sandow. There comes a time when you have to protect whats yours. A WWE performer is no different. In the WWE, the wrestlers are their own brand for themselves and for the company. Sandow's downward spiral began the moment he lost his match to John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship. Creative should have allowed him to win. Yes he took jobs while having the MITB briefcase, but if he had won the World title all those previous sins would have washed away. Instead Creative jobbed him till they couldn't job him no more despite Sandow's uncanny ability to recreate himself. And what happens after that THE COMPANY LOSES INTEREST, AND THEN THE FANS LOSE INTEREST.

Others of you guys just don't get it. If you are going to be a main event level talent that the crowd is really backing, the kind of backing that propels a mid-carder to the main event, then there should be nothing the booking can do to you to stop that momentum.

If a few losses while holding the briefcase and then a single loss to the company's top guy hurts you THAT badly, then it wasn't meant to be. They did much worse to Bryan. They did much worse to Punk. Even on the current roster, they've done much worse to Bray, who stays over. The guys who become bankable main event level stars are the guys Vince can't screw up. I honestly think the company knows this, and sometimes things like what happened to Sandow are a test. The fact that, as you say, it hurt him so badly, means he failed that test.

 

[LODemolition]

While I loved Sandow (especially during his run as Mizdow), I never saw him as a main eventer and didn't buy for one second that he'd actually successfully cash in the MITB briefase. He was a solid mid-carder, but never anything more in my eyes. It's a shame how they misused him after he and The Miz went their separate ways, and I saw it coming a mile away. Once he went solo, he should have returned to his original "intellectual savior" gimmick. I really don't get how they can't find time for a character like his that the fans love in over 5 hours of programming each week between Raw and SD, yet they can make room for thsee God awful Darren Young/Bob Backlund vignettes.

 

[stingray11214]

Sandow would have been a Main Eventer if WWE was about wrestling. He had stuff that you just cannot teach in the Performance Center. His charisma and nature were NATURAL. He had a decent moveset that could realistically control a match. Some are mentioning Zack Ryder, and what he did. Ryder's shtick was Jersey Shore-ish. We've seen it before, and it just did not come off real. The other good thing about Sandow is that he was malleable. You could put him in anything, and it would have worked.

Maybe, in the end, that was the problem. He was a jack-of-all-trades. When you have too much of a good thing, you may end up with nothing. Especially when you are dealing with the misfits that are writing in Creative. Had they just saw what they had in front of them, Sandow would have been in the Main Event scene for a long time. Instead, he will be making a fortune, doing less in the Indies, than he would have ever gotten in the E.

 

[OYDK]

It's difficult now to imagine Sandow as a main event level anything given how badly he was buried by the WWE, but had they decided to re-invent him as a serious competitor following his MITB loss to Cena instead of scrapping his whole character, he undoubtedly would have had a shot. The thing is, if the Mizdow thing never happens, than Sandow is probably not perceived as a main event level talent by the fans because that was the first time they really embraced him. As the Intellectual Savior he was getting some decent heat, but the character was still young and needed time to develop.

So the question remains, was Sandow a main event level talent, or did the fans just embrace a goofy gimmick that they loved? The question can't definitively be answered sadly. He was great at his Intellectual Savior gimmick and had they allowed him to stick with it until this day, I think there's a decent chance that he would have come into his own and cemented himself in the upper-midcard by now. Once he turned into Mizdow, his shot of becoming anything other than the next Zack Ryder was slim. He certainly was never going to be a main eventer after that period, and anyways, I didn't think the fans would continue embracing him as a serious contender after Mizdow.

Sandow was a great talent who seemingly could have played any role they gave him. I honestly think the fan reaction is what did him in. After Mizdow, it seemed like WWE got a little scared and decided to quell his momentum before it could seriously take off and force them into another "situation". Daniel Bryan anyone?

 

[ShinChan]

After Mizdow, it seemed like WWE got a little scared and decided to quell his momentum before it could seriously take off and force them into another "situation". Daniel Bryan anyone?

Let's assume that it forces them into another "situation". But wouldn't it be profitable to them? WWE surely wants to increase their profit as well as star power. So if WWE was forced to push Sandow, Wouldn't WWE get a bigger star in Sandow? Merchandise sales would be up and ratings too.

If WWE was forced to push Bryan, it also benefitted them. Bryan was the most over wrestler since a decade. The Yes! Movement was present just everywhere.

I think that WWE missed big time at Sandow. If WWE invested in Sandow, the most benefits would be gotten by WWE itself. Not Sandow or us but WWE itself.

 

[OYDK]

Let's assume that it forces them into another "situation". But wouldn't it be profitable to them? WWE surely wants to increase their profit as well as star power. So if WWE was forced to push Sandow, Wouldn't WWE get a bigger star in Sandow? Merchandise sales would be up and ratings too.

If WWE was forced to push Bryan, it also benefitted them. Bryan was the most over wrestler since a decade. The Yes! Movement was present just everywhere.

I think that WWE missed big time at Sandow. If WWE invested in Sandow, the most benefits would be gotten by WWE itself. Not Sandow or us but WWE itself.

Yes that is a slim possibility. It also would have disrupted all of their plans for the future though. In this Sandow situation, the risk likely doesn't equal the reward. Think about it, Daniel Bryan was never supposed to be a big player in the WWE (supposedly), and when the fans started to get behind him, they screwed up everything that the WWE had been planning for months. It's one of the reasons why they did everything to quell the momentum, even going so far as to try and turn him heel and having him lose clean to Wyatt at the Rumble that year. One significant difference between now and then is, Bryan was only taking the spot of a part-timer who had already solidified himself as a legend, and because of that, it was actually beneficial for the WWE to create a new star out of him. Pushing Sandow during his hot run could have possibly resulted in him superseding Roman Reigns and that was just something that the WWE could not let happen.

So while Daniel Bryan ultimately became one of the greatest parts of this generation, he was never part of the plan, and that probably scared the crap out of WWE. I assume they decided to never let something get that out of hand again. This is me doing a ton of assuming though, and by no means am I saying this is the actual reason, just a possibility.

I'm not saying I agree with the WWE if this were the case, far from it.