Job - Alex Riley - Probably not the conventional choice but I will say this, Riley can come across as a legit bad ass. When he was with The Miz lets not forget that it was Riley who acted as the real muscle behind the hustle. When Miz turned on him and he snapped, it was quite clear who could dominate who, and Riley was dominating a former WWE Champion with ease. He looked like a bad ass doing it, it didn't seem contrived or unbelievable, and he did have fans getting behind him whether it was because he went against The Miz or not, they still got behind him and at the time people wanted to see him pushed. Let's also not forget that Riley was beating up on numerous other top tier guys to help The Miz, and at no time was that unbelievable.
So, Riley isn't a lost cause by any stretch. The guy can do it on the mic and he displayed that all the way back to his beginnings on NXT when some were saying " Here's the next 'Kennedy' " and pushing for him to win it. Sure, he's got the cookie-cutter look, and he doesn't have a dynamic ring repertoire, but the building blocks are all there and I believe he could be a useful commodity as a jobber who you could in turn push later.
Fire - Ted Dibiase - I know some disagree but I don't see any other avenue here. Nothing has worked for him, nothing. I loved the whole "Dibiase Posse Tailgating Parties" idea, but how has that worked out btw ?........I think tailgating and WWE events seem like a perfect match but I haven't witnessed or heard anything about it since it's inception so you can arguably chalk that up as another failed attempt to get the fans behind him and get over. Dibiase also isn't anything special in the ring. He might be a tad bit better than Riley, but Riley has other tools Ted doesn't that make him more valuable. I decided to fire him instead of Riley for two specific and BIG reasons.
1. Riley can talk, Dibiase can't. Some folks may say "But you can have a manager do the talking for him until he gets good at it" and to that I say, he's already had enough time to get good at it and just hasn't. I doubt it's for lack of effort, I just don't think he's quick enough or clever enough upstairs to do it right. On top of that, who are you going to put with him? Don't even think about saying Paul Heyman because that's not even realistic. Heyman is only around right now because of Brock Lesnar and once that is done so is Heyman. Add to that, I don't think there's anything dynamic about his personality to bring out and make interesting in a verbal capacity which leads to reason number 2.
2. No Charisma Whatsoever. This is a big deal and a problem you simply can't fix, either you've got it or you don't and he simply doesn't. Riley does have some natural charisma, not much, but some, and that counts in this conversation. Riley also never had the stigma of trying to be a clone of "Randy Orton, the most boring man on the planet" which probably hurt Dibiase more than the rub helped him. On a personal level I think Dibiase seems like a cool guy, the kind of guy I WOULD want to hang out with, tailgate with, party with, and probably have a lot of good conversation with. As a wrestler though, I just don't see it in the cards for him to ever be a true success and part of that is because he doesn't have any real charisma to draw people to him. He doesn't have that innate quality about him that makes people interested in him. It's unfortunate, but that's where it all leads, Future Endeavored. Another big problem that stems from this is that we've already seen him try and fail with different gimmicks that were designed to cover this flaw. It shows that there's no getting around it and that despite all efforts it's just not going to happen, barring a major turn of events and a miracle.
Push - Jack Swagger - That's right, Jack Swagger. It may have been awhile since it seemed he had any swagger but this guy has so much potential it's ******ed and if you haven't seen it you probably are ******ed. He has everything the other guys don't and what he lacks he doesn't lack to such a degree that it can't be built upon or improved. This guy has simply fell victim as others have noted, to poor booking decisions. It's also noteworthy that there is only so much room at the top and that hasn't helped either. The WWE keeps certain guys up there no matter what and that doesn't create much room for a guy like Swagger to maintain vacancy there.
Swagger by far is the best wrestler of the group. Riley and Dibiase simply don't hold a candle to Swagger in the ring and that's very important to note. His ability is rivaled by few honestly, and at his size as well it's hard to name many others who compare. I didn't think much of him when he first came around, but watching this guy in the ring I came to realize what a special talent he really is. He does have the look and his build is imposing. He's a big guy who wrestles like a smaller guy, but also possesses the power to pull off big man moves and that makes for an entertaining in ring performer. It's also no stretch of the imagination to believe that he can hold his own or dominate anyone on the roster.
Against what some may surmise and compared to the other here, Swagger isn't half bad on the mic. He's not brilliant by any means, and Riley is probably more natural at it than him, but he gets it done. I believe that the problem with Swagger isn't that he can't talk or that he simply isn't good on the mic, I think it has more to do with what they've asked of him than anything. Now some will say "But the greats can always make good with what they're given no matter how bad it is" and you're correct to make that statement, but that doesn't make it any less difficult to do and no one is calling Swagger one of the greats. There have been times where Swagger delivered a good promo, but when you want him to basically go out there and be Biff Tannen, what do you expect? That's not him, and it doesn't work for him.
I think Swagger does have the charisma to get over. His look and his ability are apart of that charisma and he just hasn't been given the gimmick to use it properly. Lets not forget Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't getting over as The Ringmaster, The Rock wasn't getting over as Rocky Maivia, and Triple H wasn't getting over as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. They had to be given something to work with that worked with them too, and I think Swagger is no different. Personally I think he should be a serious heel that simply isn't there to fuck around, but just kick ass. When that guy gets seemingly pissed off, he gets a look on his face that is menacing and intimidating. When he looks serious and angry, it's believable. So run with it, that's something that seems to work so build on it.
This guy has all the tools to be a serious main eventer in the future, even the near future if you do some things differently. I think you could easily make him face or heel if you play it right, and I think that as of now he is a wasted talent. Of the three mentioned here, he deserves a push more than anyone. After jobbing out to Santino Marella and everyone else he faces, being made to play second fiddle to Dolph Ziggler who I'm sure he could fold up like an accordion, being fed to Ryback, and all the crap this guy has had to eat, I think it's about time to go back to the drawing board and do something meaningful to get the most out of this guy, because I think there's more to get out of him than a lot of the guys they are currently pushing and trying to put above him.
