To What Extent Did Fandango's Concussion affect the Summer?

[Mac Attack]

FAN-DAN-GO, whether he likes it or not he most likely changed the entire course of the summer with one measly concussion. This thread however isn't meant to be for fantasy booking no we're not rewriting history we're simply discussing to what extent did Fandango's concussion alter the events of the summer.

As you all know Fandango suffered a concussion on June 10 making him no longer able to participate in the Intercontinental Triple Threat Match. Now this singular event may seem pretty insignificant however there is on Curtis Axel to keep in mind. Curtis Axel temporarily seemed like he was destined for a feud with one Mr. Cena, and it appeared as if down the line it be Axel vs Cena. As we now know this feud never made it and Axel is the "Heyman" guy.

However I ask you is there more here that meets the eyes. Clearly if Axel ends up in a title match then potentially a lot of events don't happen, we never may get Henry's title match or promo, might not get this Daniel Bryan match, and for all we know this Lesnar Punk feud might seem extremely different. Now I know I'm simply hypothesizing here but a lot of events could appear very different just because Fandango ended up with a concussion.

Now I know that the basic response to the question is injuries and impromptu events happen all the time. Something like this could happen all the time for absolutely anyone and as we know this also happened for Ziggler in the World Title picture. However I feel like for this particular summer one man's concussion could have changed a decent amount of what we have seen.

In my perspective Fandango altered the events of the summer adequately. Clearly he was destined for the IC title, Axel for bigger things, and there most likely was a different title picture than that of which we have seen. Now this change might end up being for the better as Henry has looked amazing, and the summer of Bryan has officially commenced. However I can't help feel bad that for Axel Fandango might have screwed him over.

I'm curious as to what all of to think about this and want to hear how you think he changed the game.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, as mentioned, the most obvious path for Fandango looked to be straight to the Intercontinental Championship. He was scheduled to compete against Barrett & Miz at Payback but Axel replacing him due to his injury and winning the title is about as clear of a picture as you can paint as far as what Fandango's immediate future held. I'm wondering, however, if Fandango's concussion might have altered the WWE's perception of him.

I can't say for absolute certainty, but I'm pretty sure that one article I read stated that this isn't the first concussion he's had in his career. It MAY not have even been the second. Again, I won't swear to it but I do think I read something to that effect. As Fandango just arrived on the main roster with the Fandango gimmick and has MAYBE had other concussions in the past, it could have made WWE very cautious about him. After all, since his return, he hasn't been as heavily pushed or booked as he was prior to being put on the shelf. He was solidly in the IC title picture before he was hurt he's nowhere near the mid-card title picture now. It's looking as though, right now, WWE is jobbing him out. He interrupted CM Punk last night on SD!, resulting in Punk laying him out. So with Punk having nothing on his plate at the moment aside from the continuing build toward his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam, it won't surprise me at all if we see Fandango jobbing out to Punk in a match next week on Raw or SD!. IF Johnny Curtis has a history of head trauma, then maybe WWE just isn't all that keen on pushing him as a long term star if they feel he's a risk. Alternatively, maybe they're simply taking things slower with him in order to make absolutely certain that he's 100%recovered before resuming his push.

At the same time, however, the show must go on with one man's missed opportunity being another's key to success. Maybe Axel would be jobbing out right now or slowly working his way up the mid-card scene. Maybe he would have been in the WHC MITB match at the MITB ppv. Maybe he'd still be in the middle of a mid-card feud with The Miz. If Axel was originally planned for something bigger, then him being switched into the IC title scene looks to have been a blessing in disguise. As of right now, I think Axel's doing a good job as a heel mid-card champion. He's not setting the world on fire, but he's doing fine in my opinion. He's certainly not ready for a main event spot so, as I alluded, to, maybe Fandango being hurt & Axel put in his spot, if he was scheduled to have a bigger push, may have saved us from watching him flounder in a spot that he doesn't have the chops for at this time.

 

[TempestH]

In my perspective Fandango altered the events of the summer adequately. Clearly he was destined for the IC title, Axel for bigger things, and there most likely was a different title picture than that of which we have seen. Now this change might end up being for the better as Henry has looked amazing, and the summer of Bryan has officially commenced. However I can't help feel bad that for Axel Fandango might have screwed him over.

I'm curious as to what all of to think about this and want to hear how you think he changed the game.

While Fandango probably would've been IC Champion, Axel was not destined for "bigger things". In his matches with HHH and Cena, he was constantly made out to look like a fluke, and always came off as being out of his element. He was basically booked to look like he didn't belong in the ring with main event guys. Axel's only purpose is to keep Heyman on TV when Brock Lesnar isn't around.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I agree that Fandango was originally meant to win the IC Title & Curtis Axel was meant for bigger (or mainly different) things but I don't think it altered much more than that.

I think CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar has been penciled in to take place at Summerslam for awhile now & I think John Cena defending the WWE Title against Daniel Bryan was one of the main options (if not THEE main option) for the Summerslam main event.

I think Fadango's concussion unintentionally caused a slight change in plans for Payback & MitB. & if it did do anything more than that I would just say that maybe inadvertently it focused the attention that Fandango was getting post-Mania over more towards Daniel Bryan & that maybe before Bryan might have been less likely to win the title at Summerslam, when now it is pretty much officially The Summer Of Bryan!

 

[Mac Attack]

While Fandango probably would've been IC Champion, Axel was not destined for "bigger things". He was constantly made out to look like a fluke, and always came off as being out of his element whenever he's around main event guys. Axel's only purpose is to keep Heyman on TV when Brock Lesnar isn't around.

Interesting perspective on the matter. I always thought that he was destined for bigger and badder things. Getting a win off John Cena is a rarity and winning those matches led me to believe that he was going to have a bigger role in the future. Now whilst you say that his only reason he is on TV is because they need something for Paul Heyman to do, I think this is only a partial truth. Sure his role is to give Heyman something to do but I think with Heyman everything is bigger and I feel that the IC title is above Heyman. Now I feel like Fandango created a need and Heyman is good enough to make it work but I'm fairly certain Fandango lessened Axel's role.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I agree that Fandango was originally meant to win the IC Title.....

I think so, too.....and Fandango's head getting conked might have been one of the costliest injuries to an individual's career ever. I think he plainly was scheduled to win the Triple Threat match and start a title reign with the IC belt. Given how hot the company seemed to be on him, you'd think they would have immediately found a way to get it done after he recovered.

Instead, he's losing matches cleanly....and was even laid out by CM Punk in an "unscheduled" run-in Friday night, leaving his poor Fandangirl at ringside, lamenting her man's bad fortune.

By now, it seems the gimmick has lost so much steam, you wonder if they plan to launch it back to headline status (which is different from main event status).

I can't imagine what else but the concussion could have derailed Johnny Curtis' push. The Triple Threat was set and all he had to do was get to Sunday to win himself a title.....or so I thought. Yeah, the head injury affected the Summer.


P.S.--I still say the first Fandangirl could dance rings around Summer Raye.

 

[MCMG]

It is interesting for both Axel and Fandango. Fandango would have been IC champion and probably feuding with The Miz. As it stands, he is doing very little. I'm not sure where is career as IC champion would go. It could potentially hurt his career but at least he would be on TV having meaningful matches.

As for Axel, it is very difficult to predict. His debut weeks were good but were obviously not sustainable. He probably would have been in the WHC MITB match. Maybe even a winner of this match. Other than that, I could see him in a series of nothing matches. For Axel, it was probably a good thing that Fandango got injured.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'm not sure the IC title could've helped Fandango that much. He's lost a lot of steam since the time between and after pre and post Wrestlemania 29 events. And let's face it, the only reason people really care about, or have ANY interest in Curtis Axel right now is because of Paul Heyman. Heyman is the perfect mouthpiece and manager, and Axel can feed off of Heyman's heat after he turned on Punk at MITB. I like Axel, but he's on his what, third or fourth different try for characters on the main roster? Yeah, he needs Heyman's help.

But at the same time, I would agree the concussion put Fandango in a bad spot. The fans were still dancing and signing along with his entrance music, when Fandango came through the curtains. I can't picture a scenario, where the IC title would've truly helped Fandango, and at the same time, the concussion didn't do him any favors.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Fandango's concussion didn't change much of anything. His 15 minutes of fame were just about over anyway, following the inexplicable reaction his music (not him, his music) got on the post-WrestleMania RAW. Even if WWE had put the title on him, he would have been a brief transitional champion and his reign would likely already be over. The only thing his concussion did was make WWE TV more entertaining by not having him on it.