d_henderson1810
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Every year, I rewatch my favourite matches from the previous year's PPV. So, yesterday, I watched the 7-Man IC Ladder Match, at last year's Wrestlemania, won by Zack Ryder.
It got me thinking "Why did they book Ryder to win it when he becomes a non-factor the next night"?
Now, before you think I am attacking your favourites, it got me thinking of times where some who is a fan-favourite, and massively over with the crowd, gets a significant victory, and it finally looks like, after ignoring them for years, WWE have finally decided to invest in someone, only for reality to set in, and their "one moment in the sun" is fleeting.
I too thought "So, they are finally pushing X", but then, WWE fail to capitalise and the victory is soon forgotten.
Here are four examples of "fan-faves" amongst the IWC, who finally got their "big win", only for it to not go anywhere, and they remained in the same spot as before.
1) Like I mentioned, Zack Ryder won the IC belt at WM32 last year. It was announced as the first time he fought at WM, and his dad came in the ring and congratulated him on his victory.
And then....
The next night on RAW, The Miz beat Zack Ryder for the IC belt. Not only that, but there was a Fatal-4-Way at "Extreme Rules" the next month, with the Miz defending against Cesaro, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, and NO Zack Ryder.
So Ryder gets his "Wrestlemania" moment, and then he is forgotten about the next night, and the next month. I don't think he has recovered since.
2) Damien Sandow wins MITB. Damien Sandow won a MITB Ladder Match, and claimed the briefcase. This should have lead to a feud with Cody Rhodes, his tag-team partner, who he beat, and then onto cashing in on John Cena.
Sandow, though a heel, was massively popular at the time, and people marked for the fact that Sandow was going to become WWE Champion. You see, every single MITB winner to this point, to a man, went onto win the title. EVERY ONE. Except Sandow (to that point).
This was Sandow's big break, his time. Yet he cashed in, and got squashed by Cena, and was never heard of again. I think Cena was feuding with Punk at the time, and Sandow could have won the belt, and make it a Triple-Threat at the next PPV, or it would be a fresh opponent for Cena, someone he hadn't feuded with before. Yet he was cast aside.
3) Cesaro won "The Andre Battle Royal". Not only did he win a "Andre The Giant Battle Royal" he won the first one, at WMXXX. I tipped Big Show, because, like Andre, he is a giant. But Cesaro won, and with the pop he got, he was over, and set for big things.
However, did WWE capitalise on his popularity, and pull the trigger on turning him face. No, they made him a "Paul Heyman" guy. So, he was still a heel, despite the cheers, and still stayed in the same spot as before. Sure, there was never a No. 1 Contender's Title shot offered in the Battle Royal (there should be, to give it relevance), but you assume that winning it would entitle Cesaro to at least battle for the title, or be in the upper card. But it did nothing for him.
4) Dolph Ziggler is the sole survivor of the "Survivor Series" match to end the Authority.
Remember when Team Cena battled Team Authority at "Survivor Series"? Big Show turned heel, and Cena went out early.
But it was the performance of one man who really impressed me, Dolph Ziggler. Now, Dolph had failed to impress me up to that point. He looked like a stripper who had a name that rhymed with a Mark Wahlberg film character (I thought Ziggler might have been Val Venis 2.0). That doesn't scream main event.
But this night, Dolph arrived, IMO. He eliminated three men, and was the guy who ended the Authority (at least, temporarily). This was Ziggler's moment, and I thought that he was now legit to compete for the brass ring.
Then, Sting showed up. Now, I popped for this, like everyone, as it was history in the making. But I reasoned that Sting and Triple H would feud, but Dolph would take the slack for when Sting wasn't around.
Now, I thought that Dolph would get the accolades the next night on RAW, and get punished by Steph for ending the Authority. Dolph would become the guy they target, and Seth Rollins would feud with Dolph over it.
But on RAW, all I heard was how "Sting ended the Authority" this and how "Sting ended the Authority" that. Dolph hardly got mentioned or credited for it. After that, his stocks dropped and he was put in a rubbish feud with Rusev, gets lesser feuds, and doesn't seem to even be on the main card at Wrestlemania this year. How things could have been so different.
My point is, yes, get excited when these guys get a significant victory. But hold your horses, and keep the real excitement back, and see how the victory had made their career six or twelve months later. This could be start of superstardom, or a false dawn. These four examples highlight a great moment by the fans and said superstar, but lead to nothing significant.
How do you feel about these? Does it make you lose faith? Or do you still hope that a fave of yours will finally get the key to the main event washroom? I don't know if all these guys would have got to "Hogan/Austin/Rock/Cena" levels of success, but why even tease a push that was never going to happen?
So, which is it? Better to have won and nothing come from it, or never to have won at all, and be spared disappointment?
(BTW, I left Daniel Bryan off the list, as injury derailed his push, so we can't say if he would have still been champion six months to a year later).
It got me thinking "Why did they book Ryder to win it when he becomes a non-factor the next night"?
Now, before you think I am attacking your favourites, it got me thinking of times where some who is a fan-favourite, and massively over with the crowd, gets a significant victory, and it finally looks like, after ignoring them for years, WWE have finally decided to invest in someone, only for reality to set in, and their "one moment in the sun" is fleeting.
I too thought "So, they are finally pushing X", but then, WWE fail to capitalise and the victory is soon forgotten.
Here are four examples of "fan-faves" amongst the IWC, who finally got their "big win", only for it to not go anywhere, and they remained in the same spot as before.
1) Like I mentioned, Zack Ryder won the IC belt at WM32 last year. It was announced as the first time he fought at WM, and his dad came in the ring and congratulated him on his victory.
And then....
The next night on RAW, The Miz beat Zack Ryder for the IC belt. Not only that, but there was a Fatal-4-Way at "Extreme Rules" the next month, with the Miz defending against Cesaro, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, and NO Zack Ryder.
So Ryder gets his "Wrestlemania" moment, and then he is forgotten about the next night, and the next month. I don't think he has recovered since.
2) Damien Sandow wins MITB. Damien Sandow won a MITB Ladder Match, and claimed the briefcase. This should have lead to a feud with Cody Rhodes, his tag-team partner, who he beat, and then onto cashing in on John Cena.
Sandow, though a heel, was massively popular at the time, and people marked for the fact that Sandow was going to become WWE Champion. You see, every single MITB winner to this point, to a man, went onto win the title. EVERY ONE. Except Sandow (to that point).
This was Sandow's big break, his time. Yet he cashed in, and got squashed by Cena, and was never heard of again. I think Cena was feuding with Punk at the time, and Sandow could have won the belt, and make it a Triple-Threat at the next PPV, or it would be a fresh opponent for Cena, someone he hadn't feuded with before. Yet he was cast aside.
3) Cesaro won "The Andre Battle Royal". Not only did he win a "Andre The Giant Battle Royal" he won the first one, at WMXXX. I tipped Big Show, because, like Andre, he is a giant. But Cesaro won, and with the pop he got, he was over, and set for big things.
However, did WWE capitalise on his popularity, and pull the trigger on turning him face. No, they made him a "Paul Heyman" guy. So, he was still a heel, despite the cheers, and still stayed in the same spot as before. Sure, there was never a No. 1 Contender's Title shot offered in the Battle Royal (there should be, to give it relevance), but you assume that winning it would entitle Cesaro to at least battle for the title, or be in the upper card. But it did nothing for him.
4) Dolph Ziggler is the sole survivor of the "Survivor Series" match to end the Authority.
Remember when Team Cena battled Team Authority at "Survivor Series"? Big Show turned heel, and Cena went out early.
But it was the performance of one man who really impressed me, Dolph Ziggler. Now, Dolph had failed to impress me up to that point. He looked like a stripper who had a name that rhymed with a Mark Wahlberg film character (I thought Ziggler might have been Val Venis 2.0). That doesn't scream main event.
But this night, Dolph arrived, IMO. He eliminated three men, and was the guy who ended the Authority (at least, temporarily). This was Ziggler's moment, and I thought that he was now legit to compete for the brass ring.
Then, Sting showed up. Now, I popped for this, like everyone, as it was history in the making. But I reasoned that Sting and Triple H would feud, but Dolph would take the slack for when Sting wasn't around.
Now, I thought that Dolph would get the accolades the next night on RAW, and get punished by Steph for ending the Authority. Dolph would become the guy they target, and Seth Rollins would feud with Dolph over it.
But on RAW, all I heard was how "Sting ended the Authority" this and how "Sting ended the Authority" that. Dolph hardly got mentioned or credited for it. After that, his stocks dropped and he was put in a rubbish feud with Rusev, gets lesser feuds, and doesn't seem to even be on the main card at Wrestlemania this year. How things could have been so different.
My point is, yes, get excited when these guys get a significant victory. But hold your horses, and keep the real excitement back, and see how the victory had made their career six or twelve months later. This could be start of superstardom, or a false dawn. These four examples highlight a great moment by the fans and said superstar, but lead to nothing significant.
How do you feel about these? Does it make you lose faith? Or do you still hope that a fave of yours will finally get the key to the main event washroom? I don't know if all these guys would have got to "Hogan/Austin/Rock/Cena" levels of success, but why even tease a push that was never going to happen?
So, which is it? Better to have won and nothing come from it, or never to have won at all, and be spared disappointment?
(BTW, I left Daniel Bryan off the list, as injury derailed his push, so we can't say if he would have still been champion six months to a year later).