Would you push #10: Alex Riley

[CultOfPersonality123]

Alex Riley hasn't held a championship in WWE. He was chasing after Dolph Ziggler when he was US Champion but was taken off TV. We usually see him in back stage segments with Punk, Big Show, and Maddox. He was recently a commentator on Smackdown. He had some really great matches and went over a former WWE Champion in Miz. He hasn't been give a nice enough push due to back stage issues. Down to our usual question. Would you push Alex Riley? How far would you do so?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

A definite no in my eyes.

Riley had a little spark, when he turned on Miz, after Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena. I remember the crowd going nuts, when Riley finally had enough, said to hell with it, and attacked Miz. But the lackey turning on the heel, who treats him like shit formula is guaranteed to bring a reaction of the crowds no matter what.

Problem is, after Riley beat Miz at Capitol Punishment, he didn't have any more tricks up his sleeve. Riley could only cling to finding his courage and standing up to Miz for so long, and the hard truth is he didn't have anything else to offer or bring to the table after that feud ended. Sure, Riley has "the look," but looks will only carry you so far now a days. And because of that, Riley became a jobber quickly.

But I like him on commentary. He's fluent, well spoken, and unlike Jerry Lawler (and sometimes Michael Cole), Riley isn't obsessed with making these awfully corny jokes every other minute. Like The Miz, I believe Riley has more potential as a non-wrestling personality, because I think Riley's gone just about as far as he's going to go as a wrestler.

 

[KnowYoRole]

Absolutely.

He can play both ends of the field, face and heel. He's clearly very charismatic and a great talker, his in ring ability isn't great but he's far from the worst on the roster. I actually think it's a shame he's on commentary now since I believe he needs to be actively wrestling as an upper midcard wrestler and I truly think if they familiarize him with the crowd, and have him talking more and more, that he'll prove himself to be superstar material.

 

[MizMark11]

I'd say yes, push him. In my eyes, as long as a guy can help out the company in a positive way, then they should be pushed. Obviously guys can help by putting others (Y2J), but this is in terms of younger guys.

Anyways, Alex Riley is only 32 years old. For comparison sake, Sheamus was brought up to the WWE main roster when he was 31. In those 4 years, Sheamus has won three world championships, the United States championship, King of the Ring, and the Royal Rumble. Needless to say, Alex Riley is young enough to accomplish enough in half a decade.

A-Ry has a good look. According to his wiki, he's 6ft3 and almost 240lbs. That's a pretty good size to be taken seriously and he has a good moveset to go with it. His finishers are actually pretty good and the rest of his moveset matches what he looks like.

Alex Riley can also talk. He's not the second coming of Chris Jericho or anything, but he definitely has skills on the mic. A lot of people have been pushed even though their mic skills sucked, so why can't A-Ry get pushed? We've heard him on commentary and that was good. Yes, commentary is different from talking in the ring, but people with good mic skills are usually good at commentary (CM Punk, the Miz, Titus O'Neil, etc.).

Lastly, the fans still care about Alex Riley. Sure, some of the IWC praises him, but I'm talking about your average fans too. When I was at a live event last year, the crowd went nuts when A-Ry came out and cheered for him throughout the match. I know it wasn't just me who witnessed this because other people on this site have cited the same experience but in a different city.

Oh and his theme is epic.

I really think WWE should give him a shot. He can easily end up in the upper-midcard if given the chance. WWE could use some more faces, so why not start with someone who is actually over?

 

[Headman]

I wouldn't even employ Alex Riley. Number one he's not trust worthy. He showed a real lack of maturity dropping the ball in the middle of his push. Same thing with Jack Swagger. These guys take this stuff for granted.

The 2nd reason I wouldn't push him... I don't get him. He's vanilla, he's boring and while there's a segment of the IWC who've gotten behind him I've never actually met a casual fan who found him remotely interesting. So no push for Riley. As I said before, he's lucky I'm not calling the shots because he wouldn't even have a job if I had a say.

 

[lifelongfan]

id give him anouther shot maby put him in tag team with miz. for sure id have him as a heel. he not best in the world or anything but if koffy kingston deserves a job or the sprit squad o i mean the shild (get em confused they both alful) then a rye sure does. hes not half bad

 

[Pepper Lewis]

ALEX RILEY is major talent! This guy has the right size, the right look, does not copy anyone ( like cm junk!). ALEX RILEY HAS GREAT MIC SKILLS! REFRESHING CHARACTER! I would put my company on his shoulders, like WWE did with STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN and JOHN CENA! YES< HE IS THIS BIG OF TALENT! ALEX RILEY IS THE MOST TALENTED of ALL WWE Guys in last 6 years!

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

I believe A-Ry has done his punishment. Time to get him back on TV and give him another shot. I think A-Ry would work best as a FACE with a Varsity Club-style Gimmick. Have him go to HHH and ask for an opportunity and have him pin Ambrose or someone you wouldn't expect him to beat. Beating Primo, Epic, Ryder, Barrett, Sin Cara wouldn't amount to much in the fans' eyes. It has to be someone of significance. I'm on bored with another A-Ry push.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I just don't really see anything in Alex Riley to be perfectly honest. He's not awful or anything like that but he's nothing particularly special either whether you talk about his personality or in-ring ability. As far as his looks go, yeah he's a nice looking guy but he's has the ultimate generic look: a nice looking, well built guy with a deep tan and at least one tattoo. He was able to cut some pretty good promos while he was playing lackey for The Miz, so he's someone that could be of use in the mid-card or tag team scene I suppose.

However, when I look at the main and developmental roster, I see a ton of talent that I'm just far more interested in and excited about than Alex Riley. For instance, if given a choice between seeing Dean Ambrose or Riley as US champ, I'm picking Ambrose all day long. When it comes to getting pushed in the mid-card, tag team or main event scenes; I'd much rather see the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Shield, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, Christian, RVD, Curtis Axel, Kofi Kingston, Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, The Wyatt Family, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes etc. get pushed rather than Riley. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a lot of fans have flat out forgotten that Riley even competed as a wrestler, that's how insignificant his wrestling career has been

Riley does a good job as a commentator, at least in my opinion, so that's where I'd ultimately keep him. There's simply a lot of other wrestlers currently on the main roster that I think are far better and more deserving of being pushed.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I would push him as a heel. He deserves another chance. Initially he was just The Miz's underling, then he beat up The Miz and got incredibly over for it. Considering that it was Miz who was on the receiving end of that beat down, nearly any heel would have successfully turned face through that action. His face turn sucked. I loved his great new entrance theme, but he wasn't given any feuds whatsoever after he finished feuding with Miz. What was next? What a waste of a push. It didn't help that he had a bit of an incident with the law either.

It has been long enough, he has done his time concerning the de-push. Let him have a second try. The jock villain he played in NXT Season 2 would be a good start. WWE should try seeing how that character might do on the main roster. Do not have Riley be a face. That didn't work out so well. Even if he had gotten more storylines, he is better suited to be a heel. There's nothing wrong with that. Some guys just are meant to be heels. I believe Riley could POSSIBLY become World Heavyweight Champion. He's decent in the ring, better on the mic than most people realize, and has the look of a champion. He'd be rather believable in the role if he got built back up. Oh, and keep the entrance theme.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I wouldn't push him, but I was impressed by his commentary on Smackdown. I would have no problem if he is kept as a color commentator who could take JBL's place on Smackdown once JBL leaves, or if they just want to keep JBL on Raw.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

I'd give him a push to a midcard title. Probably turn him heel eventually as well once he's been re-established. We've seen a number of face turns over the past several months, but seemingly not as many heel turns. Plus, the majority of fans (myself included) never saw much of him as the "Varsity Villain". (If at all.) I'd like to see what he can do with that. He deserves better than to be #1 jobber on the face side (We have Zack Ryder and Yoshi Tatsu for that.) or a commentator with the build he has.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

I LOVED Riley! His music was awesome and he had a great charismatic presence in the ring and in promos. I liked him both when he was with Miz and feuding against him.

The best way I see Riley coming back is to put him in a tag team with a manager of valet. Maybe place him with Tyson Kidd when he comes back and have Natalya break away from Khali and midget man. You could even make it a heel tag team and have them face Khali in a 2-on-1 and Nattie turn on him.

Of course this all dreaming right now. With Total Divas portraying Nattie as the "good girl" WWE would never pull the trigger.

Honestly though, I think Riley got the short-end of the stick after his feud with Miz. He never really got a chance to go on his own and be his own person. I don't watch Smackdown so I won't be able to hear him on commentary, but I love him on the mic.

It is also possible you pull the commentator/wrestler feud (ala Cole/Bryan) and have him badmouth a heel (possibly someone coming from NXT). When the heel finally has had enough, he confronts Riley and they have a few matches. First he is hesitant because he is a commentator, but he finally gives in. It's another way of WWE pushing him and getting him back into the ring. Now you have created a new face and heel, while establishing a new wrestler and re-branding an older one.

 

[BeastFromTheEast]

I would have pushed him after his feud with Miz but creative dropped the ball on that. I'm not sure why. I know that most of the IWC thinks that it is because he stood up for himself after being hazed by Cena, but I think there has to be more to it than that. At this point I don't see any reason in giving A-Ry a push because I just don't see it going anywhere. I know he has the look, but we haven't gotten the chance to see much out of him due to the direction his career has taken.

 

[Da Solo]

Sorry to burst bubbles, but... Riley kinda sucked. Not bad enough to warrant that serious fall from grace, but he was far from special. His promos sounded so rehearsed that it sounded like he was reciting into a mirror, his in-ring work was at most on par with a real midcarder and he looked like a homegrown alternative to the Miz. Let him stay on commentary, he's actually quite OK at it. I don't like his chemistry with Michael Cole, but it's nice to shake up the booth once in a while

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

I would be all about a Miz/Alex Riley tag title run at some point. I don't know if he really "has it" to have any singles success but I could see him being part of a decent babyface pairing. I voted yes simply because I voted no for almost all the other ones.


Riley has some talent and has clearly proven he is willing to be a company guy and do whatever is asked of him. I will admit I despise him as an announcer. He just flat out sucks.

 

[TempestH]

Yes, I would push Riley. While he was a sloppy worker when they tried to push him, I honestly don't blame him for it. It was WWE management and Creative's fault for sticking him in a non-wrestling role for so long. When Riley was with the Miz, he barely did anything physical apart from squash matches and being a finisher dummy for guys like Cena and Orton. It's hard to improve your craft when you aren't getting a lot of ring time. Once Riley started working matches on Superstars every week, he got better and became a much more solid worker. And not only that, he's managed to stay over with the fans this entire time, and for that he deserves another shot.

Maybe he isn't main event material, but he deserves to be on TV regularly as a solid midcard act. He's fine in his role as a jobber, but he should be jobbing to higher profile talents like Wade Barrett, Dean Ambrose, and Ryback, not NXT guys or flavors of the month.

I think he should be tag teaming with The Miz again. They have a nice streamlined look and would make a great face team.

Why can't Riley do commentary AND wrestle? He's a good talker and could be a great PR guy as well. Like let him wrestle on the shows that he obviously won't commentate on, like SmackDown or Main Event.

And imo he should not turn heel. Riley is too charismatic and over. Also, I feel like his in-ring style lends itself to being a face. He's big, and very quick and athletic for his size, and can even be a high flier when he wants to be. But as a heel, he'd be forced to limit himself in the ring to avoid being cheered and his matches won't be as entertaining. I'd rather see Riley as a face jobber who can put on entertaining matches week in and week out than as a heel champion who has to hold himself back and be boring in order to avoid getting pops.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

At this point I don't see any meaning in pushing Alex Riley. It looks like he's already found his role as a commentator and it also looks like they've been grooming him for this role for quite a while. His wrestling career did have a lot of promise since he showed a lot of charisma on the mic when he was still on the NXT program. He had some cool moves as well, but whatever it was that he did backstage to piss someone off, his ascension has stopped. A couple of Mid-Card matches here and there along with a bland win-loss record is no way to get over. He reached his pinnacle when he snapped on The Miz and feuded with him in subsequent bouts. That was it. Looking back, I do find it a shame because I really thought he'd be showcasing what he can do as a singles competitor and possibly even compete for the Intercontinental Championship. Unfortunately, he didn't even make it that far. Add the fact that he has been mostly inactive in the ring in recent memory and there's just no reason to care about his character now. A feud with John Cena could have probably helped him some, but if the exposure isn't there, then what can we expect? Perhaps a better version of Josh Mathews.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I would keep Alex Riley around as a commentator. The guy has talent both in & out of the ring but he was never that great of a wrestler, he seems to have done something to get reduced to a purely speaking role & he has more or less lost all momentum he had a couple of years ago, which if we remember correctly, the highlight of his career was following around & having a short lived feud with The Miz, who has been reduced to somewhat of a speaking role himself & is basically a jobber now. I never saw greatness or huge dollar signs in Riley anyways but I think that even if he got a big push as an in-ring performer now he most likely wouldn't be anything more than a mid-carder at best.

But with that being said, Matt Striker just got the boot, I've never understood how Josh Mathews still has a job, I think Scott Standford is alright but I don't care for his partner Tony Dawson, so there definitely is a need for some new voices at the booth. & like I said, I do think Riley has some talent & a past wrestling background never seems to hurt.

Commentary Teams List:

-Kick-Off/Pre-Show & Saturday Morning SLAM commentary team: Alex Riley & Scott Stanford

-NXT Commentary Team: William Regal & "Good Ol' J.R." Jim Ross (with Riley & Standford as fill ins)

-Main Event Commentary Team: JBL & Alex Riley

-Smackdown Commentary Team: Michael Cole & JBL

-RAW Commentary Team: Jerry "The King" Lawler & Michael Cole

-PPV Commentary Team: Lawler, Cole & JBL.

 

[MCMG]

No. I don't think that Alex Riley has the talent to be anything significant in the WWE. He is solid in the ring and on the mic but isn't special. There are far better talents doing nothing in the WWE who are either better in the ring, better on the mic or indeed both. At best he should be a commentator on NXT or Superstars and used as a jobber and the 20th man in Battle Royals. Nothing more in my opinion.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Alex Riley really fit well being The Miz's lackey. Which makes sense because Alex Riley was basically The Miz-Lite in terms of look and character. I also kind of feel that as much as Riley got a boost because he was associated with The Miz, The Miz also benefited from having a Riley as a lackey. And I would even go as far as saying that it actually helped him become more convincing as a main event heel during his 2010/2011 run.

To be honest I don't see a lot in Riley so I would not push him that far. But I really see him as an effective utility heel. Someone that can help a heel get over more. So on that level I would give him a push.

I can see him being associated with Del Rio for instance (though I suspect that Ricardo will turn heel and realign himself with Del Rio so it would make Riley redundant if that is the case).

Damien Sandow might be another candidate. I can see Riley sucking up to the "Intellectual Character" of Sandow.

 

[HarrCame230]

I thought A-Ry was great on commentary! He would be great as a smackdown play-by-play guy with William Regal along side. I don't about other people, but the commentary in WWE is stale. All commentators are face, and Michael Cole is on both shows. Josh Mathews is alright, but I thought A-Ry brought a fresh sound to smackdown.

If going the wrestling route, I'd say push him, but maybe in a tag team with another face..why not the Miz? He's got nothing to do, and the two were heels together so why not!

 

[anthony_b]

No, I dont think theres use for him right now. Not at this point in time at least.