Your thoughts on the current wave of SD! Introductions

[Machianzo]

Over the last few weeks on Smackdown, we've been introduced to an array of new (or at least fairly new) faces to the roster. Called up from FCW or NXT, we suddenly have a whole lot of new guys trying to get over. Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Ryback, O'Neil/O'Neal and D Young.

All of these, in my opinion, are talented wrestlers. Sandow has spent a hell of a long time in developmental, first in OVW then in FCW, and has come a hell of a long way since his original debut. The man plays a hell of a character and has those little mannerisms (like the way he holds the mic) about him that really make him seem special. He is also a very solid wrestler and quite good with in ring psychology, selling and story telling. The one fault I pick up with the man is that while he is good at cutting promos where it is him talking in the audience, he may come undone if put up against a John Cena or CM Punk.

Antonio Cesaro, of course one half the KoW in the indies, was in FCW for a very short time (and still is). He again, is an extremely solid wrestlers in terms of story telling and ring psychology, and plays a big, aggressive but cowardly wrestler extremely well. I don't however, like how he has been introduced and given very little mic time, and of course has had the traditional SD! squash matches to start him off with.

Ryback...I refuse to put any sort of judgement on yet. Skip Sheffield was a very talented big man. Ryback is an unknown quantity due to how his matches have nearly been carbon copies of each other, and he has not cut a promo yet. Impossible to tell where this might head.

O'Neil and Young. These guys I am really getting behind. They were introduced, put against opponents who weren't local competitors, and have really, really impressed me in ring and on the mic. These guys really entertain me. Though, I am confused as to why D Young has taken the back seat. I, most ashamedly watched most of NXT redemption, and during their feud Young smoked O'Neil on the mic. None the less, solid entertained every time they're on my tv. My only gripe is...where are they going storyline wise? I do like how the a potential seed for their eventual split was planted on SD! Already, I think both guys have the potential to go it alone in the future.

However, with so many introduced in such a short time, who do you think will get over the most efficiently, and who are you the most stoked to see at the moment? Will everyone get over? What if Dean Ambrose is thrown into the mix, or Richie Steamboat, or Seth Rollins? Your thoughts, kind forum members.

 

[AwesomeRko]

The least interesting to me at this moment is Cesaro. I have no prior knowledge of him or the KOW as I don't watch ROH but he just seems a bit generic and bland to me. The thing with him Aksana and Teddy Long is annoying already and I haven't seen anything in either his look, character or moveset yet which makes me thing he is going to be a star. He has only wrestled two matches however and has had no time on the mic so I suppose time will tell.

MY favourite by far is Sandow, he has been asbolute gold on the mic in his two apperances and his interview with Striker this week was particularly good. He plays his character extremely well and seems to have a natural chasrisma and ability to talk which really shone through with the selling of his little digs at Striker Friday night. Heres hoping he gets a solid fued to get him off to a good start, him and Ryder could be epic.

I really like O'Neill and Young as well, they are cocky, brash and have personality. They can inject some much needed intrest and enthusiasm into the tag team division and should win the tag belts fairly soon I'd think. A fued between them and Epico and Primo with Washington would be a star in bringing credibility back to the titles.

I think Ryback will probably go the furthest. He obviously has the look and is being booked to be the next dominant big guy, the compariosns to Goldberg as far as what we have seen so far are pretty spot on.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Damien Sandow is very good on the mic. He's very clear and precise with his delivery and words, which makes his gimmick so believable. I loved how he refused to wrestle. You just can't get snobbier.

I really don't care about Darren Young and Titus O' Neil. They might have the confidence and characters, but I was never impressed by their in-ring abilities. Since I'm actually one of the few guys that enjoyed Matt Striker's matches when he wrestled in the WWE, I hated Darren Young going over him since he practically had no interesting moves.

Antonio Cesaro is a very polished and highly talented wrestler. Of course, I'm speaking as an ROH and Kings of Wrestling fan. I'm familiar with his and Kassius Ohno's work and what they're capable of doing, so it's a real joy to see him finally wrestling on the main roster. Hopefully Kassius Ohno joins him soon as it would suck not to see the Kings of Wrestling in the WWE performing as a Tag Team at least for a onetime run. Cesaro's character is kind of bland though. Change that, and he's gold.

Ryback is interesting. I like his winning streak and how well he plays his gimmick as if an actual machine haha. He could have some very solid matches in the near future. That clothesline of his looks like it could take a guy's head off. Very destructive. Him cutting a promo wouldn't make much sense though. He needs a manager instead.

The one problem I see in all of these newcomers getting called up to the main roster is that there are too many in such short time. It's hard to keep track of them all, and with guys like Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose who are very talented wrestlers still on the list of additional future prospects, I'm not sure how this is all gonna get played out.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

So far Damien Sandow is my Favorite Newcomer into WWE on Smackdown. His snobbish Character works and has awesome Mic skills. Can't wait to see his In-Ring work.

I love Ryback and him just coming out running through guys so far works for me.

Titus/Darren Young are decent as a Tag Team. They are a little annoying on the Mic but I guess thats the point.

Antonio Cesaro so far has been ok but we'll see if he can gain some momentum as time goes on.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

Ryback: loving Ryback him just destorying his opponets is awesome and will make him look like an unstoppable force when he does eventullay enter a real fued.

Titus/Darren: honestly i never saw anything special in either of these guys...until they started having tag team matches on smackdown i like this team they work well together and i think they could be tag divison main stays for years if wwe isnt stupid and breaks them up.

Antonio: well for 1 thing i cant stand his finising move and i think he needs to shine away from teddy long i dont mind askana manging him as id rather see her manage someone then ever wrestle again. But they gotta let this guy talk on the mic! Ohno needs to come up and team with him for awhile even if its just for 1 long run with the tag team titles it would be awesome.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

All in all, I've enjoyed the new guys/returning guys who've popped up in SmackDown! the past month or so.

Ryback will eventually need a storyline and a real feud, but he's doing just fine for the time being with what he's doing. He has a great look, he's a powerhouse, has a rough physical style, great intensity and isn't a clumsy ox despite his size. He's gotten a solid response thus far.

Damien Sandow is extremely good on the mic in my view. He seems quite comfortable with his character and has already done a good job of putting heat on himself. It's easy to dislike the elitist intellectual. I'll have to see what he's got inside the ring before making any final judgement on the guy, but I've enjoyed his promos a lot thus far.

As for O'Neil & Young, I'm surprised to see that I actually like them. Surprisingly, they're loaded with personality and they certainly bring a fresh energy to the tag team picture. They have good chemistry together and, personally, I kind of like the fact that they use an old school tag team finisher each week. They used Demolition's finisher this past Friday on SD!. Might not look particularly devestating, but it was still fun to see it. O'Neil is someone that's impressed me with how far he's come. He was as bland as bland can possibly get on NXT Season II.

As far as Antonio Cesaro goes, I like what I see so far. I was never able to watch ROH while he was there and the guy has a physical style that I like. I get a sense that he's someone that can brawl and wrestle. The rugby player aspect of his character doesn't do anything for me but I don't hate it either. It's different, which can be a good thing. The way he was muscling around Alex Riley in their match was also kind of impressive. Riley's a big guy and Cesaro was lifting him and tossing him around with ease without any sort of assistance from Riley.

All of these guys show promise. While it's still far too early to tell overall, I've enjoyed what they've shown as of now.

 

[IT Factor]

Over the last few weeks on Smackdown, we've been introduced to an array of new (or at least fairly new) faces to the roster. Called up from FCW or NXT, we suddenly have a whole lot of new guys trying to get over. Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Ryback, O'Neil/O'Neal and D Young.

I think it's admireable that WWE are finally trying to make new stars. However, I doubt Smackdown is the better show to do it. Solely because WWE has always treated Smackdown as the b show. When these guys debut and do something meaningful on RAW, then, you know they've made it.

All of these, in my opinion, are talented wrestlers. Sandow has spent a hell of a long time in developmental, first in OVW then in FCW, and has come a hell of a long way since his original debut. The man plays a hell of a character and has those little mannerisms (like the way he holds the mic) about him that really make him seem special. He is also a very solid wrestler and quite good with in ring psychology, selling and story telling. The one fault I pick up with the man is that while he is good at cutting promos where it is him talking in the audience, he may come undone if put up against a John Cena or CM Punk.

I've been underwhelmed with Sandow thus far. They've put alot of build into debuting the guy and his material sucks. Honestly, I fast forward through his stuff after the first few seconds because it's that boring. The guy has zero charisma and could never be a top star on par with the likes of a CM Punk or Cena. Not until he improves.

Antonio Cesaro, of course one half the KoW in the indies, was in FCW for a very short time (and still is). He again, is an extremely solid wrestlers in terms of story telling and ring psychology, and plays a big, aggressive but cowardly wrestler extremely well. I don't however, like how he has been introduced and given very little mic time, and of course has had the traditional SD! squash matches to start him off with.

Cesaro is different from Sandow because he has a really unique look and has been given the luxury of having someone else speak for him[Aksana]. I'm not a fan of the whole Teddy Long/Aksana aspect of his introduction, but, I'm saving my opinion on him until we've seen more. He seems to be decent in-ring and it'll be interesting to see if he can sink or swim when put on the mic to speak for himself.

Ryback...I refuse to put any sort of judgement on yet. Skip Sheffield was a very talented big man. Ryback is an unknown quantity due to how his matches have nearly been carbon copies of each other, and he has not cut a promo yet. Impossible to tell where this might head.

It is obvious WWE wanted a Goldberg knockoff without actually paying for him. So, they recycled the formula and gave it to Ryback and gave him an RVD-esque singlet. My initial impression is that Ryback sucks. He's a big guy who has potential but being a Goldberg-wannabe isn't capatilizing on it.

O'Neil and Young. These guys I am really getting behind. They were introduced, put against opponents who weren't local competitors, and have really, really impressed me in ring and on the mic. These guys really entertain me. Though, I am confused as to why D Young has taken the back seat. I, most ashamedly watched most of NXT redemption, and during their feud Young smoked O'Neil on the mic. None the less, solid entertained every time they're on my tv. My only gripe is...where are they going storyline wise? I do like how the a potential seed for their eventual split was planted on SD! Already, I think both guys have the potential to go it alone in the future.

I like these guys so far. They are great as a team and seem to be able to speak pretty well for themselves. To be a randomly thrown together team, they have potential to make a name for themselves. If they could improve on one thing, maybe it'd be on the mic. The whole barking into the mic thing is kinda lame in my view. Maybe give these guys a great hall-of-famer as a manager? That'd go a long way in making them seem legit. Anytime WWE starts making more teams it helps the tag division, so, I'm all for it and hope these guys continue to impress.

However, with so many introduced in such a short time, who do you think will get over the most efficiently, and who are you the most stoked to see at the moment? Will everyone get over? What if Dean Ambrose is thrown into the mix, or Richie Steamboat, or Seth Rollins? Your thoughts, kind forum members.

Out of all the people you listed, I think O'Neill & Young will be better at getting themselves over. Sandow is boring, Ryback has little to work with being a carbon copy of Goldberg, and Cesaro hasn't been on the show long enough to make a lasting impression.

As for WWE using Smackdown to introduce new talents, I like that idea. It gives them a chance to debut and kind of test the waters as to what these new guys are capable of. I'd like to see more people given opportunity and even using those currently not doing anything a chance. Michael McGuillicutty[spelling?] is the main guy I'm talking about. First off, get rid of that God-awful excuse for a name. Let the guy come out and say he's Joe Hennig and not that name. Let him cut a brutal promo about his origins and being one of the best new talents the WWE has ever seen and give him a great gimmick to do it.

Of course, once these guys appear on RAW, you'll know that all that work introducing them on Smackdown finally paid off. Knowing WWE lately though, they'll just push them and stop midway. Hopefully not.

 

[DannyDirtz]

I think Ryback has a strong future but is being held back by the PG restrictions , if he was let loose then he would cause some SERIOUS damage!

 

[SD619]

Introducing new guys on SmackDown is nothing new. Most new guys start on SmackDown and when they get over, they are moved to RAW. Currently, a lot of new/repackaged guys are on SmackDown. While, I am surprised by the number of new guys (it is usually 2-3), most of these guys are talented.

Antonio Cesaro: I haven't seen much of ROH to comment on him, but he seems to be good in the ring and has a good repertoire of moves. I would prefer if they separate him from Teddy Long.

Damien Sandow: He seems to be the most impressive of the lot. His mic skills are excellent and I love his character and the promos. He will most likely start a feud soon.

Titus-Young: An ok tag-team. I am not very impressed with them as of now, but they could help in reviving the tag-team scenario.

Ryback: Not much to judge him by but squashes. He has a good build. Hopefully he will have a meaningful feud soon.

 

[DX Mols]

I think that as always, some will succeed while others will fail. Cesaro has the look and the in-ring abilities, but he needs some new music immediately. Aksana as his valet should work out as well as she's super sexy.

Ryback I'm not sold on yet. He's got the look, but a horrible name and who knows if Skip Sheffield got any better on the mic in his downtime. He needs to move on to a feud of some sort to see if he's got any range.

The Primetime Players (Titus and D. Young) could develop into a good tag team if given the right push. Neither of these guys really impressed me on Season 1 or 2 of NXT, but I think Titus has the brighter future then D. Young.

Sandow has the mic skills, but beyond that who knows?

 

[BigThunder]

I guess I'm alone in really liking the Teddy/Aksana/Cesano storyline. It's been good wrestling soap opera so far. Never saw Cesano work in ROH or FCW, but he's impressed me a lot. And I have to admit, Aksana was pretty damn easy on the eyes with her outfit on Friday.

I hate Ryback's tights, otherwise it's been a good introduction so far.

O'Neill and Young have made no impression on me at all so far.

I'll wait to see Sandow in the ring. His routine has been pretty good, but after Punk and Jericho, do we really need anymore heel "saviors"? Lord have Waylon Mercy on us all.

 

[ultramattman]

I think the important thing is that I'm very much enjoying watching ALL of these guys. OF course there are still questions - Ryback needs a feud, Sandow hasn't wrestled, etc. - they all just got here. But during last week's Smackdown I found myself fast-forwarding through Jericho/Show and Sheamus/Del Rio to see what was going on with the new guys. All of them are acquitting themselves well so far (as opposed to someone like Jinder Mahal that was painfully boring from the start.) Right now, all four of the new arrivals - Ryback, Sandow, Cesaro, O'Neil/Young - have me eager to catch their next appearance.

 

[asiatic7]

I don't like Ryback, simply because I don't buy into the "squash match" wrestler. Those kind of guys are limited and soon get exposed in real matches (Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg). I don't think he'll go that far... just my opinion.

At first I was a little turned off by Titus O'neal and Darren Young because they seemed a little buffooonish, but They seem to be moving in the right direction...We'll see...

I like Antonio (Claudio)'s work as Kings of Wrestling, and this new character looks interesting. I look foward to seeing him go foward.

I think Smackdown introducing all these new guys is exciting for this simple reason...It's refreshing! RAW is the "A" show but it runs it's course most of the time with lame ass flip flop storylines, useless backstage segments, too much talking and lateley, reliance on big name celebs... Smackdown is showcasing new talent with just enough young veterans (Cody, Sheamus) and old vets (Big Show) to make it an interesting show and develop new fresh talent! And if you're not down with that...

 

[MizMark11]

For Ryback, I like him. Nothing amazing yet, but his squash matches feel way better than Tensai or Brodus squashes because it actually feels like Ryback is getting built up. Plus he's a face( I think) which is different and better than a heel who gets squashes. Plus he's starting to get a bigger crowd reaction and he's not that bad in the ring.

Titus and Young are actually...not that bad. I enjoy them as a team rather than singles guys and now they have matching attires. They just need a solid tag finisher.

Antonio Cesaro is awesome. I've always liked him in ROH and FCW, so I won't stop now. He's good in the ring and on the mic too. Plus he has a storyline!

For Sandow, I'm indifferent until I see him in the ring and see who he's feuding with. He's promising on the mic, but how would he do on the mic with Punk in the ring too?

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

So far, I like Antonio Cesaro. Reminds me of Desmond Wolfe from TNA, but maybe more athletic. It's really early, but his in-ring debut was impressive.

Damien Sandow seems like a talentless toolbox. Seems like a meathead forced into this role. Then again, for all I know, he went to Harvard. I can't tell. Either way, not a fan as of now.


Ryback is a monster. However, I think he's about half as intense as he needs to be. He needs to go absolutely insane out there. Maybe he's saving it, not going too far all at once. Either way, best new debut they've had in some time.

 

[Mike D]

Sandow .. Good presence , works character well and wwe writers are making it easy for fans to understand who he is , wrestling is just ok ( Ive seen lots of ovw and FCW stuff) , look is ok .

Cesaro .. Looks good / athletic n strong , moves ok, wrestling is kind of awkward for my taste , he was given no real character to work and the 'storyline' is unfortunately real real weak.. above I said writers are doing good w sandow, they are doing terrible with cesaro .

Ryback .. 8 years in developmental and he still doesn't move well at all, doesn't sell good at all , hasn't learned to wrestle well at all . Slater, in my opinion, out shined him in his 5 second offense last week...more realistic aggression, better kicks / punches and of course his selling is far better . He is easily my least favorit of the group and wwe seems to have kept him off smackdown this week so maybe they feel the same way . After being pushed to the moon, put on xtreme rules ppv he suddenly is off tv this week, according to spoilers . Why ? Perhaps a 3rd failed wellness or they are not happy w his development . I dont buy the week of ppv as he was pushed so strong he was put on xtreme rules .

Titus and young . I like Young a lot.. good wrestler, good presence, good athletic look and moves good . I also like Titus BUT his wrestling is real poor and I do not think he has made any progress at all . As a team I dont see much, which is unfortunate . I wish young would be given a true character to work with or a real storyline that doesnt involve a diva . Alone he can be great; together as a team I don't see much .

Bring up Husky Harris. Great presence, good look, good wrestler and now a good character which he works great . He is my breakout star pick when he debuts .