Jacks lost his Swagger

Written By RY2J

Swaggers Career: After Every Rise Comes A Fall

As a former ECW Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and Money in the Bank Winner; Jack Swagger has had plenty of highlights in his four-year stint in the WWE.

However, since forming an alliance with Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler in August of last year, the All-American-American’s rise up the WWE ladder seems to have run down a blind alley.

With only a six week United State Title reign to show for his years’ work, Swagger’s accomplishments within the past 12 months have to go down as disappointing.

So the question must be asked: What went wrong? To find the answer, we must go way back to the build-up to WrestleMania 27.

The (Under) Rated R Superstars

Written by Bushwhacker Barker

Okay, so just to start off, this isn’t about Edge or him being underrated, me and Headbanger Ash just thought it was a catchy title so now that’s out of the way. Continuing with my NXT theme, I've decided that it’s time to tell of some talent that is currently being underexposed on NXT and, with a decent enough push, could be called up to the main roster full time.

Alex Riley - Say it to My Face

Alex Riley – First up is A-Ry, obviously this guy is really talented and definitely has the image to be a main eventer in the future, I don’t know why he has been relegated to working on NXT again from being a strong mid-carder feuding with The Miz. It wasn’t like he was becoming stale either, he was able to garner heat whilst teaming with The Miz after his original stint in NXT, but he was also able to gain a great pop as a face on his own afterwards and from what I read about house shows, he still does get a great pop from the fans. His finisher is really quite old school yet still very good, and is also quick on the mic which you need to be these days if you want to get anywhere in the WWE.

Tyler Reks – Now I know this guy at the moment is in a tag team (and a rather good one at that) with Curt Hawkins, but Reks is a real monster, he has the look of a monster as he is ripped as hell, (those dreadlocks don’t do any harm either), the only reason he hasn’t been introduced is because of his misdemeanours on the internet, all the major players in the WWE were saying he was the next big thing but he decided to go the Zack Ryder route and use the internet to get over with the fans, but the WWE bigwigs didn’t take too kindly to that. His finisher is probably my favourite in the WWE at the moment with the gutwrench torture rack flipped into a DDT which looks brutal and helps with his image, and I believe that if he was given time on Smackdown or Raw he could be a major star and rise to the top, and if not alone he can revitalise the tag team division with Curt Hawkins.

Can Kidd Step up to the Bigger Stage?

Tyson Kidd – This guy is probably one of the best in ring competitors in the WWE at the moment, he has developed variations of submissions that people have never seen before. He was obviously trained in the legendary Hart Dungeon by the family and was welcomed into it as one of their own. He is a former Tag Team champ and I feel the day the Hart Dynasty lost the titles, that was the day the tag team division truly died in the WWE, then the awful story of him and DH Smith feuding just sent his career spiralling out of control and off he went to NXT. But now he is establishing himself there once more, and it seems as if they want to build a new tag team with him in it as he wrestled in the Wrestlemania dark match with Justin Gabriel as his tag partner, and again this past Sunday at No Way Out, and they looked rather good together.

Derrick Bateman – Now this guy is one of my favourite wrestlers at the moment. He is charismatic, a genuinely funny guy and can easily play heel or face. WWE obviously has a lot of faith in the guy, as he was given his own entrance music and theme before anyone else in NXT, making him the first NXT “rookie” ever to have one.  Also, although it is not commonly known, Derrick Bateman is in fact the strongest pound for pound wrestler in the WWE, he can bench and deadlift more for his weight than any other, and taking into consideration his weight, theoretically he is stronger than Mark Henry. His work on the mic has come on leaps and bounds during NXT and I actually find his backstage scenes amusing.

The Usos can Reignite the Tag Team Division

The Uso’s – These guys are awesome, no doubt about it. They are from the legendary Anoa’i Wrestling family. They are old school wrestlers, who are quite clearly influenced by their father Rikishi and their uncle Umaga. I don’t think anyone can question that they are the best tag team around and probably the best that there has been in quite a few years. Their entrance is amazing as well, with them performing a traditional Maori war dance before each match, and then coming down to some old school hip hop theme. They embrace everything that their family stood for in the wrestling industry, and keep the name alive with some high flying moves and incorporate moves from each of their family members.

 Honourable Mentions

Michael McGillicutty

Kaitlyn

Percy Watson

Yoshi Tatsu

Rhodes to Replace Randy?

Written by RY2J

Can Rhodes Make The Step Up?

After finding out that Randy Orton had been suspended for 60 days due to violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy, I decided to take a glass-half-full look at the situation.

Sure, Orton has been the key player on SmackDown ever since his move onto the Blue Brand over a year ago; but this latest incident could prove to be just the kick up the backside that WWE needed with their Friday Night Show.

When The Viper was first drafted to SmackDown, I, like many people, thought this was a step in the right direction to adding value to WWE’s ‘second show’, but a year on, and the show seems to be going backwards again.

Repetitive storylines, the brands top talent being available to be seen on Monday Night Raw, a lack of depth in the roster; SmackDown has again become a second thought in mine and many other WWE fans minds.

Heyman Hustle

Heyman and Lesnar: The Dominant Duo

Written By RY2J

After the re-introduction of Paul Heyman a couple of weeks ago on Monday Night Raw, the WWE Universe have already been able to gain a sneak peek into what we can expect from the former ECW Owner in the coming months.

Posing as Brock Lesnars legal advisor, Heyman brings to the WWE a character that is easily hateable, and knows exactly how to get the crowd rattled.

Bye Bye Bellas

Written by RY2J

Bella Twins: Future Endeavoured

In August 2008, the WWE Universe were introduced to Brie and Nikki Bella, twin sisters who would go on to stay with the company for the best part of three and a half years; a stay that came to an abrupt and harsh end this past Monday night.

It was common knowledge amongst many fans that the Bella Twins contracts were ending, but for a pair who really helped boost the Diva Division, the crude send-off that they were given on Raw hardly seemed appropriate.

Hearing from the commentators table that “The Bella Twins have been fired by Eve Torres” was announced almost as a side note on what was quite a busy Monday Night Raw.

SmackDown: Blast from the Past

Written by RY2J

The Rock: Owner of The SmackDown Hotel

I personally enjoyed the ‘Blast from the Past SmackDown’ last week, seeing some of the legends back in the business is so often a privilege: hearing the ‘Hooooo!!’ chants, watching a bit of Pipers Pit, seeing Mae Young sticking her tongue down the throat of anyone young enough to be her grandchild; the show was well put on.

However, it did feel that although there was some effort in integrating the ‘Classic’ into the show, more could still have been done in order to bring out the real, as Michael Cole would say, Vintage SmackDown.

The Schizophrenic WWE

Written by RY2J

After the less than impressive return of Prince Albert (a.k.a. Lord Tensai) this past week on Raw, it brings to mind the number of other superstars who have felt the need for a full on character revamp.

Now by this, I don’t mean your everyday Face-to-Heel/Heel-to-Face change (something which divas such as Melina used to do on a weekly basis), but rather a fully pledged change to the persona of the wrestler.

Below we take a look at some other superstars who felt the need to bring out their schizophrenic self.

Stand Back, There's a Hurricane Coming Through

Gregory Helms – The Hurricane

Accompanied by his side-kick ‘Mighty Molly’ (someone who also seems to have been bit by the schizophrenia bug), Hurricane was able to build a successful character for himself as a clumsy, yet hard-trying super hero.