Match Preview: Daniel Bryan (c) v Sheamus

Sheamus v D-Bry: Dark Horse of the Night?

Written by RY2J

For over three months now, Daniel Bryan has held the World Heavyweight Championship, and for three months, he’s made sure every knows about it.

D-Bry’s transition in the WWE from NXT Reject to Top of the Roster Superstar coincided with his heel turn on SmackDown, and with the adorable AJ on his arm, Bryan has been able to squirm his way to a three month reign as World Champion.

However, this reign looks like it may come under serious threat this Sunday at WrestleMania, as a certain Celtic Warrior looks to regain his spot at the top of the mountain.

D-Bry the Perfect Heel Guy?

The Bearded Man's Heel Turn Plan

Written by RY2J

Throughout recent weeks and months in the WWE, Daniel Bryan has been unveiling his new persona to the WWE Universe – a jackass. And boy does he play the part well!

Obviously a very talented wrestler, Bryan was able to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in December by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase for a shot at the gold. However, even at this earliest stage of D-Bry’s title reign, the seeds were being sown for a heel turn in the not so distant future.

By winning the title against a defenceless Big Show, questions were immediately asked about Bryan’s integrity and whether he was actually a deserved World Heavyweight Champion. 

These views were quickly backed up in the following weeks on SmackDown where the champion would defend his title against the World’s Largest Athlete, and keep winning in somewhat dubious circumstances.

Bryan’s arrogance continued to grow, and with it the fans continued to turn on a man they used to cheer; with The Champ’s crowning moment in his heel turn coming when The Big Show inadvertently knocked down D-Bry’s girlfriend AJ.

With a constant verbal barrage on Big Show thereafter, labelling him a ‘Bastard’ (cheeky loosening of the PG format) who should leave the WWE, the face-to-heel transformation was more or less completed.

After retaining his title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (albeit in questionable fashion), Daniel Bryan has been able to continue his pompous reign in the WWE into February.

His match a couple of weeks ago on Monday Night Raw against CM Punk stole the show, showing D-Bry can still go toe-to-toe with the (self-proclaimed) best in the world, and it is this ability, mixed in with the overzealous, egotistical persona, that has led Bryan to undergo one of the most interesting and well delivered heel turns in the WWE for some time.

RY2J’s Royal Rumble Preview (Part 1 of 4): World Heavyweight Championship Match

Written By RY2J

Can D-Bry defy the Odds?

With only four matches confirmed for this year’s Royal Rumble, a lot will be expected from these potentially awesome bouts. Over the next few days, I will analyse the big winners and the potentially big losers at the 25^th annual event, from a World Heavyweight Triple-Threat Cage match, to the 30-man Rumble itself, it promises to be a high-flying, fast-paced pay-per-view you don’t want to miss!

World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Triple-Threat Match:

Mark Henry v Big Show v Daniel Bryan

With the SmackDown program re-growing in popularity week after week, the Friday-night shows main event at the Rumble is likely to be an excellent, extreme competition and a great start to the night’s proceedings (presuming this is the first match on the card).

Daniel Bryan goes into the match as the current Champion, but his recent weaselling antics and lack of integrity has seen the former NXT star begin the first stages of his heel turn. He will undoubtedly be named as ‘the underdog’ in the competition (and this will probably be mentioned a ridiculous amount of times throughout the match), but as has been seen in recent weeks on SmackDown, D-Bry will do whatever it takes to retain his title.

Joining Bryan in the ring will be the owner of the Hall of Pain, former one-time World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. The wrestler formerly known as ‘Sexual Chocolate’ will be looking to regain a title it took him fifteen years to win; and inside a steel cage the World’s Strongest Man could be right at home inside the structure.

The third and final contender in the match is the man who Bryan beat for the title, the World’s Largest Athlete, The Big Show. If Show is to win the championship, he will be hoping to hold onto it for a little while longer than his previous two-minute reign. The man with the devastating knockout punch will be looking forward to finally getting his hands on the champion who has done everything he can do to avoid Show in recent weeks, but inside a cage, there’s nowhere to hide.

With the two giants who gave us the ‘Holy $#!+ Move of the Year’ being put inside a steel cage with the heel-turning Bryan, a hell of a contest can be expected. Will the smallest man in the match defy the odds and retain his title, or will we be crowning a new champion in the first match of the night. Whatever the outcome, the winner will then have to watch on and wait to see who wins the Rumble match; as these two superstars could potentially be headlining WrestleMania in the near future!

RY2J Verdict: Bryan wins by escaping the cage
Hollywood Hinchcliffe Verdict: Bryan wins by escaping the cage
Headbanger Ash Verdict: Big Show wins by Pinfall over Bryan

Nexus: Where Are They Now?

Written by RY2J

Nexus were the most dominant stable in the WWE for over a year, but the superstars that once wreaked havoc on the WWE Universe have gone different ways since the group split.

Below I discuss where each of these superstars are now, and the impact they have made, from the Daniel Bryan highs, to the Michael Tarver lows.

Bigger than Nexus? Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan – D-Bry (as Booker T may say) has gone on to achieve great success since leaving Nexus, albeit the road to glory for Bryan didn’t come without its bumps along the way. Just four days after debuting as a member of Nexus, Bryan was fired after the WWE deemed his actions on the previous week’s Raw ‘out-of-line’ (however, is choking Justin Roberts with his tie really a sackable offence? I didn’t see Mark Henry being sacked for choking JR with his tie?).

Anyway, by August 2010 Bryan had been reinstated into the WWE, and the following month became U.S. Champion. This could have been viewed as quite the success story in itself, but it was all about to get even better for the fighting vegan. Come July 2011, he had won Money in the Bank, and at the TLC pay-per-view in December of that year, Bryan finally accomplished ‘The Big One’ by cashing in his Money in the Bank on a defenceless Big Show to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Achievements: Contracted to WWE, World Heavyweight Champion, Ex-U.S Champion, Money in the Bank 2011 winner

Success Rating: 10/10

Black John Cena?

Darren Young – often described as being a black-duplicate of John Cena (in appearance not popularity), Young lasted just over a month in Nexus, before eventually being forced to leave the group after ironically losing to his double (a.k.a. Cena) in a match whereby his Nexus future was on the line.

Young has gone on to remain with the WWE, and is currently competing in NXT: Redemption, where he has now traded helping headline Raw and battling John Cena; with fighting Titus O’Neill. However, kudos to Young as he has become a leading star on the programme, and will compete on its 100^th episode to be aired on 18^th January 2012.

Achievements: Contracted to WWE

Success Rating: 3/10

Will Sheffield skip back?

Skip Sheffield – dubbed as ‘The Powerhouse’ of The Nexus, Sheffield was quite the force to be reckoned with whilst part of the group, and performed admirably during the SummerSlam 7-on-7 match against Team WWE, eliminating both R-Truth and John Morrison. Sadly, for Sheffield, he broke his ankle three days later and was inevitably removed from the stable due to injury.

However, the big man is still working his way back to fitness in the WWE, competing in a number of dark matches since his rehabilitation from his injury. Don’t be surprised to see Sheffield (or perhaps a good-guy persona of Ryback) returning to our screens sometime soon.

Achievements: Contracted to WWE

Success Rating: 3/10

T for Tarver, or T for Terrible?

Michael Tarver – identifiable as the Nexus member with the cloth over his face, Tarvers gimmick of being a fast punching street fighter was never really effective throughout his time in Nexus, or the WWE. He left Nexus in October 2010, after being attacked by John Cena, with Wade Barrett stating he was looking to get rid of Tarver regardless (in truth he was injured).

Tarver went on to make brief appearances backstage on both Raw and Smackdown, whereby he was wearing a suit and watching matches on a TV. However, nothing ever came of this storyline (perhaps people didn’t recognise him without the face cloth) and by July 2011, the WWE decided to relieve Tarver of his contract.

Achievements: N/A

Success Rating: 1/10

Barrett Barrage Continues

Wade Barrett – the leader of The Nexus, Wade Barrett was the main figure in the stable and with his strong English accent (which sounds very London-like for a Mancunian), was also the voice of the group (which was probably a good thing, we couldn’t listen to Michael Tarver ramble on under that cloth for hours now could we). As the original winner of the NXT show, Barrett was always likely to go on to bigger things in the WWE, and after leaving Nexus in January 2011, the British Brawler did just that.

Firstly, Barrett started a new stable on SmackDown, namely ‘The Corre’, whereby ‘All the Members were Equals’ (albeit everyone could see Wade was the main man). During his Corre times, Wade became the Intercontinental Champion, but it was once he had lost this title and disbanded his stable that he became a real competitor in the WWE. Feuding with Orton and bringing the Barrett Barrage to arenas across America, the Englishman has been able to establish himself as a main player on SmackDown, and sooner rather than later the bare-knuckled fighter will be in the World Heavyweight Championship picture.

Achievements: Contracted to WWE, Winner of NXT: Season One, Ex-Intercontinental Championship

Success Rating: 8.5/10

Can Gabriel push on in WWE?

Justin Gabriel – renowned for his impressive ‘450 Splash’, Gabriel was always seen as ‘a face amongst heels’, whereby fans preferred to cheer rather than boo this high-flying South African. However, like many of The Nexus members, Gabriel was not quite good enough to keep headlining main events, but his acrobatic finisher kept him in the limelight for the group until he left in January 2011.

Like Barrett, Gabriel also found himself put into the stable ‘The Corre’, but was mainly teamed with fellow Corre member Heath Slater; a partner with whom he held the tag-titles on no less than three occasions. Ironically now feuding with Slater on SmackDown, it appears Gabriel is being kept in the spotlight, with his baby-face and incredible finisher being his top assets.

Achievements: Contracted to WWE, 3x Ex-WWE Tag Team Champion

Success Rating: 6.5/10

One Man Southern Rock Band

Heath Slater – the ‘one man Southern rock band’ (very catchy nickname I’m sure you’ll agree), was a member of Nexus who was perhaps most notable for his ginger hair and association with Justin Gabriel, rather than his own in-ring ability; like Gabriel, Slater left Nexus in January 2011 to join ‘The Corre.’

The red-headed wrestler has achieved moderate success in his short-time in the WWE, becoming Tag Team Champions three times; however now not part of a stable, Slater could be exposed for just another average wrestler on the roster (after all, when you lose to Hornswoggle, it’s usually a clue that your time is nearing the end in the business).

Achievements: Contracted to WWE, 3x Ex-WWE Tag Team Champion

Success Rating: 5/10

Harvard Graduate, and we know it!

David Otunga – when Otunga first appeared on WWE Raw with Nexus, his physique and decent microphone skills (that is in comparison to the other Nexus members) meant that Otunga was likely to be in the stable for a long time… and so he was. From the very beginning to the very end, the Harvard graduate (yes he went to Harvard, bet you’ve never heard that line before!) was the only ever present member of Nexus, and when the group did finally disband, a bright future looked to be on the cards. It wasn’t.

After people discovered Otungas’ move-set consisted of just a scoop slam and a clothesline, the likelihood of Otunga becoming anything more than a gimmick became highly unlikely. Step forward, lawyer Otunga. As Executive Vice-President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw John Lauranitis’ right hand man, fans have become more accustomed to seeing Otunga lifting a flask rather than an opponent, surely a gimmick that can’t last much longer!

Achievements: Contracted to WWE, 2x WWE Tag Team Champion

Success Rating: 6/10