by Scott McLeod @scottmcleod1996Regardless of your feelings about the WWE Hall of Fame, it’s a great way to honour people for all their hard work and contributions to the business. However it’s getting to a point that people are wondering how many worthy inductees are left!
Contrary to the belief that WWE can’t build new stars there are several future Hall of famers who are a part of the active roster, both full and part time wrestlers. So, in no particular order, join me in counting down 10 current WWE superstars who are destined to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame! by Scott McLeod @scottmcleod1996Championships are an important part of Wrestling. A huge reason all wrestlers get into the business is to one day become a champion, for that moment when all the hard work was worth it; now you can call yourself champion! However, there are some titles that are so poorly designed that you wonder why anyone would want to wear them and this is not just in WWE but other major promotions! So here they are, my list of the 5 most disgusting, garish and generally ugly title designs in wrestling history! Honourable MentionsThe Spinner Belt - It worked for Cena, and perhaps when Edge or Miz put their own spin (pun intended) on it. Having said that it looked stupid on everyone else, especially when Punk had to carry it for his 400+ day Championship reign.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. I didn’t like it when I first saw it but it’s growing on me. That front panel just seemed so clunky and messy! If you’re unfamiliar here is the belt in question: by Josh McCrohon @JoshMcCrohon57NXT Takeovers are a thing of beauty. They’re a lovely 2 hours of pure wrestling. They have a short card which usually consists of 5 matches, but that’s what makes them even more enjoyable: you want to watch more. After watching any takeover I always want that one thing: more. NXT Takeover: War Games is this Saturday and has a moutherwatering match card (plus an advertised dark match,) so, without further ado, let’s rank the matches from worst to best! 6. Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen DreamLook, I’m sure this match won’t be terrible, hell it won’t even be bad but look at the other matches on the Takeover card! I love Black and I think Dream is a good worker with an incredible amount of potential too, but it’s just the worst match when comparing this to something like Pete Dunne & Johnny Gargano, which isn’t even being televised! Josh’s Prediction: Aleister Black 5. Kassius Ohno vs. Lars SullivanI love Kassius Ohno, there I said it! In my mind, he is the king of the forearms! While that may not be entirely true, this match has a lot of potential to be the dark horse on the card! This will be Lars Sullivan’s first Takeover event, while this will be Ohno’s first since Orlando (which was 7 whole months ago!) Josh’s Prediction: Lars Sullivan 4. Peyton Royce vs. Kairi Sain vs. Ember Moon vs. Nikki Cross [NXT Women’s Championship Fatal 4 Way]This entry was a toss-up between this and the match I’m going to mention next but hear me out, I think this match may be the 3rd worst but if you think about it, doesn’t that just make it the 4th best? It depends on your outlook on life doesn’t it! They can’t really have a bad fatal fourway match and this may be one of the best of the year, (the best being Summerslam.) All 4 women could win this - not literally, that would be kind of dumb - but I’m still sticking with my prediction despite just seeing a Japanese woman as champion. Josh’s Prediction: Kairi Sain 3. Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas [NXT Championship Match]I think this match will be slightly better than the women’s Fatal 4-Way but maybe I’ll be wrong - although with Almas & McIntyre I can’t really be wrong! Almas hasn’t had the most wins in NXT history or the most notable, and though he isn’t going to win here, I do think the future will be bright for this man, especially if his partnership with the outstanding Zelina Vega continues! Josh’s Prediction: Drew McIntyre 2. Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano [United Kingdom Championship Match]Oh boy, is this going to be good, yet we won’t even get to see it….the preceding statement is of course false if you get to go to the Toyota Center on November 18th for NXT Takeover: War Games! Witness Roderick Strong partner up with The Authors Of Pain taking on the insane group in SaniTy and also in the match The Undisputed Era inside War Games! Can they be contained? Find out exclusively on the WWE network!...well I think I got a bit carried away there, don’t you think? Back to Gargano & Dunne, this match will be absolutely fantastic and I just wish I got to see this. I’d put this number one but how good is this match to be if they’re not fighting in front of the cameras? However, slight pessimism aside, Pete Dunne & Johnny Gargano will tear the house down, no doubt! Josh’s Prediction: Petey Boy Dunne 1. Undisputed Era vs. The Authors of Pain w/ Roderick Strong vs. SAniTy [NXT War Games Match]The whole name of this Takeover is based around this match. All of these men can put on excellent matches and I cannot wait to watch this match (even if that does mean I need to stay up until 3 in the morning to see the finish - boy do I love the UK times). It’ll be interesting to see where all 9 men go after this; Authors Of Pain could move up to the main roster. Roderick Strong is perfect to start a feud with either Lars Sullivan or Hideo Itami. Adam Cole can either set his sights on the NXT championship or have a small rivalry with Kassius Ohno. Fish & O’Reily can battle it out with Young & Wolfe for the Tag belts with Killian Dane can doing something badass as always - there’s always something for him to do! Josh’s Prediction: The Undisputed Era! And that’s NXT Takeover: War Games, do you agree with my order? Why wouldn’t you! Sound off in the comments below, I’ve been Josh and you’ve not!
Follow Josh here: @thedynmatic44 Follow Wrestling & More here: @WAMPodcastUK by Rob AnthonyOn Saturday, Nov. 18, the young upstarts of NXT will bring back a match not seen in the wrestling world in years. Two rings, completely encapsuled in a steel cage with a roof on it, teams struggling not only to get a win, but just survive the carnage without suffering an injury that could harm their career. This is War Games.... Wait, before we get steeped in tradition, let's look over the rules of this new match, as written by the WWE: --- The three-member teams will wage war inside a massive steel cage that surrounds two rings. --- All three teams will be contained inside separate shark cages by the entranceway, with a member from each team (as chosen by his respective squad) starting the match. --- After five minutes, the remaining members from one team will be released from their shark cage and allowed to enter the match. When another three-minute period elapses, the remaining members from a second team are released from their shark cage and enter the match. Following another three-minute period, the final team's members are released from their shark cage and enter the match. --- Once all three teams have entered WarGames, The Match Beyond begins and a victory can be attained via pinfall or submission. Okay, let me say that I am an old-school fan that has watched this spectacle since I was a young man, watching Bob Backlund title defenses from the Philadelphia Spectrum at my grandfather's house on pay-cable TV. I remember the build up for the first-ever War Games: The Match Beyond, when the only way you could have seen the two WarGames matches that were presented during the Great American Bash tour in 1987 was either in the area, or by buying the videocassette from Jim Crockett Promotions that highlighted matches from that tour. Maybe I'm a purist, but I miss the old days of the War Games match, the differences between the originals and the NXT version; --- Two teams of five, not three teams of three --- No shark cages, one member of each team starts the match and goes for five minutes. After the first five minutes, there was a coin toss. The winner of the toss got an extra man for two minutes, giving one team a two-on-one advantage. After two minutes, a member of the opposing team comes in, making it two-on-two. --- They continue to add a man every two minutes, until all 10 men are in the ring. Once that happens, then begins the Match Beyond until there's a winner. --- In the Match Beyond, there lies the biggest difference between the two matches 20 years apart ---- There were no @#$#@# pinfalls in 1987! The NWA War Games was very simple, it was submit or surrender. The match ended the wrestling career of manager James J. Dillon when his shoulder was injured in taking the early version of a Doomsday Device wrongly from Hawk, but Hawk couldn't hit the move right because of the roof on the cage. You always wondered about the matchups and how it would all work. The original match pitted the dreaded Four Horsemen; Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger and James J. Dillion against the team of the Superpowers; Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff, the Road Warriors and their manager Paul Ellering. Rhodes and Anderson began the match and had the stamina to remain in the match for the full 21 minutes that the War Games went on, losing blood before all 10 men got in. Oh yeah, there's another thing that will be missing from the 2017 NXT War Games - BLOOD!!! In the PG Era, where we have to cater to advertisers and marketing to the young John Cena and Roman Reigns fans, blood is taboo. In the original War Games, Arn Anderson was bleeding in the first five minutes. You hit the steel mesh, you are going to be busted open, or wearing the “crimson mask” as Gordon Solie used to say. Don't get me wrong, with wrestlers like SaNitY, the Authors of Pain, reDragon (Fish and O'Reilly), Adam Cole (BAY-BAY) and Roderick Strong, there is the potential to see some things here that we have never seen before and for it to be awe-inspiring, but in this writer's opinion, the return of War Games/The Match Beyond is happening on the wrong night. 24 hours later, two teams of five will battle in the same arena. These teams over the last few weeks, have been battling for brand supremacy, bringing a united front on either side. It has reached a boiling point and gone from being #undersiege, to a full-blown battle, skirmish.... dare I say, War among men.
Can you imagine the chaos that could be caused by Braun Strowman inside the double steel cage. Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe being the tough guys they are. Triple H would love it - being the wrestling historian he is, he brought the War Games to his NXT after all - and would jump at the chance to be a part of it, like his idol Ric Flair. Shane would no doubt do something crazy inside that structure, and Kurt Angle would use that ankle lock to perfection to force the submission. Folks, the anticipation is there, but the payoff could have been so much sweeter, but let us all dream of what could have been and what is ready to come before us.... In the words of Tom Miller, the longtime ring announcer for Jim Crockett Promotions, LET THE WAR GAMES....... BEGIN!!!!! by Josh McCrohon @JoshMcCrohon57NXT has been apart of the WWE family for many years now, dating back to the absolutley awful game show days. However, it transformed into a developmental wrestling show in 2012 where Seth Rollins became the very first NXT Champion. Since Rollins, there has been 12 reigns and the 13th belongs to Drew McIntyre. But who will beat McIntyre?
Here’s 10 wrestlers who can dethrone the chosen one. by Rob Goodwin @REALRobGoodwinTo say I’m new to the world of Japanese Wrestling would be the understatement of all understatements. Caught up in the hype that January’s WrestleKingdom 11 match between IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and 2016 G1 Climax winner Kenny Omega brought to the wrestling world, I felt almost obliged to dip my little toe in a product decidedly not WWE.
What I found was a promotion on completely the other end of the scale to anything I’d seen before. Gone were completely ridiculous storylines and the ‘entertainment’ side of things, and brought to the fore was actual wrestling - matches of the highest quality (most of the time, you know what I mean!) The product isn’t perfect (though it feels a lot closer than the WWE at times) and over the years New Japan Pro Wrestling have not made it easy for a western audience to access their product. However, if you are one of the few people still sitting on the fence about whether or not to take a peek into something completely different than what you’re used to, then I’ve got 5 reasons to check it out right now! by Josh McCrohon @JoshMcCrohon57Nothing quite gets the pulse racing like a perfectly executed debut. With NXT, the WWE has the luxury of building a star ahead of their inevitable promotion to the main roster; for example Kevin Owens. The prizefighter debuted in answer to the John Cena US open challenge whilst still NXT champion, before destroying the face that ran the place and going on to have a main roster run that saw him become Intercontinental, United States and the second longest running (at the time of writing) Universal Champion! Living proof that NXT call ups can succeed on the main roster...
It’s a shame therefore that Kevin Owens finds himself in the minority when it comes to a successful NXT call-up! Triple H must be tearing his hair out...oh no wait.... Triple H must be frustrated beyond belief as he watches superstars that have been nurtured and built in NXT, squandered in such a brazen display of lack of creativity and creative laziness. Therefore, here are some acts that can consider themselves far less lucky than The New Face Of America when they found themselves on the main roster: by Scott McLeod @scottmcleod1996There are some people who say WWE is running out of dream matches. In terms of people that immediately come to mind they’re right; we’ve had Cena vs Nakamura, Reigns vs Cena and Joe vs Brock already this year. But there many possible match-ups that could become dream matches. The problem is that at first glance people don’t see the appeal of seeing these people fight and immediately dismiss it. An example is AJ vs Shane form this past year’s WrestleMania. The moment this match was rumoured the majority of fans hated it. They felt it was a waste of AJ on the biggest show of the year. When all was said and done however, what match was considered the show stealer? AJ vs Shane. Here a few more you might not yet realise you want. 5. Mark Henry vs. Braun StrowmanWait! Wait! Here me out. Look back at Braun’s series of matches with the Big Show. Probably the best matches Show has had in a long time. Now Strowman is moving into a program with Kane which will hopefully be as good. Now imagine what he could do with Henry. Strowman seems to be able to bring good matches out of people you wouldn’t expect. They did have a throw away match on RAW but there’s some actual storyline potential - Strowman going through all the big men to establish himself as the one true monster. This could give Henry the proper farewell match he wants and deserves. Once he beats Henry, all that’s left for Strowman is for Kahli to come back and put him over. 4. Goldust vs. The Velveteen DreamThink about what the Velveteen Dream is; He’s flamboyant, wants all the attention and gets really close to his fellow wrestlers... Remind you of anyone? This almost writes itself; the aging star trying to prevent the new star from stealing the spotlight. This might not be a dream match from an in-ring perspective, but in terms of story it could be excellent. If you’re a fan of over the top stories and plenty of pomp and circumstance, this is the feud for you. 3. Drew McIntyre vs. Roman ReignsAt first this might seem like the most random pairing, but it makes a lot of sense. They’re bigger than most of their opponents, put on better matches than you’d expect for men of their size and most importantly of all, they were considered the chosen ones. Roman Reigns is what Drew’s WWE career could have been if the office had gotten 100% behind him like they have Reigns. Drew’s story in NXT has been that he had to go away because he wasn’t ready for the opportunities he was given. This match could happen as soon as next year. Drew doesn’t need to be NXT champion for too long because he’s already ready for the main roster. He could confront Reigns after he beats Lesnar for the Universal title at Mania 34 wanting to see if Reigns deserves to be the new chosen one. Just like that, you have a ready-made title programme. No one would really mind Drew challenging for the title right away. The hardcore fans know his work on the indies and most of the casual fans would probably recognise him from his first run. It’s perfect! 2. Bray Wyatt vs. Aleister BlackNow it may seem like Bray has been so damaged that there aren’t very many matches people are desperate to see him in. If there is one exception, it’s a match against Aleister Black. This could one of the few times Wyatt’s supernatural crap could work. Black could call Bray out for not being able to back up what he says and call him a false God. He could force Wyatt to step up his game because he doesn’t have to pretend to be afraid of Wyatt, and let’s face it, one thing Bray Wyatt needs is to change and step up his game! 1. Asuka vs. Ronda RouseyRumours of Rousey wrestling for WWE have become more of a matter of time as opposed to if. When it comes to possible matches for her, the popular answers are a horsewoman four way, her vs Stephanie and her vs Charlotte. But there’s one opponent I can’t believe anyone hasn’t thought of - Asuka. It’s too early to see how Rousey will fair in the ring, but if she’s anything like her Horsewoman counterpart Shayna Baszler, she’s going to be very stiff. Who else in the women’s division could possible match Rousey in terms of strikes like Asuka? Asuka is a woman I wouldn’t be worried about getting in the ring with Rousey. There is added intrigue if they face off while Asuka is still undefeated. Would they let an outsider beat Asuka’s streak? The possibility of this match happening is dependent on two things however: 1. If Rousey does come to WWE, how long will she be around. She would most likely have a schedule like that of Brock. 2. If Asuka is booked to be as dominant on the main roster like she was in NXT. I would even go as far to say that this match, if booked right, could main event a big 4 PPV. Tell me you wouldn’t want to see this! What do you think of these matches I’ve suggested? Are you interested in seeing them? Tell me on Twitter at @scottmcleod1996 and make sure you follow Wrestling and More at @WAMPodcastUK
by Rob Goodwin @REALRobGoodwinTo say that 2017 has been a bizarre year for the WWE is an understatement. For every Bray Wyatt WWE Championship win, there is a Jinder Mahal title reign, for every WrestleMania there is a WWE Battleground, for every Jericho and Owens feud, there is a Wyatt and Balor feud and for every star-studded return there is a debut of Sister Abigail - it’s been a strange one. Like every year in the WWE though, there have been wrestlers (like Jinder Mahal) who have benefitted massively from booking decisions made, however, this means that there are obviously those that have found themselves booked in ludicrous things, to perform ridiculous stunts and take baffling losses to non-sensical people. Here are 10 of those wrestlers; 10. Finn BalorSummerslam 2016. Finn Balor becomes the inaugural Universal Champion after a stellar semi-main event with Seth Rollins, having beaten Roman Reigns on RAW to reach the PPV. Unfortunately, Balor injured his shoulder during the match and was forced to relinquish the title the following night, before promptly missing 8 months with injury. Returning on the RAW after WrestleMania 33, Balor received one of the biggest ovations of the night. Unfortunately, that has most definitely been the high point of Balor’s year thus far. He has been forced into head scratching programs with Elias and Bray Wyatt, before losing in 3 minutes against Kane, who clearly needed the momentum! The only reason Finn, a former leader of the Bullet Club and jewell in the crown of NJPW and even NXT, ranks so low on this list is because of his excellent match with AJ Styles at TLC 2017, and his rumoured main event program with Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Hopefully the WWE are through jobbing out the former Prince Devitt, and will allow him to flourish in the way he deserves. 9. Big CassFrom what I’ve seen so far of Big Cass’ singles push, I really wish he’d stayed with Enzo, at least for a little while longer. With Enzo he seemed to have at least some modicum of direction and had him to bounce off during his promos. However, when you are 7 foot tall, fairly good in the ring and muscly, Vince will inevitably want to push you. Unfortunately, he wasn’t ready for this and many times seemed like a deer in the headlights when faced with a crowd and no Enzo. His promos were bland and boring, his in-ring style, though certainly adequate, was nothing showstopping, whilst his matches against Enzo and Big Show were boring to the point of depression! Unfortunately during a Street Fight between Enzo and Cass on an episode of RAW, the latter took a strange bump on his way out of the ring and legitamely injured his knee, an injury that is currently still sidelining him. One can only hope that his return after injury brings more fortune and more fire! 8. Sasha BanksSome might find it slightly harsh that I’ve put ‘The Boss’ on this list, but I’m simply comparing 2017 Sasha to the 2016 Sasha who had that amazing feud with Charlotte, who put on the first Women’s Hell in a Cell Match, the incredible Iron woman match and became a multi time Women’s Champion - there is no way anyone could match that year admittedly. Starting with this year’s WrestleMania, she was eliminated second in the match in highly contrived circumstances leaving Bayley and Charlotte to fight and since then...nothing. She feuded briefly with Alexa Bliss over the title in a series of underwhelming matches before the WWE decided that it would a great storyline idea going forward that Banks couldn’t defend the title once she’d gained it...wait, what? How is this anyway to treat a main eventer? The Legit Boss for goodness sake? To couple with this, Banks was relegated to the pre-show in favour of a Cruiserweight Tag Match at TLC 2017, before losing a triple threat on RAW to be the women’s captain at Survivor Series.... It’s a long way from the Banks of 2016 isn’t it! 7. R-TruthDoes anything else really need to be said here? 6. Luke HarperWhen it was leaked in August this year that Luke Harper was being repackaged, we dared to dream. This was a man who, despite being touted for the main event at WrestleMania having beaten AJ Styles in a Battle Royal , simply vanished from SmackDown Live television, save for a number 1 contendership 6 pack challenge which Jinder Mahal would ultimately win leading to his current title reign, a short and forgettable feud with former tag mate Erick Rowan and some wwe.com interviews where it was heavily implied he would enter a program with Aiden English. Instead...nothing. Until now! In October 2017, vignettes aired of Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in big coats carrying big toy hammers spouting utter tripe about breaking bones and severing spines! These have run for the last couple of weeks and, what I’m sure was supposed to be creepy and menacing, came across half-arsed and laughable. Rowan for his part seems into it, but Luke Harper is dead inside and you can see it in his eyes; another stupid gimmick where he won’t be taken seriously. This man can go in the ring as proved when he wrestled in the Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 31 - he looked fantastic, but the WWE seem so loathe to put any faith in him and insist on putting him in tag teams. Yes it’s early days and for all I know I could be being very pessimistic and The Bludgeon Brothers may go onto be the most decorated tag champions in history...but Bludgeon Brothers...really? 5. Summer RaeLooking at it now in the light of her recent release, maybe her inclusion on this list is a touch harsh, but let’s face the fact here that since the WWE draft last July, where she was drafted to RAW, she hasn’t made a single televised appearance through injury. It’s not like she lit up the ring when she was on TV, playing second fiddle a lot of the time to the more talented members of the women’s roster coming through. Seemingly only kept towards the end of her tenure due to Total Divas commitments, it’s a shame to see her released and we wish her all the best, but to not have a single appearance on TV and then be released is a fairly terrible year by anyone’s standards! 4. Bray WyattHas anyone fallen from grace with such a bang as Bray Wyatt this year? Rewind to Elimination Chamber 2017 in February and the Eater of Worlds fought off both AJ Styles and champion John Cena to claim his first WWE Championship amongst roof raising chants of “You Deserve it!” Fast forward back to current day and in the space of 18 months; Wyatt has lost the championship to boring face Orton in one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history, he has taken part in the laughable spoof of a House of Horrors match at Payback, was denied the opportunity for a rematch, was shifted brands hastily and has then been thrust into a feud with Finn Balor which would have culminated in one of the least anticipated matches in PPV history. All this coupled with the fact that the much touted Sister Abigail spirit turned out to be Bray Wyatt with a towel on his head speaking in a pitch shifted voice...dear God... 3. BayelyOh Bayley, what has happened to you? Whilst in NXT as part of the much lauded Four Horsewomen stable, Bayley could do no wrong; the pop from any crowd she was in front of would be enormous and her gimmick was as over as any gimmick at the time. Her feud with real-life best friend Sasha Banks and her subsequent capture of the NXT Women’s Title allowed us to dream that her main roster stint would be equally successful! Now? She has been subject to the most alarming booking decisions in 2017, and this is a year where she has been RAW Women’s Champion, and retained it at Mania. But the problem is she is perceived as a joke by creative and therefore her momentum has stuttered to a complete halt. She has been buried by persistent losses to other talent on the roster, has been subject to the diabolical ‘This is your Life’ segment and a complete over inflation of her character. It’s got to the point now where her entrance, once a pop inducing fun-fest, fails to illicit any reaction whatsoever. It’s going to take a lot to rebuild ‘The Hugger’ from here I’m afraid... 2. Shinsuke NakamuraHOW ON EARTH DO YOU BOTCH SHINSUKE NAKAMURA!? The most electrifying man coming out of NXT, where he was a two time NXT Champion, coming to the US on the back of his unbelievable run in Japan prior to this, WWE fans were delighted to have Nakamura debut on the main roster come the SmackDown after Mania. Whispers began about potential show stealing feuds against the likes of AJ Styles and Kevin Owens, even John Cena, but none of this materialised. Instead, we got a month and a half of waiting until the next PPV to see his first televised match against Dolph Ziggler which was, luke-warm if we aren’t kidding ourselves. He was then in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match which teased his feud with AJ, and then won a #1 Contendership match against John Cena - a fantastic bout, even if Shinsuke did nearly break Cena’s neck - things were looking up. However, then the wheels fell off. Nakamura then had two BLOODY AWFUL matches against current WWE Champion Jinder Mahal in which he felt less like the Rockstar he was supposed to be, and more like a glorified jobber - as well as being subject to racist and boring promos for the Maharaja, and has now slid down the card to a series of Tag Team matches...what the hell is going on? Luckily, Shinsuke has the charisma to pull himself slowly back up the card - a good match against Kevin Owens to determine who would be on team SmackDown at 2017 Survivor Series is certainly a start - but those two defeats and his less than impressive feuds and displays in the ring are definitely reasons to worry, especially amid rumours that he and Asuka have been told they need to tone down their Strong Style style of wrestling on the main roster! 1. The Good BrothersI’m going to start this article with some trivia for you; Gallows and Anderson are 3 time holders of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, winners of the 2013 World Tag League and have held the RAW Tag Team Championships heading into WrestleMania 33. Couple this with the fact that they have both registered on PWInisder 500 inside the top 100, and were original members of the extremely popular heel stable - The Bullet Club. With all this in mind, how are these two at the top of this list? Simple, WWE have booked them into utter oblivion! In the abscence of the Golden Truth, The Good Brothers have taken the job of ‘jobber Tag Team’ for the better part of a year. Karl Anderson seems to be on the roster for the sole purpose of taking pins and Gallows, despite being a behemoth of extreme power and strength is booked as an ineffectual fool! It’s got to the point where I quite genuinley forgot their entrance theme music because for so long they’d been given the jobber’s entrance! With rumours circulating wildly about their status with the WWE, it’s hardly surprising is it? They’ve been booked as an absolute joke that, no matter what, will never be seen as anything other than that. Is there anyone I missed? Who else in the WWE has had a year to forget in 2017? Do you agree with the order? Let me know on Twitter @REALRobGoodwin and follow Wrestling & More’s @WAMPodcastUK
by Scott McLeod @scottmcleod1996You may remember I wrote an article that explained why, in my opinion, WWE would benefit from having more managers. The worst thing about this problem is that it’s one that is easily fixable. There are several wrestlers who could transition to this role tomorrow and flourish. Most of these guys aren’t particularly good in the ring but great on the mic. If given the opportunity, they could use their mic skills to help build new stars and at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. Honourable mention: Titus O’Neil. He is essentially a manager now even though he still gets in the ring. There is a lot of promise in Titus Worldwide if WWE allowed it the time it deserves. 5. The MizThe Miz takes this spot because the reasons for his inclusion are so different from others on the list. While he might not be thought of as a great wrestler by today’s standards his style works for his character, and his improvement in both ring style and ability on the mic in the past two years has been sensational! If Miz took some time out of the ring and managed Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas it could benefit them hugely. Give them some definitive wins while Miz builds them up on Miz TV or in backstage segments. If they are positioned as viable threats people might treat them as such. If you remember back in January 2016 when Miz said he would give Neville the keys to be a star, it had huge potential, especially as Neville was a criminally underused talent wanting of some direction. However, this storyline ended weeks later and was never mentioned again, but just consider The Miz as a manager and what that story could have been... 4. Ladies and Gentlemen...EliasElias is the perfect heat magnet; he plays his guitar says, “insert town name sucks” and “insert insult about local sports team” and then listens as the boos come rolling in! The problem is when the bell rings. He hasn’t had what you would call memorable or even really good matches. If you took Elias out of the ring and allow him to apply his heat to someone else, you could see a marked improvement on an incomplete superstars push! He could consider himself a producer trying to build the next big thing or he could play his client to the ring singing a ballad about how great they are and how they will defeat their opponent, the possibilities are endless and with Elias’ undoubted charisma, it could definitely work! 3. Drew GulakIf you’ve seen 205 Live the last few months, you’ll have seen that Drew is an absolute delight on the mic. If you don’t watch 205 Live, then look no further than Gulak speaking on behalf of Enzo for proof that he’d be a fantastic manager. Pair him with someone in the Cruiserweight division who meets his no high-flying standards and watch them go run through the division. Imagine his client in the ring with Cedric Alexander, with Gulak shouting encouragement through his megaphone. Imagine backstage segments of him prepping his client with his PowerPoint presentation! Tell me you’re not even a little intrigued... 2. Nigel McGuinnessWhile not a wrestler anymore, Nigel could be a valuable asset as a manager. Though he provides great insight from commentary from his years in the business imagine if he was passing that knoweldge to a struggling NXT talent. Fans could follow the journey of a superstar through NXT up to the main roster while Nigel gives them the knowledge needed to make it in the big leagues. 1. Enzo AmoreI mentioned the potential for Enzo in my managers article so this entry really does goes without saying. His whole schtick with Cass was the typical manager client/relationship - a small loudmouth hiding behind a big guy. In fact, once Enzo and Cass had finished their Tag Team kinship, people were clamouring for Enzo to be the manager of the 7 foot giant! Once he’s done as Cruiserweight champion he could easily transition into a manager role. Also, like all the other guys on this list except Nigel, Enzo could tag in the ring with his client. Unlike the others who wouldn’t mind wrestling, Enzo would be better suited as a reluctant participant in matches. Have him on the apron refusing to tag in until eventually he his forced into the match. This allows the babyface to finally give Enzo his Comeuppance. For an example of this, see the rare times Bobby Heenan would get into the ring. Also, I don’t know about you, but I quite like seeing Enzo get beat up. What do you think of my picks? Is there anyone else you think could have been included? Tell me @scottmcleod1996, and don’t forget to follow the official Wrestling & More Podcast twitter page @WAMPodcastUK!
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