It wasn't so long ago that WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan & US Champion Zack Ryder stood alongside WWE Champion CM Punk on Raw, presented as the new foundation of the WWE, at least for now. In retrospect, that made sense. Randy Orton has since gone on the DL with a herniated disc in his back. John Cena is in a poorly written storyline that now also involves Ryder, who in turn, if you believe the gossips, is being punished for poor ratings by being paired with former Divas champion Eve Torres in a romance angle. If that is punishment, then let's play matchmaker!
The same fate, it seems, has befallen Bryan, who was being courted by AJ Lee before he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase last month. On the January 13 Smackdown, Lee was caught in the path of the Big Show as he chased Bryan around the ringside area. Champion & challenger, both concerned, and for now, both babyfaces, stopped. The match stopped. Lee did a stretcher job, and the wheels were being turned for Show turning back heel, or would that be Bryan? You can never tell anymore, not with a senile, 66 year old executive calling the shots behind the scenes.
Initially, I wanted to address the Cena/Kane/Ryder angle on Raw. I've said enough already about the prospect of two of those three, that being Kane & Cena, of course, contributing to the writing aspect of the angle. It actually wouldn't hurt if it was just them, to be honest with you, because the execution has been flawed. You consider the fact that Raw & Smackdown air on NBC-Universal/Comcast networks, and Smackdown is on SyFy, which has a ton of cheaply made horror movies, plus Kane's 2006 opus, "See No Evil", in their library. Seems to me that Vince McMahon spent a few days watching nothing but those DTV clunkers, or at least had some of his writers do that, then consulted Kane and/or Cena for ideas. If Kane (Glen Jacobs) came up with his current gimmick himself, more power to him. He's earned that right, as he's been with the company in his current persona going on 15 years. With Undertaker & Triple H now semi-active, that puts Kane 2nd on the active longevity list (Mark Henry, believe it or not, is at the top). Overall, Jacobs has been with the company nearly 17 years, which puts him ahead of Henry. I digress.
Watching the scene unfold with Ryder & Torres Monday night, I couldn't help but realize I'd seen this scenario play out in a zillion of those DTVs, or so it'd seem. They deserve better than this, I thought, and I know I'm not alone.
After watching what happened to AJ on Friday, I had to believe Bryan is being punished for the same reason Ryder is, that being, he's not drawing ratings, despite the constant spin-doctoring the company does with their annoying "Did You Know?" graphics. The blame for that rests with heel play-by-play announcer Michael Cole, who has relentlessly buried Ryder and Bryan for months. Reports say company suits are concerned, but if they really were, that would stop immediately, with Cole removed from the announce desk on an extended basis. And to think Ryder, at least, owns a squash win over Cole!
Don't think that Punk is excluded from punishment for bad ratings. At least his real-life relationship with Divas champ Beth Phoenix is not being used for storyline purposes. Yet. I wouldn't put it past McMahon to go there if ratings don't change. However, Punk is in a thankless position of having to be a reincarnation of Stone Cold Steve Austin, but then, John Laurinatis isn't exactly McMahon. He's dumber than an empty plate of nachos, and is a charismatic black hole. And, then, throw in the one annoyance that won't go away, Vickie Guerrero, who must have something on Vince to avoid a long-term suspension for her many storyline crimes. Again, I digress. I feel sorry for Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler to be stuck with the heat-leeching albatross.
Ok, so let's play matchmaker. Who's next in line to be paired with a diva?
Santino Marella? He's gone through 3 of them in storylines. The last one, Tamina, saw her angle end abruptly without explanation after she was drafted away to Smackdown last year. What Santino really needs, actually, is a gimmick change, so, fuhgeddaboutit.
Not only that, but Tamina's last on-air sweetheart was JTG (Superstars/NXT: Redemption), which tells you something.
Air Boom? I had given a thought of pairing AJ with Evan Bourne, if only because they would look just SO cute together, but she wound up with Daniel Bryan instead. The other Chickbuster, Kaitlyn, would be a good match, too. Let's not forget that before he was "granted the power of speech" last month, Hornswoggle was AJ's last honey (NXT again). See how the writers can toss ideas aside so callously & casually?
If Uncreative had played their cards right, Kaitlyn could've been with Dolph Ziggler, but someone sees money in Ziggler & Vickie. You know who.......
They are trying to pair the Bella Twins up with Alberto Del Rio, but a double date with Ricardo Rodriguez would also be a means of breaking Rodriguez away from Del Rio. With Del Rio sidelined for the time being, that angle is still percolating, as we saw Monday. However, I don't see it working.
I'd rather give the Bellas Swagger & Ziggler to work with, just to get those guys away from Vickie. Just sayin'.
Well, you know, Valentine's Day is a month away as I write this, and therein lies the real inspiration for this article today. Maybe I'll get around to dissecting the Kane-Cena mess another time.
