THE BRASS RING: Has Ryback benefited from injuries to established stars or has the injuries forced a failed push?

We were first introduced to Skip Sheffield AKA Ryback in 2010 as a beefed up cowboy looking to ditch the flannel and get over with the fans shouting out “YEP YEP, WHAT IT DO”. He then broke his ankle, had 3 surgeries and was sidelined for well over a year. Returning in 2012 as Ryback he dominated local jobbers and disposed of mid-card talent marching his way up the ladder in a slow fashion. In recent times a slow build on a character has been the right thing to do in terms of development and progression.  He was going in the right direction, learning his craft and trying to build a fan base with the words “FEED ME MORE”. Move on 5 months later and WWE’s cash cow John Cena gets injured, which could disrupt his ongoing feud with CM Punk and their booked Hell in the Cell PPV match. All of a sudden in steps Ryback into a catch 22 situation as he has only been on TV for 5 months but could get over with the fans if he has a good match........and he did!

His rise continued as he when into feuds with CM Punk, The Shield and Mark Henry but the jury was still out and there were still question marks about Ryback with being a stiff work, limited promo work and the fact that he got a WWE Title shot only 5 months into his main roster career. So I ask the question.........Did Ryback benefit from John Cena’s injury??

Fast forward another 5 months and Ryback gets a Wrestlemenia payday against Mark Henry and The Rock gets injured in the main event against Cena. With Cena’s continuing feud with The Rock out of the question as The Rock takes his dummy and runs and with CM Punk losing his smile, Ryback gets another shot at destiny and they turn him heel. The quickness of this is very questionable as he went from being a big monster beast who was starting to get over, to a forced heel who can’t buy a boo to save his life, looking like a scared Springbok running from a Lion. Now because Ryback is a “heel”, do we deem his current heel push a flop because of the failed crowd responses? Only time will tell as he begins to get better at promos backstage and to the live audience.

I would be stupid if I didn’t think a fresh new character like Ryback isn’t good for WWE television, but with Ryback constantly being pushed into the main event scene, no other new wrestlers ready for main event status and now with John Cena being injured again, will Ryback raise to the occasion or will these injuries to other stars come back to haunt him?

Whats your view on the matter?

Please leave your comments.

Written by Kinny Killa

THE BRASS RING: Are WWE Failing Their Raising Stars By Bringing In Old Faces?

The smoke has cleared and the dust has settled on Wrestlemania 29. With the best Monday Night Raw in possibly the last 15 years now behind us, we have truly started the road to a “New Season” in WWE. Now although I enjoyed the spectacle known as Wrestlemania, I had to ask myself a question, Are WWE failing their raising star?

If we look at the Wrestlemania 29 card we had Six Part Time wrestlers (The Rock, HHH, HBK, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker & Chris Jericho) on the show with most of them only wrestling a hand full of times over the year. Is it fair that the current crop of up and coming stars of the WWE are warming the bench? Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see these legends grace the squared circle every once in a while but in the long run I think it my hurt WWE because of their failure to elevate their talent. Antonio Cesaro is a talented and knowledgeable wrestler who has learnt his craft all over the world. He began his career in WWE very well and they decided to keep him safe and push him. He won the U.S Title and all of a sudden he started jobbing to everyone under the sun! Wade Barrett was unfortunate when he got injured as he was due to win the Money in the Bank match but after recovering from his injuries he continued to job to Orton, Sheamus and The Miz!! He wins the I.C Title and again gets the same treatment as Cesaro. It has taken Dolph Ziggler an eternity to get to where he currently is now as the World Heavyweight Champion but let’s not forget, before this Ziggler was losing every week. His World Title reign has already began being a joke, jobbing to Jack Swagger a week after he got one of the biggest crowd pops in the last 5 years at least. 

With John Cena hogging the limelight for the last 10 years, WWE has failed to really make an impact with the talent they have at their disposal, constantly mistrusting their judgement to pull the trigger on several stars. With The Rock currently on hiatus for at least the rest of the year, Chris Jericho touring with Fozzy, HHH pissing his pants every time he comes out, Lesnar having only 3 matches a year and Undertaker having his 4^th surgery; is it now time to stop wasting their money and look at what they do have? Don’t waste more money on bringing Batista back or paying P-Diddy to get booed off stage and don’t even get me started on Flo Rida!! What’s the solution you say.....??

WWE have a group of talented stars and gimmicks ready and waiting to be called up to the main roster from NXT. Formerly FCW, WWE NXT has shown over the last year that investing in development is the way to go. With round the clock promo practice and gimmick help by respected people such as Dusty Rhodes, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and Sara Del Ray, the NXT roster is looking healthy. Here is a list of NXT superstars I think the WWE should call up and pull the trigger on:

Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt was formally known as Husky Harris and was

part of the original Nexus faction. Husky Harris didn’t come

across well in WWE so they sent him back to NXT to develop

his character more and now we are blessed with this eerie,

calculating & sadistic character we now call Bray Wyatt. His

manipulating ways has convinced a number of people to join

his views on the world, thus creating the Wyatt Family faction

in NXT. His promo work is amazing and this gimmick reminds

me of a better Waylon Mercy in WWF. With clever vignettes,

promos and TV time this guy can be one of the best heels today.

Kassius Ohno

Kassius Ohno also known as Chris Hero was on WWE’s radar for a long time as he wrestled all over the world in one of the best Tag Teams on the independent scene along with Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro) called The Kings of Wrestling. With his philosophical promos,  a creative arsenal and his strong aptitude to succeed in this business, Kassius Ohno is sure to be known as the next wrestler to be able to have a good match with a broomstick! Watch out for his Rolling Elbow finishing move (which Wade Barrett has stolen) as this is sure to knockout his opponents.

Paige

Where do I even begin to start with the “Anti-Diva” Paige!

She comes from Norwich, England and is part of the famous

Knight Family. She has wrestling in her blood as her mother is

Sweet Saraya Knight who is a former SHIMMER Champion.

Wrestling since she was 13 years old, Paige has already got 7

years ring experience and carries herself exceptionally inside

the squared circle. Since she debuted in NXT, Paige has built a

massive fan base as the fresh faced “Anti-Diva” continued to

showcase her ring craft. With the new NXT Woman’s Title

soon being implemented, Paige is sure to become the first

champion and cementing her place as the best Women’s

wrestler in NXT. Looking at the current WWE Divas roster

which is full of Divas who can’t wrestle (apart from Natalya),

Paige has the unique opportunity to inject her charisma into the

Divas division and reignite some attention to this failing division.

So I lay down this question to you...........Are the WWE failing their raising stars or is the future brighter than we thought? Please leave your comments. Follow me on Twitter @sundaysegue.

Written by Kinny Killa