ironworks
05-18-2012, 05:17 AM
Source: Bleacher Report
Every pay-per-view there are a couple of superstars who are able to sneak onto the card without actually earning the spot. While it's often necessary to advance storylines, they tend to bring down the level of the show because of a poor build.
Let's look at three stars who will fall into that category at Over the Limit on Sunday. It's not always their fault, of course. Booking has a major impact and all of these guys have drawn the short straw quite a bit lately.
Jack Swagger
Swagger will team with Dolph Ziggler to take on Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the tag team titles. It's a perfect example of how far the division has fallen as neither pair has been operating as a true tag team for long.
Aside from an extremely brief United States Championship run earlier in the year, Swagger has mostly been relegated to being Ziggler's sidekick. The pair's business partnership with Vickie Guerrero has run its course, which has hurt both guys.
The WWE would have been better off going an entirely different direction by having Ziggler team with Mason Ryan, who has been working as his enforcer at house shows recently. At least that would have served as a breath of fresh air instead of the status quo.
Alberto Del Rio
If there were odds on which superstar would get pinned in the fatal-four-way match on Sunday, Del Rio would be the heavy favorite. He's basically been made to look like a jobber in recent weeks while Sheamus, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho have been going back and forth.
The biggest problem for Del Rio is the company's insistence on shoving a gimmick that isn't working down the WWE Universe's throat. Even though he's shown no positive progress with it since coming back from injury, a character change hasn't even been attempted.
Since he doesn't draw much heat from the crowd, it's impossible for him to become a successful main-event star. Something needs to change. Hopefully it starts to happen after a loss in one of Over the Limit's marquee matches.
Zack Ryder
Ryder was on the rise only a handful of months ago before things suddenly started going downhill. He suffered several kayfabe injuries at the hands of Kane, who he will face during the pre-show, and hasn't been able to get back on track.
It's really a shame because he put a lot of effort into building an Internet fanbase, but the payoff was minimal. He's spent most of the past few months wrestling on Superstars, which doesn't exactly scream PPV match.
The company is clearly trying to capitalize on Ryder's popularity by putting in an online match, but he really shouldn't be featured. And it's hard to imagine it developing into another push for the Long Island Iced Z.
Every pay-per-view there are a couple of superstars who are able to sneak onto the card without actually earning the spot. While it's often necessary to advance storylines, they tend to bring down the level of the show because of a poor build.
Let's look at three stars who will fall into that category at Over the Limit on Sunday. It's not always their fault, of course. Booking has a major impact and all of these guys have drawn the short straw quite a bit lately.
Jack Swagger
Swagger will team with Dolph Ziggler to take on Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the tag team titles. It's a perfect example of how far the division has fallen as neither pair has been operating as a true tag team for long.
Aside from an extremely brief United States Championship run earlier in the year, Swagger has mostly been relegated to being Ziggler's sidekick. The pair's business partnership with Vickie Guerrero has run its course, which has hurt both guys.
The WWE would have been better off going an entirely different direction by having Ziggler team with Mason Ryan, who has been working as his enforcer at house shows recently. At least that would have served as a breath of fresh air instead of the status quo.
Alberto Del Rio
If there were odds on which superstar would get pinned in the fatal-four-way match on Sunday, Del Rio would be the heavy favorite. He's basically been made to look like a jobber in recent weeks while Sheamus, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho have been going back and forth.
The biggest problem for Del Rio is the company's insistence on shoving a gimmick that isn't working down the WWE Universe's throat. Even though he's shown no positive progress with it since coming back from injury, a character change hasn't even been attempted.
Since he doesn't draw much heat from the crowd, it's impossible for him to become a successful main-event star. Something needs to change. Hopefully it starts to happen after a loss in one of Over the Limit's marquee matches.
Zack Ryder
Ryder was on the rise only a handful of months ago before things suddenly started going downhill. He suffered several kayfabe injuries at the hands of Kane, who he will face during the pre-show, and hasn't been able to get back on track.
It's really a shame because he put a lot of effort into building an Internet fanbase, but the payoff was minimal. He's spent most of the past few months wrestling on Superstars, which doesn't exactly scream PPV match.
The company is clearly trying to capitalize on Ryder's popularity by putting in an online match, but he really shouldn't be featured. And it's hard to imagine it developing into another push for the Long Island Iced Z.