Dropping Truth

Over the spring and summer of 2011 R-Truth turned heel. He was a revelation in the role. Gone was the smiling, dancing mid-card babyface, replaced by an engaging and amusing paranoid schizophrenic convinced that being made to pander to children for years had cost him his shot at the big time. He revelled in peppering his promos with strange phrases and audience interaction and adopted a more aggressive ring style (as all WWE heels do). He became a programming highlight and did some of the best work of his career.

What happened to that guy?

WWE fumbled things. Anything they've not got a plan in place for that becomes popular gets fumbled. That's what happens when a wrestling company has no long term plans (or goals) and a creative department who don't understand the wrestling business to a satisfactory degree.

The specifics with Truth are particularly disappointing. He headlined June's Capitol Punishment in a WWE championship match with John Cena and then did absolutely nothing of note until the autumn, despite being one of wrestling's biggest bad guys at the time.

In retrospect he probably got overshadowed by the CM Punk worked shoot promo and ensuing mega push. That shouldn't have been the case but WWE have demonstrated regularly that they're incapable of elevating two acts at the same time. R-Truth drew the short straw.

Autumn saw 'The Suntan Superman' enter into a worked shoot angle of his own. He formed a partnership with fellow loose-ender The Miz and unsuccessfully challenged Air Boom for the tag team titles at Night of Champions. Due to Miz attacking the referee of that match the pair were fired.

The next month’s Hell in a Cell show was main evented by John Cena v CM Punk v Alberto Del Rio in a triple threat Cell match and featured Awesome Truth slipping out from under the ring to attack all three combatants. Their actions were portrayed as unscripted. The show ended with Truth and Miz brawling with COO Triple H in the aisle as the entire roster crowded around. It was a bizarre approach for a WWE card in this day and age

It all seemed to be hinting at something huge. A bold new approach to the way WWE presented its storylines or a massive push for Truth and 'The Awesome One'. It wasn't either. The pair were reinstated on TV in a thoroughly generic manner and went on to defeat Tripper and CM Punk at Vengeance. It was then announced they were the opponents for SuperCena and The Rock at Survivor Series.

Sounds like a good spot? It was, but the twosome were treated like the expendable mid-card talent they were when bell time came in their Survivor Series bout. They were split on the following evening’s RAW and then drifted off into obscurity.

A few months later Truth had morphed back into a bland good guy. That he held the hand of Little Jimmy as he made his way to the ring was a nice holdover from his storyline the previous summer but it was also depressing that nothing else of the period remained. Truth playing the face again wasn't a problem in itself: he was and is good in the role. It was disappointing that nothing had come of some of wrestling's best antagonism of the year.

If you were being charitable you could point out that 2012 saw Truth form a popular team with Kofi Kingston and reign as a tag champ for over four months. The tag title reign is a fact but only came about because there were no alternative teams available. The popularity claim would be pure fantasy: nobody was clamouring to see Truth and Kingston teaming together.

 

Push this guy... and Little Jimmy too

Since he and 'The Wildcat' went their separate ways Truth has sunk to his lowest point since before his heel turn. He's had a string of meaningless TV and pay-per-view matches and was never in any danger of wrestling on the WrestleMania card. He didn't even appear in the Royal Rumble. That says it all.

R-Truth proved in 2011 that he could be a valuable part of the WWE product. As the company is desperate for reliable guys right now they should be making more use if him.

Another heel turn wouldn't work. Having initially been done so well two years ago a repeat performance would have very little impact. More to the point, Truth is one of only a handful of faces that can be regularly sacrificed to Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro. If there were a mid-card scene to speak of he could be put to good use there. But there's not, and creating one doesn't seem terribly high on WWE's list of priorities.

I think the best thing that could be done with R-Truth now is to have him reform Awesome Truth. The Miz will soon stop playing movie star and become a full-time wrestler again. There's nothing obvious for him to return to as a singles guy and we've established Truth's doing nothing interesting so pairing them up again would give both a purpose. They had good chemistry during their original run and as they’re both faces now it would be easy for them to put a fresh spin on their act.

Stick them in a feud with the Rhodes Scholars for two months, have them win the programme, and it's just about conceivable that they could be used as challengers to The Shield over the summer. Like the idea it not it's a better use for two name talents than having them tread water.

Border Wars 2013 review

Border Wars didn’t break the curse. It was another commendable (internet) pay-per-view offering from Ring of Honor. Unfortunately it kept another running theme going as well, the technical problems that plague seemingly every internet offering the company makes. These sorts of issues are what prompted ROH to move away from Go Fight Live and start producing them in house. That was a wise move. It doesn’t appear to have been followed up by the equally wise move to involve people who know how to avoid streaming issues.

There’s nothing I can say on the topic of streaming problems and Ring of Honor that I haven’t said before but I can’t provide a recap of the show without mentioning the problem. It’s something ROH need to sort out. Until they do they’ll continue to have rightly dissatisfied customers and an image of a small time indy fed.

The promotion and its talent deserve better than that but they won’t get it until they prove they can give us iPPVs without fault. The more things that go wrong the longer stretch of successes they’re going to have to shed the image.

I really hope that I can do a write-up of Best in the World in June without mentioning any of these problems.

Border Wars took place in front of a lively crowd at the Red Reeve Arena in Toronto. The C&C Wrestle Factory opened up the show with a victory over the super-popular ACH and  his tag partner Tadarius Thomas (who really need a team name). The win came after Coleman hit a no hands hurricanrana on ACH and Alexander followed up with a springboard frog splash.

The fans were into the bout, granting it with early chants of “This is awesome!” Things quietened down considerably when Thomas got isolated, a sign that ACH was the star of the four. He's a highlight of the current ROH roster, charismatic and incredibly nimble. He could make it to the top of the company given the time.

In the short term he and Thomas are likely going to get themselves a tag team title shot. I thought they’d be getting a win on iPPV to set that up but apparently not. It’s still something they’re heading towards though.

 

Streamers in the opening match? You bet!

 

Match two was Mike Bennett versus Roderick Strong one-on-one. Mike Mondo had originally been set to be a part of the match but suffered an injury while training so got pulled. Yep, his return has been delayed again.

Bennett was sporting a haircut. I prefer the shaggy look he had going on before.

The match was the average Bennett affair, meaning that there was nothing bad going on but also nothing particularly exciting either. The finish came when Roddy slapped the Stronghold on Bennett, spurring Maria to cause a distraction as her man tapped out. Strong went to chide the ref for his inattentiveness and turned around into a superkick and a Box Office Snash for two.

Cheeseburger rocked up and forced a kiss on Maria, which as basically sexual assault and was presumably done as payback for getting decked by ‘The Prodigy’ at Supercard of Honor. Bennett then dashed around ringside after the crew member, sliding back into the ring to eat the match-winning Sick Kick.

A recap of Steen speaking out against Matt Hardy and getting booted out of SCUM followed that. If you've watched the TV show you’ll be aware of the footage.

BJ Whitmer v Rhett Titus, fought under I Quit rules, was match three. ‘Addicted to Love’ was wearing Scott Hall nWo style trunks. Pretty cool touch for a guy who's part of an invading faction.

The match started with the two men brawling. That was overshadowed by Nigel McGuinness getting referees to eject Steve Corino from the arena. The fans resurrected WWE's old ‘Get the F Out’ campaign as a chant, replacing the F with something that wasn't “federation”.

The crowd were into the match. I wasn’t. I can’t be part of the in-crowd all the time. Titus brought in zip ties after the standard issue tussling. ‘The Buzzsaw’ fought him off and ended up locking Titus into the ropes. The SCUM man refused to quit as he was punched repeatedly in the face by his former tag team partner. Eventually he spat at him.  

That prompted BJ to bring in a chair. He prepared to smash Titus with an unprotected shot but Corino returned and distracted him. ‘The King of Old School’ turned his back and sank to his knees, sacrificing himself to Whitmer’s wrath. Titus quit to save his pal form the chair.

Jimmy Jacobs and Cliff Compton hit the ring and flattened BJ, which brought out Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal for the stipulation tag match. Jacobs was sporting a new hairdo too. It was clearly new haircut night in Toronto. Corinio stayed at ringside as the combatants rucked around ringside, providing time for Rhett to be cut out of the zip ties back in the ring.  

Once both teams were back into the ring a regular tag match got underway. Elgin did his stalling suplex spot to a booming reaction. It got a "That was awesome!" chant. Moments later he did it again on Compton. Lethal joined him with a stall on Jacobs. Elgin remains amazingly over despite underwhelming presentation so far this year. That’s a positive sign.

Lethal was written out of the match when he “tweaked his knee” on what appeared to be a standard suicide dive. Corino demanded a count out but it didn't happen. Instead Lethal was helped backstage, leaving 'Unbreakable' to continue the match alone. It was a work designed to keep Elgin looking strong and set up a surprise run-in from Kevin Steen.

It accomplished both goals. Jacobs was caught in mid-air and slammed with a suplex. Moments later Elgin powered both men off the mat, one on his shoulders and one in his arms. The numbers bettered him after that but he looked like a beast while battling the odds.

When Steen appeared he got officially added to the match by McGuinness. Elgin tagged him in and 'Mr Wrestling' cleaned house on SCUM. After hitting a pop-up power bomb on Compton he went for a package piledriver but ‘The Zombie Princess’ clipped his leg and snuck in a schoolboy for a victory. Steen looked crushed as Corino beamed and celebrated at ringside.

The match was a good piece of work. It created a way to get Steen on to the card and protected Elgin. It was well received. Excellent use of four guys and continuation of the SCUM plot.

During the interval we were shown two matches. Taiji Ishimori v El Generico from Tokyo Summit (Ishimori won) and Paul London v Michael Shane (remember him?) from Unscripted (London won).

The second half opened with 'Barrister' RD Evans (inexplicably dressed in wrestling gear) and 'God's Gift' QT Marshall sauntering to the ring. They got hefty streamer treatment. Fans were probably just pleased to have the chance to throw stuff again after intermission. Evans asked for silence because his voice was hoarse. That got the fans Fandangoing. Evans asked if it was the Canadian national anthem. A humorous quip from Evans? That’s his strength.

Evans said reDRagon should be stripped of the tag belts because they'd no-showed the event. No-showing was a bit strong: they were never announced to be there. As he spoke a series of beeps started up and images were shown on the screen above the entrance of Tommaso Ciampa working out.

Moments later ‘The Sicilian Psychopath’ strode out with a new (and impressive) entrance that made him look like a major star. Evans bailed and left Marshall to eat a double leg takedown and a knee to the face. The heels fled. It was a well booked return segment and Ciampa got a great reaction. He should have hit his finisher on Marshall though. The fans needed something to give a definitive pop to.

Corino returned to ringside to gloat about being the company’s new colour commentator. He promised something big for later in the show and then left. It was a peculiar addition to the show. Corino could have said what he had to say during his earlier appearance. That would have allowed the audience to hear what he had to say too.

Eddie Edwards v Taiji Ishimori was match five. Kevin Kelly frustratingly claimed this was Ishimori's ROH debut even though we'd seen him wrestle Generico in an ROH ring not half an hour earlier. Okay it was in Japan, but it was still an ROH card. Seconds after that claim Kelly followed up with "I've had the opportunity to speak to him quite a bit... through translator, over the last few days." Oh, Kevin Kelly. When will you learn?

What followed was the match of the night. It was stuffed with great exchanges and near falls. I strongly recommend checking it out. Eddie eventually got the win with a Die Hard Driver. After his victory ‘Die Hard’ did the “motion-for-the-title-around-the-waist” that wrestlers tend to do. A match for the GHC junior heavyweight championship on his next NOAH tour looks likely.

Following that we all took our pants off to enjoy the TV title match. Truth had two Hoopla hotties with him. Taven again had the belt stuffed down his tights. And JBL thinks Dolph Ziggler wearing a championship backwards is disrespectful.

I’d said in my preview that this match needed to give Matt Taven a chance to have a match free of stalling and storylines on pay-per-view. It did that and MTV had a satisfactory, technically sound match. It didn't blow anyone away but it as the outing that champ needed. That he won via Hoopla hottie distraction and a handful of tights didn't hurt him at all. It's in keeping with his character.

Following the match Truth offered a handshake to Briscoe. There was literally no reason for this. He had to return to the ring to do it. The life intervention expert got a karate chop for his trouble. The newest Hoopls hottie carried him backstage. That’s particularly impressive when you factor in her impractical heels.

London versus Richards was the evening's penultimate bout. The stream cut for London's steamer treatment. Richards' got a lot so I imagine the returning star did too. London wrestled in the same trunks he wore fit your per ROH match in 2003. That was a nice touch.

Mat and submission wrestling was the story of the first few minutes. The fans turned on Richards early. He’s had a storied history with Toronto: challenging, and failing to defeat, Tyler Black for the ROH championship and losing the belt to Kevin Steen at last year’s Border Wars being the most memorable examples. I like this sort of thing in wrestling. It’s impossible to script and adds realism.

This prompted ‘The American Wolf’ to begin playing heel, becoming more aggressive throughout the match and taunting the fans continually. His cry of “best wrestler in the world" after booting London in the face was thoroughly antagonistic.

London got a convincing near fall off a Dragon suplex. Moments later Richards retaliated with a Tombstone piledriver on the ringside mats in the second biggest move of the match. London made it back in at the count if nineteen as Richards shouted for him to stay down. ‘The Lone Wolf’ immediately nailed him with a baseball slide drop kick and followed up by a mistimed double stomp off the top rope, landing right on London's face. That was the biggest move of the match.

Richards stalled as the referee helped London to recover. The decision was made to go to the finish in order to protect him from further damage. That was a wise move. London placed Richards on the top rope and connected with a hurricanrana. He went for the Shooting Star press. Richards countered with his knees and then rolled London up for the win. Botched stomp aside it was a very good match. Had that not happened they may have topped Edwards versus Ishimori.

Davey reverted to face mode after the bout, saying ROH and guys like him, Jay Briscoe and Adam Cole wouldn't be there without him. He then asked for a standing ovation for ‘The Intrepid Traveller’. The fans obliged.

London wasn't to be outdone. He took the mic to say that the honour had been all his, proclaimed Richards will do great things and thanked the fans for the streamers. I want to see him as a regular in ROH. He’s popular, talented and willing to put the company and its stars over. Let’s hope it happens.

The on-screen graphic declared Jay Briscoe to be the "new" ROH champion as he entered for his first defence of the ROH world title. That's milking it a bit. I don't think a champion can be considered new a month into their reign, first defence or not. Cole got a mixed reaction when he was announced. Fans were massively into Briscoe.

 

The "new" champ is here

 

Things were slow and even in the early going, the story being that Cole was slightly awed by the big match situation. Tings eventually turned in favour of the challenger  when he hit a drop kick to Briscoe’s knee. That was followed up by the corner figure four spot. As that had been made famous by beloved Canadian hero Bret Hart it got a good reaction.

From there Briscoe made a few attempts at comebacks but always had to go back to favouring the knee, allowing Cole recovery time. After a failed Jay Driller and a couple of neck breakers from Cole the action picked up with a Death Valley driver on the apron from Briscoe. Back in the ring Briscoe went for the Driller again but Cole countered into the figure four leg lock.

One rope break later both men were up on the top rope and Cole nailed Briscoe with a German suplex followed by a pair of superkicks, the Florida Key and then a second figure four. The challenger was more reluctant to release the hold to the rope break the second time around.

Todd Sinclair took a bump, setting up a Steve Corino run-in. He tossed a SCUM shirt to Cole, who stood looking confused while McGuinness got into the ring, crotched Corino on the top rope and hit the Tower of London. As Nigel tossed Corino backstage Jay returned to his feet and finally connected with the Jay Driller on Cole, giving him his first successful title defence.

Briscoe celebrated in a shower of steamers as Cole pouted like a petulant child. The two shook hands and all seemed right with the world but Cole teased a superkick when Jay turned his back. It didn't happen. The challenger stormed backstage when Briscoe figured out what he was up to. It pretty much confirms Cole is now a bad guy though.

The card did a good job of satisfying on the night and building further plot developments and storylines. There wasn’t a single match that could be described as bad and the central feud, SCUM versus Ring of Honor, continued with Corino earning a commentary spot and a SCUM member being guaranteed a world title match at some point in the future. I’m expecting that to happen at next month’s Best in the World. Based on recent form that should be a great show.

The Saddening Regression of Antonio Cesaro

United States champion Antonio Cesaro was conspicuous by his absence from WrestleMania XXIX and its pre-show. It was the same on the following night’s RAW. A lot of people were (and are) upset by this. Not because they were desperate to see the US title defended over ‘Mania weekend but because Cesaro is considered a hard-working guy who had earned a spot performing in front of WWE’s biggest crowd of the year.

While I’m not as irate as some by the supposed snub I can see why people would be annoyed. Since he debuted this time last year Cesaro has proven to be a capable member of the roster and entered numerous compelling performances against lesser wrestlers. He looks, acts, and wrestles like he belongs in a WWE ring. He had earned a spot at WrestleMania or the April 8^th RAW.

Cesaro not getting onto WrestleMania is hard to accept as a deliberate snub. The card was too full as it was, which is why the Rhodes Scholars and Bella twins v Tons of Funk and Funkadactyls match got pulled from the broadcast. WWE know what they’re doing when putting these events together. Cesaro has been portrayed as an important guy for the future and would have had a match if there was time.

That said he’s not going to be an important guy to the future if this lacklustre approach continues. The healthy push he’d been enjoying last year abated throughout WrestleMania Season as he lost televised matches to a seemingly endless stream of babyfaces who needed a win going into the big event. That’s acceptable to a certain extent, but if we’re to continue taking him seriously he has to be shown to be a winner.

 

He's Swiss you know...

 

More concerning is the way in which he’s been presented since the big show. He lost the US gold clean to Kofi Kingston and failed to take it back in a rematch. That move robs him of his faux pro-America gimmick, which had been a significant step forward. He’s left instead with the yodelling entrance shtick. That’s not something that’s going to rocket him to the top.

I’ve written before that once someone’s made it in WWE they can lose as often as is required. When you’re established in WWE fans are going to accept you as a star no matter what. Chris Jericho and The Rock are two guys in such a position. ‘The Swiss Superman’ is a long way from joining them.

That he wasn’t on RAW is a far more troubling sign than him being left off of WrestleMania. Time was found on the flagship broadcast for 3MB losing to the babyface trio of Santino, R-Truth and Zack Ryder. I mean… c’mon! If those six guys could appear on RAW there’s no logical reason Cesaro should have been skipped.

It would be easy enough to get Cesaro back on his roll. It’s not as though he’s fallen that far down the card or suffered an insurmountable number of losses. The next two months should see the very European superstar picking up wins on TV, including taking in a successful mid-card bout at Extreme Rules (or Backlash, as it used to be known). If he has to go back on job duty for a bigger star the smart thing to do would be to book the match for SmackDown. Fewer people will see it that way.

Long term Cesaro could be massive star for WWE. As I say, he’s got the look and wrestling ability and carries himself like he belongs. All he needs is time and some wins to establish himself.

How’s this for a booking idea? Have Cesaro get back to winning matches and have him lose to a headliner at Payback, then enter him into a Money in the Bank match in July. Have him come really close to winning but just miss out. He doesn’t need to get a world title this year. There’s no rush.

 
Come SummerSlam give him a feud with another established babyface like Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio and allow him a victory, proving that he’s on his way to the top. If it goes well enough he could be tested out against John Cena at TLC in December. That show’s been something of a test centre for the last two years. The trend should continue this year and Cesaro should be the man getting the tryout for the top.

Protectors of the Faith

Over the last five months The Shield has been incredibly well handled. Part of the reason for this is that they haven't been overexposed. They’ve wrestled only a handful of matches since November, the rest of the air time they’ve had seeing them on run-in and beatdown duty. The approach has meant fans haven't become sick of seeing them and that it's special when they step into the ring.

Working almost exclusively with headliners (they've had a handful of brushes with comedy trio 3MB and a solitary outing against Zack Ryder, Justin Gabriel and Great Khali) has helped them too. Wrestling guys at the top if the card makes any newcomer look like a big star and a hot prospect. Beating those stars hasn’t hurt either.

No taped fists for Reigns. He's a tough dude

To date The Shield has suffered just one loss: Dean Ambrose lost to the Undertaker on the April 29^th SmackDown from London. Dean Ambrose lost but the fact that he was selected to be the first member of The Shield to have a solo outing demonstrates that WWE sees him as the guy with the most potential, or at least the most capable of the three right now. That he will wrestle Kane on this evening’s SmackDown indicates the same thing.

 If this is the WWE Hive Mind's opinion then it's one I agree with. Rollins is technically sound in the ring but still doesn't really have the mic skills or those intangible qualities that allow a guy to establish himself as a headliner in WWE. Roman Reigns still has yet to do anything that will make me think he's anything more than average. He enjoys roaring and has a good look (featuring big muscles!). That's going to be enough to get him a shot at stardom as a solo act at some point because that’s how things are in WWE. At the moment the smart thing is being done: he’s working with more experienced guys and his weaknesses are being covered.

Ambrose goes out of his way to separate himself from his peers. Instead of snarling and scowling during his entrance as his buddies (and practically every other bad guy in the company) Ambrose has adopted other mannerisms. Flexing his hands, twitching his neck and bumping around during matches with almost Ziggler-esque abandon, Ambrose is clearly not a run of the mill talent.
 

Star of the show

His promo delivery makes him stand out too. He has a good understanding of how to get across what is a fairly generic point in an engaging and interesting fashion. His inflections and delivery are pitched perfectly. His Heath Ledger Joker-like drawl hinting at a slightly unhinged man.

It seems likely that the three men are going to get a tag team title match against Team Hell No at some point. I expect they'll win, mainly because their push has been so strong and there's really very little else Kane and Bryan can do as a tandem without reverting to the challenger role and working as chasers.

I'm not going to advocate two specific members of The Shield holding the belts. What would be the point? The group would be best served by a return of the Freebird Rule (a ruling that allows a trio to reign as tag champs, with any two members of the three defending the gold on any given occasion). That approach would allow them all to notch up a title reign relatively early in their WWE careers and continue to share TV time with one another.

The Shield wouldn't be the only beneficiaries of a tag title win. The belts themselves could conceivably get a boost from the switch if 'The Hounds of Justice' continue working opposite established headliners.

Randy Orton and Sheamus could be reunited as challengers at Payback or Money in the Bank. Their loss could be what triggers that Orty heel turn seemingly everyone on the planet (from Lou Albano to Barack Obama) is gagging for. A win over 'The Celtic Vipers' would be good for Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns and show that the tag titles are still relevant.

Their win could even be used to turn the Prime Time Players into babyfaces. With Titus O'Neil given some time to talk I think they could work as good guys. Making them seem like credible threats could be The Shield's first challenge from management. If fans can be made to cheer the Players then it’s a job well done for the boys in black.

Their issue with 'The Dead Man' could resurface too. That's a feud that feels as though it should take in a pay-per-view. ‘The Dead Man’ still has fresh singles matches waiting against Reigns and Rollins for TV, and the Shield v Undertaker and Team Hell No (or Daniel Bryan and the Brothers of Destruction) match could be trotted out again on a PPV with a gimmick added to it. We could even see The Shield defend the titles against Kane and 'Taker. A win there would be a massive credibility boost for the flak jacket aficionados.

Sooner or later The Shield is going to split and each man will get a shot at singles stardom. Ambrose is my pick to gain the most success, although I imagine Reigns will get a chance to make it first. Rollins? He’s got the talent to make it to the top but in the current WWE era even average guys win the World Heavyweight title (I’m looking at you, fella).

It’s too early to be talking about their split though. For the foreseeable future The Shield are going to continue to work together. Hopefully they will continue to be one of WWE’s most well-handled acts and those in charge will pay attention to what’s worked with the group. Every guy form NXT should be as protected as Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns have been.

Countdown to Charisma

Up until 2011 Christian had had a career free of major injuries. That changed in November of that year when he suffered an ankle injury on WWE’s European tour. It’s not been the only one he’s suffered since then. Perhaps karma's making up for lost time.

You've got to feel for the guy. 2011 was the year he finally hit it big in WWE, becoming a two time World Heavyweight champion during a main event run opposite Randy Orton. He entered some of the best performances of his career, both in the ring and on the microphone, during that feud, proving he belonged at the top.

As good as his performances were his first run as a headliner was never going to be a permanent thing. WWE management, in particular head honcho Vinnie Mac, have made it clear over the years that they don't view 'Captain Charisma' as main event material. Had he not suffered his injury and remained a regular on TV it's possible he could have earned his way back to the top. Losing that face time on TV derailed him. At the very least he’d have had a slot on the WrestleMania card.

Not a sight we're likely to see again

When he returned last year it was to a mid-card position. Perhaps to hammer the point home he was given a meaningless two month-long reign as the Intercontinental championship. Because nothing says "this guy's no longer a headliner" quite like putting a meaningless mid-card belt on them. Not that it mattered: he barely had enough time to re-establish himself before he was struck with another injury, this one to his shoulder. He disappeared from our screens again shortly after dropping the Intercontinental title to The Miz at RAW 1000 and, barring a brief appearance to testify that Sheamus's Brogue kick is indeed formidable, hasn't done anything noteworthy since.

For the second year in a row 'The Instant Classic' missed WrestleMania. That must have been a blow to him. It's unlikely, given how packed this year's card was, that something would have been found for him, but we (and he) can't know for sure. It’s possible he’d have found himself involved with something had he been in the right place at the right time.

Christian has apparently been healthy enough to return to action since before ‘Mania. Personally I thought he'd be back on TV by now. It seemed logical to assume that 'The Man of the Peeps' would be brought back once all the big names had departed. That more big names departed than was expected makes Christian's continued absence stranger still.

It no seems as though his return will happen sometime after Extreme Rules. Brock Lesnar and Triple H will probably both disappear both disappear after May 19^th. I don't think 'The Pain' will be back until around SummerSlam and Triple H will probably be gone for longer. Undertaker will likely be joining join them on the benches, if he even wrestles on the show to begin with. There's even a chance that current WWE champ John Cena will be taking some time off.

If all of these departures happen WWE are going to have to scramble for name performers to replace them, and the already absent CM Punk. Christian may not be the biggest name available but he's a reliable guy who can work as either a hero or an antagonist and seems to be far more popular with fans than management like to admit. His feud with 'The Viper' shows he'll be accepted as a top line guy.

Should Cena require time off and the title ends up on Ryback Christian isn't the worst guy that could be pitted against him. He could work a brief one month feud with Ryback culminating at Payback (a first time match occurring on a show titled after revenge isn’t going to bother WWE), allowing something more substantial to be planned for the summer. He’d be a placeholder but at this stage of his career it seems like that’s all he’s destined to be.

I admit Christian wrestling for the WWE championship on pay-per-view is a longshot. He’d be more likely to come back into the same middle of the card spot he was given last year. Even if that’s what happens at least we’ll have a reliable hand back on TV. That’s what WWE needs right now.