4/30/2018

By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)

Now, I’m not here to just throw shade or garner attention because of my absurdity. I know that there was a ton of fun to be had during the Superstar Shake-Up on Raw and Smackdown Live. But I can’t sit idly by and just let a monumental team up come and go. I can’t ignore the awesomeness that was two of my favorite superstars in the ring…at the same time…with a potential for a tag team (because of that beautiful combo finisher Zig-Zag and Claymore).

So wait…you don’t see it? You don’t see why you should care about the return of McIntyre to the Raw roster? You don’t see how his pairing with Ziggler is relevant? How this could be the start of something wonderfully original. Something that could harken back to the days of CM Punk breaking the fourth wall? How these guys could be running through the roster for a bit to prove a point?

Alright, well…let me remind you that Drew McIntyre completely left the company, only to earn a spot back on the main roster. That, of course, came shortly after ending his run as a member of the jobber faction, 3MB. Losing, convincingly, week after week does not provide a lot of momentum. But even coming from that situation, Drew made the best of it. Proving he can handle being at the bottom, not holding grudges, not getting sore, and showing others they were wrong, instead of telling them.

Ziggler’s story is similar, but had been edging towards near identical. The man, dubbed the show stealer, was used as ‘big guy’ fodder for longer than I can recall. Ziggler has been held down for so long that it’s been rumored, on multiple occasions, that he was out the door. We were so sure of it that the WWE used that against us for when Ziggler was announced at the Royal Rumble this past January. Even though he did re-sign with the company, we still thought Ziggler HAD to be upset with the company. He absolutely needed to go follow the route of a Drew McIntyre. Leave the company and make it IMPOSSIBLE for them NOT to take you back. Afterall, you can only lose to Baron Corbin so often.

The WWE has an opportunity to tell a compelling story of two guys who have been held down for a long time. Two guys who were forgotten, misused, and even mistreated. Now, what can be used as a last chance, Ziggler and McIntyre should be allowed to dismantle the mid-card. Tear apart the tag divisions. And Take over the main event scene. As excitement was already built for McIntyre, Ziggler will get an opportunity to ride that wave of emotion to build himself up too.

While this pairing is extremely interesting to me, it is incredibly too fragile. Throwing Ziggler and McIntyre to the wolves, even 3 or 4 weeks down the road, would be a death sentence. One loss and this group becomes a joke. One loss and we, as wrestling fans, will say “nothing’s changed here”. One loss and Drew McIntyre’s efforts will have meant nothing.

Just picture how the Bludgeon Brothers would’ve looked had they come into WrestleMania with a few losses on their stat sheet. What if they lost to the Usos at this silly Greatest Royal Rumble? I’m not suggesting that the Bludgeon Brothers should never lose. It has to happen. But have them continue their streak of winning because the Usos…the New Day…they’re made. They’re a finished product. They can lose infinitely and still be put right back into the title picture. The story would not be the same for the Bludgeon Brothers, should they lose those belts.

I could keep going with examples of what could happen to Ziggler and McItyre: the Club, the Ascension, and most recently, the Revival. Any string of losses at the beginning, spell doom. And these guys can't jut avoid losses. they need to win convincingly. It needs to look like they came up with the idea to tag because they knew it would work. They weren't just taking a shot in the dark.

Ultimately, these boys are great wrestlers and they don’t need me saying it…they know they're great. But what they do need is a long list of victories and support of the fans. Don’t push Dolph away and don’t let McIntyre’s incredible efforts go to waste. As my ‘good brother’ would say, push em to the moon!

Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt on Twitter)

@BODPodcast for Twitter and Facebook