WWE: Damien Sandow – A decade to stardom

In WWE, they say you need to work your way up the ladder. There are superstars who are given a push immediately after their debut, and those are either very impressive, or are the ‘pet projects’ of people from top management. You have the Lesnars and Lashleys who were given immediate pushes due to their impressive physique and strength, while you also have the Fandangos and Rybacks who were pushed due to them being the ‘pet projects’ of Vince McMahon. Most of them necessarily aren’t the most impressive in the ring, neither are they successful in getting over with the fans.

Then there are those superstars who are stuck in the mid-card forever, and who find it hard to get anywhere due to the lack of direction the creative has for them. Have you ever wondered if JTG was still employed by the WWE? The answer to that is yes; the point is, there are certain performers who aren’t given their due. These are the guys who are talented, and who deserve to get a big break.

In recent times, there have been two superstars who at one point were looked at as the future of the company. One had a tremendous run as the WWE Intercontinental champion, and just as it looked like WWE would be pushing him into the main event scene, he was made into a glorified jobber, and the other has been one of the most entertaining superstars, but still found himself lost in the shuffle. His character is different and fresh, and hence, WWE needed to push him before they lost the opportunity, and months after jobbing to guys like Sheamus, he was finally given the chance to show the WWE Universe what he is capable of. He is none other than the ‘Intellectual saviour of masses’, Damien Sandow.

For the past year, Sandow has been one of the most entertaining aspects of WWE, along with his former partner, Cody Rhodes. Cody and Sandow teamed up together to form Team Rhodes Scholars, as they poked fun at people and thought they were too good to perform for the audience. Rhodes Scholars was a way for WWE to put two talented superstars together and make a make – shift team, and they clicked much like Team Hell No. With WWE finding an entertaining tag team, they wanted to keep the team in the tag team division, although they showed signs of splitting. With the crowd slowly getting behind the duo, WWE wanted to capitalize on it, and that’s exactly what happened this past Sunday at the Money in the Bank PPV.

Cody Rhodes, being the son of the legendary ‘American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes, was regarded highly, and rightfully so. He can walk the talk and was one of the most successful Intercontinental champions in the past decade. But the WWE management placed him and Sandow in irrelevant feuds, making them lose to competitors even in handicap matches.

But in the weeks leading up to the PPV, WWE teased animosity between the two, with both of them costing each other their singles matches. At the Money in the Bank PPV, it looked as if WWE finally got behind Cody Rhodes, as he put on an impressive performance, but when it looked as if Cody would retrieve the briefcase, Sandow threw him off the ladder and got the briefcase himself, which now guarantees him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at any time/place he chooses.

It is almost a given that if you get your hands on the briefcase, you will win the title. There has been only one performer who was unsuccessful in winning the title after cashing in, and that was John Cena last year. With WWE management finally getting behind Damien Sandow, one believes it’s only a matter of time before Sandow cashes in on his contract. After being betrayed by his former partner and best friend, Cody Rhodes finds himself feuding with Damien Sandow going into SummerSlam.

Sandow started in the WWE in ’02, and it took him nearly a decade to reach anywhere in the organization. With Sandow finally getting his due in the company, one cannot help but root for him in the coming months. Cody might be facing Sandow at SummerSlam, and if WWE makes a long term plan for this feud, this can be the break-out feud for both the competitors, who deserve it more than anyone else in the organization.