Shad was best known as one half of the Cryme Tyme tag team with JTG until they were broken up earlier this year. Shad turned on his former partner and was given an obviously unsuccessful heel singles push. He received a new look, new music, and a new catchphrase of "My Tyme!" This was short lived, and he was then sent back to developmental, where he spent the last several months until Friday.
Luke Gallows is most recently known as the first member of CM Punk's Straight Edge Society, which dominated Smackdown over the first half of 2010. Once Punk had his head shaved and the group and gimmick began to lose luster, the stable slowly began to crumble. First Serena was released, followed by Joey Mercury being injured, and finally Punk's trade to Raw was the final nail in Gallows' coffin. WWE attempted to repackage him as a singles face in the last few weeks, but apparently it wasn't working. Gallows was also known as Festus and the imposter Kane during his brief WWE tenure.
Vance Archer has been an up and comer in WWE for quite a while. Formerly known as Dallas and Lance Hoyt in TNA, Archer debuted on ECW at the end of last year, laying waste to most of their roster before it went defunct in February 2010. He was then moved to Smackdown, where he formed a tag team with Curt Hawkins. The team saw mild success, though most of it was on the low rated Superstars show. Archer turned on Hawkins after several months, though his singles run didn't last very long. Another wasted talent due to bad creative.
Caylen Croft debuted in December 2009 on the ECW brand along with his tag team partner, Trent Baretta. Together, they were the Dudebusters. The team enjoyed a decent push to begin, squashing local jobbers week after week. When ECW closed, however, they found themselves lost within the ranks of Smackdown without much television time. After several months in obscurity, the duo had a quiet face turn and began a feud with Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins on Superstars. Croft continued to wrestle on Superstars with Baretta by his side until his release this week. Trent Baretta remains with the company. Baretta is actually a friend of mine, as we went to high school together. I was so excited when he finally got signed to WWE, and continue to be every time I see him on tv. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish him the best and hope he is able to keep his job with the company. He has a lot of potential and the skills are there, so all he needs is proper creative to remain successful in the company. The simple fact alone that he was not released along with his partner says a lot. It seems that WWE sees potential in him and are not ready to give up on him yet. Good luck Trent! (If that is your real name...)
Jillian Hall has been a diva on the Raw brand for the past several years. She began on Smackdown as the stylist with the horrible mole on her face until it was eaten off by The Boogeyman. She managed such wrestlers as MNM and JBL before moving to Raw as a competitor herself. Jillian took on the gimmick of a really bad singer, and would often scream into the microphone before being interrupted by someone saving the day. She was a solid performer, though received little tv time. She actually won the Divas title once in her career, but lost it minutes later to the returning Melina. She has not appeared on television for months.
Tiffany was discovered during one of the Diva Search contests and was signed to a deal shortly after. Known as Taryn Terrell, she was well known for her work with Playboy, having appeared for the magazine many times. She became ECW General Manager in 2009. When the brand closed, she was moved to Smackdown, where she began teaming with Kelly Kelly. However, this past August, Terrell was arrested after a dispute with her husband, Smackdown Superstar Drew McIntyre, in their hotel room after a show. Terrell was immediately suspended and removed from WWE TV. Despite all charges being dropped, Tiffany never returned to television, but was not released until this past Friday. Tiffany sent a thank you to many people she worked with in WWE over her Twitter account, including her husband, who continues to work for WWE.
Also of note is the dismissal of Raw writer Christopher DeJoseph, who also made occasional appearances on TV as Big Dick Johnson, the dancing fat guy in a bananna hammock.
Once again, in my opinion, this is a case of more wasted performers due to creative not being able to get their resources together. Every time there is a mass WWE release like this one, usually right after WrestleMania, I am forced to look back and wonder where somebody went wrong. Look at the case of Shelton Benjamin, arguably the best athlete on the roster, who was given his release this past April. Shelton is an amazing performer, but never got very far in WWE due to poor creative direction. It's a shame when these things happen. It proves that no matter whatever true skill one actually possesses, it is what the marketing machine of WWE sees in someone that determines truly where they end up. Nevertheless, I'm sure these performers will find success on the indies or perhaps back in TNA.
On another note, tonight is the 24th annual Survivor Series PPV. After originally being cancelled by Vince McMahon earlier this year, it was decided that it runs another year, giving us tonight's "Thanksgiving Tradition." Every title is on the line tonight, including the big main event for the WWE Championship, where if John Cena does not declare Wade Barrett the winner and new champion over Randy Orton, he will be fired. While there are many scenarios that may play out, something big must happen tonight. Obviously Cena will not be fired, but I don't believe Barrett will receive the belt either. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Here's the complete announced card for tonight's show, featuring a full eight matches:
WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett with John Cena as Guest Referee
If Barrett does not win, Cena is fired. If he does win, Cena is free from Nexus.
World Heavyweight Championship: Kane (c) vs. Edge
United States Championship: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Ted DiBiase
John Morrison vs. Sheamus
Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kaval
Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: Team Mysterio (Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Chris Masters, and Big Show) vs Team Del Rio (Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, and Tyler Reks)
WWE Tag Team Championship: Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (c) vs. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov
Unified WWE Divas Championship Handicap Match: Layla and Michelle McCool (c) vs. Natalya
I'll be back with coverage later in the week! You've been Ringside.
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