The same, but to a lesser extent, applies to King Barrett. The buzz from his King of the Ring win isn’t anywhere near as big as it was earlier in the year, but that’s because WWE doesn’t want to focus on it. If Barrett were a priority, WWE would make him one. I personally think he’s underutilized and I would love to see him get a nice push that actually sticks, but I’m also not going to trust that WWE would make good on that. Barrett’s track record is to get a good pop, a few decent wins, and then a month or so later, fade into obscurity. He needs to be the next Mr. Money in the Bank in 2016, as that would be big enough for WWE to have to commit to him.
Then there’s Neville—the Man That Gravity Forgot, otherwise known as The Man WWE Forgets to Book in a Feud. This guy’s entertaining as hell, but since he doesn’t have much character and his mic skills leave much to the imagination. His ring skills are there, but having only that element makes it so WWE tends to rely on him to just wrestle random matches and not put much thought into any direction for him to go (other than up and then down in a flip). Neville’s a solid midcarder right now that I think could hold one of those two championships in 2016 for sure, but this isn’t the right time to push him. The likelihood that he would be given a prime spot at WrestleMania is very slim, and if WWE doesn’t utilize the sole survivor in that fashion, it won’t mean anywhere near as much.
Poor Ryback’s Intercontinental Championship reign was neutered due to WWE’s poor planning when they stretched out his triple threat feud and then his unfortunate injury that followed it. Subsequent matches have all portrayed Ryback as still being a notable star, but just not in the same light. I would love to see him go on the upswing and this would be a perfect opportunity to showcase just why The Big Guy could be a big player. And yet, he’s not my choice…
Who Should Be the Sole Survivor? = Cesaro
Before you click out of this article and spit out bile in the comments about how this is such an IWC/smark answer, hear me out. I fully acknowledge that Cesaro is still in need of much improvement on the mic and while many were endorsing him as their next WWE World Heavyweight champion, I had him fourth on my list behind Ambrose, Reigns, and even Kevin Owens. He’s not someone I would push to the moon by TLC, nor do I think WWE will end up doing that.
However, when you look at the people that could be in this match, Cesaro is the guy who is in the best position to make something out of being a sole survivor. The Cesaro Section concept hasn’t died down yet, and his fans continue to grow, so WWE would be able to trust that giving him this rub wouldn’t be a total waste in a week or two as if they put their eggs in the basket of a passing fad. Cesaro’s matches have been some of the best in 2015, so this is also a means to reward him for his efforts in going out there, putting on a good show, and being pinned without losing the admiration of his supporters.
The Swiss Superman didn’t make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament for nothing. To whatever extent he’s caught their attention, WWE is nonetheless definitely keeping an eye on him. He might not be in the plans to win the world title soon, but that’s not the only belt in the company. Someone is eventually going to have to take that United States Championship away from Alberto Del Rio or that Intercontinental Championship away from Kevin Owens, and while I would argue that the best man for the latter job is Sami Zayn, I 100% back seeing Cesaro dethrone Alberto Del Rio around WrestleMania, where we could see a little retribution as the former Real American beats Zeb Colter’s newest protégé from MexAmerica.
The last time Cesaro won something big was the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and WWE promptly tossed any hopes of a push to come out of that right out the window almost immediately after it happened. The creative team should learn from their mistakes and this time around, actually invest in him and see where he goes. Without the King of the Ring win, we wouldn’t have Austin 3:16. Who’s to say Cesaro can’t take this to the bank and make it the defining moment where he officially started his ascent to the main event? I think he’s entitled to a shot and the 19 other stars, while still good, haven’t had as much of a reformative year as Cesaro has, so he should be granted that honor.
That’s my opinion, but what do you think? Would you like to see Cesaro as the sole survivor of a team this year or do you have someone else in mind? For that matter, do you want to see a sole survivor at all, or should WWE take a different route and have 2 to 5 people make it out of the match?
Tell us your preferences and predictions in the comments below!
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