During his reign as World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio inevitably will be looking over his shoulder for Dolph Ziggler.
The Money in the Bank case-holder has teased a cash-in several times over the past few months. With a new champion (and a face one, nonetheless) in place, some fans may think now would be the right time for Ziggler to make his move.
You probably can cross off seeing that on any of the Raw, SmackDown or Main Event telecasts between now and WWE Royal Rumble 2013 later this month. It was a rare treat for WWE to change a top belt-holder on free TV when Del Rio beat The Big Show Tuesday at the SmackDown taping in Miami. But don’t think for a moment that the company would be willing to do that again so soon.
No, when the cash-in happens, it is going to be on a pay-per-view—likely either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 29 in April.
Dolph Ziggler is expected to be a thorn in Alberto Del Rio's side throughout Del Rio's title reign. (B/R photo) With Del Rio still new into his face turn and even newer into his title reign, you would think that WWE would not want him to drop the belt so quickly after winning it. Holding it until WrestleMania 29 or later would give him a healthy run with the belt and help him avoid the stigma of being a transitional champion.
But given WWE’s penchant for storyline swerves, we really cannot rule out an MITB move at Royal Rumble just yet. With that in mind, here are two suggested cash-in scenarios that could happen at Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 29...
Royal Rumble
Of course, it all depends upon where the matches appear on the card. But if the expected rematch between Del Rio and Big Show happens before the Rumble match, then we could see Ziggler try to cash in the MITB case.
If he is successful, then there would be no need for him to participate in the Rumble Match…unless WWE started getting serious about a WWE-World title unification and decides to let Ziggler win. But that would totally screw up the long-rumored storyline of The Rock and John Cena fighting for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, so don’t hold your breath over that one.
If he does not cash in the briefcase, Ziggler then could enter the Rumble Match and win it. And that could lead to a really interesting and potentially enjoyable WrestleMania scenario.
WrestleMania 29
As the Royal Rumble winner, Ziggler chooses to go after Del Rio’s belt.
Del Rio beats Ziggler in a particularly brutal and tiring match. But Ziggler still holds the MITB case, so immediately after that match is over, he cashes in the case and gets a quick pin on an exhausted Del Rio.
Whatever plans WWE has in store, it’s obvious that the World Heavyweight Championship is finally going to get the spotlight it deserves. And two of WWE’s top stars and ring workers could shine brightly in that light.
If there is one wrestler who seems to always get overlooked, it has to be the Big Red Monster, Kane.
Kane is one of the top wrestlers in the WWE, not just for his wrestling ability, but for the fact that he can fill any role needed in the company.
And while he is great in Team Hell No with Daniel Bryan, Kane should have a monstrous year in 2013. Last year alone he was a big part of the WWE, but it feels like he really went nowhere.
Need a monster heel to terrorize John Cena? No Problem.
Looking for someone to feud with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania? Kane is the wrestler you need.
Need a tag team partner for Daniel Bryan who can not only wrestle, but can help provide comic relief? Kane has you covered.
But apart from his partnership in Team Hell No, who currently holds the tag team titles, his feuds with other wrestlers didn't go anywhere.
Kane is a top wrestler in the company, and he should have a monstrous year in 2013.
Mr. Reliable
Kane has been with the WWE since 1995, and throughout his career he has been one wrestler who has basically done everything. He was a big part of the attitude era, and remains a huge part of the WWE today.
Kane should have a monstrous year in 2013 because of his reliability. He can be used in any type of situation, and always seems like the wrestler the WWE turns to when it needs to fit someone in on a pay-per-view card, or when it needs to bring up more talent.
Photo courtesy of WWE Take his tag team with Daniel Bryan, for example.
After it was clear that Bryan would no longer be a part of the WWE championship or Heavyweight championship scenes, Bryan's future was uncertain.
He ended up, however, being partnered with Kane, and the two have been a big spark to the tag team division.
Team Hell No can't last forever, and when it does split up, Kane should be placed in one of the championship scenes. He is extremely reliable when it comes to making other wrestlers look good, and he himself is one of the top wrestlers in the company.
He can fit the face or heel role as we saw from last year, and is one of the longest active wrestlers in the WWE.
It doesn't get much more reliable than The Big Red Machine.
Improving From Last Year
The biggest impact Kane had last year was, and currently is, in his tag team with Daniel Bryan.
Outside Team Hell No, though, Kane was never used to his full potential in 2012.
His first feud of the year, which started at the very end of 2011 and ended at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view last year, was focused around John Cena and Zack Ryder.
Photo courtesy of WWE Kane would try to get Cena to "embrace the hate," but of course nothing can stop John Cena. The real victim of their feud ended up being Zack Ryder, who not only lost his U.S. title, but also lost any momentum he had in the WWE.
Then there was his feud with Randy Orton, which was just a way to make sure Orton had a match at Wrestlemania. They put on decent matches, but the feud itself was lackluster.
Eventually Kane would end up in a feud with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk which involved not only the WWE title, but AJ Lee as well.
And while this feud was good, and led to solid matches among the three, Kane was thrown into the mix because the WWE clearly felt that Bryan and Punk couldn't handle a main event feud on their own.
SummerSlam is where Kane would finally find some solid ground in the WWE, when he would begin to feud with Daniel Bryan. Their rivalry eventually led to them forming Team Hell No.
In 2013, Kane should have a better start to the year than he did in 2012. With a purpose now in the tag team division, and a solid feud building up between Team Hell No and Rhodes Scholars, Kane has an extremely important role in the WWE.
Photo courtesy of WWE When Team Hell No ends, though, the WWE needs to keep Kane in the spotlight, and not throw him into pointless feuds like it did last year.
The Legend
Kane is a living legend in the WWE. Since his official debut during the first Hell in a Cell match, to his current part in revitalizing the tag team division, he has been essential to the growth of the WWE.
He is a great wrestler, who can fill multiple parts. Kane should have a monstrous year in 2013, regardless of whether the WWE wants to make him a scary monster, or a friendly Big Red Machine.
He is the WWE's resident monster wrestler, and 2013 should signify just how important Kane is to the WWE.
The tag team division in WWE is better than it has been in several years right now, and a lot of the reason for that is the formation of new teams over the last year and actual storylines being used.
The scene has been dominated by Team Hell No, Prime Time Players, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara as well as Team Rhodes Scholars.
Rounding out the division are Epico and Primo, Team CoBro, The Usos, International Airstrike (Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel) and to some extent, The Great Khali and Hornswoggle. It is still unclear how 3MB fits into the division at this point.
While several of the names in these teams are established superstars, none of the teams themselves have been in existence for that long.
The Usos and Colons are family, so obviously those teams have more history than most, but as teams in WWE, none of the other teams have been around for all that long.
What WWE needs right now is a tag team that fans will remember and who will have a familiar partnership.
This is where Cryme Tyme comes in.
The once-entertaining tag team was perhaps a little too early for their own success as they were broken up and Shad was released before WWE decided to invest some serious time in the division.
Now JTG is a glorified jobber and Shad is no longer in the wrestling spotlight. How anyone benefited from their team being disbanded is a mystery on par with who the father of Mae Young's latest baby is. (My guess would be Finlay, but I can't be sure.)
Bringing Shad back in and having him team back up with JTG to form Cryme Tyme again would be worth the investment for a few reasons.
Their antics during backstage segments and promos were largely PG, which means they would fit right in with the current product.
Shad's powerful style and JTG's faster pace made for a great combination and that fact that they never held the tag titles in WWE is still a little surprising.
They were not the best tag team, nor even anywhere near, but they were quite entertaining and their contributions to the division would be much bigger in today's environment.
One of the biggest reasons this would be a good idea is that the team was recent enough to still be remembered by the younger fans.
It has been over three years since we last saw Cryme Tyme as a team, but that is not long enough for fans to have forgotten them completely.
Whether they were to return as a heel or babyface team wouldn't matter, because their gimmick would work well as either one.
With today's kid-friendly product, there would probably be some backlash at the way Cryme Tyme portrays certain stereotypes, but when has WWE ever not been criticized for something like that?
Shad and JTG had fun with the gimmick, which is why fans cheered for them right from the get-go.
Shad might not be a name that is at the top of many people's list of superstars they hope will return someday, but his presence would benefit both JTG and the tag team division as a whole.
Kane is one of the most decorated superstars in WWE today, as well as one of the most tenured wrestlers on the roster, but his accolades are not why people cheer for him. Sure, being a former WWE, World, ECW, WWE tag, WCW tag, World tag, IC and hardcore champion, Money in the Bank winner and record-setting Royal Rumble participant is all well and good.
But the reason people are cheering for the Big Red Monster these days is because of his entertaining antics as a part of Team Hell No.
Kane and Daniel Bryan are the tag team champions and one of the most entertaining duos in WWE today, which was something nobody would have thought possible had the team of Kane and Daniel Bryan been pitched two years ago.
Bryan and Kane have become one of WWE's best acts inside and outside of the tag team division and a large part of that comes from the chemistry between Bryan and Kane.
The two vastly different superstars have been able to find a common ground and take their gimmicks to a new level, especially Kane.
Before teaming with Bryan, Kane was in and out of the world title scene, but he was never one of the main players in WWE for one reason or another.
Maybe being the storyline brother of The Undertaker has overshadowed Kane's talent over the years, but being a part of Team Hell No has allowed him to do new things that have made him more popular than ever.
Undertaker and Kane will always be linked, but Kane has done something Undertaker was never able to do—sustain a comedy act.
When Bryan and Kane were first paired together it seemed like it would be a short-term situation at best. They were paired together by AJ as a punishment, but they ended up being the ones who benefited from the situation.
The anger management segments they took part in over the first few weeks of their partnership showed a new side to both superstars, and it is one fans have embraced.
Bryan's over-the-top anger issues combined with Kane's penchant for destruction make for great backstage banter, but it is their in-ring styles that have meshed better than anyone would have imagined.
Kane is no stranger to having smaller partners. The Hurricane, X-Pac, Mankind and RVD were all notably smaller than Kane and they all won gold together.
Bryan and Kane are on a different level though. Kane is arguably one of the best big men in the history of wrestling and Bryan is one of the best overall wrestlers in the world right now.
When you take two wrestlers with as much talent as Bryan and Kane have and put them together, it will usually yield great results, but Kane and Bryan have exceeded all expectations.
They have managed to keep the angle going without it becoming stale by tweaking certain things here and there. For example, when they first started out they would always compete to see who got the pinfall, but now they work as a team and finish their opponents decisively.
They used to get mad at each other over the littlest things, but now they combine their anger and direct it at their opponents. Dr. Shelby really is that good, apparently.
This partnership has breathed new life into Kane's career, which seemed to have leveled off for a few years until teaming with Bryan.
Teaming with Bryan has been great for Kane because it has allowed him to connect with the fans again using humor as well as his trademark sadistic style.
This team has been good for Bryan as well. The former world champion has proven to everyone that he is capable of maintaining one of the most entertaining gimmicks in WWE today.
Nobody would have said that back when Bryan was on NXT, but a few short years later and here we are with Kane and Bryan as champions and Bryan being just as crazy and entertaining as Kane.
WWE has been able to keep this angle going without people tiring of it, which is the equivalent to catching lightning in a bottle when it comes to WWE storylines.
How long the team will stay together is unknown, but both men will come out of this team with a higher profile than when they got together.
On the first live Raw episode of the new year, CM Punk, the reigning WWE Champion, defeated Ryback in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, thanks in part to help from none other than deadly trio known as The Shield.
The matchup originally was scheduled to have aired back on pay-per view in December, but an injury to Punk's knee postponed the match-up until WWE medically cleared Punk.
Following the win, Punk dropped another classic "pipe bomb," lashing out at the WWE universe for being blind and falling for cheap gimmicks and popularity rather than approving of good wrestling.
Punk mentioned Tyson Kidd and Brodus Clay as a couple of those wrestlers who are often passed over as good wrestlers in favor of colorful antics and gimmicks instead.
It was a great speech by CM Punk, easily one of his best. CM Punk without any argument, has the best mic skills in the WWE today.
The pipe bomb led into digs about the Rock and his gimmicks and finally, when the Rock could take no more, he entered the ring and dropped some classic trash talk, both funny, cheesy, and perfect for the WWE universe.
Now we've got on our hands, the WWE title on the line at Royal Rumble on January 27 in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Rock vs. CM Punk.
Already rumors and stories have circulated that WWE is thinking of CM Punk dropping the title belt to the Rock at Royal Rumble, only to have the Rock lose the belt to John Cena at WrestleMania 29 in April.
Here's my problem with that:
For one, The Rock hasn't wrestled since WrestleMania 28, and that was back in April 2012. He's a "part-time" wrestler, if your definition of part time wrestler means wrestling once a year.
Prior to Monday's Raw episode, the last time the Rock was on WWE was on the 1,000th episode, and that was back in July 2012.
How can CM Punk, who has been champion for over 400-plus days drop the belt to a part-timer, only to see that belt end up back in the hands of John Cena?
It makes no sense to the hardcore wrestling fans.
Yes, Cena is going to end up a champion at some point this year, WWE already has made that push clear after Cena lost just about every major pay-per view event last year, but like this?
It feels cheapened for Cena to win back the WWE title belt (much to the chagrin of some WWE fans) from a part-time wrestler. And whatever happened to "Once in a lifetime," the tagline used to promote last year's battle between Cena and The Rock at WrestleMania?
On the other hand, if Punk were to beat The Rock at Royal Rumble, fair and clean, he could extend his reign to almost 500 days before WrestleMania 29.
Punk's title reign has already been amazing. He's been one of the great champions overall and a great heel, calling out the WWE universe and sneaking through with the help of the Shield, so why end his reign to The Rock just because the Rock decided to come back after a six month hiatus?
It makes no sense, no sense at all.
Hopefully the WWE can come up with some grand plan to keep the title belt on CM Punk at least through WrestleMania or longer. The last time the WWE had a champ hold the title belt for at least 1,000 days was Hulk Hogan back in 1984. Why not CM Punk? Why not the best in the world?
Bottom line, when CM Punk has to give up the title belt, it cannot be to a part-time wrestler, no matter how great he is.
Two major foes became unlikely friends in 2012 and took the WWE Universe by storm. Daniel Bryan and Kane, collectively known as "Team Hell No," have been intertwined for the entire second half of 2012.
Whether they were fighting over the attention from AJ Lee, battling CM Punk for his WWE Championship or forming one of the most surprising tag teams in WWE history, the story has kept the fans intrigued.
Continuing my "mediocre" series of articles leading up to WrestleMania 29 this coming April, I would like to pose the question: What will happen with Daniel Bryan and Kane heading into WrestleMania 29?
If you asked me this question a few months ago, the answer would have been simple. Somewhere along the line, Kane would turn on Daniel Bryan in a fit of big, red, angry rage. I personally believe that this was the initial plan and very well could still take place.
However, at this point in time, the team seems to have so much momentum that if would be only appropriate if they walked into WrestleMania 29 as a tag team.
But will they still be champions when the time comes?
Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes (Team Rhodes Scholars) have become a viable threat to the current WWE Tag Team Champions. Both members have been successful singles competitors and have been consistent players on the heel side in WWE.
They have done a great job getting over to the casual WWE Universe fan and the "hard to please" IWC fan. If there is any time to pull the trigger on a WWE Tag Team Championship reign for Team Rhodes Scholars, the time is now.
The feud with Team Hell No can continue somewhere along the road to WrestleMania 29. A monumental tag team grudge match (with a possible stipulation) can take place and Team Hell No can regain the belts at the huge event.
Like I stated earlier, I still believe that the plan could be to break up the team for a huge one-on-one match. The Royal Rumble match would be a great place to start a heavy tease to a Team Hell No break-up.
If Kane were to eliminate Daniel Bryan or vice versa, the tension would start up again immediately.
Overall, I do think that the team will eventually break-up and have a series of entertaining matches with Daniel Bryan becoming one of the biggest baby faces in the company at the end.
However, I truly believe that Team Hell No will go into battle at WrestleMania 29 as WWE Tag Team Champions.
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