WWE: Why Damien Sandow Must Feud with Randy Orton

Damien Sandow is now a hot topic on the Internet. People are calling him one of the freshest, most original characters in wrestling today (I am on this bandwagon – I think there’s a lot of potential with him). His move set is quite good, and I love the way he goes from pompous and disconnected to violent and ruthless in the ring.

There has been much speculation about who, exactly, Sandow will be feuding with once they take him off the squash circuit. Given his gimmick, a lot of names being thrown around make sense: Santino, Zack Ryder, Brodus Clay, all those silly gimmick wrestlers who need to be taught a lesson in grappling gravitas by someone as erudite as Sandow.

But really, Sandow’s best potential feud is with Randy Orton.

I must admit that the possibility of this feud happening depends on exactly how much the WWE wants to show its hand on the real-life side of the business; namely, they would need to acknowledge that Orton is missing from TV because he is serving a wellness-related suspension.

In this current era of reality playing a larger part in storylines (i.e. Chris Jericho and CM Punk’s feud that highlighted Punk’s sobriety and his family’s issues), this would not be terrible. Everyone who reads the Internet (dirt sheets or even WWE.com) knows that Orton has been suspended and what for. One could argue, in fact, that this is not conduct becoming of a champion, of someone who could be seen as one of the faces of WWE. In fact, such is the behavior of…an ignoramus.

Sandow could bring this to light on TV while Orton is serving his suspension, Sandow could take repeated weekly jabs at how Orton is ignorant for continuously wasting the opportunities given to him and for partaking in illicit activities outside of the ring (all the while, he can still be squashing jobbers and strengthening his move set). Sandow could, while Orton is not there to defend himself, rip on Orton to gain much needed heel heat, and build on his already solid promo abilities. He could also steal some of Orton’s moves in a further attempt to infuriate him.

Then, when Randy returns, all hell would break loose.  Can’t you see the fans moving to the edges of their collective seats as the countdown to Orton’s return ticks down? How would Orton respond? Would he even acknowledge Sandow, leading to Sandow being forced to meddle in Orton’s matches? Would Orton destroy Sandow or would the encounter be back-and-forth?

There is much precedent for this kind of feud. Back in 1996, Bret Hart was taking time off of TV, and a rising heel by the name of Stone Cold Steve Austin kept taking shots at Hart in an attempt to get his attention and bring him back to the company. Similarly, when John Cena was an up-and-comer in WWE, he challenged the legendary Undertaker to fight him through a series of incendiary promos. While we’re talking about Cena, we can’t forget that The Miz started his big singles push by repeatedly calling out Cena and claiming "victory" when Cena refused to respond.

None of those three men won their feuds (sometimes getting viciously squashed); however, all three of them would go on to receive huge pushes in the near future, and all three won world titles and headlined Wrestlemania and – especially in the case of Austin and Cena – became legends in the business. 

Similarly, Sandow would not need to win the feud with Orton to become a huge star. The buzz alone would gain public interest in the product and in their matches (and as such, raise the ratings). It’s classic character building: unproven heel takes a shot at an established face, is given time to make his case, and then fights him. Simple, effective, and star-building.

If Sandow were to feud with Orton, it gives Orton a great storyline to come back to, creates anticipation for what might happen (does WWE put Sandow over? Does he get squashed and sent back to the undercard). Worst case scenario: it doesn’t work, Orton squashes Sandow and goes on to face Ziggler or Miz or whoever else. Best case: there’s a huge feud that generates big buy rates and interest in the brand, and a new big star is created in Damian Sandow.

Orton vs. Sandow.  You’re welcome.