Examining How WWE Can Best Use Bo Dallas When He Returns

Once Bo Dallas' foot heals, WWE has to mend his career.

The former NXT champ's song on the main roster was off-key. The grinning, overly positive grappler spat his "Bo-lieve" catchphrase to little reaction. His second go-round away from WWE developmental was more successful than the first, but he failed to catch on with the crowd.

It looked as if he was headed for the same fate as Drew McIntyre, Brodus Clay and others and would be receiving walking papers and well wishes on his future endeavors. Then came the foot injury.

WWE announced in November that Dallas suffered a left foot injury and was "expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks." 

The end of that estimated recovery period is fast approaching.  It's time to start thinking of how to integrate Dallas back into the picture.

As fans saw with Ryback just before Halloween, a return from the disabled list is an opportune time to rejuvenate a wrestler's stuttering career.

Ryback went from middling midcard filler to a more prominent babyface as soon as he stepped back into the ring. Dallas, who struggled to gain any traction before he left, can experience that same resurgence.

The best way to do that begins with mirroring his work from NXT.

Revert to the NXT Version of His Character

The main roster version of Dallas' character saw him lean too much on the "Bo-lieve" catchphrase. At NXT, his moments were far more varied.

He forced fans to sit through a slideshow of his travels, held a banner-raising ceremony for himself and handed out cookies to the fans. Later, he tried to occupy NXT as Daniel Bryan did to Raw and failed miserably. 

Dallas was brilliantly grating throughout it all.

He took the standard arrogant heel character and melded it with a John Cena-like cheerfulness. WWE needs to get Dallas back to this part of his persona. 

Have him celebrate a SmackDown victory with a ceremony honoring himself. Let him throw his own confetti. Let him blow a kazoo until a babyface comes to toss him out of the ring.

These kinds of moments allow him to make the most of his character. They allow him to be far memorable than he is right now.

They also offer an easy way to venture into Dallas' next feud.

Collide with The New Day

As fans saw at NXT, Dallas works best with smaller guys. Some of his best ring work to date has come against Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville.

Against them, he was allowed to show off his mat-based storytelling, suplexing and slamming his way to heat. 

WWE officials decided to pit him against powerhouses once he made it to the main roster. He has spent a good chunk of his time battling Jack Swagger and Mark Henry. Too many of Dallas' wrestling moves are not an option against a 300-pound opponent.

His style works better with someone like Kofi Kingston or Xavier Woods.

That pairing is ideal from a character standpoint as well. The New Day is a trio built around positivity. That's Dallas' shtick as well, although his approach is far more motivational speaker as opposed to Woods and company's pep-rally style.

Have Dallas try to take credit for The New Day forming. Let him make a fool out of himself as he tries to become the leader of that group.

Credit: WWE.com

When they cross paths, Dallas can lose his temper, revealing that a sneering beast sleeps under that happy-go-lucky persona.

In terms of matches, Dallas would mesh well with Woods and Kingston. He also has experience working with Big E from both NXT and the main roster. Dallas' attempts to recruit partners to take on the group would be fun as well.

Bo TV

Let Bo's vexing personality stretch beyond Raw and SmackDown. Give him a WWE Network-exclusive show where a camera follows him around as he tries to inspire the masses.

It doesn't have to be an expensive production. Think Zack Ryder's Long Island Iced Z YouTube show.

Dallas can wander the streets of whatever town WWE is in, taking credit for others' success. He can attribute the American auto industry to "Bo-lieving." He can talk with San Antonio Spurs fans and ask them how much they think his inspiration has led to the team's championship success.

This is an opportunity to play with his character outside of the airtime on Raw that so many Superstars share. 

Chris Jericho's conspiracy segments on WCW boosted him. This show would have the potential to do the same for Dallas.

WWE can't just toss Dallas back into the mix as is. He wasn't catching fire before he left, and there's no reason to think the same approach will net new results.

Borrowing from his NXT days, getting him rivals he can have better chemistry with and letting him shine in his show give him the best chance to pull off a Ryback-like resurgence.