Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Seth Rollins Proving WWE Smart for Showcasing Him

1. Seth Rollins Continues to Be a Big Part of WWE's Plan

It may not look like it considering Brock Lesnar and John Cena are battling it out for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble, but the company is investing in its future.

Rollins has been the biggest recipient of the opportunities WWE is handing out to its up-and-comers.

Critics will groan about Rollins losing to Cena on Monday's Raw despite interference from J&J Security. Take a step back and glance at the bigger picture, though. WWE is offering Rollins an ample portion of the spotlight, and he has continually made the most of his chances.

In many ways, this was the year of Rollins.

He provided the biggest betrayal of the year, ending The Shield forever with a series of chair shots to his brothers-in-arms. He main evented several pay-per-views and played key roles in the Lesnar vs. Cena bout at Night of Champions and Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series.

At every step, Rollins has delivered.

His matches have been some of WWE's best. His work against Dean Ambrose has been tremendous. More recently, he's clicked with Cena in some excellent TV clashes. 

On the mic, he's a convincingly grating blowhard. With Lesnar not around much at all, WWE has asked him to be the company's top heel for the most of the second half of 2014. He's owned that role, showing the company it can count on him going forward.

Rollins, who is just 28 years old, bursts with potential. WWE looks ready to tap into that.

He has a feud with Randy Orton coming thanks to Rollins Curb Stomping him off TV. He has forged an alliance with Paul Heyman and Lesnar that will surely lead to him being a part of the marquee storyline at the Royal Rumble. The Architect also heads into 2015 with an all-but-guaranteed world title reign ahead of him.

While Roman Reigns is still an unproven commodity, Rollins has spent his post-Shield time giving WWE officials reasons to keep feeding him these kinds of opportunities. 

2. Close to John Cena

As much as the future belongs to the men who made up The Shield, Cena still clings to his hold over the present. That shows up in how often he wins. As 2014 comes to a close, Cena currently has a .842 winning percentage for the year.

Not counting Lesnar, who has had just a handful of matches, there are few Superstars whose record compares to Cena's.

The wrestlers with the best winning percentages in 2014 other than Cena are as follows:

• El Torito (.917)
• Big Show (.829)
• Sheamus (.819)
• Rusev (.804)
• Roman Reigns (.771)

We can learn a number of things from looking at those numbers. First, it pays to be a babyface. Only Rusev was a heel for the duration of 2014.

Also note the physique of each of those guys. Aside from El Torito, of course, they are all bulking brutes of varying sizes. The perception that Vince McMahon prefers to spotlight more muscular guys gets some ammo here.

All match statistics from CageMatch.net.

3. A Kevin Steen Christmas

The man now known as Kevin Owens would be quite comfortable with WWE throwing him into a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. During his days at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, he incorporated a Christmas gift into his offense.

That's not a spot WWE is going to allow him to do, but it's clear he has fun dishing out mayhem. That means he'll probably end up facing Ambrose in some kind of holiday-themed gimmick match.

Ambrose keeps getting signed up for these kinds of bouts.

4. Suggested Street Fights 

Ambrose and Bray Wyatt closed out Monday's Raw with a Christmas-centric hardcore match. It had its high points but doesn't compare to the best Street Fights in wrestling history.

A part of that was because we just saw them fight in TLC and Boot Camp matches. Blame also goes to their rivalry's lack of story.

To get a proper Street Fight fix, revisit or discover this array of clashes in the genre: 

• Doom vs. Arn Anderson and Barry Windham—Starrcade 1990
• Triple H vs. Cactus Jack—Royal Rumble 2000
• Edge vs. Shawn Michaels—Raw, Jan. 22, 2007
• Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes—SmackDown, Nov. 4, 2011
• Rhett Titus and BJ Whitmer vs. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team—Ring of Honor Final Battle 2012

The tag match from Starrcade is a short-but-intense underrated bout worth seeking out on the WWE Network. Orton vs. Rhodes doesn't get talked about enough, too. It's one of Rhodes' best efforts, a display of a darker side of him.

Triple H and Cactus' collision features a wealth of weapons and the latter man's willingness to take an unreal amount of punishment. 

5. Dolph Ziggler Striving to Make Intercontinental Championship Relevant

Ziggler's passion for the IC belt and the business in general is helping to make the often-misused title more prestigious.

The fact that he and Luke Harper willingly flung their bodies around a steel-covered battlefield for a chance at the championship at TLC certainly assisted with that. The Showoff was quick to express on Twitter what winning it meant to him:

He has since mentioned the title in his promos with a reverence that feels genuine.

Perhaps he knows a WWE title chance is a long shot for him. Maybe he just admires the IC title's history. Either way, that kind of attitude will be one key to giving the title new life.

The other element is something he has no trouble delivering: great matches. His latest defense of the championship saw him survive against Harper in a tremendous battle.

The more Ziggler produces like this in the name of holding onto the title worn by Randy Savage and Pedro Morales, the more it becomes a coveted prize rather than the hollow prop it has too often been.

6. Throwback Promo: Roddy Piper 

Piper is still a nut after all these years. Even a subdued, mature version of the Hall of Famer, as fans saw in a a Piper's Pit segment on Monday's Raw, brims with a frenetic energy.

Hot Rod mastered the art of the unstable anti-hero long before Ambrose. Should The Lunatic Fringe ever need added inspiration, he need only turn to this promo from 1982.

Piper's take on the babyface role was fascinating. It was electric, unique and well worth emulating.

7. WWE Needs to Stop Muddying NXT's Product

NXT is churning out Superstars primed for success on the main roster. WWE has to just leave them alone.

Adrian Neville has greatly improved at the company's developmental branch. He's become a better talker and connected with the crowd through a blend of world-class athleticism and in-ring storytelling. The plan is reportedly to screw with his winning formula.  

PWInsider's Mike Johnson reports that "WWE is prepping a new gimmick for Adrian Neville that has been described to us as 'Mighty Mouse-esque.'"

That can't mean that WWE is going to dress him in mouse ears and cape, but it doesn't sound promising in the least. Rather than focus on his strengths, it looks as if the company is choosing to highlight the fact that he's short.

How WWE is presenting The Ascension is baffling as well.

Konnor and Viktor's gimmick is fine as is. As seen in their recent vignettes, though, WWE is intent on turning up the volume on it.

They now sport red face paint and outfits out of some science fiction movie. 

What's the point of having wrestlers perfect personas at one level only to force them to take on sillier stuff on the main roster? That's about as smart as having Finn Balor do a stand-up comic gimmick.

8. Men on the Marquee

A shift from the established stars to the emerging ones is underway. One can see that when taking a look at the list of Superstars who were in the most pay-per-view main events.

Per TheHistoryofWWE, these are the top headliners for 2014, not counting the Royal Rumble:

• John Cena (six)—Elimination Chamber, Money in the Bank, Battleground, SummerSlam, Night of Champions, Survivor Series
• Randy Orton (five)—Elimination Chamber, WrestleMania, Payback, Money in the Bank, Battleground  
• Kane (four)—Extreme Rules, Money in the Bank, Battleground, Survivor Series
• Dean Ambrose (three)—Payback, Hell in a Cell, TLC
• Seth Rollins (three)—Payback, Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series
• Roman Reigns (three)—Payback, Money in the Bank, Battleground

Familiar faces take up the top three spots. The former members of The Shield, though, are right behind them.

WWE has to have the balance shift toward youth. Seeing Cena and Orton on top is tiresome. Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns offer new energy and great promise.

The smart move is to have them add to these totals in 2015, being in the final match on a pay-per-view as much as they were in the last third of the year.

9. Armchair Booking: Darren Young

Young has recovered from an injury and returned to the ring. He tweeted a shot of himself in action against Justin Gabriel:

His return is a chance to rehab his image. There's a real chance to have his story be one of triumph and heart.

Have him go on a losing streak but be an increasingly tough out in each of the losses. He gives Rusev the fight of his life, nearly upsetting him. Young has good showings against Rollins, Big Show and Bad News Barrett once he's back.

Each time out, he fails. By giving gutsy performances and getting closer to victory with each match, he can force us to pay attention to him.

Rather than his defeats just being the status quo, they become part of a storyline of him looking to prove himself. When he finally does break though and knock off a top star, WWE has a great moment to showcase.

10. A Reminder from Jim Ross

It's easy to get caught up in picking apart what WWE is doing wrong or begrudge the company for going a direction other than the one we envisioned. While discussing the idea of Reigns being ready for the spotlight at WrestleMania or not, Good Ol' J.R. offered good advice for wrestling fandom in general.

Ross writes in his blog, "Bottom line is to simply stay tuned and enjoy the ride and try not to over analyze the TV programming of any company that promotes the genre."

We'll try, J.R. Well, some of us will.