Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: The Bella Twins Storyline Needs Added Depth

1. Building around the Bellas 

WWE appears to be on cruise control when penning the angle featuring Nikki and Brie Bella ruling the roost. 

Paige has been pushing back against the Bella sisters. She has promised to bring change to the women's division. She has tried to recruit other women to join her. This is a storyline with plenty of potential, but there's been no spark to it thus far.

What could be a brewing wrestling war has been a sleepy, lifeless narrative. Its deficiencies are holding it down.

There are too many questions left unanswered, too many avenues left unexplored. 

Why has Alicia Fox joined Nikki and Brie? Aside from cheating via "twin magic," what are they doing that deserves to be rebelled against?

Not playing with the traditional heel-babyface dynamic hurts the story as well. When the vicious, take-no-prisoners duo of Naomi and Tamina Snuka clash with the slippery braggarts in the Bellas, there's no one to root for.

To turn this plot into something more captivating, WWE needs to more clearly establish what makes the Bellas so hated. Let's see more underhanded tactics. Let's see them ambush their opponents.

And just as Fox did, other heels should join them. We need to know why these women are choosing sides, and what they gain from an alliance with Nikki and Brie, but splitting the division into two factions is smart.

It allows WWE to showcase more women at once. Instead of having Layla, Natalya and Emma be perpetually underused, they can be a part of a group looking to take down the Bella-led stable.

This is also a prime opportunity to bring up a wrestler from NXT. Paige recruiting Becky Lynch or Charlotte brings immediate electricity to the main roster.

Credit: WWE.com

The trouble is, if WWE doesn't do a better job of telling this battling-the-Bellas story, it won't matter that there's new blood in the division.

Kevin Owens and John Cena are colliding over a championship in a feud that's also about the arrival of a new alpha male and opposing moral codes. Seth Rollins is forced now to prove his worth to The Authority by facing Brock Lesnar.

These are engaging in-ring tales. They set up the opportunity for big matches to build on the stories that precede them.

Meanwhile, Paige, Nikki and company have a threadbare narrative to work with. More than anything, it's this treatment of the women's division as an afterthought that inspired fans to start demanding that WWE give Divas a chance.

Success has to begin with opportunity. Some attention from the writing team would be a refreshing change as well.

2. Breaking Down The Big Guy's Competition

Ryback's foes aren't all that intimidating despite Big Show's girth. Both the giant and The Miz are set to take on Ryback at Battleground. Neither opponent, though, has much momentum to speak of.

It doesn't feel like either man has a chance to take The Big Guy's title from him. That's thanks to a poor win-loss record of late. Both The Miz and Big Show haven't been treated as legit threats lately.

Credit: WWE.com

The Miz has gone just 4-6 in his last 10 matches. He's only 7-20 on the year, including four straight losses to Ryback in singles competition. As for Big Show, his recent in-ring record isn't impressive either. 

The World's Largest Athlete is only 2-8 in his most recent contests. On TV and pay-per-view bouts in 2015, he has gone 7-17.

To give the impression that either man has a real shot of knocking off Ryback, WWE is going to have to commit to creating more memories of them winning. It's time to have the challengers run over inferior competition.

Otherwise, the Intercontinental Championship match at Battleground is in danger of being mighty predictable.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Cameron

Hank Avery Jr. has the unenviable distinction of being the first competitor to taste elimination on the newest season of Tough Enough. Fans voted him off the show on Tuesday night.

He can take solace in the fact that Cameron went from being the first person eliminated to being an everyday part of the roster. Her choice in favorite match helped speed up her exit and made her famous among wrestling fans before she ever became a Funkadactyl.

No word on how Hank feels about Melina vs. Alicia Fox.

4. Zack Ryder in a Good Spot

With nothing for him on the main roster but bench-warming, Ryder has to be glad to have found a new home at NXT. WWE has been teaming him up with Mojo Rawley.

That's a move that is poised to benefit both men.

For Ryder, he gets a chance to revamp his career. Like Tyson Kidd before him, he could re-establish himself by doing great work at NXT. He can play with character tweaks that could earn him more airtime on the main roster.

And Rawley has reason to be thrilled. He gets to work with someone with a bigger name, someone far more popular than him. Some of that popularity could bleed over onto his side of the ring.

It's an experiment with little risk. WWE isn't ruining anything by trying out this pairing. Ryder was already struggling; Rawley had been irrelevant. 

5.  An Idea Well Worth Borrowing

New Japan Pro Wrestling has been pitting smaller, sleek athletes against each other in tournament competition to great success since 1988. The promotion's Best of the Super Juniors event is often one of the year's highlights.

This year, KUSHIDA met Kyle O'Reily in a stellar final match to crown the tourney's winner.

Rather than bring back a full-fledged cruiserweight division, WWE can adapt this idea as an annual showcase of its high-flyers. The WWE Network-exclusive event would give a Superstar another prize to brag about and likely lead to a number of thrillers in the ring.

Plug in Neville, Kofi Kingston, Kalisto and NXT stars such as Finn Balor. Bring in a few former Superstars on a short-term deal. Then wait for the fireworks.

6. 'Tough Enough' Standout

Although there are bigger men with bigger personalities in his way, Patrick Clarke is likely to be among the last contestants standing during this new season of Tough Enough. 

For one, he has previous experience in the ring unlike so many of those vying for victory around him. He's been learning the craft of wrestling while competing for Maryland Championship Wrestling.

Beyond that, he has an understated swagger, great passion and is fiery at times. That's part of what draws one in when watching this 19-year-old.

Keep on eye on Patrick as the reality show progresses. He's bound to leave his mark. 

7. Jack Swagger, A Forgotten Man

It's been an odd year for Swagger. After being the patriot looking to bring Rusev down in 2014 in a prominent feud, he finds himself now struggling to just get on TV.

Swagger is barely getting more action than Heath Slater. His recent workload has been surprisingly minimal.

He's competed on Raw just two times in 2015 and boasts a total of less than seven minutes in the ring during the two matches. Swagger has two appearances on SmackDown on his resume this year. As for pay-per-views, he has only competed in the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania Battle Royals.

Credit: WWE.com

It's not an issue of health, as he's been working the house show circuit. 

While Swagger is no top-tier star, he's a better performer than this ring time suggests. The roster's heels could all use a good brawl or two with the powerhouse from Oklahoma. His absence is a testament to how much WWE struggles to properly use its midcard wrestlers.

8.  Dolph Ziggler's Finest Work

It's time to start savoring The Showoff's battles if you believe the rumors of his impending exit. Former WWE writer Court Bauer sparked those when he said on MLW Radio that Ziggler's contract is up in a few months and that Ziggler "has indicated informally that unless he gets a big push, he may leave."

Whether that comes to fruition, it's a good idea to seek out the following highlights from Ziggler's career. They exhibit his ability to turn the wrestling ring into a stage, a match into a work of theater.

• Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio: SummerSlam 2009
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton: Night of Champions 2012
• Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio: Payback 2013
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd: SmackDown, Nov. 14, 2014

The match with Mysterio is fast-paced, full of energy and a blast to watch. Taking on Cena, he proved that he could hang in the main event, looking like a marquee star with the company's top dog.

And going up against Del Rio two years ago, he thrived when asked to do a rare double turn. His journey from villain to hero before the final bell is something up-and-comers should study.

9. Kevin Owens, Enemies Everywhere

WWE is getting a lot right with Owens. For one, the company isn't doing a by-the-numbers approach with him.

Usually, a guy finds an enemy and focuses just on him for a three to four months. Owens, instead, has been allowed to spread his animosity around. In addition to colliding with Cena, he has a showdown with Finn Balor on the horizon and has been brawling with Samoa Joe.

That sort of multi-pronged path creates excitement. It's harder to predict what's going to happen. Is he going to drop the NXT title to Balor or Joe? How much longer is he going to stick around NXT?

This is a strategy WWE should take more often, overlapping narratives and not limiting gladiators to a single foe.

10. The Hulkster on Kevin Owens

Owens is earning praise in surplus for his work at NXT and WWE. The latest comes from a Hall of Famer who knows a thing or two about "it" factor and wrestling stardom—Hulk Hogan.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Hogan said of Owens, "I found myself disassociated with being in the moment, all of a sudden I started watching him and he made me believe again. I watched real close, and there were no holes in his boat."

Hogan is spot on here. There is something enthralling about Owens, and there is little to nitpick about his game. While Vince Russo dismisses Owens as a guy who doesn't look or smell like a star, Hogan sees why Owens is set to make an impact on WWE, one powerbomb at a time.

All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.