Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Cesaro Will Be WWE's Next Daniel Bryan

1. Cesaro Section Growing

As was the case with Daniel Bryan, it will be the fans who jettison Cesaro into the main event picture.

Vince McMahon's now-famous comment (subscription required) on Steve Austin's podcast about Cesaro "not connecting" is increasingly not true. His popularity is surging. His supporters have become more vocal.

And there's tangible evidence of that shift as well.

Fans continue to print out "Cesaro section" signs and hand them out at shows. Folks then hold those up proudly during the broadcast. The announcers have even begun to work those signs into their commentary.

On Monday's Raw, as Cesaro took on Randy Orton and Kevin Owens, Michael Cole said, "There are literally hundreds and hundreds of WWE fans with 'Cesaro section' signs."

One can also hear in that clip how loudly the crowd is roaring for Cesaro to win. When he had Orton in the Sharpshooter, the audience rumbled, clapped, cheered. And this is against one of the top babyfaces in the company.

WWE brass hasn't viewed Cesaro as upper-tier material so far, but they are going to have to start listening to the fans.

Like Bryan, Cesaro has been used as a guy who can produce good matches, is a quality workhorse and usually takes the loss against the bigger names on the roster. 

Fans wanted to see more of Bryan. They wanted to see him continue to climb the WWE hierarchy and so they saturated WWE shows with "Yes!" chants and rejected Batista and Roman Reigns as Royal Rumble winners in consecutive years.

Before WrestleMania XXX, as Bryan explains in Yes! My Improbable Journey to WrestleMania, the original plan was for him to face Sheamus. It was destined to be a match of little consequence.

Eventually, the audience changed those plans. The fans wanted him in the main event, and that's what happened.

Cesaro is destined for a similar journey. He and Bryan are similar in that they are better wrestlers than other Superstars. They excel in the ring but don't have the typical larger-than-life presence, the same big personality that most top stars have.

It hasn't mattered in either case. Fans chose to love Bryan just as they are choosing to do with Cesaro.

The Swiss Superman is receiving increasingly loud reactions. Cesaro signs are becoming more prevalent. 

His recent bouts against John Cena have provided a glimpse of what it would be like for him to be at the top of the card. That has also motivated fans to push for Cesaro even more.

It won't happen right away. Roman Reigns, Orton, Sheamus and others are in front of him in the line to the WWE title. Just like with Bryan, though, fervent, relentless support from the crowd will rearrange that line.

2. A Rare Showcase at SummerSlam

When Team B.A.D., Team Bella and PCB meet in Brooklyn on Aug. 23, it will be a huge match for the women's division.

One can find all kinds of criticisms of WWE booking an elimination match between these three squads on the Internet, from this not involving the Divas Championship to those arguing that the company should be waiting for Survivor Series to put this on. That kind of talk is ignoring the fact that SummerSlam has often neglected the women's division altogether, and that this match choice bucks that history.

Even if you count mixed-tag matches and bouts that happened on the pre-show, there have been a total of 14 SummerSlams with no women's matches whatsoever. 

WWE went from 2002 to 2006 without a women's match at the major event. And in the first 10 editions of the event, only two of those featured women's bouts, not counting Sherri Martel getting a forfeit win over Sapphire in 1989. 

That's over 50 percent of WWE's second-biggest pay-per-view without more than marginal representation of the women's division.

In 2015, that division is bringing a momentum-rich storyline, three new faces, a whole posse of women ready to shine and a match format designed to create drama. That sure sounds like progress.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Rey Mysterio

Over 20 years before Mysterio headlined Triplemania XXII, he was a lanky teenager wrestling in Mexico, a dynamo just beginning to start whirling in the air.

This 1994 match against Juventud Guerrera in Tijuana is an intriguing look back at Mysterio's early career:

Before WWE and before WCW, he was clearly a huge star in the making, despite his underwhelming frame. He has long been a wizard of the mat. This bout shows him when he was still developing his most powerful spells.

4. The Underground a Home for Innovation

Lucha Underground just wrapped up its first run. It has been a compelling experiment with the pro wrestling art form.

The promotion has played with visual style, presentation and match types as well. Whoever emerged the victor in the Gift of the Gods match would earn a future championship bout. But this was no Money in the Bank ripoff.

A mythos was created about seven medallions, the object one had to earn or obtain to get entrance into this match at all. 

If they haven't already, WWE's writing team should sit down and watch Lucha Underground from its premiere to its season finale. Vince McMahon's company can't just swipe things from the show, but the constant tinkering with wrestling conventions and the many inventive ideas Lucha Underground used should provide plenty of inspiration.

5. Remembering Hot Rod

The late Roddy Piper is more known for his mic skills and high-voltage personality, but he had some compelling battles in the ring as well. 

Reflecting on his legacy has had fans remembering his contributions to Hulkamania, his part in WrestleMania's early days and how influential his Piper's Pit segments have been. To see what it looked like when everything was clicking for him on the canvas, check out these bouts:

• vs. Chavo Guerrero Sr.: Olympic Auditorium 1976
• vs. Greg Valentine: Starrcade 1983 (Dog Collar)
• vs. Bret Hart: WrestleMania VIII (Intercontinental Championship)
• vs. Goldust: WrestleMania XII (Parking Lot Brawl)

It's not surprising that so many of these feature wild brawls and bloody brows. A madman like Piper was right at him in chaos. 

That's true at several stages in his career, including his red-hot rivalry with Guerrero. The matchup above shows off Piper's character just beginning to really blossom. 

Both that clash and his WrestleMania match against Hart should be required viewing for up-and-coming wrestlers. They serve as part of a master class in the nuances of being a heel, from smugness to spitting.

6. NXT and the Road to Contention

In a case where WWE should learn from its little brother, NXT is making Bayley's path to the championship a logical narrative that builds drama as it unfolds.

The story is that she is out to prove herself after not being treated seriously for the majority of her career. She's long been the friendly, popular fan favorite who just couldn't notch the big victory. Like Sami Zayn, she then set out to change that reputation, one win at a time.

She has already knocked off Emma and Charlotte. Becky Lynch is next on her list.

And this time, the No. 1 contender's spot is on the line.

WWE doesn't do this kind of story often enough on the main roster. Instead, sometimes just walking out and demanding a crack at the champion is sufficient. An uphill climb that fans can follow like Bayley's makes for great wrestling and great TV.

Whether she upends Lynch and follows it up with a win over Sasha Banks or not, this angle has already been a success. Bayley has garnered spotlight and her character has focused during this journey.

7. Charlotte vs. Kaitlyn

Charlotte does a good number of things in the ring impressively well. The spear is not yet on that list.

She certainly displays great intensity after knocking her opponent to the mat, but her version of the move that Goldberg made famous isn't up to snuff.

While Kaitlyn's spear was not on par with Goldberg's, it was convincing. She seemed to be smashing her shoulder into her foe's gut. It's a tackle with plenty of thud:

Charlotte, on the other hand, hits hers too high on the body and with not nearly enough impact.

She often seems to be holding back. The blow looks as if it lands to the side of the body. A big-time sell job by Brie Bella helps Charlotte out here:

The former NXT women's champ needs to study Kaitlyn at work and fine-tune this part of her game. 

8. Crowded Championship Scene

What's it take to get a title shot? In the tag team division, apparently not much.

The Prime Time Players are set to defend their belts against the majority of the tag team division. The New Day, The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores will all challenge the champs at SummerSlam.

Credit: WWE.com

It hurts the significance of earning a chance at gold when it comes so randomly. New Day had just defeated Diego and Fernando when Renee Young delivered the announcement that the bullfighters would be getting a title chance anyway.

There's no sense of momentum with any of the squads. There have been too few accomplishments to get this opportunity, and that cheapens it. It's like a sub-.500 team getting into the playoffs.

Not counting eight-man action, the three teams set to take on Titus O'Neil and Darren Young have had paltry records since June. 

• The Lucha Dragons (6-5)
• The New Day (4-5)
• Los Matadores (1-6)

In what world does it makes sense that Los Matadores could walk out of SummerSlam champions after netting a win-loss record like that? WWE might as well throw The Mulkey Brothers into the mix as well.

9. The Earnest Archer

To be invited into the wrestling world, even for just a brief moment, is an honor that Stephen Amell took seriously.

There was no tongue-in-cheek element to his performance on Monday's Raw. Unlike so many other celebrities who get guest spots on WWE TV, this wasn't a joke to him. He handled it with poise and poured himself into it as if it were a major movie role.

The result was one of the more compelling instances of actors being a part of the show.

Now there's hype aplenty for his tag team match at SummerSlam. It sure doesn't hurt that he showed off some impressive athleticism in springing over the ropes.

WWE has to much rather have a guy like that be part of the action than a bigger name who clearly doesn't want to be there.

10. J.R. on Fan Incident

Over the weekend, a man in attendance at a WWE house show in Victoria, British Columbia, assaulted Roman Reigns. As the Canadian Press (via CTV News) reported, the fan hit Reigns in the head with a Money in the Bank briefcase.

Security ejected him. He's now banned from future events.

Jim Ross reminds us that things could have ended far worse for the man.

Ross wrote on his blog, "The ignorant person is lucky this happened in this era and not in a previous generation or his penalty would have been handled on site, in the back of the arena, for better or for worse."

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.