Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Baron Corbin Poised to Be Among WWE SmackDown's Elite

1. The Lone Wolf on the Rise

The rumbling sound you hear is Baron Corbin charging toward the world championship, toward the marquee, toward the top rung of WWE SmackDown.

A simple equation of opportunity plus talent will get him to all of those places. And it won't take long. Corbin continues to show himself to be a star in the making.

Since arriving from NXT in April, The Lone Wolf has grown tremendously. He's become more comfortable on the mic, has increasingly harnessed the power of his ill-tempered, ruthless character and shown great presence as he pounds on his opponents.

Corbin's size (6'8", 275 pounds) left a door open for him, one that he has stomped through.

He lacks a quality long-term feud, and Kalisto's injury cut short Corbin's rivalry with the luchador. Still, Corbin has showed himself to be a standout performer. He was compelling as he beat down Jack Swagger. 

His recent interviews on Talking Smack have been first-class heel work. Corbin comes off as an indignant man set on destroying who he views as lesser men.

On Oct. 18, The Lone Wolf explained that money was his driving force. He was believable and intriguing, the kind of villain perfect for today's reality-driven era:

Promos such as these have begun to win folks over. 

Count Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet among that group:

And now a career-making opportunity is on the way. SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan announced on Tuesday's SmackDown that Corbin will join the blue brand's team on the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Nov. 20.

Corbin will fight against the likes of Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns in an elimination match. 

This is a chance to highlight Corbin in a major way. Should he eliminate Reigns or take down a handful of Raw's stars, there will be added buzz around him moving forward. Going toe-to-toe with the U.S. or universal champ alone will be a boost for him.

Following the PPV, WWE has to pen a sustained story for him. He is one high-profile feud from climbing into title contention. Given a spot on the stage opposite Dean Ambrose or John Cena, Corbin will thrive.

SmackDown is set to play home to his inevitable ascent.  

2. The Charlotte Split

Charlotte Flair is not the same wrestler on TV as she is on PPV. WWE has booked her to be unstoppable on Sundays, but she shows vulnerability outside of the company's biggest events.

At Hell in a Cell, she took down Sasha Banks to become the Raw women's champion for the third time. That pushed her PPV record to 15-1, with that lone loss coming in tag team action.

It's stunning, though, to see compare how she fares on PPV as opposed to TV.

Year	TV Winning Percentage	PPV Winning Percentage	TV W-L	PPV W-L
2015	.578	1.000	23-14	6-1
2016	.483	.90	14-15	9-1

The three times Flair has won the Raw Women's Championship have been on PPV. Her two title losses came on TV.

If WWE keeps this up, it can present Flair as a wrestler who improves when the moment is bigger. Her record can be proof that she has clutch gene.

And when she finally goes down at a PPV, it will be huge for whoever ends her red-hot run.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Bragging Rights

As elimination teams start to form, Survivor Series 2016 is quickly becoming a battle between Raw and SmackDown.

That concept was once the basis of an entire PPV. In 2009, WWE introduced Bragging Rights to its calendar, pitting brand against brand in a 14-man tag team match.

Before that bout, SmackDown invaded Raw, not surprisingly leading to an all-out brawl: 

WWE would be wise to evoke this scuffle ahead of this year's Survivor Series. Raw Superstars storming onto SmackDown would be a combustible moment.

The Corbin-Braun Strowman collision alone would be must-see TV. 

4. Please Sign Kota!

WWE needs to sit down with Kota Ibushi and stay glued to the negotiating table until they reach a long-term deal.

The company brought in the high-flying Japanese star for this summer's Cruiserweight Classic tournament and a number of NXT appearances, including—most recently—a house show in Los Angeles:

He's too talented, too electric and too compelling to not be a part of WWE beyond that. 

Ibushi was involved in many of the Cruiserweight Classic's best bouts. He has long torn it up on the Japanese scene. His stockpile of "it" factor is invaluable.

Whether as an NXT star or a cornerstone of Raw's cruiserweight division, Ibushi would be a major boost to the product. Getting him to ink his name on a full-time deal has to be a high priority.

5. Where The Spotlights Are Dimmer

Cliff Compton, who wrestled for WWE as Domino, offered a sobering reminder of how different life can be for a wrestler, depending on the stage.

He tweeted:

Of course, this isn't indicative of what independent wrestling is like. But there are certainly gigs out there that grapplers have to grit their teeth to get through. 

6. A Gut Punch and a Championship Left Behind

A warrior set down his sword over the weekend. 

Underrated English wrestling machine Mark Haskins outlasted two opponents at Progress Wrestling's Chapter 38 event on Oct. 30. It wasn't the match that left people talking, though. It was the aftermath.

With red marks etched across his back, Haskins bent over in the ring and laid down his Progress Championship. He offered no explanation to the stunned crowd at the time.

(Warning: Post contains brief NSFW language.)

Instead, Haskins would later reveal on Instagram and in a backstage promo that he has been dealing with neck issues. He said that he sometimes can't feel his fingers. He was visibly distraught about having to walk away from the ring. 

Hopefully, that powerful image of him leaving his championship on the canvas soon gives way to a triumphant return. 

Neck injuries make it hard not to worry about a wrestler's long-term health and career. Here's to Haskins charging back before long.

7. An Abridged Debut 

Curt Hawkins finally had his return match (which WWE labeled a "debut") after weeks of teasing. And it was over in just seven seconds.

His loss to Dolph Ziggler on Tuesday's SmackDown was among the shortest bouts in WWE history. 

Daniel Bryan's loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII was more than twice as long as Hawkins vs. Ziggler. The seven-second contest ended four times faster than when Ultimate Warrior beat The Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam 1988 in just 31 seconds. 

And Hawkins' debut was a smidgen shorter than Diesel's blink-of-an-eye win against Bob Backlund to become world champ in 1994.

Hawkins, though, wasn't a champion at the time of his loss. His place on the SmackDown hierarchy isn't established. This was his reintroduction, one that signaled to the audience that he's an easy foe to topple.

8. The Miz's Best Year to Date

Long thought of as a below-average in-ring performer, The Miz is changing the conversation about his wrestling ability with a run of strong matches. 

The former intercontinental champion has produced the best in-ring work of his career in 2016. These bouts are the highlights of a year to remember for The Miz:

• The Miz vs. AJ Styles: Raw, Feb. 15
• The Miz vs. Cesaro: Payback 
• The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens: Extreme Rules
• The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: SmackDown, Sept. 20
• The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: No Mercy

The Miz has also been one of the best WWE heels all year and recently has fired off some of his top promos. The company has to find something for him in Survivor Series.

SmackDown didn't select him for its male Survivor Series team. Ziggler issued a challenge to Raw to try to take his Intercontinental Championship. That leaves The Miz without a dance partner at the moment, something WWE has to fix.

He's on too much of a roll to leave out of the marquee show.

9.  The No-Momentum Club

Every time we think WWE is getting it right with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, we're all quickly proved wrong.

Ever since the bruisers came over from their successful run in Japan, Gallows and Anderson have been among the most miscast and misused talents on the roster. Every success is followed by failure. Every moment of strength is followed by one of weakness.

At Hell in a Cell, The Club looked to be on track to be formidable forces. They knocked off Enzo Amore and Big Cass to score one of their biggest wins to date.

WWE didn't even let that victory breathe for a day, though. The next night on Monday's Raw, Amore smashed Gallows with pumpkins in a silly Trick or Street Fight.

WWE could have followed up the heels' victory with trash talk or an attack on some unsuspecting fan favorites. Instead, it chose to treat them like it did Damien Sandow and make them victims of a prop-centric comedy bout.

Miami Herald columnist Scott Fishman tweeted:

"Sigh" is right. It's getting increasingly hard to get excited about Gallows and Anderson. WWE can't help from cutting them down at the knees.

10. Goldust on Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair

During Banks and Charlotte's tremendous Hell in a Cell match, both wrestlers ran their bodies through a meat grinder to deliver in the main event.

The praise they earned that night came from a variety of places. Fellow Raw Superstar Goldust, for one, tweeted:

Some may choose to point out that some of the tables didn't break or quibble about the ending of the bout. But Goldust has the right idea. He tipped his hat to two great talents. As we all should.

Ryan Dilbert is the WWE Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him @ryandilbert on Twitter to hear more of his thoughts on wrestling and writing.

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.