Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: When WWE SmackDown Isn't the Land of Opportunity

1. WWE SmackDown's Limited Stage

The first time fans saw Tye Dillinger on WWE SmackDown since Backlash in May, The Perfect 10 stood in front of a pair of Sonic drinks, rating their flavor on a scale from one to 10.

This is one of the blue brand's big acquisitions following WrestleMania 33 we're talking about. This is a popular fresh face who was on the roll of his career before he left NXT. And all the creative team had for him in weeks was an ad for a burger joint.

That moment speaks volumes about SmackDown's limitations.

The blue brand sometimes struggles to make full use of its roster, to balance its talent pool. Its two-hour format makes it a tauter, more focused show than Raw, but it makes it harder to use all of its puzzle pieces. Wrestlers like Dillinger are left often standing in the darkness of the background. 

That's led to fans crafting signs like this one, via What a Maneuver!:

Dillinger has only had three matches since his debut the night after WrestleMania, per CageMatch.net. All of them have come against Aiden English.

The Perfect 10 is not involved in a storyline right now. It's hard to consider his underdeveloped issues with English a rivalry. He's been inactive plenty since moving up from NXT.

Yet, as Alex Pawlowski of Fightful pointed out, WWE decided to bring another pair of Superstars to the brand in Mike and Maria Kanellis:

That's going to make the fight for center stage even more intense. Welcoming the former Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor stars is going to leave the writing team more overloaded with options it doesn't know what to do with.

It's not at all surprising that after Mike and Maria debuted at Money in the Bank, WWE didn't have time to show them off on the following SmackDown. They were relegated to a talking segment that aired on YouTube afterward.

SmackDown has found creative ways to boost the likes of Breezango and Heath Slater. It's showcased Carmella and gave AJ Styles the room to be WWE's top performer last year. But there's simply not space for everyone.

American Alpha has been a non-factor in the tag team division. Chad Gable went two months without a TV match until he faced Kevin Owens on Tuesday, per CageMatch.net

Luke Harper was absent for a month before taking on Jinder Mahal on that same night. SmackDown introduced a new-look Erick Rowan in April but has done little with him since. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that Rusev is cleared to compete, yet he didn't show up at either Money in the Bank or the PPV fallout edition of SmackDown.

A good amount of promising talent is collecting dust.

There is little wiggle room on SmackDown, and that's going to leave some folks behind. Wrestlers are going to have to seize their opportunities more emphatically. Had Breezango's Fashion Files segments not clicked in the first two tries, WWE likely wouldn't have had the patience to see how things panned out. The Fashion Police would have instead had to make way for another duo.

If Mike and Maria don't thrive early on, the blue brand will likely slide them to the back of the line. Jinder Mahal's success as the brand's top heel is probably the reason Rusev has been bypassed.

The brass ring is within reach for everyone on SmackDown, but you may only get one stab at it. There are too many other hands grasping for it, as well.

2. The "I Beat Reigns" Club

Roman Reigns claimed on Monday's Raw that no one can beat him one-on-one. He wasn't quite telling the truth but wasn't far off either.

If you don't count wins via disqualifications or count-outs, victories by way of interference or Money in the Bank cash-ins, only a trio of men have taken down The Big Dog, per CageMatch.net:

• Seth Rollins (June 19, 2016)
• Finn Balor (July 25, 2016)
• Braun Strowman (April 30, 2017)

Samoa Joe has beaten Reigns twice this year, but both times, he had Strowman to thank for the result. Big Show pinned Reigns after The Authority pounced on him.

WWE has been extremely stingy when handing out wins over Reigns. The more it keeps that approach up, the bigger his defeats will be in the future.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: GLOW

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was once the campiest version of pro wrestling one could find on TV. And now the all-female promotion built around cartoony characters and over-the-top storylines is getting revisited. 

A TV series on Netflix starring Alison Brie will take fans back to the '80s, back to the days when GLOW did its off-the-wall thing with no apologies.

A glimpse at a GLOW Battle Royal from 1989 captures much of what made the promotion so different. The bout showcased the glitz, tongue-in-cheek tone and ridiculousness of the company:

Like the GLOW promotion, the Netflix show likely won't have much good wrestling to speak of, but it promises to be a fun, unique ride.

4. Keep an Eye on Storm

The Mae Young Classic tournament beginning in July may introduce WWE fans to their new favorite wrestler.

Toni Storm is a badass with a piledriver that would make Terry Funk proud. She's a rugged, headbutting warrior with a healthy supply of attitude.  

WWE announced that Storm will be a part of the historic women's tournament. 

She has previously wrestled for World Wonder Ring Stardom, competed in the United Kingdom and Australia, and is the inaugural Progress women's champ. The Mae Young Classic will give her the biggest stage to date. And she's bound to thrive in that environment, becoming one of the event's most talked-about stars.

Look for Storm to make a name for herself much the way Pete Dunne did during the United Kingdom Championship tournament earlier this year.

5. When Can We See This Rollins on Raw?

Seth Rollins will grace the cover of the WWE 2K18 video game, as he revealed on SportsCenter this week.

The trailer for the game saw Rollins destroy a collection of WWE relics, pushing Steve Austin's ATV off a ledge and beheading a statue of Andre the Giant with a sledgehammer. He burned down a building and revealed a predatory smile when he removed his ski mask.

This anarchist anti-hero version of Rollins is better than anything we've seen of him on WWE TV.

His current babyface character is bland. WWE would be better off infusing some of his video game persona, giving us the arsonist on a mission that we saw a glimpse of in an alternate universe.

6. More Turnover for Impact Wrestling 

Impact Wrestling is poised to have to adjust to new personnel again. In a year that has seen Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis, Drew McIntyre and The Hardy Boyz all depart the promotion already, Impact Wrestling is now minus two backstage talent producers, too. 

Shane Helms noted that he has parted ways with the company:

And Al Snow also revealed on Twitter that he's no longer with Impact Wrestling.

The loss of Helms and Snow won't be as obvious as those who appeared in front of the camera, but they are two quality minds who won't be around. That's another loss for a place that has had to get used to that sensation.

Impact Wrestling needs some stability in the months ahead. It can't turn into the pro wrestling equivalent of the Cleveland Browns who have had five head coaches in the last seven years.

7. Shortchanged at Money in the Bank

The ending of the women's Money in the Bank ladder match on Sunday led to passionate, intense discussion online, but another aspect of the bout was disappointing—its length.

It was one of the five shortest Money in the Bank ladder matches in history, per the Internet Wrestling Database.

Event	Contract	Match Time
WM 22	Winner's brand title match	12:21
MITB 17	Women's title	13:14
WM 24	Any world title	13:55
WM 25	Any world title	14:24
WM 21	WHC match	15:17

The women's match is No. 2 on this list. It's the shortest ladder match in Money in the Bank PPV history. And it's the shortest Money in the Bank ladder match in 11 years.

That's not exactly the kind of history folks were hoping for with this bout.

8. The Rainmaker's Reign

Kazuchika Okada has now held New Japan Pro-Wrestling's IWGP Heavyweight Championship for over a year.

Since winning the title on June 19, 2016, he has gone on to have some of the best wrestling matches you will ever see. Okada has cemented himself as one of the best in-ring performers of all time. There are wrestlers in the Hall of Fame who don't have as many classics on their resume as The Rainmaker has added during his latest title reign.

Get a taste of Okada's excellence with these highlights, and then go seek out the full matches:

• Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: NJPW G1 Climax 26
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom XI
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki: NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata: NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega: NJPW Dominion 6.11

If WWE isn't showing some of these bouts to its prospects in the Performance Center, it's not giving them a full education.

9. The Entourage Primed for Big Things

Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas have decided to work as The Miz's minions. They ambushed Dean Ambrose in bear costumes on Monday night to make their allegiance clear.

This is such a smart usage of two benchwarmers.

The Miz's presence will elevate them. He's a high-rung star who will get plenty of airtime in the months ahead. 

And Axel and Dallas' characters will suddenly have more focus.

They will be the bruisers at the cowardly heel's side. They will be The Miz's front line of defense. Hopefully, The Miz's Hollywood attitude rubs off on them, allowing them to morph into elitists with a mean streak.

That will put them a world's away from where they were for most of the year, namely waiting around for an opportunity.

10. Bryan on a Need for Change

It sounds like SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan needs to sit in on a meeting with WWE headman Vince McMahon.

The former world champ had some spot-on thoughts about the WWE product. In an interview with NBC Sports' Scott Dargis, Bryan explained: "I think a change of presentation is absolutely necessary. I think the way that we present our Superstars probably needs to change."

"I think changing that dynamic and highlighting the personalities is something we really need to do," he added.

Bryan talked about making fans care more about who is wrestling by highlighting their backstory more and giving them chances to show off who they are. He's absolutely right. The anger management class segments with him and Kane were key in allowing Bryan to truly connect with the crowd.

Superstars are too often not given creative avenues like that, left to be flat characters with zero traction.

We don't know nearly enough about Cedric Alexander or Apollo Crews. We know next to nothing about The Singh Brothers. Why Lince Dorado hasn't been given a Lucha Underground-style vignette is baffling.

With as many hours of programming as WWE puts out every week, there has to be more time made for character development.