Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Breezango's Success a Reminder of Power of Humor in WWE

1. Fashionable and Funny

Punchlines, not clotheslines, have made Tyler Breeze and Fandango two of WWE SmackDown's biggest stars.

Slugfests and thrilling in-ring performances aren't the only way to climb the company mountain. Breezango is providing more evidence of that as it has taken the blue brand by storm via wholehearted silliness.

The duo has attempted to solve the mystery of who is attacking them in "Fashion Files" segments that have parodied Twin Peaks, Miami Vice and X-Files. 

These skits brim with an electric exuberance and deft wordplay. They're allowing Breeze and Fandango to not only showcase their characters but have a ball while doing it.

That's been a winning formula so far. 

Thanks to embracing the ridiculous, Breezango has gone from an oft-forgotten tag team to one of the most entertaining acts on WWE today. Alex Pawlowski of Fightful is among those who think the fashion-minded pair is the best thing SmackDown has going:

Breeze and Fandango haven't wrestled on SmackDown since June 13, according to CageMatch.net.

They haven't delivered a classic bout at any point. They haven't slammed anyone through a table or given us a pull-apart brawl. Instead, they are riding their comic timing to success.

They aren't the first WWE talents to do so.

Daniel Bryan wouldn't have become the megastar he was if not for winning over hearts during the "Anger Management" segments with Kane.

Edge and Christian goofing around backstage elevated them to household names. D-Generation X wouldn't be an iconic stable if not for the raunchy humor that it became famous for.

Even a top-flight in-ring artist like Kurt Angle has found comedy sometimes more effective than actual wrestling.

In an interview with Chris McDonald of the Dallas Observer, Angle said: "Rarely do fans approach me and say, 'I remember the classic match you had against so-and-so.' Instead, fans usually say to me, 'I remember that time you drove a milk truck to the ring. Or when you wore a tiny cowboy hat and sang with Stone Cold Steve Austin.'"

Moments matter. So does entertaining folks outside of the ring.

Breezango is the latest set of Superstars to do that—to find their groove through being funny.

Down the road, we are going to look back at Fashion Files as the impetus that team's rise to championship gold, for it changing their careers forever. That's something WWE has to keep in mind has it tries to figure out how to make stars of the newest faces on its loaded roster. 

Let them makes us laugh in between slobber-knockers.

2. The Joe

After Brock Lesnar outlasted Samoa Joe on Saturday to retain the Universal Championship, the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit closed for good.

The famed arena is more well-known for hosting Detroit Red Wings hockey games, but it housed its fair share of WWE action over the years. 

Per the Internet Wrestling Database, the Joe welcomed 14 editions of Raw, 13 episodes of SmackDown and seven pay-per-views. It was the site of Survivor Series 1991 where Undertaker dethroned Hulk Hogan as world champ. It hosted Randy Orton's 2009 Royal Rumble win.

And Angle made his WWE debut there at Survivor Series 1999.

Detroit fans will now have to go to the Little Caesar's Arena to catch WWE stars, including when the city hosts Hell in a Cell later this year. That building's name doesn't have quite the ring to it as The Joe. 

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Shane McMahon

Thanks to a backstage altercation on Tuesday's SmackDown, Shane McMahon is set to referee the next battle between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens.

That SummerSlam United States Championship bout will be far from the first time McMahon's donned a striped shirt. The current SmackDown commissioner began working for the company in 1989 as referee Shane Stevens.

This clip of Mark Young clashing with Brooklyn Brawler on Wrestling Challenge that year shows a young, thin McMahon patrolling the ring:

The footage loops, so you don't get to see the whole match, but it's still a trip to see Shane O'Mac in this role.

He's sure to have a far bigger impact on the Styles vs. Owens match than he did here. A feud between him and KO appears to be brewing.

4. Itami's Steady Trek Toward Darkness

WWE heel turns are often sudden and nonsensical, a jarring shift in character. That's not the case with Hideo Itami. 

In an example of patient storytelling, Itami has slowly moved into a more villainous role. The latest example of that came on last Wednesday's NXT, when he battered former friend Kassius Ohno after their match.

"

After delivering TWO rounds of #GTS AND a low-blow, @HideoItami is still NOT DONE with @KassiusOhno! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/S7erS4XyA8

— WWE (@WWE) July 27, 2017"

Itami's relationship with Ohno had started to splinter weeks ago. This moment was when his burning fuse ran out. 

Frustration is driving the former star in Pro Wrestling Noah to grow more vicious, more desperate. He's an animal backed into a corner. He's a good guy changed by seeing his peers succeed while he treads water.

That kind of organic change is a beautiful sight.

5. The Arizona Rattlesnake

In a surprising merging of politics and wrestling, Timothy Burke of Deadspin posted a clip of U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona casting a key vote against the bill to repeal Obamacare with WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross calling the action (h/t Marcus Gilmer of Mashable):

McCain's "no" vote joins a long list of moments made better of Ross' commentary. Everything from football hits to video games is improved with some added JR.

6. Juice in Japan

Juice Robinson is in the midst of a star-making run.

Throughout New Japan Pro Wrestling's G1 Climax tournament, the former NXT talent has shown an ability to create pathos, step up to the level of his opponents and shine in the spotlight. He's looked excellent against the likes of Sanada and Kazuchika Okada.

Performance after performance, he's changing the perception people have of him.

None of this would be happening if he had stayed at NXT. As CJ Parker, he spent a lot of time spinning his wheels in the developmental brand. It seemed the company had little faith in his potential.

Robinson betting on himself, leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck and seeking to prove himself elsewhere has been one of wrestling's best stories in the past few years. 

7. Underrated SummerSlam Undercard Bouts

Ask a WWE fan about SummerSlam and their mind is sure to fill with memories of Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog, John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan and the event's greatest main events.

The PPV's midcard, though, has produced some winners, too. They may not get the credit they deserve, but these undercard gems are definitely worth diving into:

• Hart Foundation vs. Demolition: 1990 (2-out-of-3 Falls)
• Hakushi vs. 1-2-3 Kid: 1995
• Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit: 2002
• Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair: 2006 (I Quit)
• Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: 2014 (Lumberjack)

Which undercard battle will stand out this year?

Randy Orton is set to face Rusev. Neville must fend off Akira Tozawa again. Either contest has the potential to be an under-the-radar thriller come August 20.

8. Mr. 50-50

Before we start proclaiming that Sami Zayn is dead and buried as a SmackDown star, it's best to take a closer look at his numbers.

Of course, the upset loss to Aiden English on Tuesday's SmackDown is an eyeopener. But it's not time to panic just yet. Zayn is far from a jobber. He's more of the quintessential victim of 50-50 booking.

Per CageMatch.net, Zayn's one-on-one record in 2017 is 9-10 and a .419 winning percentage for the year.

The former NXT champ has defeated The Miz (the current intercontinental champion), Jinder Mahal (the reigning WWE champ), Mr. Money in the Bank Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens, who has been the U.S. titleholder three times this year. But with all those wins come equally big losses, including defeats to Corbin, Joe and others.

WWE can't seem to decide what part of the food chain The Underdog from the Underground resides in. That has him following wins with losses and vice versa.

9. Woken, Not Broken

Matt and Jeff Hardy may have found a way to skirt around its legal dispute with Anthem, who runs Global Force Wrestling, the Hardys' former home promotion.

The former tag champions have been battling for the rights to play the "broken" versions of themselves on WWE. Anthem has pushed back, looking to claim the intellectual property for itself.

In the middle of this stalemate, Matt proclaimed himself "woken" after a brawl with The Revival and The Club on Monday's Raw. He showed flashes of his broken character, sporting that familiar wide-eyed look.

Perhaps the solution to this fiasco is simply to create something adjacent to the gimmick in question.

If Anthem won't let The Hardy Boyz be broken, they can be "woken" instead. The brother's drone Vanguard 1 can be redubbed Vanguard 2.0. Brother Nero can be known as Brother Oren.

There's a chance here for reinvention and take the nuttiness that made the Hardys' run on Impact Wrestling so fun in an alternate direction. 

10. Waltman on Hawkins

Curt Hawkins' loss to Jason Jordan last week was his 100th defeat in a row, as Cageside Seats noted. Sean Waltman (aka X-Pac), though, pointed out that the self-proclaimed star-maker got paid throughout:

Fans (myself included) often overanalyze each win and loss, wondering about momentum and bemoaning a wrestler's lack of push. Guys like Hawkins, however, are out there having fun and making dollars.

Losing 100 straight matches on WWE TV beats what plenty of folks in the audience do for a living.