WWE's Unneeded Returns

We're now half way through the year and I feel that things are looking up in the WWE. There was great pessimism at the start of the year when CM Punk's 434 day WWE title reign came to an end at the hands of The Rock. This set in motion the predictable dropping of the title back to John Cena at Wrestlemania 29.

Since this took place, The Rock inevitably left (along with fellow part-timers; some staying and taking up a 'lesser' role) and the need for new challengers and new main eventers returned to being a priority in WWE.

In the WWE title picture, Ryback turned heel and had an 'ok' feud with John Cena which turned into a nice couple of wins for Cena and a 'back to the drawing board' position for Ryback. Great. After an Oscar winning performance from Mark Henry a couple of weeks ago, we now have a new dominant force to try and pry the WWE Championship from Cena's hands. I think we can all hope that Henry gets somewhere at this attempt but all roads seem to point towards Daniel Bryan having the best summer of everyone. He's red-hot at the moment so why not go with that direction?

Could this be the Summer of Daniel Bryan?

The World Heavyweight title picture has also changed. Jack Swagger had his opportunity at Wrestlemania before Dolph Ziggler finally cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on an injured Alberto Del Rio. The subsequent Ziggler-concussion brought about a new way forward - the pay off being the double-turn at the Payback pay-per-view which saw babyface Del Rio use brutal head shots and kicks to win the title however he needed to - drawing negative responses from the live audience as well as TV viewers around the world. It also caused a sympathetic reaction for Ziggler. A heel promo a little later in the show confirmed Del Rio's new underhanded ways and garnered even more sympathy for the new fallen hero Ziggler.

Just below the Cenas, Henrys, Del Rios and Zigglers are a fine cast of up-and-comers. Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Fandango and The Shield members are all making strides towards the top just lately. So this brings me to the title of this piece - the somewhat unneeded returns:

Rob Van Dam is set to return to WWE at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and has been thrust into an opportunity at the WWE Championship. Well, that's fair, right? I realise that RVD = excitement from some and possibly an influx of cash from older fans of his, but I don't get the long-term thinking here?

Rob Van Dam

I firmly believe that given a couple of months the nostalgia will disappear completely and he'll just be another face - an older, worn face - amongst younger guys that have done well without him. Will it really matter or help anyone to get wins against a lazy looking, 40-something, stoner-dude wannabe? I think that it would be a lot more helpful to let the up-and-comers get wins over the Sheamus' and Ortons of the world. They're the wins that make new stars.

I suppose that it doesn't help that I have never been an RVD fan. I've never understood the appeal. When he arrived on the scene (in WWE) in the Invasion angle of 2001 it was exciting for the old ECW fans and anyone that remembered his daredevil antics in the Land of the Extreme. For me, it only took a couple of years before I'd seen everything that he had to offer. I'd go as far to say that I class him in the same category as Jeff Hardy - both willing to risk paralysis to entertain; flying around the ring; but that's all they bring. RVD should thank WWE for the 'One Night Only' pay-per-view as this was his crowning glory in WWE; pinning John Cena to capture his only WWE Championship. He was suspended shortly after this thus proving that he may have been a popular choice for champion, but ultimately, he was a lazy one, too.

Anyway, enough RVD bashing.

The most recent return is that of Christian. Much like the Van Dam return, Christian is another old face amongst younger guys that have simply surpassed him. By no means am I knocking his talents, but he has ALWAYS been in the shadow of 'brother' Edge. That's a huge shame but the nature of successful tag teams; for every Shawn, Edge or Jeff there needs to be a Marty, Christian or Matt.

Christian with the ENORMOUS ECW title belt

Christian has been a very successful tag team specialist; winning the tag titles nine times (seven times with Edge). He was also a good mid-card wrestler throughout the 2000s. He even had a stint in TNA - becoming a "World" Champion in the process. This accomplishment was put into context when he returned to the WWE only to win the third-tier heavyweight title - the ECW Championship. Know your role, Christian. The World Heavyweight title runs in 2011 were a joke to me as WWE had lost Edge to retirement and it seemed to be a favour to him to allow Christian to hold the belt.

So onto the latest return of Captain Charisma. I'm not sure how true it is but apparently he's been cleared to wrestle for a few months now but has only just made his TV return; why? was it really that difficult to find something for him?

The 'Allstar' MITB match participants

It appears that he is in a similar role to Chris Jericho; enhancing the future. He's also in the WWE Money in the Bank match at the next pay-per-view. I just can't help but feel that within the next couple of months both he and Van Dam won't really be needed or cared about. The nostalgia of Van Dam will die off and Christian's return has already fallen flat with me in as little as a couple of weeks.

Sorry gentlemen, but I feel there's enough guys about to put younger talent over, so, I hate to paraphrase John Cena but 'your time has gone; their time is now'.

@jimmosangle