The Many Faces of Damien Sandow

Sandow meets DX at Raw 1000
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Like many fans,  I thought when Damien Sandow was beaten up by the reuniting Degeneration X members on Raw 1000 it would be the start of something big for his somewhat stagnant status in WWE.  I think it's fair to say that the moment did help him gain exposure and lead to a relatively successful, but short stint as a tag team with Cody Rhodes.

Team Rhodes Scholars
Photo courtesy: WWE

When Team Rhodes Scholars first formed, I was less than impressed, but the duo really grew on me and I had hoped they'd get a run as the tag team champions.  But as it seems to be the norm, many teams end up fizzling out and the participants feud briefly before fading away in the sunset.  I didn't want to see that happen to either Sandow or Rhodes, and when Damien won the 2013 Money in the Bank, I thought for sure we had a future WWE Heavyweight Champion on our hands.  I don't need to review the tapes for you to know that's not what happened.

Sandow as Vince McMahon
Photo courtesy: WWE

Fast forward to present day and Sandow has been taking on a different persona each week when he comes out to wrestle.  He's been everyone from Abe Lincoln to Bret Hart to the WWE boss Vince McMahon himself.  None of these characters has earned him a victory on TV, but the key here is it's earned him time on TV.  He's in front of the fans each week.  And quite honestly, I'm entertained by it.

Let's face facts, especially now that the company is making big cuts across the board, not everyone on the roster is going to be in the main event or even win a title.  Sure at some point this may all lead to something big for Sandow, but the realist in me has stopped looking at each gimmick and storyline wondering when it's going to lead to a guy's big break (see Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, and Tyson Kidd).  The bottom line is, it's not going to happen for everyone, and despite his talent, I don't think Sandow will be adding any gold to his waist anytime soon.

That's perfectly acceptable too.  In the 80's we had many greats like Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Paul Orndorff, and Junkyard Dog go without any title runs.  Then something happened during the Attitude Era and beyond when it seems like EVERYONE won gold at some point, whether it was the European Title, Hardcore Championship, or Tag Team titles.  As fans, I think we've been reconditioned to expect everyone at some point is going to win a championship, but unfortunately for the most part titles these days are merely props on the show.  That's a blog for another day though...