8 Times WWE Dropped The Ball With Alex Riley
7. Not Becoming A Regular On SmackDown Commentary
Alex Riley recently admitted on "The Ross Report" that, although he enjoyed his stint as an announcer, he belonged in the ring. Truth be told, commentary was a fitting role for him considering his father was a broadcaster and he had always been a talented talker. Besides, he was hardly doing anything of note when he transitioned to the booth in mid-2013. It was worth a shot.
He quickly developed chemistry alongside Josh Mathews on Superstars and eventually called the action on NXT. In fact, he called one episode of SmackDown with Michael Cole in August, which should have been his opportunity to move up to the main roster as a colour commentator. After all, by that point, Cole and JBL were essentially on every show, and SmackDown was "Raw lite" at the time, so having Riley replace JBL would have added a fresh feel to the blue brand.
As time progressed, Riley became more and more obnoxious as an announcer as a result of his heel tendencies, so his in-ring return couldn't have come at a better time.
But perhaps his time spent as an analyst could have been more enjoyable, if he was given more of a chance to shine on a bigger platform.