He Was Better Than Bryan Danielson... And Now He's Long Forgotten

The Miz Alex Riley WWE Title
WWE.com

Again, this was nothing great, nothing that would make the fans reach out to him and touch the TV set, but under the circumstances, he once again underscored his credentials. The booming cadence, quick-thinking, the absolute inability to be fazed: if WWE didn't have a megastar on their hands, they certainly had a top prospect.

Rivalled only by Percy Watson, who WWE really could have maximised more as a fun undercard attraction, Riley was destined for big things. Paired as the Miz's sidekick/heater on the main roster, he was all over TV in an entertaining and effective double act. He was going to be a big star.

In 2023, years after becoming a punchline, he is irrelevant. Forgotten entirely.

So what happened?

WWE happened, to a degree. Vince McMahon was an atrocious booker by the early 2010s. He wasn't merely incompetent, but actively stupid and destructive. Of many terrible habits he had developed, he became fond of splitting up good acts for no reason whatsoever. Think Vince Russo-level swerves, only the idea was actually decent to begin with. Riley - after several losses - turned on the Miz in 2011 after a process so stop/start that fans had lost interest by the time it happened. He played babyface in their eventual programme. He wasn't a natural in the role. He was smug, uncanny with his crowd appeals, and though he won their PPV match at Capitol Punishment, it was tedious in the extreme. The action was generic. The heat was nonexistent. It embodied the description of a "nothing match".

Riley wasn't blameless. He peaked as a brash upstart, in truth. He was a one-dimensional performer. Much as the star-making system was broken, a committed push probably wouldn't have helped. Showing minimal in-ring progress at best, that Capitol Punishment match was the end of him. WWE had already lost faith at that year's Royal Rumble. Riley was supposed to eliminate John Cena from the titular match - a huge deal at that time - but he accidentally eliminated himself first. One way of putting it is that Riley was so good at promoting himself that WWE didn't realise how green he really was when it mattered most.

CONT'D...(4 of 5)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!