[Johnny Sweatpants]

So Alex Riley joined in on commentary during the (pretty decent) Miz/Bryan match this past RAW. I thought Riley did very well despite being dissed by both Cole and Matthews. Urdnot Wrex has been predicting A-RI's release ever since his DUI and Riley is constantly mocked on this forum for his botches. Personally I can't see them squandering his potential - he looks and sounds good on TV. However, Cole's subtle jabs have me worried.

Perhaps (likely) I'm overanalyzing this but when Cole said to Riley "Miz has had a wonderful week, I understand, here in Hollywood and Los Angeles. You've been carrying his bags all over the place as Miz has been auditioning for a lot of movie roles."

Riley took it gracefully - "Yeah, I take his bags, I learn when I can and I help to contribute in any way" etc. Matthews calls him a butler, Riley fires back that Josh is Cole's butler and then there is some awkward silence. I guess my question is why does Cole dis Riley? It makes no sense kayfabe wise (they're both all about Miz.)

He's done a great job at the role he's been given - lackey that gets his ass kicked to save his mentor, but I don't see why he's not given even a slight push. Feed him frickin' Yoshi Tatsu or Curt Hawkins but for fuck's sake, give him a shred of credibility!

The Rock's epic return had me thinking about who among the current roster, if given the opportunity, could one day match his trash talking skills? Riley and Punk (and of course Jericho) top the list.

 

[Magic]

I don't know if he is staying or going after his role with Miz is done, but I'm hoping he stays, gets a big push, and feuds with Miz. He can't do much more wrong if he wants to stay though, he is on a very short leash.

 

[NasJayz]

I can't see him staying for much longer. Unless they keep him as a joke and have him be a jobber.

 

[Finallllly.I.Have]

If he doesn't fuck up anymore then he might get a push.

 

[Johnny Sweatpants]

I can't see him staying for much longer. Unless they keep him as a joke and have him be a jobber.

Holy crap, Kate Hudson is beautiful.

Anyway I'm baffled because although Riley's credibility is being damaged by playing the walking punching bag role, he's getting significant time on TV and on the mic.

 

[mrwrestling]

To me Riley has Star Quality, not a Main Eventer but a solid Midcarder that could be on the scene for quite a few years. It's a shame that most sidekicks get devalued, then given the sink or swim.

O...why is he still carrying the briefcase around? I'm sure I missed this explained at some point.

 

[jasonviyavong]

I thought he was going to like attack Bryan afterwards to set up a legit mid card feud on RAW but nope they blew it again

 

[Kratosx23]

The thing you have to understand is that, in Cole's stupid, Miz obsessed world, he's NOT insulting Riley. He actually considers it a compliment to call him a bag carrier or whatever, so these so called "jabs" you're talking about aren't really meant to be jabs. At least not from the character, Michael Cole's perspective. Matthews insulted him but that's his job as the face.

But yeah, like the OP said, I see no future for him whatsoever. I'm gonna be predicting his release until it happens. He's too good to get fired, but that won't matter.

 

[Amsterdam]

He's here to stay as long as he dosen't get get another DUI.

 

[MOBELS]

He's here to stay as long as he dosen't get get another DUI.

This. Hopefully after he's done being Miz's bitch he can actually get a push.

 

[TheEliteOne]

Kaval won and hes gone
Riley lost and he gets main event air time

 

[Johnny Sweatpants]

The thing you have to understand is that, in Cole's stupid, Miz obsessed world, he's NOT insulting Riley. He actually considers it a compliment to call him a bag carrier or whatever, so these so called "jabs" you're talking about aren't really meant to be jabs. At least not from the character, Michael Cole's perspective. Matthews insulted him but that's his job as the face.

But yeah, like the OP said, I see no future for him whatsoever. I'm gonna be predicting his release until it happens. He's too good to get fired, but that won't matter.

Ok I'm satisfied with that Cole explanation. Makes sense.

Still, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Alex Riley is going to get his shit together. Once he's let off the leash and given the opportunity to improvise on the mic, he'll earn a place in the main event (2 years from now). He also has size and charisma going for him and his ring skills are more than adequate. So if I'm wrong and Riley's released, you can say "told you so" but if I'm right then everything's just great.

 

[Acchan]

A-Ri is actually better wrestler than The Miz. He just botches too many times but that can fix in the future since his role is not that important yet. So I choose him to stay.

 

[Shazayum]

So Alex Riley joined in on commentary during the (pretty decent) Miz/Bryan match this past RAW. I thought Riley did very well despite being dissed by both Cole and Matthews. Urdnot Wrex has been predicting A-RI's release ever since his DUI and Riley is constantly mocked on this forum for his botches. Personally I can't see them squandering his potential - he looks and sounds good on TV. However, Cole's subtle jabs have me worried.

Perhaps (likely) I'm overanalyzing this but when Cole said to Riley "Miz has had a wonderful week, I understand, here in Hollywood and Los Angeles. You've been carrying his bags all over the place as Miz has been auditioning for a lot of movie roles."

Riley took it gracefully - "Yeah, I take his bags, I learn when I can and I help to contribute in any way" etc. Matthews calls him a butler, Riley fires back that Josh is Cole's butler and then there is some awkward silence. I guess my question is why does Cole dis Riley? It makes no sense kayfabe wise (they're both all about Miz.)

He's done a great job at the role he's been given - lackey that gets his ass kicked to save his mentor, but I don't see why he's not given even a slight push. Feed him frickin' Yoshi Tatsu or Curt Hawkins but for fuck's sake, give him a shred of credibility!

The Rock's epic return had me thinking about who among the current roster, if given the opportunity, could one day match his trash talking skills? Riley and Punk (and of course Jericho) top the list.

I would freakin love a Riley/Rock verbal battle. Riley's such a freakin natural.

 

[Prospekt's March]

I think he will stay, WWE might actually like him a lot despite his amateur mistakes. But i think he won't get pushed to the top if he breaks his partnership with Miz, the Raw ME is already set with Punk and Miz as the top heels with Sheamus maybe taking the top spot every once in awhile. And the top babyface slots of course will be taken by Orton and Cena, and John Morrison maybe will still be the third biggest babyface on the brand. If Riley does get a push, it will probably be US title push at best.

 

[DrEndlessDennis]

Riley cuts a promo at house shows all the time explaining what a "personal services" contract is - he gets his bags, he keeps his diet in check, he does the Miz's laundry and I QUOTE "I even fold this mans UNDERWEAR... and I LIKE IT!" (he really said he likes it haha) - so what Cole is referring to is Riley's storyline. It's not a diss at all.

 

[DaGhost]

So Alex Riley joined in on commentary during the (pretty decent) Miz/Bryan match this past RAW. I thought Riley did very well despite being dissed by both Cole and Matthews. Urdnot Wrex has been predicting A-RI's release ever since his DUI and Riley is constantly mocked on this forum for his botches. Personally I can't see them squandering his potential - he looks and sounds good on TV. However, Cole's subtle jabs have me worried.

Perhaps (likely) I'm overanalyzing this but when Cole said to Riley "Miz has had a wonderful week, I understand, here in Hollywood and Los Angeles. You've been carrying his bags all over the place as Miz has been auditioning for a lot of movie roles."

Riley took it gracefully - "Yeah, I take his bags, I learn when I can and I help to contribute in any way" etc. Matthews calls him a butler, Riley fires back that Josh is Cole's butler and then there is some awkward silence. I guess my question is why does Cole dis Riley? It makes no sense kayfabe wise (they're both all about Miz.)

He's done a great job at the role he's been given - lackey that gets his ass kicked to save his mentor, but I don't see why he's not given even a slight push. Feed him frickin' Yoshi Tatsu or Curt Hawkins but for fuck's sake, give him a shred of credibility!

The Rock's epic return had me thinking about who among the current roster, if given the opportunity, could one day match his trash talking skills? Riley and Punk (and of course Jericho) top the list.

Simply put(something like 2% of this forum understands) Cole is always talking in character. His character promotes the Mizz and everything the Mizz touches as awesome. Riley gets to handle the mizz's bags and thats a privilege for Cole's character. The fact that he explicitly says it lets you know that Cole is in character as is Alex Riley.

As far as the man himself, minus a few botches he is purposefully being held down. If Riley was to start wrestling and looking decent in the ring, it would undermine the Mizz. Rather than have Riley go through the standard Nexus ringer, they have him look like the Mizz's lackey which lends credibility to the Mizz as a heel, even if its one who cannot win on his own merits. Its nothing new in terms of wrestling which amazes me when people cant grasp the simple concepts at hand here. DB jobbed hard body for his entire NXT and Raw debuts. Its par for the course of making these guys look like rookies when they really aren't (and probably has to do with why Kaval left so early).

The Mizz Riley dynamic is so great, i really cant understand why people dislike it. They are essentially the male versions of LayCool, aka quintessential weak alone but strong together evil duo. Their mic work is great and they have decent matches. Riley will get into position to move in on the US title and thats when you will see him start to do his actual work, for now its jobbing and making the Mizz a cowardly but successful champion.

 

[Amsterdam]

Simply put(something like 2% of this forum understands) Cole is always talking in character. His character promotes the Mizz and everything the Mizz touches as awesome. Riley gets to handle the mizz's bags and thats a privilege for Cole's character. The fact that he explicitly says it lets you know that Cole is in character as is Alex Riley.

As far as the man himself, minus a few botches he is purposefully being held down. If Riley was to start wrestling and looking decent in the ring, it would undermine the Mizz. Rather than have Riley go through the standard Nexus ringer, they have him look like the Mizz's lackey which lends credibility to the Mizz as a heel, even if its one who cannot win on his own merits. Its nothing new in terms of wrestling which amazes me when people cant grasp the simple concepts at hand here. DB jobbed hard body for his entire NXT and Raw debuts. Its par for the course of making these guys look like rookies when they really aren't (and probably has to do with why Kaval left so early).

The Mizz Riley dynamic is so great, i really cant understand why people dislike it. They are essentially the male versions of LayCool, aka quintessential weak alone but strong together evil duo. Their mic work is great and they have decent matches. Riley will get into position to move in on the US title and thats when you will see him start to do his actual work, for now its jobbing and making the Mizz a cowardly but successful champion.

M-I-Z, but I agree.