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It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that Bo Dallas was one of the show stealers at Royal Rumble 2013. Entering the royal rumble match at number 16, Bo Dallas caught the attention of many, lasting nearly 20 minutes and eliminating the Intercontinental Champion, Wade Barrett. This is nothing short of a dream debut. A feud with Wade Barrett beckoning, Bo Dallas will soon carve a niche for himself in the main roster of WWE. So, who is Bo Dallas?
The Rotundas’
Bo Dallas (Real Name: Taylor Rotunda) is a third generation wrestler. His grandfather, Blackjack Mulligan, is a WWE Hall of famer (Class of 2006). His father ‘I.R.S.’ Mike Rotunda and Uncles Barry and Kendall Windham were also popular wrestlers in the WWE. His brother Windham Rotunda is also a WWE wrestler and was a part of the WWE main roster with the name Husky Harris as a member of the Nexus. Windham currently wrestles in the WWE with the ringname Bray Wyatt.
Bo Dallas(L) with his father ‘IRS’ Mike Rotunda(C) and brother Bray Wyatt
The journey so far
Aged 22, 6.1 foot tall and weighing 225 pounds, Bo Dallas has been a part of WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) for the past 5 years. He is a three time FCW Heavyweight champion and two time FCW tag team champion. Last year, he debuted in NXT as a babyface. He earned his spot in the Royal Rumble match by winning a 8 man tournament involving NXT wrestlers at the Royal Rumble fan fest.
The Royal Rumble experience
In the Royal Rumble match, Bo Dallas entered at number 16 with plenty of superstars like Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler still in the match. He managed to survive nearly 20 minutes and accounted for the elimination of Wade Barrett – who was billed to be one of the favorites to win the match. However, he did not last long after Wade Barrett’s elimination as Barrett pulled him from the apron from ringside, causing him to come crashing down on the floor. Barrett also gave him a souvenir – his ‘Bull hammer elbow’ to knock him down. Nonetheless, the spotlight was clearly on Dallas during his credible stint in the match. Though this might sound premature, there may be plans of a full fledged feud between Barrett and Bo Dallas in the days to come.
Bo Dallas – The Wrestler
His wrestling lineage might have got him a WWE contract but Bo Dallas is a proven wrestler. He has paid his dues in the developmental territory. He, along with his brother Bray Wyatt(real name: Windham Rotunda), had a good run as a tag-team. Bo Dallas has the spear as his finishing move. He also used moves such as the atomic drop and running elbow smash during his matches. He has been involved in several good matches in FCW and NXT. Watch a couple of them to see his in-ring potential:
The road ahead
Now that he has been noticed in his debut, Bo Dallas has the potential to rise to the top of the main roster like Randy Orton. Bo Dallas is just 22 and WWE has enough time to give shape to his character. He has debuted as a babyface and will be involved in mid-card matches for while. He is likely to be a part of the Smackdown roster although it doesn’t matter much these days. The only thing that will prevent him from fulfilling his potential is when WWE does not invest properly in his characterization and loses patience if he does not get over with the crowd. This is what happened to his brother Windham Rotunda who spent a short time in the main roster as Husky Harris and was scrapped for repacking. Let’s hope Bo Dallas doesn’t suffer the same fate.
