Several Superstars have stood to benefit from the return of WWE's Brand Split earlier this summer, as it has presented a number of names with opportunities to break out on their own in the absence of others. AJ Styles has since become the WWE World champion, Becky Lynch has ruled SmackDown's women's division, and even Darren Young and Titus O'Neil are getting more television time than they ever were before (despite how atrocious their current feud is).
Jobbers have been no exception to this as well. After many months away from WWE TV, Bo Dallas recently resurfaced on Raw, carrying a sign that read “Bo-lieve in Bo” down to the ring with him before promptly squashing a local athlete.
He seemed to have a new aggressiveness about him, which is the complete opposite from what we've been accustomed to seeing from him throughout his tenure in WWE.
In fact, the last we saw of Dallas on the flagship show, he was parading around with the rest of The Social Outcasts, Heath Slater and Curtis Axel. They were an entertaining tandem, but it was obvious that they were never meant to be anything more than an undercard comedy act.
Regardless, Dallas thrived in the role simply because his humor has always been universally appealing for audiences, whether he's been escorted out of Full Sail University by security or spitting rhymes with Flo Rida on Raw.
But did WWE miss their prime opportunity to push Bo Dallas two years ago when he initially arrived on the WWE scene?
Sqaushed opportunity
It was unknown how well Dallas would transition to the main roster when he made the move from NXT to Raw shortly following WrestleMania 30. The primary reason he was such a brilliant heel down in developmental was because he started out as a cheesy heel, and over time, he morphed into that role and incorporated the boos into his character.
He was completely oblivious to the negative reaction he was receiving from the audience, and during his lengthy run as NXT Champion, fans desperately wanted to see him get beat for the belt.
Without any prior background, Dallas was doomed to fail on the main roster when he was called up in the spring of 2014, but he somehow managed to make it work by embarking on an undefeated streak in singles competition.
Following each victory, he would trot around the ring and proclaim himself two and “Bo,” and this continued for weeks on end. It even got to a point where fans were bringing signs to shows in support of Dallas, and his quick triumphs became a weekly highlight on Raw.
But as with anything that starts to gain traction on its own, WWE cut his hot momentum short by having him suffer his premier defeat to R-Truth in late July and failed to follow up on it properly.
From there, the third-generation star became just another enhancement talent.
The revival
In the two years since then, WWE has done next to nothing with Dallas. It appeared on a few different occasions that they were serious about prominently featuring him again, specifically when they placed him a program with longtime rival Neville in the spring of 2015, but it all amounted to nothing.
That said, it will definitely be difficult for fans to start to take him seriously again if they ever took him seriously, to begin with. The extra edge that has been added to his character in recent weeks is certainly refreshing, but he flourished as a comedy character because he was never the greatest in-ring technician.
His entertaining antics helped hide his weaknesses, and while these short squashes from the last two episodes of Raw have kept him limited, how long will it last before he has to start working real wrestling matches again?
On the bright side, Dallas is a relatively fresh face only having debuted in 2014, but he it feels like he's been here for a lot longer. There is also a “been there, done that” vibe with him, and there are plenty of other people including Neville and Sami Zayn that WWE should be focusing on before Dallas.
It is funny to consider it was only after getting intoxicated in an airport and subsequently arrested that Dallas returned to Raw. Perhaps Vince McMahon forgot he remained under contract to the company until the incident occurred.
In all seriousness, there aren't many potential paths for Dallas to take in the foreseeable future. He shouldn't be beating the likes of Zayn and Neville, and he's already faced off against the likes of Jack Swagger and Sin Cara a million times before.
The need of the hour
Once the short-lived squashes run their course, who can he possibly be paired with? He never ceases to make viewers laugh, but as long as he showcases his serious side, there are few feuds he can be involved in at the moment that would be interesting.
I always thought a lighthearted feud with John Cena would be a blast given he was almost the NXT version of him as the obnoxiously campy face, but of course, that isn't plausible with the two on separate brands.
Beyond that, it's hard to imagine Dallas taking part in anything noteworthy, which is why I question WWE's renewed emphasis on him. He has yet to make a “bo-liever” out of me, but time will tell with the former NXT champion.
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