Smark Out Moment

The NXT Championship, despite its brief existence, already has excellent prestige due to the first two champions (Seth Rollins and Big E Langston) going on to become important players on the main roster with great potential for the future. But when Bo Dallas hit a horribly weak-looking Belly-to-Belly Suplex on Langston to become the third NXT Champion, the Full Sail University crowd reacted by turning their backs to the ring in almost complete silence.

Dallas had been pushed as an underdog babyface—the John Cena of NXT—but he had been completely rejected by the audience and was getting the kind of reactions that had only previously existed in X-Pac's worst nightmares. Chants of 'No More Bo!' and 'Drop the Title!' have been commonplace in his matches, yet Dallas remains the champion. Some would consider this a massive mistake for a show that is usually so awesome, but there is a case that Bo legitimately deserves this run as champion, which is now the longest of all three NXT Champions so far. So should we all be Bo-lievers, or is it time for No More Bo? In this article, we will look at the pros, cons, upsides and downsides and potential future of the NXT Champion on the main roster.

One upside for Bo is that, despite his youth, he is experienced in the 'WWE style' of pro wrestling, having been under contract since 2008. He was just 18 when he got signed, in no small part thanks to his Rotunda/Windham family links, but has his 6 years of experience led to a regularly high match quality?

Well, kind of. Dallas has had some decent matches on NXT, especially recently against Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville, but he's also had a few stinkers. A match that sticks out in my mind is his match against Wade Barrett (remember when he had a normal name?) for the Intercontinental Championship, where Bo managed to botch falling over. Really. That was also the match where the Full Sail crowd finally completely turned on Bo, making one of the loudest pops in NXT's run when Barrett Bull-Hammered Bo out of any potential babyface run. The crowd's utter hatred of Bo got through to NXT's writers, who began to subtlely change his character to an arrogant, disingenuous heel. The Evolution of Bo Dallas had begun.

He even botched holding the belt.

After he turned fully heel in the summer, I began to properly enjoy Bo's work for the first time. His matches have remained 'above average' at best, but his mic work as a heel has been outstanding. He managed to transform from a charisma-vacuum happy-go-lucky kid into a smarmy bastard, so full of himself to realise just how much everyone hates him. The NXT writers obviously have to be commended for making this change so natural and effective, and the NXT crowd's pre-existing hatred for Bo helps a lot, but the man just makes this character work so well. Every single promo he's had since the change has made me legitimately want to see him get taken down a few dozen pegs, which is exactly what a heel is meant to do; make the crowd despise him. Bo Dallas is very good at doing this. He certianly helped Sami Zayn become as poular as he is now during their feud, because people wanted to rally behind someone who could take down Bo. I've heard Vince McMahon 'doesn't believe' in faces and heels anymore, but if they brought Bo up to the main roster with his current character and put him in a mid-card feud, people would definately want to see a Tyson Kidd or Xavier Woods smash Bo's face in a little bit.


And while we're on the subject; THAT FACE. I'm in no position to judge anyone's physical attractiveness, but if you saw that face in your bedroom window at night, you would not be able to sleep for a week. It looks like something from a creepy clown's nightmare. There's nothing particularly wrong with this as a heel, in fact it's just another tool he can use to garner heat. But it does hurt any potential babyface turn down the line, because it's very difficult to support someone who looks like he's trying to sell you snake oil when he smiles.

The Face of Bo	The Face of Boe

So, bottom line (because Stone Cold said so), does Bo Dallas have a future on the main WWE roster? If you'd asked me about 9 months ago, I would have answered with either one of the Darth Vader or Calculon 'NOOOOOO!' YouTube clips, but since his great work as a heel, he has changed my opinion. If given the right material to work with, Dallas could have a good career as a mid-card heel with some memorable feuds and promos. But I don't see Bo as having main event potential, unlike his brother, Bray Wyatt, who is primed for a huge 2014. At 23 years old, Bo is still young, but he hasn't shown any signs of in-ring excellence despite his prominent role on NXT, and his rather generic look combined with that creepy face means that I can't see him ever headlining Battleground, let alone WrestleMania. But I would have said similar things about 'Husky Harris', and look at that guy now... All signs point to Bo needing some more seasoning in NXT before he can be considered for a main roster call-up. But don't stop Bo-lieving, because Bo Dallas definately has potential for a spot on RAW.

40% of fans can't be wrong, can they?