I write a professional wrestling column every Monday and Friday for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It can be found online at TribLIVE.com.
Today, I wrote about how Damien Sandow is a victim in WWE. The following is an excerpt:
In the entertainment world of WWE, nobody is safe. Damien Sandow is a perfect example.
Here's a guy who is a veteran to the business. Most don't realize this. It seems a majority of fans measure his career history only by the character he plays now. Most are unaware or vaguely remember his previous ring names, much less know it was him who played them.
Sandow got to WWE in 2002 when Ohio Valley Wrestling was the developmental territory. He then got to SmackDown television by 2006 as Idol Stevens, your typical pretty boy. He was released in 2007. He eventually would be rehired to create this intellectual savior of the masses persona.
It's amazing what a bathrobe and a thick beard can do to an appearance. Sandow has pulled off a tough character.
The most challenging aspect is portraying a guy with an exceptional IQ, there's no margin for error in his speech. He can't say the wrong word, he can't trip over his words and he can't have any hesitation when he needs to sound confident. In all of the promotions he's cut — and there are a lot of them — I've never heard the Sandow character falter. That's a huge accomplishment that most don't even realize because it comes off so naturally.
Where did things go wrong? One minute he's primed to be the next champion and the next he's barely seen on television.
Click here to find out what went wrong and how Sandow became the victim in WWE.
