Tag: states

On this past episode of Smackdown Live, we saw Mojo Rawley take on Jinder Mahal yet again on WWE programming. It was under different circumstances with Mahal being WWE champion and Mojo fighting for a chance to be in the Money in the Bank ladder match. This match was match after Mojo told Shane McMahon he wanted more opportunities on Smackdown Live. Mojo put up one great fight but failed to come away with the victory.

We fast forward to Talking Smack and Mojo is one of the guests. Instead of sitting there whining and complaining, he owned up to the lost and gave repeated thanks to Shane for the opportunity. This whole stint may not mean anything to most of you, but it spoke something to me. I could be wrong here but I do believe this was the start of the big babyface push for Mojo Rawley.

Mojo Rawley is a superstar that is easy to love. He runs around all the time on his unlimited supply of energy, he hits hard, and he loves to have fun. He’s always been an exceptional talent that had his run stalled due to Zack Ryder getting injured. After that, we started seeing Mojo back in singles competition again. He would lose more than he would win, but you left the match feeling entertained by him. Then Wrestlemania comes along and the unthinkable happened when Mojo won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Sure he had help for Rob Gronkowski, but Mojo worked his tail off in that match and earned the victory.

Things were looking up for Mojo, until we recently stopped looking at him on our television sets. It’s like he vanished from the program. He recently showed on this past Tuesday, and there has to be a reason. We thought things were looking up for Mojo before, but this may only be the beginning. Heck with Mahal winning the WWE Championship, anyone is capable of winning some gold.

His actions on Talking Smack seemed like phase one in this plan. Although he failed to capture a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match, big things are on the horizon for Mojo.

Sooner or later Mojo will get an opportunity at the United States Championship. Owens looks to feud with Nakamura for the time being, but he will need a new challenger after that is over with. A battle royal could be held to determine a number one contender, with Rawley coming out victorious. This would set up Rawley vs Owens for the title.

Owens won’t hold on to that title forever. Eventually he’s going to challenge for the WWE Championship. We saw with his run as Universal Champion that he can be a great heel champion. So he’s going to get a run as the top heel on Smackdown Live sometime soon. This works well for Mojo because he can be the one that swoops in and takes the United States Championship.  It’d be the first championship for Mojo, and what a celebration it will be.

The babyface push for Mojo seems to be beginning on a high note. If the crowd can stay behind him and help uplift him, then Mojo will receive all the opportunities he wants on Smackdown Live. When your moniker is “the land of opportunity”, you have to push new talent. The good thing is Mojo can be a special kind of talent and shoot up the ranks quick like Mahal did. Expect big things from Rawley, cause the hype train isn’t stopping anytime soon.