Damien Sandow - How far can he go?

[Stopspot]

Since debuting in 2012. Damian Sandow of the Smackdown roster has become a staple of the WWE. He's booked on most shows in some capacity and is working well in his current role, getting heat and working and interesting and entertaining character and gimmick. Despite not holding a title yet it is quite easy to see that this second run is working much better for the man who in real life is known as Aaron Steven Haddad (his parents are Lebanese) than his original run with the company from 2002-2006.

But how far can Sandow get? Where is the so called glass ceiling? Will Damian be able to rise to main event status the way that he is, or will he have to take a road similar to another wrestler who worked the gimmick of a well educated, upper class citizen looking down at the common folk (Triple H) for him to rise to the main event in the future?

I like Sandow and hope he does well. I just wonder what the rest of you think. What are his limits and what has to be done for him to get to the main event if he can?

 

[seabs]

How far could the performer go? As a talent solely he's an upper midcard gate keeper, he's good across the board but not outstanding at anything. Rank C

How far could the character go? It's main event every day baby, he's got great potential as the annoying heel who's always right, it's an old school style gimmick but I dig it.

Now the biggie, how far will the WWE let him go? Midcard only, they couldn't book a character as complex as Damien it seems, you just have to be the scared bad guy or the heroic good guy, Damien needs to be a cunning decietful villain of a major piece, not running away from a fight unless your back is turned. Let him take shortcuts sure but also use his intelligence to atogonize people into a mistake.

 

[Lockard 23]

Only time will tell. He's one guy I think will definitely be a big star for many years to come. It's even said that Vince is "high" on him, although that usually turns out to be bad luck (Koslov, Ryback, etc.) I don't think his intellectual gimmick can last forever if he hopes to rise to the top. I've always made the HHH comparison in that he'll drop it and become a much more versatile wrestler and persona. He can probably milk this gimmick for awhile, though.

I just looked up a picture of him as Idol Stevens and I think he has an awesome look even without the beard and stuff.

 

[Cloud]

Upper midcard imo. I like the guy hugely entertaining but I dont and cant picture him having a long WWE or WHC title reign. As is mentioned hes good but hasnt got that greatness required. Although with WWE that doesnt always matter.

 

[Roi]

My honest opinion of him is that so far I don't really have an opinion of him. We've seen him march out and proclaim that he's not going to wrestle a few times, and we've seen him beat up a jobber once or twice. The trouble is that we've seen similar things with so many new heels the WWE wants to push over the years that it's difficult to get excited about them when they aren't physical monsters. Damien Sandow just looks pretty much like any other guy.

And I just don't really like the whole "intellectual bad guy" gimmick that much to begin with. Like you said, the WWE is already stock full of cocky bad guys who think they're the greatest. It's become such a generic schtick that you need a ton of charisma to be able to make it work. We haven't seen anything remotely like that from Sandow yet. Sure, he obviously has some skill on the microphone, but I agree wholeheartedly when you say that it just sound like he read a very rehearsed promo right before he came out. Plus, those types of characters rarely progress beyond the mid-card in the WWE.

 

[GeeTeaIye]

Entertaining gimmick (better than Hunter Hearst Helmsley Imho), great inring talent, he has the look, so why not go all the way?

 

[PSachkovsky]

As been pointed out, it's still to early to put predictions. Only time will tell, and it will depend on the direction WWE takes him. If he is used right, he can go to distance and I can really see a multi-time World Heavyweight Champion in him, but if he gets used horribly, and become someone like Santino Marella, well, what can I say? Lower-Midcard for life...

 

[Danielson]

He will win the Wolrd Heavyweight title. I expect good runs from him & Cesaro at one point.

 

[Swift]

WHC at best. I love Sandow, but I don't really see him being one of the top echelon stars. He'll still continue to be one of the most entertaining though. :sandow:

 

[Leo C]

Oh, he has the potential to be a main eventer. His gimmick is perfect and he has enough talent on the mic and in the ring to go far.