The Band......... Baby!

So obviously a recent development on Raw and Smackdown that has excited me immensely is the formation of The Band, featuring Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal and seemingly on lead vocals, the one and only Heath Slater. So far asserting their newfound status as a stable by jumping Brodus Clay and Santino Marella then taking the mic to cut over-excited, hilariously disjointed promos in the style Slater made his own during his Legends run, I wonder what direction The Band are heading in?

McIntyre, Mahal and Slater are three talented wrestlers, underused on the main roster due to what I can only assume is their lack of mic skills, which in turn has left each of their characters languishing. But together, already seeming to set their stall out as a mis-matched group of outsiders, and poking fun at their own mic skills, I think they've found their character and have got a heap of potential as an anticipated weekly feature on the Raw and Smackdown cards.

With the revitalised tag division beginning to flourish in the WWE, perhaps this is the division for Mahal and McIntyre to target, with Slater on the outside as a bawling hype man in a similar vein to what AW was to the Prime Time Players, also freeing up Slater, who appears to be leading The Band, to maybe target a division that both Brodus and Santino have played an active part in of late - The US Title.

With Antonio Cesaro being built up as a no nonsense strongman, being screwed out of the title by The Band would be an effective way of keeping him look strong in defeat, and turning him into a face where I think he too has a ton of potential. A feud of Cesaro v The Band could be a hit for all 4 men, propelling them into the mainstream.

Whatever, I think this is a nice reward for Slater's hard work during the legends run, and for McIntyre and Mahal's patience in waiting for a slot on the card, whilst coninuing to showcase their ability, putting on great matches on Superstars and NXT whenever I catch them on those shows. I hope they have some plans in the pipeline and we see more of The Band in late 2012 going into 2013.

What are your thoughts?

They will b built strong 4 a while jumping mid card faces and then b destroyed by big show, ryback or cena 2 show how unstopable they r taking out the band. But reli hope its different and The Band get a good run

I wonder if the main purpose of the band is to turn McIntyre face by turning on his bandmates. His character is beyond stale and has never gotten over; this could be the company's last throw of the dice with Drew.

Just send me my £25 and be done with it ED. Stop clutching at straws.

I'm not clutching at straws here UDF.

2013 is going to be Slater's year.
It's going to be the year, of the BAAAAAAAAAND BEBY! YEAH!

The Band will be the ginger DX.

God this group are awful aren't they? First real look at them last night, they looked so uncomfortable, like they where on their way to the canteen and someone spotted them and just sent them out, it was all rather messy, they also have zero chemistry

You have zero chemistry
And you look like you just went to the canteen

Just to clarify ED. Summerslam 2015 is the last event Heath Slater can win a WWE male singles title. I've got this in the bag.

2015?

You're smoking rocks if you think you can win.

2015?

It's 2012 and The Band have only just begun. You really didn't see this coming did you?

That was the bet. I'm confident!

Well it's like my nan used to say;

"Confidence is for the mugs, only the sheepish catch the sheep"

And I've caught lots

What is going on with Slaters moobs

There getting so big that he will get released and I will win the bet

Electric Demon wrote:You have zero chemistry
And you look like you just went to the canteen

Ohhhh Matron

Electric Demon wrote:I'm not clutching at straws here UDF.

2013 is going to be Slater's year.
It's going to be the year, of the BAAAAAAAAAND BEBY! YEAH!

The Band will be the ginger DX.

I'm sorry, I am getting deja vu. Didn't you say 2012 was going to be Slater's year?

When Stone Cold or the Rock returns, they wil be used as cannon folder for Stunners/Rock Bottoms

TNA are going to sue them for gimmick infringement, which piled on top of the ongoing lawsuit between TNA and WWE will cause all 3 men to be released quietly and with little fanfare.

2012 was a good year for Slater - no disputing that.
But 2013 will be THE YEAR OF SLATER!

For every headline impressive performance, I believe you get an equally impressive under the radar performance, and Heath Slater has delivered that. Whilst CM Punk has been dropping pipebombs, Slater has been quietly cleaning up the debris.

I'm glad Slater's cleaned up the debris, gives him a head start for his future employment

I'm sure you cracked that joke last year

It's still funny

Electric Demon wrote:I'm sure you cracked that joke last year

Even a broken clock is right twice a day

I found this earlier i figured ud enjoy it ED




Heath Slater was one of the worst parts of NXT Season 1. I'll just get that out of the way. I'm not taking any shots as his talent or ability, but it speaks more about how the show's format can prevent a guy from being noticed. Wade Barrett was the star of the show, and we all know the story with Daniel Bryan. David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Skip Sheffield and Darren Young were all given more opportunity with their 'Pro' teachers, and Michael Tarver was a good talker. Heath Slater suffered because he didn't really have a story besides he was a good ol' Southern boy, and even that got overshadowed by Skip Sheffield's cornfed hick gimmick. Slater was talented, but everyone around him was given a reason to succeed so it made it seem like he was less important. NXT wasn't all bad for Slater, because he did get a few important wins, including one upset over Chris Jericho, and finished fourth in the competition. With that said, Jericho was putting over a lot of guys then so you could look at it as a diluted win, and NXT's format made it seem like it was staged just like a WWE storyline would be.

Fast forward a bit and look at his time with Nexus; he did get a tag team championship run, but the same issues happened to him that held him back in Nexus. Slater was a player, but he wasn't THE player, and he didn't get to be more than a lackey to Wade Barrett. I know Nexus was about showcasing Wade, and I am fine with that because he will be a big star, but good stables are supposed to showcase all of your talent. The Four Horseman did it, Evolution did it, and my hopes were Nexus would do it. Instead we got a WWE version of NWO Black and Yellow, and things just never got better than the first month they debuted. The Corre wasn't much better, in fact that felt like WWE knew they screwed up Nexus and tried again, but failed again. I can honestly say I don't remember anything important or noteworthy about the Corre besides they constantly changed their entrance theme, and Slater was credited as spelling the name wrong when trademarking it.

I like Slater because he's the perfect blend of corniness and skill, and he's alot like Antonio Cesaro in that he's goofy, but you still take him seriously. You obviously consider Cesaro more of a threat, but Slater pulls off what he does alot better than the other comedic characters in WWE. Let's face it, Santino is too goofy, and eventhough he shows his mat skills from time to time, you don't take him as a legit threat. Aside from that glimpse of hope at the Elimination Chamber this year, he's been relegated to being a crowd pleaser and focuses on Cobra, which isn't a bad thing. I'm just saying Slater does it better, and he got a nice run out of it during his RAW legends phase. Slater ran his mouth and got put in his place, but he was competitive for the most part and got good heat.

I'm glad Slater is getting another chance so soon after the RAW 1000 lead in, because he is talented and gets a good reaction from the crowd. He's not going to be a main eventer right away, and even if he never is he's doing a good job with where he is right now. WWE needs guys like him, and it looks like they are starting to reestablish the different levels of the match card. You have main eventers, upper mid carders, lower card and openers. I would put Slater on the 'upper low' card right now, and he should get a lot more screen time now that he has 'The Band' at his side. (Note: They went from International House of Hits, to Encore, and now to The Band.) Slater is the leader, and he's going after low and midcard guys, so it's not affecting anyone negatively. I'm glad he's getting screen time ahead of stupid dance offs, and maybe he will help Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal get a better reaction than they currently do.

The way I look at The Band and Heath Slater is simple: he's doing what old school wrestling fans want, and that's getting heat and fighting people. Slater will end up getting his, but it's fun just sitting back and booing him for being a cornball and saying the wrong things to people. I know it's early to make comparisons or predictions, but The Band has all of the potential to be the next 'guys in a stable who don't make sense' like the West Texas Rednecks and 3 Count of WCW fame. (Yea, that's right, you know you loved 3 Count.) If you need a better example, couldn't you see The Band being like the (pre-DX) New Age Outlaws or better yet, Edge and Christian? Those teams were good at being goofballs but maintained their heat for a good amount of time, so why couldn't Slater replicate something like it? It won't be on the same level because the wrestling landscape has changed, but I think Slater and the Band could be a part of the show you look forward to booing.

I was on a message board recently, and someone suggested The Band should become a tag team and work matches with the Freebird Rule in effect. Great idea, and Slater is the perfect guy to bring it back. One more comparison, and I don't really watch the show, but they are kind of nerdy like the guys in the Big Bang Theory on CBS. The Band seems like an unusual alliance, but they are making noise and may be a threat soon. I don't expect Slater to be a major threat at the top of the card, but seeing him get regular screen time is good. The Band has been attacking people lately, but I fully expect someone to shut him up soon. Slater is doing something good because he's is leaving you wanting more, and you can't wait to see someone shut him up.

Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre as The Big Bang Theory! All they need is someone like Eve to be pretty and out of their league, and they're all set!

Daniel Bryan would be a great Wrestling Sheldon