Bo Dallas is the forgotten NXT Champion, and that’s a shame

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Listen, I’m glad that Bo Dallas has a story he’s involved in on WWE’s main roster once again. Being one of the Miz’s flunkies beats not being on television, and the latter is the state Dallas found himself in more often than not after the Social Outcasts were split up. No matter what role WWE has put him in, though, it never seems like it’s the right one: Bo Dallas is the one former NXT Champion that WWE seems to exclude from all the other perks every other NXT Champion has seen in their main roster runs.

Seth Rollins is a multi-time WWE World Champion, and a significant enough presence that he was the Authority’s golden boy and is now on the cover of the WWE 2K18 video game. Big E is a former Intercontinental Champion who has had multiple chances at the United States Championship, and is part of the longest-reigning tag team in WWE history, New Day. Neville is the king of the cruiserweights and their champion, and might be so for a long time yet. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are major players, with Zayn position as one of the top babyfaces in the company and Owens a former Universal Champion.

Samoa Joe is relatively new to the main roster, but he’s getting Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, and has spent his time in WWE feuding with the likes of Rollins and Roman Reigns. Shinsuke Nakamura is even newer to WWE’s top level, but even the half-speed version of Nakamura is being positioned as a main-event player on SmackDown and a likely eventual WWE World Champion.

Meanwhile, Bo Dallas has just sort of floated from one half-formed idea to another, on TV for a few weeks at a time until he disappears, and with WWE never putting any kind of sustained push behind him. Sure, Dallas isn’t as flashy or exciting a wrestler as other NXT champs, but he’s a tremendous personality who absolutely crushed his run at the top of WWE’s developmental promotion. His insincerity made for the most entertaining of any NXT Championship run, and his exit from the promotion is arguably the greatest segment they’ve ever done. (That link doesn’t go to the full segment, but Brandon Stroud’s Best and Worst from that June 12, 2014 show should help, and now you know what date to look up on the WWE Network.)

WWE doesn’t need to make Bo Dallas their next Universal Champion or anything, but man, there has to be something they can figure out for him after this that’s better than “Miz’s lackey.” He’s so much better than this, and WWE needs to give him the chance to remind everyone of that.

• NXT had a couple of big matches this week, and plans for even more — including two championship matches — while we wait for Brooklyn III.
• If you were wondering what Big Cass would be up to now that he’s split with Enzo, Thursday’s Rumor Roundup has some whispers for you.
• Finn Balor has the best selfie game in WWE, as he reminded everyone on National Selfie Day.
• It’s a good thing that SmackDown is doing the women’s Money in the Bank again, because their initial effort was the shortest in the match’s history.
• Titus O’Neil had a TED Talk, and it contained a powerful message.
• Triple H invited Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather to RAW, and while I doubt they’ll accept, that would be something for all three. (But especially WWE.)
• Vince Russo filed a restraining order against Jim Cornette, but sadly, we can’t just all do that to Vince Russo.
• The Cueto Cup continued on this week of Lucha Underground, and man is Marty the Moth a creep.
• Kimber Lee finally got her NXT name, and with time to spare before the Mae Young Classic begins.
• Maria and Mike Kanellis’ music is better than Lana’s.
• Daniel Bryan says he’s “working on a return to wrestling,” but no details are given as to what that could mean.
• Okay, when Jerry Lawler knows the finish to the women’s Money in the Bank match was a poor choice, you know WWE screwed up.
• Here are eight wrestler cameos on non-wrestling television shows.
• We’ve got yet another name revealed for the upcoming Mae Young Classic.