WWE SmackDown Live: Ranking All the Cinderella Stories
By Tom Thomas
WWE.com
1. Heath Slater and Rhyno
No other Cinderella story SmackDown Live produced has ever come close to this one. It would be fair to think no other story would ever come close to this in the future either. Slater’s story was a tale of perseverance, comedy and character. The West Virginia native had seen the highs and lows of his professional Wrestling career over the course of a 10 year-long tenure in the WWE. Slater was a part of the hugely acclaimed Nexus stable. At his lowest point, he was a member of 3MB.
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It is another interesting coincidence that all three members of 3 MB would find success later. Drew McIntyre could very well be an NXT champion soon. Jinder Mahal is the new WWE champion. Heath Slater won over the fans and the WWE SmackDown Live tag team titles. Of all three, Slater’s story was the most complete one.Slater began his adventure at the WWE draft last year. After being the only superstar to not be drafted to either of the shows, Heath Slater would appear on Raw and SmackDown vowing for a spot on either roster. In the process, he would fall prey to Mahal and Rhyno. Finally, Slater would be given an ultimatum by the General Manager Daniel Bryan. He would either have to win the tag team titles or he would be fired.
The weeks that followed featured Slater’s story and his quest to find a tag partner which ended in him teaming up with Rhyno. Creative would make excellent use of their freedom and present a very entertaining angle in which Rene Young visited Slater in his trailer home. Slater’s charisma and Rhyno’s surprising comedic timing made the segment much more fun than it should have originally been.
From there on fans watched in anticipation as Slater and Rhyno, the ultimate underdogs battled for the titles and Slater’s career. Every time they found a way through. The team faced the ultimate challenge in the form of the Usos. Slater’s guts and Rhyno’s aggression prevailed in the match and SmackDown Live received their brand new tag team champions with open arms.
Next: Ranking All 26 NXT Champions
You couldn’t have written a better story than this. The Slater Cinderella story was carefully crafted over time without any rush. What are your thoughts? Which stories would make your list? Let us know in the comments section.