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By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Titus O'Neil had a buzz-worthy performance on color commentary last week on Raw, opening some people's eyes who hadn't seen a lot of his work on shows other than Raw. He was funny and likable, even when entering the dangerous territory of joshing around with Jerry Lawler about his heart attack. He showed that if he can progress in the ring, he has the core personality to be a valuable top tier act within WWE.

So then the next week he comes out and gets beat pretty decisively by Ryback. There was an angle on Smackdown last Friday to set up the match, but it was glossed over by WWE on Raw. Instead of a grudge match based on an issue between two worthy competitors, it was positioned like any other Ryback squash win. Titus, for most of the audience, was a strong tag team wrestler who had yet to be defined as a singles wrestler. Could he give Ryback a tough fight? Maybe even win? Fans hadn't seen Titus tested like that.

So Titus ended up losing, and losing decisively. There was some shenanigans with Darren Young that didn't really excuse Titus losing in just over three minutes. Perhaps even worse, Titus gave Ryback his finisher mid-match and Ryback kicked out at one.

This isn't going to destroy Titus. WWE isn't thinking of giving him a big singles push right now, and obviously Ryback is in the midst of a mega-push. But still, WWE could have positioned this match better, in a way that would have protected Titus a little more and also made Ryback's win mean more.

All WWE had to do was dedicate a little more time to hyping the match ahead of time, positioning it in a sports-like way as a big test for Titus, the biggest singles match test for him yet. Present an interview with Titus backstage lacing his boots or a pre-taped interview from earlier with Josh Mathews approaching him for a comment and Titus clearly masking nervousness by blowing off Mathews's questions. The announcers could have set the table for the match as a way for Ryback to make a statement against Titus for what he did to him on Smackdown.

Then, when the match ended, talk about the ramifications of the finish. Make a bigger deal out of the win. Make it seem like Ryback actually accomplished something. Try to secure an interview with Titus to react. Make it seem less like Titus was totally expected to lose in three minutes so it wasn't newsworthy, and instead present it as a chapter in a journey of two wrestlers - one who is at the top trying to win the WWE Title, and another who has been a success in the tag team division but ran into a barrier to advancing as a singles wrestler. Give fans a sense that Ryback fended off a potential challenge to his dominance and put someone in their place who messed around with him on Smackdown.

With three-plus hours each Monday, WWE has the staff and resources to get more out of these segments, to create more layers and depth to some of these matches that otherwise feel like throwaway time fillers. It felt like a lost opportunity to me.

Ryback should have gotten more of a boost from beating Titus, while Titus got defined down a bit as just another jobber to the stars, another tag wrestler unworthy and unfit to compete for more than a few minutes with a top singles star. WWE just doesn't have enough roster depth to get away with such thin booking. Titus has potential, and this loss isn't a huge setback, but his loss could have actually been a valuable part of his potential journey to becoming a compelling singles wrestler. Instead, it was a throwaway segment that didn't have nearly he impact on either wrestler that it could have.

Oh yeah, and don't have Ryback kicked out of Titus's finisher at one. That was unnecessary.

(Wade Keller founded Pro Wrestling Torch as a newsletter in 1987. Issue #1281 will be published digitally and a print copy mailed worldwide to thousands of subscribers this week. He also hosts the daily PWTorch Livecast on Tuesdays and Fridays. He interviews live former WWE Creative Team member John Carle this Friday at 5:30 ET at www.blogtalkradio.com/pro-wrestling-torch.)

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