His mic skills go a long way toward covering up his considerable mediocrity. He's Jeff Jarret with mic skills.

>Like I get that he didn't come through the indies- he went
>reality tv to tough enough to the main.

Is this an actual criticism people use?

>But he's busted his
>ass the whole way, he isn't afraid to eat shit when the story
>calls for it, and he's a decent hand. He's not going to drop a
>pipe bomb tomorrow, but he can bust out a Talking Smack
>segment, which was a great promo in its own right.

He's an excellent promo, and can go toe to toe with anyone.

The only issue with him,is just that he's mediocre at damn near everything except promos.

His gimmick and presentation screams mid. His ring work is mid, apart from that one kick to the face spot in the corner. Even his theme song is, well, mediocre. It's familiar, but badly dated, which is worse because it's such a generic song.

Shit, even his look is mid. The squinty frog eyes and mid-90's white teenager haircut aren't really moving the needle.

Hell, he even has Jarrett's mediocre finisher.

The biggest problem though? He's just stale. He needs a refresh. Those mic chops carry a lot for him, and I think he could benefit from getting away from his hollywood style gimmick

As you said, he's a good hand, and his mic skills and longevity make him a great utility player that can be plugged in anywhere on the card.

One thing that I think could push him up to another gear, is to give him a faction. Give him Dolph and Roode, coupled with a solid enforcer like Cesaro, and they could elevate him a bit.