WWE News: What Happened To The Ascension? Former Manager Ricardo Rodriguez Explains
On WWE SmackDown Live, the tag team division has been one of the strongest points of the brand split. While names such as Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt are getting a second wind on their careers with now being a tag team, there are some teams who have not benefited from SmackDown Live being a separate brand.
Perhaps the most unfortunate team on SmackDown Live, and arguably the WWE in general, is The Ascension.
Making their name in Florida Championship Wrestling, The Ascension was originally booked as a faction, led by manager and announcer Ricardo Rodriguez. According to Rodriguez on a recent episode of the Pancakes and Powerslams Show, the idea originated from his fascination of conspiracy theories. Moreover, although he stated that he does not necessarily believe in them, his interest in studying the Illuminati spawned his idea behind creating the faction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQpBHzxXTI
However, the team is long gone from their once prominent position and is one of the lowest teams in the entire company. Rodriguez admits that such a substantial fall has boggled his mind.
“It really boggles my mind. I was really close at the time with Viktor and his wife, I was really close with them. So I remember I was texting with Viktor’s wife when they made their debut. We were like, ‘Oh my God! They’re on TV!’ We were like marking out back and forth. And then, as time went on, they [just] stopped them. So I hit her up one day. I was like, ‘Did something happen? I don’t want to ask [Viktor] yet. I don’t know if he said something to you.’ She said, ‘I don’t know.'”
https://www.facebook.com/theascensionwewillrise/posts/492799180902449:0
“So I honestly have no idea. I have no idea. I don’t know if they pissed somebody off, which could happen. It happens a lot. I’ve seen it happen… Maybe the machine wasn’t behind them. Because if they want to make something work, if the machine is behind them, you can take a pile of turd, but if the machine is behind it, they’ll make that turd be the prettiest turd in the world.”
The reason behind the group was supposed to be a bunch of misfits, so to speak, becoming “enlightened” after receiving tough love from Rodriguez. This would commence the basis of the group, which would play a dominant force in FCW. The original members of The Ascension, which began in 2011, were Tito Colon (Epico), Connor O’Brian (Konnor), Kenneth Cameron (TNA’s Bram), and Raquel Diaz (Shaul Guerrero).
The faction as a whole only lasted a few months, and Cameron started to pursue a single’s career for a few months before he started teaming once again with Connor, which shifted their character to a darker feel. Cameron would be released from WWE and replaced with former FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Rick Victor (Viktor).
https://www.facebook.com/wwe/photos/a.63953746442.86152.7175346442/10152162631366443/?type=3
The team would then go on to be one of the most dominant duos in NXT, winning the NXT Tag Team Championships. They kept the championships for nearly one year, before losing it to the Lucha Dragons at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way.
Sadly, this would be the beginning of the end for The Ascension as a top tag team. While they ended up officially becoming main roster members at the end of 2014, it was virtually doomed from the beginning. On top of being ridiculed by the announcers for being Road Warriors and Legion of Doom rip-offs, they were embarrassed during an episode of Raw in early 2015 by the New World Order members Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman (Syxx/X-Pac), as well as the APA.
Since then, the team tried to revive their careers in the fall of 2015, teaming with Stardust as “The Cosmic Wasteland,” but it never caught enough steam to last. During the course of their time on the main roster, The Ascension has barely won any matches and is looked at as glorified enhancement talents.
Sadly, as The Sportster indicates, The Ascension is indeed one of the most buried teams in WWE history.
[Image by WWE]
