It’s very easy to watch WWE programming these days and find fault in creative. There are always interesting things happening, of course, but those head-scratchers can often be enough to make a person want to stop suspending their disbelief.
For the benefit of WWE creative, here are 9 turns that could benefit the direction of storylines, which would altogether benefit the company:
– Roman Reigns – For a long time people have been booing Roman Reigns while he is being pushed as the top babyface. Changing him back heel and canning the smiling and lame promos could be what’s needed to have Roman get the right kind of heat. Then once he’s a respected heel, give him a good angle and you’ve got a legitimate top babyface. No one is questioning whether Roman has a great look, if he’s believable or if his in-ring ability is good, it simply boils down to him being made the top guy when other people were perhaps more deserving. With Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio gone, and John Cena spending more time on outside projects, there is room for “the next top guy” so long as he has gotten over organically.
– John Cena – As with Roman Reigns, people have been asking for this turn for a long time. This explanation for John Cena remaining a babyface seems to be rooted in his charity work and that a turn would affect the company bottom line. But John Cena was a heel early in his WWE tenure, and he was a tag team wrestler early on, so he obviously can do anything that is asked of him. Similar to how Seth Rollins can be a heel, yet do media appearances and be on “Swerved,” why can’t John Cena? Kayfabe doesn’t exist in 2016, or at least it shouldn’t exist in 2016, so I don’t see how a character changing directions for 6 months to a year — with long-term gain in mind for all involved — could hurt WWE. If done correctly, as with Roman Reigns, the heel turn could be transitioned successfully into a huge babyface run.
– A.J. Styles – A.J. Styles came into the company with a tremendous amount of excitement, and his feud with John Cena has had the words “dream match” thrown around it. When he confronted John Cena, he was cheered. After he attacked John Cena the first time, he was still being cheered. A.J. Styles not only has a natural babyface demeanor to him, in terms of his look, but he has the move-set of a babyface. It is difficult to keep indie scene darlings as heels when WWE is appearing in a major city.
– Kevin Owens – Speaking of the difficulty of keeping talent with storied indie careers as heels in big markets, Kevin Owens gets cheered plenty. The “prizefighter” character represents work ethic and fighting for one’s family, which is probably the second most babyface trait behind confronting the anti-American heel on a Memorial Day or July 4th special. He is also a relatable character in terms of his attire and overall look, since he looks like a wrestling fan; I say that with respect intended. Kevin Owens also does a few aerial moves, which also better suits a babyface than a heel. He is an absolute top guy in an organic manner, and to turn him into a top babyface, all that would have to be done is changing the tone of his promos.
– Seth Rollins – Last night’s Money In The Bank match was yet another example of how popular Seth Rollins is. If he tones down the evil laughter and the backing away like a coward, he is pretty much ready-made to be a top babyface. He is great on the mic and undeniably a strong worker capable of doing a variety of styles in-ring. Had he worked babyface and Roman Reigns acted as the heel, there would have undoubtedly been more interest in this main event.
– Titus O’Neil – Titus first turned heads as one-half of The Prime Time Players. He talked a lot of trash and did his college bark to get heat. Then from what I recall, they turned his tag team babyface after A.W. was let go. Then he turned on his partner and became a heel out of nowhere. Then he became a comical heel, having a short-lived tag team with Heath Slater. Then he transitioned into working as a babyface jobber. I can understand that WWE thinks of Titus as an ideal babyface because of his extensive charity work, but he’s a big, strong guy with a deep voice. His old heel promos and stints on commentary were humor-oriented. But again, he’s huge and there are much better ways to use a former college football star than as a tackling dummy for Rusev.
– Alberto Del Rio – The WWE constantly gets heat for not putting minorities in top spots. Whether or not that is true, there is a huge void in top stars of Hispanic descent in the upper card of the main roster. And Sin Cara and Kalisto aren’t exactly setting the lower card on fire, nor are The Shining Stars. Alberto Del Rio is not only a great performer on-mic and in-ring, but he is bilingual. He gets a reaction. Remember the crowd pop when he returned as a surprise to beat John Cena for the U.S. Title? Exactly. Give him some strong creative — as opposed to some of that League Of Nations jive — and you have a top babyface.
– Dolph Ziggler – There is nothing babyface about Dolph Ziggler. He character embodies arrogance in every way possible, and his nickname is “The Showoff.” His finishes often involve roll-ups and sneak attacks. On top of that, he has “heel” in his Twitter handle. Dolph came into the company as a heel, and absolutely was more believable as one.
– The Wyatt Family – The Wyatts have had many almost-turns, not counting the weird period where Erick Rowan was strangely babyface and said to have a very high IQ. Right now with two of the Wyatts out of action due to injuries, it’s unclear as to where they’ll reappear in terms of storylines. But when they do reappear, unless they attack a wrestler that virtually everyone likes (e.g. A.J. Styles, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, a returning legend), they are going to be cheered. The “fireflies” treat that they get from the fans is one of appreciation. Cactus Jack, Terry Funk and other “dirty” wrestlers have worked out well as babyfaces, so there’s no need for swamp people to automatically be heels.
Hopefully the upcoming brand splits for WWE will give their creative team a chance to fix some of these long-standing issues. If not, well, Swerved was pretty great this season.
