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“Enough is enough and it’s time for a change.” – Owen Hart, 1997
A well-timed change in character or presentation can make all the difference. Some wrestlers only need a tweak here and there: Randy Orton has had essentially the same persona for decades.
Others shake things up intermittently to keep viewers interested. Chris Jericho is a true master shapeshifter, and changing his presentation every couple years from brazen rocker to straight-laced kiss-ass, and back again. Mick Foley was famous for his three faces (Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love), but in truth each persona had multiple iterations.
This week, we look at some recent character changes in WWE and evaluate which ones are clicking and which are falling flat.
Rising Star of the Week: Solo Sikoa
Where has this version of Solo been hiding?
After a slow-burn babyface turn that left many fans confused about whether to cheer or boo him, Solo has been hitting on all cylinders with his new presentation.
In the past few weeks, Sikoa has shown more personality and humor than fans ever thought possible. After years of playing a dour humorless heavy, and later a dour humorless usurper, we saw only hints of this charisma during his feud with Jacob Fatu last year.
Sikoa has quickly won over tentative audiences with his quick wit and defiant attitude, and won the sympathy of the audience as an independent outsider who refuses to bow down before Roman Reigns. His unjust loss to Jey Uso last week, Uso’s obnoxious gloating, and Reign’s cruel punishment of Sikoa only made the audience side with him more.
Sikoa’s courageous refusal to betray friend LA Knight and submit to the tyrannical Reigns was a moment of drama fans will remember. This act cemented his status as a babyface and has suddenly made him one of the most compelling characters in the Bloodline 2.0 saga.
I haven’t ruled out the possibility that Sikoa eventually turns on Knight and rejoins the Bloodline, perhaps revealing that this entire babyface run was a long con and costing Knight his shot at the World Heavyweight Championship in the process. But for now, WWE has finally found a version of Solo Sikoa worth getting excited about.
Runner-up: Chelsea Green
WWE creative turned lemons into lemonade by taking the bad luck of an untimely injury of the brand-new Interim Women’s Champion and turning it into a compelling storyline. Seeing Green’s black eye as a sign of her orbital bone fracture and her frustration with having to surrender her title just after the biggest victory of her career helped us see her as more of a real person and less of a walking punchline.
As I outlined last week, I believe Green could succeeded as an inept but lucky and lovable underdog champion. However, Green may have greater success showing her more serious side, as she did on SmackDown. Positioning her against a disloyal heel Tiffany Stratton might be just the thing to elevate Green from comic relief into a credible main-event-level contender.
Green has always been entertaining, but too much reliance on humor can put a ceiling on a performer. This new wrinkle gives her an opportunity to show that beneath all the comedy and chaos is a competitor worth getting behind.
Second Runner-up: Jey Uso
After a year of a tiresome, pandering “Yeet man” character, it’s refreshing to see Jey revert to the heel persona that made him a star: Roman Reigns’s vicious, impulsive, overzealous henchman.
This Jey Uso is less of a dancing clown, more of a dangerous threat. In-person audiences may miss Jey running it back, but the vast TV audience certainly will not.
Jey’s preening and gloating over returning Sikoa to Reigns did a great deal to put sympathy on Sikoa and want to see the Right Hand Man take a right hand to the face.
For the first time in recent memory, Jey feels like a serious character rather than a catchphrase-peddling mascot.
This is Jey Uso at his best.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Fading Star of the Week: Chad Gable
As one of WWE’s premier in-ring workers for over a decade with a history of successful heel characters, Gable has earned fan respect and admiration. Following his epic mask vs. mask matchup at AAA Noche de los Grandes, Gable was riding a wave of momentum.
A face turn embracing his earnest, respectful, side and Greco-Roman roots seemed like a no-brainer. Add an Intercontinental Championship victory in his hometown at SummerSlam and some lively new music and you have the makings of a true star.
Unfortunately, fans haven’t embraced Gable in this role. After a decade of seeing him at a lower level, it’s hard to accept him as a legitimate Intercontinental Champion. He lacks the innate charisma of a Penta, and is a more natural heel than babyface. His new music is too cheesy and outdated to inspire.
Even worse, Gable has been matched up with far more popular opponents. Even his hometown fans had mixed feelings about seeing him defeat Penta, who seems far cooler and more relevant. His first title defense on Monday saw him wrestle the beloved Rey Mysterio. Fans were far more invested in the Lucha Legend than Gable. Despite being treated to a fantastic match, the audience was notably deflated when Gable won.
This is the danger of trying to manufacture a star simply by giving him the belt and asking the audience to accept the promotion’s new framing of him. Fans have spent years being told, implicitly or explicitly, that Gable was a supporting player. One title win doesn’t automatically erase that history.
Positioning Gable against proper heels such as Ethan Page will certainly help. However, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to turn things around enough to make this title run a success.
Gable would have more upside as the obnoxious, grandstanding heel who believes he is the greatest technical wrestler alive. This new heroic presentation is swimming against the current.
First Runner-Up: Baron Corbin
He’s got new music, but that’s about it.
Corbin’s July return to WWE following a 19-month absence was a chance to freshen up his presentation. What we got was just a stripped-down version, stripped of all his former trappings (biker, corporate stooge, king, bankrupt loser). Announcers pay lip service to Corbin’s judo and boxing accomplishments, but his presentation in the ring does not reflect this.
Corbin found success as a heel following his appointment as Raw’s Constable and later its General Manager in 2018. He would go on to win King of the Ring, the US Title, and even a Money in the Bank contract. As Corbin was never particularly flashy, ring-savvy, impressive, or charismatic, fans resented how his push seemed inordinate in comparison to his limited talent. Dominick Mysterio would capitalize on a similar dynamic to even greater effect years later.
Since his return, Corbin defeated SmackDown’s most valuable up-and-comer Trick Williams to capture his second U.S. title. It’s unclear what we’re supposed to think about Corbin, or why we should care about him. Is he a tough MMA fighter? An incurable cheat? A bitter veteran?
Once again, his booking seems to exceed his value, but he’s provoking more disinterest than outrage. Corbin is just kind of there, and fan interest is at an all-time low. At least when Corbin was irritating fans, he was generating a reaction. Today’s Corbin is something far worse: forgettable.
Why WWE Creative chose Corbin for this spotlight is beyond me. Whatever they were going for, Corbin isn’t delivering.
The character desperately needs a hook. With no clear identity or compelling motivation, he gives fans no reason to invest emotionally in seeing him win or lose.
Second Runner-Up: Lyra Valkyria
Lyra Valkyria’s transformation in recent weeks has been anything but subtle. She immediately went from fearless, fiery, and resilient to deranged, disheveled, and desperate.
Her turn got off to a fairly impressive start, betraying her best friend Bayley and beating her savagely.
The follow-up has been far less so.
Her current presentation is reminiscent of “Bum Ass Corbin” – far more pathetic than menacing. Monday saw her first match as a heel, and she lost clean to a relatively cold Sol Ruca.
Although she was due some sort to change, this isn’t it. It’s hard to imagine how an unhinged loser gimmick will help move Valkyria forward.
The problem isn’t that Valkyria changed. The problem is that WWE replaced a one-dimensional hero with one-dimensional wretch. A great heel should feel more dangerous, more confident, or more compelling than before – not simply more disheveled.
As one of the WWE’s most gifted ring technicians, this bird lady deserves better.
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