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Cool is an intangible quality, incorporating admirable elements of attitude, behavior, appearance, autonomy, and style.
It’s hard to define, but we know it when we see it. You’ve either got it or you don’t.
And in wrestling, cool matters.
Cool wrestlers capture the imagination of fans. We admire their presence, swagger, confidence, and style, and vicariously enjoy their success. When a wrestler is cool, fans want to see that wrestler succeed.
Bret Hart had it. Scott Hall had it in spades. Neither needed to tell us they were cool. They simply were.
The problem is that coolness doesn’t always serve a wrestler’s intended role. A cool babyface can become a star despite poor booking. A cool heel, however, can create a problem: fans may admire the villain more than they want to see him lose.
In recent weeks, I’ve been critical of “cool heels” Roman Reigns and Randy Orton, whose undeniable cool factor has impaired their success in roles as top heels. Their problem isn’t a lack of charisma or star power. It’s that fans are sometimes more inclined to emulate them than hate them.
That raises a broader question: Who else is cool in today’s WWE, who’s uncool—and is that helping their current role, or getting in the way?
Rising Star of the Week: Royce Keys
After several months of failing to connect in any meaningful way as a poorly defined babyface, Royce Keys has finally made a strong impression as the leader of the 946. Keys is a man thrice betrayed: renounced and deliberately injured by longtime friend Jacob Fatu for his Bloodline family, while new allies Solo Sikoa and LA Knight were nowhere to be found.
Keys is back for vengeance on all of those who hurt him, and has recruited street toughs OTM and Jaida Parker in the process. The 946’s attacks on the Bloodline and Solo Sikoa make for the best simulation of gang warfare WWE has achieved in decades. Attempts to create similar outlaw factions in Retribution and DarkState fell flat, and Attitude Era gang factions Los Boricuas and DOA were not much better.
As the leader of the 946, Keys comes off as believable, menacing, and just plain cool. The faction catchphrase “no-one is safe” rings true. In a short time, he’s established himself as one of Raw’s top villains, a feat which fans could not have predicted for a floundering mid-card face only a few months before.
I’ve been critical of cool heels in recent weeks, how they tend to undermine the babyface they face and lead to fan ambivalence. However, in the case of Keys and the 946, it’s a worthy trade-off. The 946 were until now relative unknowns, and a bit of cool will help establish them as important players, while the chances of them being cheered are relatively low.
For now, this powerhouse has begun to establish himself as a major player, and has a real opportunity to make a lasting impression.
First Runner-Up: Penta
A middle-aged man wearing full face paint and costumed like an amalgam of a demonic samurai and luchadore in 2026 should, in theory, be anything but cool.
Penta is cool regardless.
His strut to the ring is reminiscent of Scott Hall’s nWo entrance. His confidence and effortless swagger are so captivating, it can be hard to look away.
Penta’s cool factor is a major reason he has exceeded all reasonable expectations of success in WWE. Originally slotted as a mid-carder, Penta has consistently outperformed his push, winning over fans and earning himself a higher position on the card. His rise parallels that of Raw’s other top babyface, LA Knight.
Following his fantastic championship match with Roman Reigns in Mexico City, Penta is now a credible main-event-level challenger.
Given WWE’s abundance of top babyfaces, it remains to be seen how creative can best capitalize on his success. Winning the Money in the Bank briefcase would be one way to capitalize on his momentum.
Whatever his path, Penta will travel it with style, and he is one to watch come WrestleMania season.
Second Runner-Up: Trick Williams
Williams has been limited by inconsistent face/heel alignment, a largely unproductive pairing with manager Lil Yachty, and ring work which is fair at best.
The key to his potential as a top star in WWE: the guy just oozes cool.
Efforts at making Williams an effective heel have failed, in part, because of this.
His unique style, effortless confidence, quotable catchphrases, and undeniable charisma make fans want to cheer him, regardless of how he behaves.
WWE creative will need to tweak his presentation to capitalize on his potential as a top babyface.
Honorable mention: Sami Zayn
Zayn has consistently embraced his lack of cool, translating it into a major part of his success, from his earnest wannabe “Honorary Uce” babyface character to his current irritating and self-serving insistence on framing himself as a victim.
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Fading Star of the Week: Cody Rhodes
Rhodes possesses so many admirable traits: he’s consistently honest, upright, charismatic, and has an earnest love of wrestling and wrestling fans. These traits, among others, have helped make him the most successful babyface wrestler of his generation.
One factor he does not embody, however, is cool.
Sometimes The American Nightmare can come off as corny or self-righteous. This is one reason AEW fans turned on him, rejecting his babyface act five years ago. A minority of WWE fans have booed Rhodes, in a faint echo of resentment toward John Cena or “The Big Dog” Roman Reigns circa 2018.
His limited cool factor has hurt Cody and his feuds, especially when paired against “cool heel” opponents like Randy Orton and the “Tribal Chief” version of Reigns. Conscious of this, WWE has flirted with giving Cody more of an edge in the past year, even to the point of teasing a heel turn.
Although many are excited at the prospect of a Rhodes heel turn, he still has a lot more to offer as a top babyface, in this writer’s opinion. WWE must continue to thread the needle of keeping Cody’s morality and earnestness, while avoiding making him seem out of touch or like a “goody two-shoes.”
First Runner-Up: Joe Tessitore
Lead or play-by-play announcers in WWE have rarely come off as cool, an attribute more common to color commentators like Corey Graves or ’80s-era Jesse Ventura. Tessitore may be the least cool of all.
He comes off as so nerdy that his enthusiasm and support for babyface wrestlers can sometimes detract, making them seem uncool by association. This is most pronounced when it seems Tessitore is trying to be cool himself. When Tessitore excitedly referred to Jey Uso as the “Yeet Man,” it made Jey seem all the more lame. Similarly, when Michael Cole enthusiastically proclaimed Roman Reigns “The Big Dog” during the Vince McMahon era, it only further damaged Reigns’ credibility.
It’s okay for a play-by-play announcer to come off as nerdy, but it’s important to stick to their lane, and avoid any hint of trying to be cool themselves.
