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Pro-wrestling is never restricted to a squared circle where bruised performers tussle and collide in a bid to pin the weaker or slower of the two. This is a business that thrives on the reception it gets from the millions who tune in every week to engage in several solid hours of entertainment.
Entertainment is such a scenario exists alongside actual wrestling, in a manner of extravaganza and exhilaration outside and around the ring. The reason for the worldwide popularity of the product WWE is the dialogue that it initiates between the ring and the stands.
Such a space between the two is where the entertainment aspect of the program comes into play. When compared with companies such as ECW or NJPW, both of which share none of the glitter of WWE but exist due to their uncharacteristically passionate supporters, one can point their finger on the packaging that makes WWE a product fit for television and computer screens across the world.
Inside such an interaction between the Universe and the product, there exists a parlance of which ‘over’ is an important example.
It essentially means the efficiency of a wrestler to elicit a response, be it positive or not, from the audience around him. The catch, though, is that nowadays audiences barely react the way they used to during the Attitude era or even the Ruthless Aggression era.
Storylines do not get their anticipated responses and most ‘boos’ or cheers come from acts that occur in the moment. Yet one can never discount the attention and scrutiny that the Universe fosters upon WWE superstars both inside as well as outside the ring.
There have been numerous surprisingly enthusiastic responses to returns and title wins just as there have been fizzled ones to top tier superstars. All in all, the New Era has generated a class of supporters to whom in-ring ability is one of the many criteria to root for a WWE wrestler.
Keeping in mind the abundance of information both private and public, in forms as disparate as podcasts, gaming channels, websites and network specials, along with the disastrous recent history of WWE booking, the following are five superstars for whom getting over seems impossible without help from outside the ring.
#5 Apollo Crews
- Apollo can be best described by the phrase “best of both worlds”. This man is a power wrestler whose incredible athleticism has him doing standing moonsaults following gorilla presses and shooting star presses as well as powerbombs.
- Having debuted the night after Wrestlemania 32 against fellow NXT alumnus Tyler Breeze, Crews went on to decimate the pretty prince in a bold show of power and agility. This was followed by a feud with The Social Outcasts, where once again, the former Evolve and Dragon Gate wrestler beat every member of the stable.
- While WWE Creative touted him as a perfect athletic force, there was nothing other than that to fall back on. His promos were mediocre at best, characterization appeared strained and there was no arresting feud, except a weak one with Sheamus, to channel his run.
- Given that Finn Balor was anticipated in the main roster soon, the title picture back in NXT would have been a perfect set up for Crews to demonstrate his talents.
- There was a lack of substance when he debuted on Raw.
- A storyline building him up as a character while letting him grow on the title scene would have done wonders for this man. As things stand of now, he is getting a rushed push for the Intercontinental title but it is unlikely that his tame persona would change things for the better.
- Perhaps a baby face push, along with a mouthing manager sometime in the near future can get him in good graces with the Universe. They are already touting him to be the Bobby Lashley re-incarnate.
#4 Rusev
The Bulgarian Brute has more than decent mic skills, so why is he still on this list?
It is mostly a consequence of his failed gimmick as a foreign monster heel who inadvertently, talks too much. With Lana by the ringside, the pair draws obvious comparisons with Ivan Drago and his wife, Ludmilla from Rocky IV.
The image generates sufficient heat from audiences, which has never been as prominent as during his United States Championship Run, and continues to be.
Upon his debut in Raw in 2014, he had provided a glimpse of his powerhouse persona by squashing Zack Ryder all around the ring before getting him to tap to a modified camel clutch, the Accolade.
The ruthlessness and monstrosity persisted for a period that was marked by a string of victories, in a fashion reminiscent of one Vladimir Koslov.
Rusev, trained in numerous wrestling styles, is an excellent worker in the ring.
Yet his gimmick as the destructive foreign heel has grown stale by overuse. It seemed, besides Lana, to be the only act in Rusev’s ring performance that elicits heat and admiration from the stands.
There have been almost negligible changes to his character, other than a love quadrangle story involving him, Lana, Summer Rae and an over Dolph Ziggler and a disastrous stable run with the ill-fated League of Nations.
Moreover, with the death of kayfabe, Rusev’s anti-American wrecking machine is an illusionary, withering sight for the sorest eyes. This man deserves better booking and character handling, than just becoming fodder to a patriotic Roman Reigns.
#3 Sin Cara
This character has seen two wrestlers don the lucha-style mask - Luis Urive (Mistico) from 2011 through 2013 and Jorge Arias, from 2013 onwards.
Following WWE’s lucha-libre tradition that found prominence with Rey Mysterio, the inception of this character was a move to capitalize on the expanding international market of the WWE, particularly with an appeal towards its Mexican audiences.
The underdog act had seen an explosive debut on Raw and the masked, high-flying action brought a whiff of fresh air into the doldrums that the WWE was in. Amidst interesting storylines and exciting matches with both power wrestlers and highflyers alike, Sin Cara suffered a setback when the wrestler wearing the mask decided to leave the company, after an unmasking match storyline.
Following his departure, Urive began using the gimmick in matches at Mexico. Sin Cara made a return under a new wrestler on December, 2013. Although Arias began with a winning streak, it was cut short and the character faded into misuse.
Respite came in the form of a tag team, the Lucha Dragons, together with fellow luchador Kalisto. The team found relative success in recent times, but Sin Cara has only paled into the shadows before his more successful tag partner.
Numerous botches inside the ring have only added to the flavour of apathy that the Universe already feels for him. Since the Draft, the Lucha Dragons have spilt in order to pursue their singles careers.
Things might change with adequate space granted to each luchador gimmick in Raw and Smackdown Live respectively. Sin Cara had lost to Baron Corbin in a singles match preceding the Draft. While this guarantees him his own storyline, the same cannot be said for his push on Raw.
#2 Erick Rowan
The Wyatt Family was one of the most exciting stables to have come up in recent times. In Bray Wyatt’s unmitigated charisma, the Universe was swayed and bewitched. In Braun Strowman, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan’s portentous silence, it was terrified.
Within the Wyatt Family though, the weakest link has always been considered to be Rowan.
With a set of old school moves such as clawholds, Nelson slams and backbreakers, Rowan has been measured out as a brawler yet is the least utilized when with the Family.
He is the one to take the most losses by pinfalls, is slightly slow inside the ring and lacks the intensity altogether. His face run as a part of Team Cena was unimpressive and the promo with the Big Show following Survivor Series was tepid, to say the least.
Even during Wrestlemania 32, he was taken out by the Rock inside 6 seconds in a singles match.
The only moments when he seemed intimidating was when he ran with the Wyatt Family. This is not to dismiss his wrestling capabilities altogether.
Having trained under the legendary Eddie Sharkey, Rowan spent a considerable amount of time in Japan under Pro Wrestling Noah before venturing into FCW and subsequently NXT.
What remains to be seen is the course he shall be taking after his recent move to Smackdown Live. Having reunited with Bray again, he could climb up to be a fan favourite if only he exhibited more dexterity both inside the ring as well as out of it.
#1 Eva Marie
There is a revolution brewing, and it is brewing from the bottom.
While NXT continues to impress with its daring portraiture of women’s wrestling and veteran talent signups, the main roster continues to be a pale shadow when compared with the former.
Barring the likes of Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Paige, Natalya and, Becky Lynch, most of the roster resembles a hastily assembled mélange of wrestlers with subpar in-ring capabilities.
Even the NXT call-ups following the Draft were mostly unready to face the spotlight on Raw and Smackdown Live and WWE has been taking the beaten path towards squash matches to generate a monstrous heel in Nia Jax.
Amidst all this tumult, the last female wrestler to enter Smackdown Live and arguably, the one with the most vacuous promo, was Eva Marie.
Her botches are a rage on the internet, her in-ring knowledge and skills are abysmally low, as are her mic skills while her gimmick as the sultry Red Queen is a mark of ridicule among the Universe.
The plethora of endorsement activity that she indulges in outside the ring perhaps diminishes her character all the more. It seems nearly impossible for her to get over with the audience, especially since she is universally and quite vocally disliked.
WWE seems to have projected onto her a mix of pretend femininity and deathly sensuality, perhaps in a bid to recreate a Stacy Keibler, albeit without any of the professional nonchalance and charisma.
The exaggeration of her inadequacies by the Creative team generates enough heat to ensure a decent heel run. However, the line between hatred and indifference has been crossed by the Universe once too often.
It doesn't even seem to care enough about Eva to eventually despise her.
