10 Gimmicks WWE Should Steal From Television (And Who Could Use Them)

9. Proposition Joe (The Wire) - Brian Kendrick

Proposition Joe Brian Kendrick
HBO/WWE

Yes, WWE seriously needs an Eastside drug lord with a keen interest in business over violence, in resolution over an ever-increasing body count. Prop Joe was one of the most interesting characters in the greatest television series ever created (The Wire, if you’ve been under a rock this entire century), which is no small achievement in of itself. Robert F. Chew was perfect in the role, but could aspects of it be used in the world of professional wrestling?

Probably not, but there’s no harm in dreaming. Prop Joe was a master manipulator, able to create partnerships out of impossible situations, leading to increased drug revenue and profits for all. His luck eventually ran out, everyone’s luck does eventually, but Prop Joe was a beacon of civility in Baltimore’s drug trade. What a sentence, what a preposterous sentence.

Professional wrestling is a soap opera built around violence and conflict, so why has there been such a shortage of characters trying to do business without fisticuffs? This might have worked better in Lucha Underground, but WWE could pull it off. As for who, a veteran talent like Brian Kendrick could be a good fit.

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Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.