As a party-boy supreme, Leo Kruger's had a mixed bag of success and failure as Adam Rose. Of course, this is better than the South African superstar being "Leo Kruger" in NXT, a bounty hunter gimmick that was doomed to failure. However, when Kruger appeared on ESPN's May aired E:60 special on their developmental group and the show introduced us to his wife and special needs toddler, he was human and inherently connective. Either as Rose or Kruger, this is a case of a great in-ring talent who was in need of something more. Even if he remained Adam Rose, and his gimmick were to be more aligned with living life to it's fullest (because well, that's what he's ACTUALLY doing), that's something worthwhile. Instead, when he's still Adam Rose party-boy paired with Rosa Mendes and portraying a gallivanting lothario, it REALLY doesn't work at all. In one of those cases where reality could've made more money than any fantasy situation could, Adam Rose certainly deserved more.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
