10 Unofficial Rules That Exist In WWE Today
10. All Babyfaces Must Smile
This rule might as well be posted at Gorilla next to INTENSITY and SELL and other WWE buzzwords that have been seen posted there before. If you're a babyface in WWE, you must show your smile!
The Rocky Maivia narrative explains how chants of "Die Rocky Die!" and "Rocky Sucks!" led to an eventual heel turn that created the biggest crossover star in WWE history, The Rock. In 1996, the happy-go-lucky Rocky Maivia was always grinning from ear-to-ear no matter the circumstance and it made fans want to vomit. Fast forward to 2015 and it's painfully obvious that every babyface on the roster is not only reminded to smile like Maivia did, but it's probably the last thing they hear before they walk through the curtain. Oh and the bogus "have fun" line.
Think about all the babyfaces in WWE today and name one that hasn't smiled. Even The Beast Brock Lesnar has been seen laughing and smiling whether it's at the fans' "Suplex City" chants or after giving Michael Cole a noogie. This is definitely a newer rule implemented over the past several years because superstars like Ultimate Warrior, Steve Austin, and Macho Man sure didn't smile often. Despite what some fans may believe, there is room for happy, smiling characters in WWE today so long as they are booked and positioned right. What isn't tolerable though is having every babyface that appears on television be commanded to smile just because they're the "good guy".
I'm not saying wrestlers should never smile, but the number of WWE babyfaces that look like they just found the "Smylex" ingredient from new and improved Joker Products is disturbing. If everyone busts through the curtain showing their pearly whites implying a "just happy to be here" attitude, the company is likely to continue churning out more Rocky Maivias than they will Rocks.