10 Ways WWE Completely Buries Babyfaces In 2017
4. They Cut Lame Promos
'Cool' babyfaces are not the magic solution that many believe will lead the industry back to the promised land. For Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock to come along at the same time and both embody the type of persona virtually every fan wanted to be in their own lives was a minor miracle. That they did it without conforming to standard babyface rules took circumstances beyond the pale.
The company spent the next decade trying (and often failing) to find the next marketable babyface after exploiting Hogan's 80s bombast, Bret Hart's scientific credibility, Austin's carnage and Rock's cool, and in truth they never really found it.
Batista was white hot as a guy taking out Triple H, and became a bonafide star. But he was a Hogan-era giant in a post-Austin world. Only relatable in the feud with 'The Game', he was at best a superhero and at worst a jock that didn't bully the nerds. John Cena was only ever universally beloved when he spoke in raps and rhymes, but the gimmick had a shelf-life and was smartly parked as he ascended up the card.
What's left now is a graveyard of credibility, with performers across the roster scripted into the ground with similar verbiage that doesn't remotely reflect their character.
In this year alone, fans have endured Shinsuke Nakamura talking about playgrounds, AJ Styles going the long way around calling Kevin Owens a whale's vagina and Mickie James calling Alexa Bliss 'Biscuit Butt'. It's one single voice in three separate vessels. Extrapolate that to a roster of many, and you still only have the message of a few. Faces are still talking, but they've never said less.