10 WWE Stars Who Should Be WAY More Over Than They Actually Are

8. The Club

seth rollins
WWE.com

If ever there was an indictment of WWE's damaging insistence on micromanaging their performers, it is The Club.

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows play a couple of colourless bruisers on television, and have been handed such horrendously unfunny material that they've more or less been stigmatised as a duds in the eyes of the audience. The "Old Day" segment of September 2016 was an unpalatable blend of baloney, fudge and mustard so shockingly unfunny that it was difficult to determine who was meant to find it amusing without falling into a trap of IWC "smark" cliche. The answer is Vince McMahon. But come on; he cannot be that witless when his Mr. McMahon character was so hilarious. Can he?

More galling than that segment was, in and of itself, is the fact that Anderson and Gallows are a riot in reality. Anderson's ceaseless bragging about his hot Asian wife followed and even expanded upon Sideshow Bob's comedy rule of the rake. Gallows meanwhile does a priceless and dead-on impression of Howard Finkel. They would be a smash hit as a likeable, sh*t-k*cking babyface duo if they were permitted to display more of their personality. Sadly, that's not how WWE operates.

Anderson is also hamstrung in the ring. You wouldn't know it, judged purely on his WWE run, but the man can flat out go and go to even NJPW's awesome main event standard. Gallows by all accounts is an incredibly well-liked figure backstage. That he isn't allowed to transpose that onscreen is ludicrous, all things considered.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!