6. Characters Need Greater Dimension And Immediate Purpose
There's absolutely no reason outside of being an evil Eastern European why Rusev must continue to defeat the same five black wrestlers, no reason given than "he likes bunnies and lollipops" why Adam Rose have the exact same party, and Emma does the exact same dance because well...why does she dance? Also, Bo Dallas is undefeated over wrestlers that absolutely zero fans truly care about their wins and losses because he believes in himself? Without wanting to convert those who lost to his cause? Strange. Developing new characters should, above all else, involve developing concrete and significant reasons for these wrestlers to exist in the WWE Universe. Very few new characters save The Wyatt Family and The Shield feature such forethought. Gone are the days where wrestlers could be introduced into WWE, have wrestled in numerous other territories and companies worldwide, and learned how to be of worth to a promoter before reaching "New York." For Rusev, Emma and Bo Dallas, WWE comprises a more than significant extend of their pro wrestling careers. Adam Rose had experience in South Africa, but none of them are say, Mick Foley, who before being Mankind had literally wrestled around the world (and made promoters money) for a decade prior to reaching the then WWF. Thus, the "New Reality"-era wrestlers may need a little boost from creative in order to kickstart knowing how to significantly resonate in the eyes of the fans. What if Rusev debuted by suplexing the Big Show and putting him in the Accolade? Adam Rose and Fandango finally wrestled for the first time on television on June 13th's edition of Smackdown, and in four minutes the crowd was more excited for anything Rose has done than in the two months he's been on television. Bo Dallas? Let's say he defeated Cody Rhodes, and then in pursuing him to be a Boliever, could have matches with Goldust that would a) be solid, and b) allow for significant character development. In giving wrestlers deeply defined characters and reasons to resonate with the fanbase, the "New Reality" era could be creating superstars instead of inciting angst.
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.
