How WWE Is Secretly Building The Next Face Of The Company

Creed Brothers
WWE.com

Whether they took or not, only 10 were the absolute fulcrum upon which everything else balanced. Yes, Seth Rollins enjoyed more success in WWE than Diesel, but Vince McMahon thought Diesel was the answer to his prayers. That's the key difference.

It is a major deal. The biggest achievement in wrestling. WWE is very stubborn about this, too: consider how long it too Roman Reigns to get over.

Who's next is a massive deal - the biggest - and WWE is very slowly building that man. It's always a man, too, much as Becky Lynch has been incredible and was the biggest star heading into WrestleMania 35 (and has done far better in-ring work since).

The next face of the company is a wrestler from NXT, but it isn't Bron Breakker. Breakker was thought to be the man in online wrestling circles. The rebooted NXT 2.0 was built around him. His look and style as a multi-coloured sculpted powerhouse seemed to signal a paradigm shift away from the dour kick pad lads of the Capitol Wrestling Center. His mega-push indicated that he would change the face of WWE, not merely developmental. It didn't happen: he reigned with the NXT title for a combined 425 days, but only got over to a point. He possesses the best spear since Goldberg. He looks like he wants to bend his opponents backwards at the hip. It's incredible, but his long-form matches were not. Being a WWE babyface, he was instructed to sell for long periods, and the fans - the fans who get in for free and will chant "This is awesome!" after every double-down - just didn't buy his struggle. He wasn't the best at emoting in the face role. It all felt obligatory, factory settings WWE, and while he's faring better as a heel, it no longer feels like he is the one (if he ever was).

Julius Creed absolutely rules. Gifted with immense athletic attributes and physical charisma, he burst onto the scene with a borderline terrifying squash of Chuckie Viola and Paxton Averill in September 2021. Debuting alongside brother Brutus (not that useless tw*t Ed Leslie, just to be clear), Julius, a new shooter within the Diamond Mind stable, threw suplexes with reckless abandon. They had to tone down their act immediately, because this was a nasty squash straight out of the late 1980s - but the intensity remained.

CONT'D...(2 of 5)

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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!