How WWE Is Secretly Building The Next Face Of The Company

by Michael Sidgwick
Creed Brothers
WWE

Julius doesn't appear entitled. He connects with the crowd. He intersects two hugely important values: he is at once spectacular and very easy to root for.

Considering he's such a decorated NCAA-level amateur wrestler, he has a certain everyman charm to him (and a goofball charm, too, which WWE isn't exactly shy of). He can be self-deprecating, he can show earnest fire, he can be funny. In a December 27, 2022 match against JD McDonagh, he slammed his opponent against a table with a release power slam. He put the spot over with a quiet "sorry, bitch". This wasn't a mid-match monologue he was ordered to say.

It was evidence (no matter how hackneyed) that, just two years in, he can wrestle with an improvisational freedom. He's also, and this counts, blessed with telegenic leading man looks.

You might think he isn't a candidate for what is traditionally a showman's role, but he's very much in the vein of Brock Lesnar, and he's only been at this for two years.

Is the Performance Center, an operation that has only produced a handful of great talents (Bianca Belair being an example), truly fit for purpose?

Probably not, given how old it is now, but it existed to make a super-athlete wrestler exactly Julius Creed - and WWE finally has him.

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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!