Why WWE SUCKS At Debuting New Stars

Every year, it’s the same.

On the post-WrestleMania RAW, and recently SmackDown, WWE debuts a new influx of performers to an international, diehard fanbase intoxicated on the rush of WrestleMania Weekend. This crowd is made up of the most ardent fans on the planet. They would recognise and erupt at the sight of even the lowliest New Japan or Ring Of Honor midcard act, much less a performer with an established presence on the Network.

This year saw No Way Jose make his RAW bow, unannounced. That was somewhat excusable. No Way Jose is a one-dimensional undercard act there only to unglue a house show crowd; there is no real character to carefully introduce. Ember Moon followed. The New Orleans crowd, many of which watched her bravely lose to Shayna Baszler at TakeOver 48 days prior, received her with a warm welcome. WWE never indicated to its more casual audience what drives Ember Moon with a follow-up vignette highlighting her NXT achievements, nor defined her character. She simply ran through some moon-associated puns a week or so later.

The Authors of Pain followed, by which time it was already difficult to care about No Way Jose. This is the first issue with WWE’s dire debut process. No Way Jose, a pure novelty act in itself, was stripped of that fresh novelty within an hour.

The Authors demolished Heath Slater and Rhyno in what, nominally, was an eye-catching performance. Still, it could not register. Eyes always wander on the RAW After WrestleMania, and those eyes quickly wandered to Samoa Joe’s intense, thunderous promo at the expense of Roman Reigns. To the untrained eye - of which there are several not trained on NXT - Akam and Rezar were mute, twinned, diluted versions of the returning Samoan Submission Machine. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Bobby Lashley made a return decades in the making. That you cannot remember when, specifically, all but confirms that he is now an indistinct part of the furniture. The entire model satisfies greed. Naturally, the audience soon grows full.

24 hours later, the more casual audience was asked to recognise yet more names in a further deluge: SAnitY, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, the IIConics. On the same night, though truncated, we were also presented with a buzz-stealing first-time meeting in WWE between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles. When the landscape settles, WWE literally Shakes it up once more. None of these new characters register because they are aged instantly.

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