In the midst of ratings reaching record lows and heightened fan criticism, WWE has one shining light that’s keeping the universe invested, and it’s R-Truth. That’s right, everyone’s favorite 24/7 champion is the best thing in WWE at the moment.
This may seem like it’s all coming out of nowhere, but if you look at Truth’s track record, you will see he has been WWE’s secret weapon for years. His fantastic in ring skills coupled with his big personality, have made him a longtime fan favorite. To celebrate the veteran, we’re taking a look at 10 reasons why R-Truth is WWE’s most underrated performer.
10 ENTRANCE
This may seem like a small thing, but a superstar’s entrance is the fans’ first chance to get excited. There needs to be an instant reaction the minute the music hits. With his catchy audience participation theme “What’s Up,” Truth immediately creates a fun atmosphere for his matches.
A lot of performers just come to the ring without engaging the crowd, which means they’ve already lost them. His ability to captivate the audience from the second they see him speaks to Truth’s strength as an entertainer.
9 HAS HELD MULTIPLE WWE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Since he’s sometimes seen as a comedy act, it’s easy for some to forget how good Ron Killings is in the ring. He’s a veteran who’s been in the business for awhile, first signing with WWF back in 1999.
In that time he’s been a two time Hardcore champion, two time United States champion, Tag Team champion, won the Mixed Match Challenge and as of this writing is the five time 24/7 champion. Sure’s he’s fun to watch and we all love a dance break, but don’t sleep on how good Truth is in the ring.
8 CONNECTION WITH THE AUDIENCE
There are superstars that no matter what they do or how long it’s been since they’ve been on TV, the crowd is always excited to see them. R-Truth is one of those people. Whether he’s facing Samoa Joe or John Cena, the fans always want to see him succeed.
It’s true that he performs as the underdog a lot, so that helps his case, but honestly, the universe just loves Truth. The audience knows they can always rely on him to entertain them, so they in turn unconditionally support him.
7 PUTS OVER NEW PERFORMERS
There was a time between his partnerships with Goldust and Carmella where the only time we saw Truth on TV was when he was losing to some new up and comer or a debuting indie star. Though he wasn’t racking up wins, the matches were always great to watch.
Truth is able to strike the difficult balance of putting over his opponent, making them look spectacular, while also getting in enough good moves to not make himself look like a pushover. There are a lot of veterans who aren’t as generous in the ring as Truth, and he should be applauded for it.
6 HE’S A GREAT TAG TEAM PARTNER
From The Miz to Kofi Kingston to Goldust to Carmella, Truth has teamed with former champions and fan favorites, exceeding everyone’s expectations every time. Tag team partnerships are all about finding the right chemistry to make it believable that these two would actually work together.
Truth has the rare talent to find this chemistry with everyone he’s paired with. Recently his work with Carmella has been amazing and hilarious, since the duo seems to balance each other out, as Mella is the voice of reason to Truth’s crazy antics.
5 CAN WORK WITH ANYONE
Professional wrestlers are supposed to be able to have a good match against anyone, so this may not seem like a big deal, but we all know that only the very best can really work with anyone.
During his recent US title reign, Truth had back to back matches of the night in a triple threat with Andrade and Rey Mysterio, followed by a fatal 4 way that added Samoa Joe. Each time Truth took every wrestler’s style and elevated each contest into completely different yet entertaining matches.
4 COMMITMENT TO CHARACTER
Over the years we’ve seen plenty of wrestlers change characters or gimmicks for various reasons. The thing we love about Truth is that he’s remained committed to his character and doesn’t change his shenanigans just because he’s not on TV or getting stories, he simply makes the story fit his character.
We also love that Truth isn’t necessarily over the top crazy like “Woken” Matt Hardy or Mankind. He will drop hilarious one liners into a segment and then move on, leaving everyone else stunned. It’s the kind of character who will never disappoint fans.
3 HE’S HILARIOUS
There are some fans who look down on comedy acts, but let’s be honest, they have a much harder job than more traditional wrestlers. They have to do everything all the other performers do, while also being funny. There’s no one better at this than R-Truth.
Whether he’s backstage doing a five second walk through in someone else’s segment or in the ring challenging an opponent, he never fails to get a laugh. Ron Killings’ comedic timing of knowing when to go over the top and when to just add a look or movement can’t be taught, it’s just something you have.
2 HE MAKES EVERYONE ELSE MORE ENTERTAINING
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the 24/7 title, it’s how good of a scene partner R-Truth is. In his role as the champ everyone is chasing, he’s made the other guys in the midcard division much more interesting than they were before.
Not only with Carmella, but also Jinder Mahal, EC3 and Drake Maverick (another underrated, hilarious superstar), Truth has just made everyone up their comedy game and really make this story the best one in the company.
1 HE’S AN AMAZING STORYTELLER
Two words: Little Jimmy. For a full year, R-Truth was having conversations with his imaginary sidekick Little Jimmy, and it was awesome. Somehow, against all odds, he took the story of his frustration with kids cheering on John Cena and made it so hilarious, crowds were chanting for Little Jimmy. Only R-Truth could do that.
He is the only person in the business who can get away with stopping a match for a dance break and everyone just goes along with it and starts dancing. Truth can make every story feel important and relevant, no matter how nonsensical and wild it is.