WWE WrestleMania Backlash was defined by rematches from the biggest show of the year, and a main event that felt something like an all-star match from ‘Mania (indeed, one of the hidden highlights of the PPV was that the six-man tag was the only match to feature all winners of major matches from WrestleMania). One outlier was Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss, as these two had actually been on the same side at The Showcase of the Immortals, as Moss backed Corbin against Drew McIntyre in a blow off of The Scottish Superstar’s months feuding with the heel duo. WWE pivoted quickly, with Corbin blaming Moss for the loss and Moss turning babyface to set the two quite suddenly feuding with one another. One of the reasons their issue fell flat was because WWE rushed the storyline.

The Happy Corbin And Madcap Moss Had Peaked With The Drew McIntyre Feud

Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss had been a unit since Moss returned from injury last September, as Corbin transitioned from poverty-stricken to a happy-go-lucky guy with money to spare. The duo didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but Corbin settled into a fair enough mid-card spot to fit his talents, and Moss was able to get some heat off a better established heel, and presumably learn a bit in real life under Corbin's mentorship.

Corbin and Moss reached their climax in a months long feud with Drew McIntyre. Indeed, there’s a reasonable argument WWE wasn’t using McIntyre to his potential, as he should have had a more prominent, competitive, or original storyline going into WrestleMania season. Nonetheless, the Scottish star worked back to back PPVs with Moss, in matches where the finish was never in doubt. From there, he graduated to facing Corbin at ‘Mania in what did, at least, feel like a step up, but both a much bigger match for Corbin than McIntyre, and another match with little doubt regarding who would go over.

Fans Still Weren’t Sold On Madcap Moss Out On His Own

Madcap Moss had a compelling look, and got over in a sense for his annoying heel mannerisms. However, in contrast to someone like Diesel in late 1994, who was catching fire and fans were all too eager to get behind once he broke off from Shawn Michaels, it was difficult for fans to understand what Moss might look like out on his own, without his veteran partner.

There comes a time to let young wrestlers sink or swim on their own, just as WWE cut the ties between Omos and AJ Styles, or Doudrop from Eva Marie. However, Moss neither seemed to have cultivated the skills to justify a singles push, nor had meaningful buy in from the fans to clamor for a solo run, especially as a babyface. The result was a guy going out on his own before he was ready or fans wanted to see it, and these may be the key reasons why WWE opted to work the injury angle to get him off TV shortly after the WrestleMania Backlash match with Happy Corbin.

There Was No Build To The Happy Corbin-Madcap Moss Split

A part of how angles about sidekicks splintering from better established characters work in wrestling is via the build to get there. Batista became a main event star pretty quickly because of an artful story of him playing Triple H’s sidekick, only to emerge as a captivating star held down by The Game over a period of months, before the thrilling moment when he turned. On a smaller scale, even Virgil had a moment in the sun when WWE told the story of him getting fed up with Ted Dibiase’s years of abuse and Roddy Piper building up his self esteem. In hindsight, Virgil working a WrestleMania match with The Million Dollar Man, one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time not to be world champion,feels a little absurd, but it completely fit for the satisfying story WWE told at the time.

Without the benefit of such a build, Madcap Moss simply came across as a heel sidekick who broke from his mentor the first time Happy Corbin insulted him. In essence, Moss was less an underdog rising up against oppression than a petty villain, fighting a slightly more noxious bad guy.

It’s not entirely clear Madcap Moss had a lot more potential than his storyline with Happy Corbin demonstrated. Indeed, there’s no shortage of rumors his kayfabe injury at the hands of Corbin was designed to take him off TV for further polishing or perhaps full-blown repackaging. Nonetheless, for this storyline to have worked at all—getting Moss over as a singles wrestler and babyface, and telling a story that would’ve engaged fans—the key would have been a more patient build.