WWE seems set on reverting NXT away from its current ‘third brand’ formula, moving back to a more development style, bringing in bigger athletes instead of scouring the independent wrestling scene. It’s been long known that Vince McMahon prefers larger, taller, stronger performers over more technical and high-flying superstars that we currently see in NXT and on the main roster. Even though WWE are wanting more ‘big guys’, their recent track record with big guys isn't great.
There Are Some Exceptions To Bad Booking
There are of course exceptions to this, with the current WWE and Universal Champions, Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns, being powerhouses in their own rights. Another larger-than-life athlete, Omos, has been protected strongly and already has a tag team title reign under his belt.
But when you look around at the rest of the roster, it's very up and down in terms of how well WWE book and present all their talent, including those big men that they so desperately want.
There Are So Many Examples Of Poorly Booked Big Guys
The idea is that McMahon feels as though bigger performers have a better chance at being made into stars. However, picking out a name on the current roster such as Commander Azeez, you’d be forgiven if you forgot that he was even there. Acting as a lackey and back-up to Apollo Crews (and not a very effective one), Azeez has had little to no exposure, standing in the background with no development. He has been on the main roster for six months already, and we’ve seen so little that this isn’t a case of ‘less is more’, it’s just carelessly handling talent.
Over on Monday Night Raw, it’s clear that the big men are barely considered as convincing superstars. Mace and T-Bar, for example, are large men, with impactful offense and great agility for people of their size. However, they were initially stuck in the dead-end group of Retribution, which had laughably poor success after such an extensive build-up, and since splitting from the group, they’ve been cannon fodder on Raw, trading wins and losses here and there, remaining in the lower depths of the tag team division. For men of this size to be dispatched so easily shows that WWE perhaps don’t even know what they want, because they already have big men readily available.
Keeping with the tag team division, Erik and Ivar of the Viking Raiders are, on paper, a monster duo with terrifying speed which should be tearing the division apart. After a questionable main roster call-up, with nonsensical name changes, it has been a case of stop and start for this team, despite their obvious size and strong appearance. They’ve been comedic characters, which they proved to be very successful at, showing their depth and charisma, but despite all this, they haven’t been pushed much and continually lose as soon as they get close to the championships.
Newly debuted superstars such as Veer and Shanky are impressive in their size, yet they’re treated as disposable, being thrown aside easily, most recently losing a two on one handicap match against Drew McIntyre. It takes away all their credibility, as they’ve simply replaced the Singh Brothers as Jinder Mahal’s lackeys – and they’re just as easily beatable.
Eventually, Even Good Big Men In WWE Are Booked Poorly
Speaking of McIntyre, WWE had someone special on their hands in his ascent to the WWE Championship. He was convincing, hugely popular, and charismatic in his role as challenger, and in his first few months as champion. This was a case of WWE using a larger star correctly. Until they didn’t. As often with babyfaces, WWE opted for the corny and jokey approach, which has an unsuccessful rate of translating well to the audience.
In another shocking move, WWE’s recent releases have completely contradicted what they are supposedly looking for. Despite appearances on Main Event and a strong NXT run, Bronson Reed was let go from the company. In addition, the release of Braun Strowman is an incredibly huge waste of talent. Strowman, at one point, was the most over wrestler in the entire company, and despite some ups and downs, his talent is undeniable. His speed, agility, size, and strength, all combined is something rarely seen in wrestling.
After turning an awful feud into a good match against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania, Strowman seemed set on an upwards path back to the top. In fact, he was even given a WWE Championship shot in a Triple Threat at WrestleMania Backlash. Then he was inexplicably released. Looking at Strowman, he is a WWE blueprint through and through, so it was baffling for him to be cut, regardless of expenses, as he is the perfect WWE mold, and a legitimate monster. This was another case of WWE wasting a ‘big guy’, despite wanting more ‘big guys’.