What went wrong with Erick Rowan?

[Richard]

He's turning heel Sunday, can see him and Sheamus costing Cena the title.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

Jan 22, 2015 23:18:59 GMT -5 Richard said:

He's turning heel Sunday, can see him and Sheamus costing Cena the title.

Yes, they can finally do the fusion dance!

[schma]

I honestly can't remember the last time that someone wasn't dragged down by a Big Show feud, let alone elevated. The fact that Big Show handled him so easily and moved on really killed the momentum Rowan had built up. Really what they should have done for his return though is lose the coveralls and have him add some moves as others have mentioned. The coveralls need to go though. Harper's outfit works but Rowan's just looks ridiculous and there's no reason for it anymore. Not saying put him in wrestler's tights but put him in something else. Still he's not so damaged that he couldn't come back from this if the writers care enough.

[Welfare Willis]

He has gingerivitis.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Nothing. He's a midcard face. Not everyone is a champion.

[Dub H]

WWE didn't want to get behind him.

[nisidhe]

I think Erick Rowan, in his current gimmick, has run his course teasing with the main event scene. If they had begun moving him out of the "cult" facade, tidied up his look and pushed a development in his character from cult follower to new soul genius, it might have done much both to push him and to get minds off his association with Bray Wyatt and the tumble Wyatt took down the ladder. Harper might have done better with a bit of a clean-up, too. Instead, we have a cult leader without followers getting crickets while his former followers are getting some reaction but not really drawing, either.

[nickcave]

For a guy only brought into the Wyatt family because he had a beard. He's gone a lot further than expected. He'd probably still be floundering as a Viking in NXT or released by now otherwise.

[bmfjules]

Had to work a 'genius' gimmick written by morons.

[Deleted]

Jan 23, 2015 0:18:49 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

Jan 22, 2015 23:18:59 GMT -5 Richard said:

He's turning heel Sunday, can see him and Sheamus costing Cena the title.

Yes, they can finally do the fusion dance!

So I guess that means the Bald Sheamus rumor will finally come true?

"I KIN SAUVE A RUBIKS CUBE, FELLA!"

And I suppose that also means his jumpsuit will be an even more sickening shade of green.

[Deleted]

Not to be a dickhead, but I was so happy Luke Harper beat him... mostly because I'm a Luke Harper mark.

Not a whole lot you can do with him as a face right now. He's a coherent Festus at this point.

[Hit Girl]

I'd have kept the Wyatts together, and added Kane and Big Show.

Each would have got a hillbilly make over.

It would have freshed up two stale acts, and immediately made the Wyatts much more threatening.

[BigJerichool222]

He was never supposed to even be pushed until Sheamus got hurt.

[molson5]

Jan 22, 2015 14:21:38 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

Jan 22, 2015 10:34:20 GMT -5 audiencewatching said:

Big Show flattened him for no reason and the world moved on, with little reason to care.

Yeah. There was no reason for that. Even "fattening Big Show up to feed to Reigns" isn't a good reason because Show is someone they'll always present as a threat no matter what, so he doesn't need to be "built up".

Jan 22, 2015 14:21:38 GMT -5 digit said:

It's hard to believe watching Raw but with competent writers/bookers it is possible for people to look strong even when losing in a clean finish. This weeks NXT featured an example...(pause so people can stop reading if they haven't seen it)... where Breeze arguably looked stronger than ever despite losing cleanly in the first round of a tournament in what was his first match for quite some time. That was largely due to him showing a lot of fighting spirit and debuting some new moves.

In a similar way Rowan could have looked better than he did while losing to The Big Show. A simple angle where Big Show took his opponent lightly and is shocked when Rowan puts up more of a fight than he expected largely due to the addition of something new to his arsenal to evolve his shtick from The Wyatt Family.
Instead Rowan just lost.

That logic is fine if the older guy is facing a guy you really want to push, but I think the older star types still need to win strongly sometimes. I think Foley and Jericho lost TOO much their last few runs. So I kind of like it when the aging star shows he still has it and decisively beats a guy who isn't in his league. The whole gatekeeper concept only works if sometimes guys can't get through that gate, or even fall totally flat trying to get there. That's real life sports/MMA kind of stuff. I would loved to see old Foley or Jericho actually shut down a young guy, who it turned out, in storyline, just didn't have enough to get past that level. Let them lose or look weak against guys you actually want to push. Erik Rowan is not that guy for them. And that's OK, they need to have guys on the roster like that.

[sunnytaker]

he's going to be the new Great Khali- the big menancing face that comes out to get the cocky heel all nervous like he bit off more than he can chew, only to beat khali/rowan to show the heel is a real threat to be taken seriously because he just beat the big man khali/rowan

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jan 23, 2015 19:55:41 GMT -5 molson5 said:

Jan 22, 2015 14:21:38 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

Yeah. There was no reason for that. Even "fattening Big Show up to feed to Reigns" isn't a good reason because Show is someone they'll always present as a threat no matter what, so he doesn't need to be "built up".

Jan 22, 2015 14:21:38 GMT -5 digit said:

It's hard to believe watching Raw but with competent writers/bookers it is possible for people to look strong even when losing in a clean finish. This weeks NXT featured an example...(pause so people can stop reading if they haven't seen it)... where Breeze arguably looked stronger than ever despite losing cleanly in the first round of a tournament in what was his first match for quite some time. That was largely due to him showing a lot of fighting spirit and debuting some new moves.

In a similar way Rowan could have looked better than he did while losing to The Big Show. A simple angle where Big Show took his opponent lightly and is shocked when Rowan puts up more of a fight than he expected largely due to the addition of something new to his arsenal to evolve his shtick from The Wyatt Family.
Instead Rowan just lost.

That logic is fine if the older guy is facing a guy you really want to push, but I think the older star types still need to win strongly sometimes. I think Foley and Jericho lost TOO much their last few runs. So I kind of like it when the aging star shows he still has it and decisively beats a guy who isn't in his league. The whole gatekeeper concept only works if sometimes guys can't get through that gate, or even fall totally flat trying to get there. That's real life sports/MMA kind of stuff. I would loved to see old Foley or Jericho actually shut down a young guy, who it turned out, in storyline, just didn't have enough to get past that level. Let them lose or look weak against guys you actually want to push. Erik Rowan is not that guy for them. And that's OK, they need to have guys on the roster like that.

The way it went with Foley and Jericho is that you had to be something of a major player to even get a match with them in the first place.

If you want hem to win strongly against guys, you do that with guys that you clearly have no intention of pushing. Not with guys that it looks like they're going to get a push, and then all of a sudden, not. And you gotfa make them look strong in a loss. If Big Show has to be kept strong in order to put over a top star like Reigns, likewise someone like Rowan needs to be kept strong in order to even put the gatekeepers over to begin with. No wrestler should ever "fall flat on their face". It makes them look worthless for no reason.

[thelonewolf527]

Sheamus got injured is what happened