Rating Triple H’s talent rehires since they have “re-debuted” in WWE
We are now at 6+ months since Triple H took over creative after Vince McMahon retired. During this time, he has rehired many of Vince’s former roster cuts. Here I give my opinion on the talent rehires since they have “re-debuted” and their latest run.
My Thoughts:
Underwhelming Performances:
Emma. You know it’s a bad sign when your big return is being fed to Ronda Rousey on a Smackdown episode’s open challenge. Sure, Emma “put up a good fight”, but was that the best way to bring back Emma? Not at all in my opinion. Since her return and initial defeat, she hasn’t done much of anything noteworthy in any regards. She was off TV for a bit before returning at the side of Madcap Moss.
Dexter Lumis. Yawn. A long drawn out and boring storyline with the Miz. Briefly partnered with Johnny Gargano in backstage segments and now barely existent on television. The fans are pretty much non-reactive to him. I don’t see the value he adds to the roster, am I missing something?
Hit Row. Tag team jobbers at best. They initially came back with some promise and slowly fizzled out in the tag team division. I think B-Fab is holding them back a bit. Her role as a mostly non-wrestler, should be; the promo delivering, match interfering style manager. But all we get is an interference now and then. B-Fab on the mic may not be the answer, but I think this trio needs to be separated or sent back down to NXT.
Candice LeRae. She is extremely talented and experienced and I was hopeful on her arrival, but since then she just became a punching bag for Damage CTRL. She now has moved on to a slightly higher level than “enhancement talent”.
Tegan Nox. Welcome back. We’re not sure what to do with you though. So we will have you partner with Liv for a few matches. Then Raquel Rodriguez. I think Shotzi too. Now you will be partnered with Natalya. Keep up the good work and we’ll figure it out.
Chelsea Green. I know it hasn’t been 6 months since she’s been back. But c’mon. Why bother to bring her back if you are going to have her set a new record as the shortest time lasted in the Royal Rumble of 5 seconds. Then lose her follow-up match 2 Smackdowns later. The “Karen: I need to speak the Manager” character is just … “ugh”.
Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson. Brought back together as part of the Club. However, without AJ Styles, they are non-existent. Since AJ’s injury, I don’t think we’ve seen them once on television. That’s not a good sign, unless you are going for the record on how many times you can be wished luck on your future endeavors.
Borderline Performances:
Braun Strowman. Hmmm … how do you book a “Monster Among Monsters” without giving us more of the Brawn vs. Omos or Brawn vs. Brock? Seems like WWE wasn’t sure either when they brought Brawn back because we got a few televised squash matches against local talent and then a PLE against Omos. *yawn* Partnering Brawn and Ricochet was probably the best thing they could’ve done for both of them at this current time, as they compliment each other quite nicely.
Johnny Gargano. A very talented wrestler. I mean you don’t get the moniker “Johnny Wrestling” for not being talented. However, his booking is eerily reminiscent of Vince McMahon still being in control “keep the little men down style”. Johnny needs better booking and he needs to distance himself from Dexter Lumis.
Karrion Kross. He’s got the look. He’s got the character. He’s got the mysterious and gorgeous wife/manager Scarlet at his side. He needs to get his character over more as a heel. Feuding with Rey Mysterio, in my opinion, was not helpful to him. Having Kross pick up clean wins over the likes of Brawn Strowman, Sheamus and others would help elevate him. Working with Bray Wyatt may be beneficial to him. Either a feud against Wyatt, joining him. Maybe even feuding with him, then joining him.
Iyo Sky/Dakota Kai. Seemed like another Riott Squad style pairing that didn’t make sense at first, just with a star in Bailey at the forefront. As a tag team and stable, they were forced on us twice a week, week in and week out. Fans online were frustrated with their constant presence on television. Since then, they have been dialed back some, while many still complained that they didn’t defend their titles enough. I think since their reemergence, the two have become a competent tag team, working well together. I don’t know what the future holds for the stable, as it is Wrestlemania season, and they have just lost their tag team titles.
Mia Yim. Brought in to the Club to solve the “Rhea problem”, Mia had a few mediocre encounters with Rhea. After AJ Styles injury, she has managed to stay on television occasionally, which is better than her Club stablemates Gallows & Anderson. She has seemingly separated herself from the Club, we will see if that remains. She hasn’t really stood out on her own as of late, but I think given the chance, she could.
Bray Wyatt. White Rabbit teasers brought all the hype and people were intrigued. Unfortunately, we are in the society of immediate gratification and the stigma has worn off. Bray is a storyteller, something this generation either doesn’t care much about, don’t understand or don’t have the patience for. Admittedly, the storyline is progressing at an extremely slow pace. We can only hope as Wrestlemania approaches, we receive more answers to questions, rather than more questions.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I wouldn’t consider the rehires performing well at all. That doesn’t mean that they some still can’t. What are your thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.