Steen, like every new signing these days, will relocate
to Florida to begin training at the company’s Performance Centre (note them
caps, yeah?). When he’s deemed ready he’ll be promoted to the bright lights,
glitz and glamour of everybody’s favourite Monday night wrestling show, RAW. In
all likelihood that’s a way off and he’ll do a stint on the weekly NXT show
beforehand.
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| Look at all those empty seats. Triple H is no draw... |
The prospect of Steen appearing on the NXT television
programme is a good thing. It’s WWE’s most consistently enjoyable show,
offering competitive matches, interesting gimmicks, storylines that make sense,
and no filler. Everything happens for a reason and wrestlers have so far
seemingly been pushed according to a mixture of ability and popularity, a trend
that will hopefully continue for a long time.
It’s also a show that emphasises wrestling over
storylines, as opposed to the main WWE shows which does the reverse. Both
approaches have their merits but I personally prefer the wrestling-centric one,
and it’s an approach I believe will lend itself nicely to Steen’s personality
and ability. The thought of him interacting with the likes of Tyler Breeze, CJ
Parker, Enzo Amore, Bull Dempsey, The Vaudevillains, fellow new recent signees
Prince Devitt and KENTA, and of course his old tag partner and rival Sami ‘El
Generico’ Zayn within the confines of the slickly produced and easy-to-enjoy
NXT package is tantalising.
Now that Steen is officially a WWE employee speculation
on how far he can make it in the company seems worthwhile (doing so before now
seemed presumptive). I think he can make it to the top, personally.
Arguably the greatest attribute needed by a WWE wrestler
is a ways with words. That’s what Steen is best known for. He can give an
impassioned speech that leaves you desperate to see him win or gloat and snark
enough to make you want to see him receive his comeuppance. He knows how to tailor
what he says to get the desired reaction from fans and has a sense of humour
too. You could ask for nothing more from
a WWE Superstar™.
Anyone who’s watched any of his work in ROH, PWG or
elsewhere will know he’s a good enough wrestler too. He has a penchant for
ringside brawling that won’t look at all out of place but he’s also capable of
staying in the ring and wrestling a more traditional match. What’s important to
note is his ability to interact with crowds during his matches. Steen clearly
understands the importance of drawing people into his performance, whether he’s
talking or wrestling. And he’s good at it.
It could be argued that he doesn’t have the WWE look. I’d
mostly agree with that but it’s become less and less important over the last
few years. Daniel Bryan does not have the archetypal company look but he
managed to do pretty well for himself. On the subject of looks Steen has
demonstrated that he’s willing to get himself into shape, which is still very
much a part of the WWE experience for a wrestler. He’s shed an impressive
amount of weight in the last year and deserves credit for doing so. I imagine
his dedication there played a part in getting signed in the first place.
The only thing I can see stopping Steen from making it in
WWE is disinterest from the creative department. That could be a more serious
hurdle than you might think. WWE have shown a bewildering willingness to do
nothing with wrestlers who are clearly incredibly talented and popular (yeah,
I’m thinking of Dolph Ziggler too). These falls from favour come seemingly at
random with no rhyme or reason to them. It’s this that he will need to avoid,
because it seems incredibly tough to come back from and must be excruciating to
endure.
Steen has the attitude, experience, and mind to succeed
in WWE. I hope he does and I think he will. Succeed Steen, succeed.
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