But despite this the company's hottest feud is between
two mid-card tag teams.
The rivalry between Cesaro and Tyson Kidd's Brass Ring
Club, Masters of the Universe or Best Team Ever (they're going through names
like nobody's business) and the New Day trio of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier
Woods is an example of a wrestling company listening to their audience and
reacting accordingly. Two months ago Cesaro and Kidd were bad guys but their
ring work has been so enjoyable that audiences have been supporting them (a
theme throughout Cesaro's career). New Day are the opposite of this. Even
though they've been positioned as good guys and their matches have always been
solid the stereotypical characters they've been given to play have seen
audiences booing them. That they're essentially playing 80's-style clean cut
babyfaces has probably been a factor too.
The smart thing for WWE to do was to take the two
tandems, flip their roles and put them in a series against one another. So
that's what they did. Cesaro and Kidd are now free to officially encourage the
positivity crowds send their way and ramp up the pop-inducing sequences in
their matches.
 |
| New Day heat. |
It's the New Day lads who have really benefited from this,
and not just because their status as heat magnets has resulted in them getting
a tag team title reign complete with the Freebird Rule. When they were lobbed
together last year it took the writing team months to figure out what they
wanted to do with them. They were eventually cast as bland babyfaces with unclear
motivations. They spoke like gospel preachers and liked to clap, that was it.
There was no depth to them and it wasn't clear what they were meant to be.
No reason was provided to cheer them. So people didn't.
The resulting apathy gradually turned to active dislike, perhaps because the
three New Dayers remained so positive despite being in such an obviously poor
spot on the roster. That's the kind of blending of storyline and playing on
audience's heightened knowledge of pro wrestling's workings that WWE (and
others) should do more often.
The turn itself has been handled well and has allowed New
Day to tinker with their performances. One of the key moments for the trio came
when Kofi interfered in a match on Woods' behalf. The look Woods responded with
was perfect, conveying that he'd only just realised in that moment that there
was nothing to stop them breaking the rules. It created a reason for New Day to
be booed and set up a simple booking formula for them: the cheat to win
matches. And they had a reason for this change in attitude too. They were being
booed while trying to fight fairly, so what did they have to lose by cheating?
Playing heel also suits the three men well. Kofi Kingston
is essentially playing a slightly more arrogant version of the character he's
always played, which makes sense as for him to make drastic changes nine years
into his WWE run would be odd. I remember him saying in an interview years ago,
so it's nice to see him getting the opportunity to do so. Big E is more at ease
than he has been since his time with Dolph Ziggler, showing passion and
presence both in the ring and on the mic. He's playing a man who knows that his
obnoxious hollering will get under people's skin but who doesn't care.
It's Xavier Woods who has the most interesting character
right now. He's coming across as a man with a lot of pent up rage inside him,
glaring into the distance as Big E and Kofi prattle on during promos, clearly
wanting to speak out about the ridiculousness of what they've been given to do
but not quite bringing himself to verbalise his anger. If he ever gets to cut
loose in a promo he could deliver gold.
I like what's being done with New Day. There's nothing
revolutionary or amazing about any of it. It's just simple, effective booking
that takes into account the crowd's views on an act. It's what WWE should do
all the time but don't, so when they do it's eye-catching.
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