Sometimes, WWE creative has an idea that is out of left field and makes you scratch your head wondering what they were thinking. There have been a plethora of those ideas over the years, but there have been a few recent examples that have been making the WWE Universe how anyone thought they would work on WWE programming.
For example, WWE recently repackaged Primo and Epico as “The Shining Stars,” which played on their heritage and allowed them to show the WWE Universe what Puerto Rico was really like. The only problem was that WWE made the vignettes about the food, nightlife, or anything else that didn’t have to do with wrestling.
Then, WWE creative was surprised when the gimmick didn’t go over with the WWE Universe during their debut on Monday Night Raw. That was two months ago, and Primo and Epico haven’t been seen on WWE programming since. That failure should have been a prime example of what not to do, but WWE is making the same mistake with another talent’s push.
Way back in May, it was revealed that WWE was planning to put WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund with Darren Young as a “Life Coach” to “Make Darren Young Great Again.” Obviously, the gimmick is meant to be rather comical and a clashing of the generations about what it takes to get over in WWE in the present day versus thirty years ago.
When the idea was revealed to the WWE Universe, the concept was either laughed off as a joke that wouldn’t work, or it was thought to be so out of left field that it could potentially work if their chemistry was good enough as performers. Since then, WWE has been playing vignettes of the two talking about various things, or Backlund yelling about them. Backlund and Young still haven’t debuted, and there is no debut date in sight for the WWE Universe to see this duo in action on WWE programming.
However, that may be for the best after considering a report from Daily Wrestling News . Apparently, the partnership between Bob Backlund and Darren Young has not been progressing well at all.
Recently, the duo actually appeared together during a WWE live event in Huntington, West Virginia. Young wrestled in a losing contest to Young wrestled in a losing contest to the current Intercontinental Champion The Miz, but the ringside antics of Backlund didn’t get the reaction WWE was hoping to get, and it raises several questions about the duo’s future in WWE.
The upcoming WWE Draft may be what WWE is waiting for as far as a debut is concerned for Darren Young and his “life coach.” It’s a concern that the gimmick isn’t getting over during house shows because a smarter WWE crowd on Raw or SmackDown isn’t going to accept it as easily, especially when television time is going to be much more valuable to WWE talents because they are suddenly only on one show per week thanks to the brand split.
Sometimes, an idea just doesn’t work. This is just a situation where WWE creative tried something completely out of left field in a low-risk, high-reward situation. It’s just very clear why it isn’t working in the first place, so it is curious why WWE still thinks “Making Darren Young Great Again” can work. No offense to him, but shouldn’t he have been “great” at one point first?
It’s a good thing that WWE creative tried something. If they’re still putting in the effort to make this bizarre gimmick between Backlund and Young work on WWE programming, then they’re going to need to show something new soon, get them in the ring more often, or put them on TV. They either need to stand behind it or let it go. Prolonging the inevitable isn’t helping anyone.
[Image via WWE.com]