How to get Rowan over?

[MartialHorror]

Rowan was placed in a difficult position when he became part of the Wyatt family because his skills were limited compared to his companions. He's not as good as Harper or Bray in the ring or on the mic, but unlike Reigns- who's also inferior to the other members of the Shield- he doesn't have that cool charisma that makes you want to see more of him.

When the Wyatts broke up, WWE obviously had no idea how to use Rowan, although it seemed like the initial plans was to push him as some sort of 'slasher'-inspired figure based on how he was kind of stalking Lillian Garcia. But then he turned face and WWE tried 'expanding' his character. He was apparently super smart, can...brew wine...notsurehowthathelpsanything...and he seems more like a man child. He hates bullies, because apparently triple teaming Bryan and Jericho does not count as bullying. Fans occasionally got behind him, as I do remember them chanting "Rowan" pretty loudly during one of his confrontations with the Big Show. But otherwise, everyone seemed indifferent.

So...what happened? He isn't much of a talker, nor is he the best when it comes to actual wrestling, but that hasn't stopped people from backing Reigns. Other men have gotten over with less. What could be done to win over the crowds? In my opinion, WWE just went the wrong way with him. The idea of making him intelligent could've been interesting if it effected what he did during matches, but they never went anywhere with it. If anything, his TLC match proved that the Big Show was the crafty one. Rusev and Rollins (when he isn't being written as a moron) are examples of intelligence done right.

I think it would've been interesting if they followed through with the slasher angle, but I'm not sure Rowan is scary enough to make it work. Kane, especially when he was first introduced, had a much more frightening disposition. The Sheep mask always looked silly to me and I don't know what it is about the long red beard, but it looks more cute than terrifying. He worked as part of the Wyatts because of how strange the family was. It's hard to retain that as a solo act. But maybe it would've worked if there were various random shots of him staring at various wrestlers in the background during backstage segments. Cole tried to sell him as being like Michael Myers at one point, so draw inspiration from the original Halloween. Even a face, there could be something satisfying seeing Rowan stalking and creeping out the heels he's feuding with. But it would take a lot and as the demon Kane storyline proved, WWE's attempts at horror tend to be 'so bad, it's...still bad'.

But do you guys have any ideas how to get the audience to connect with him?

 

[Kidpolean]

Rowan needs to get himself over. Its not wwe's job to get someone over, they have to do that themselves. Its wwe's job to capitalize on a rising superstar that is getting over on their own, such as DB. He isn't ver entertaining and there really isn't anything that can be done with a mediocre wrestler with no mic skills.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Erick Rowan is a nobody. It's not WWE's job to get him over, it's his job to get himself over. But he brings NOTHING to the table. He's just a generic big guy who can't wrestle, can't talk, and can't really do anything but stand around and do nothing. He's Khali with a red beard. At least Khali was over in India. Rowan is just a black hole of money, draining WWE's wallet.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Rowan is an amalgam of a troll, dwarf, and Gollum. He is also not so talented that he needs to be taken seriously. WWE should rip off Tolkien and Peter Jackson and have Rowan play to a Middle Earth type character. Maybe he can go as far as having three faces. One a dumb but strong troll, another a stubborn dwarf, and another that is a depraved weirdo. Try to bring the comedy by blatantly ripping off something that has been hugely popular over the past 10 or so years. It sounds right up Vince's alley.

 

[Radical]

Erick Rowan is a somebody. It's WWE's job to allow talent to get over by putting them in favorable matches and feuds. He brings A LOT to the table. He's a big guy (and young, unlike Big Show, Kane and Mark Henry) who can wrestle better than a lot of people think he can, and can talk better than a lot of people think he can (because he's playing a bit of a mystical character he needs to talk fairly basic and to the point because talking a storm up would make no sense for his character), and he has already done some stand out things with steel steps and a Rubix cube! He's a great, new big man in WWE and may not be Main Event material but could be very valuable in the mid to upper card spot, similar to how Mark Henry was for most of his career.

 

[Softcore Holly]

in the mid to upper card spot, similar to how Mark Henry was for most of his career.

Actually Henry spent most of his career in the lower-mid card, he didn't really move up until very late in his career back in 2011. Although Rowan's career will probably be similar to Henry's career as a low to mid carder if he stays as he is now, limited in the ring and a one-liner on the mic. Like if he becomes the person that you've described then we might have something here but I'm not that's not the Rowan I'm seeing.

As for the whole job thing the answer is both. The wrestler should provide the tools that creative can use for their ideas which in turn gives the wrestler the chance to impress the audience and hopefully get them to open their wallets. A talent can only do so much without creative support and obviously creative can't do jack if the talent is crap, so it's pretty much a 2 way street.

 

[Kidpolean]

Erick Rowan is a somebody. It's WWE's job to allow talent to get over by putting them in favorable matches and feuds. He brings A LOT to the table. He's a big guy (and young, unlike Big Show, Kane and Mark Henry) who can wrestle better than a lot of people think he can, and can talk better than a lot of people think he can (because he's playing a bit of a mystical character he needs to talk fairly basic and to the point because talking a storm up would make no sense for his character), and he has already done some stand out things with steel steps and a Rubix cube! He's a great, new big man in WWE and may not be Main Event material but could be very valuable in the mid to upper card spot, similar to how Mark Henry was for most of his career.

That is not how pro wrestling works. A wrestler isnt owed anything. A wrestler has to give his company a reason to put him in favorable matches and especially feuds. You don't get in feuds unless you first prove that you are worth the time and effort. Rowan hasn't done anything impressive at all.

 

[Navi]

That is not how pro wrestling works. A wrestler isnt owed anything. A wrestler has to give his company a reason to put him in favorable matches and especially feuds. You don't get in feuds unless you first prove that you are worth the time and effort. Rowan hasn't done anything impressive at all.

Neither has Roman Reigns and look where he is? Now before you start I'm a fan of his, but just pointing that out.

I like Rowan, like someone else said, he's a big guy, can go in the ring and isn't supposed to be a parrot. I think though that JBL has spoiled him a little by continuing to call him Big Red. Everytime he says it, I'm reminded of a stick of chewing gum.

The best thing that could happen is next time he says it, Rowan step out of the ring, go over to the announce table, pick up JBL and toss him into the upper balcony. Now that would be epic and get him over immediately.

 

[MartialHorror]

Big Red is a dumb nickname, presuming they don't try to change that into his official name, both because of the gum and because it makes him seem like a Big Show knock-off. If the Big Show retired and Rowan adopted that nick-name, I'd presume that Rowan is going to act as his replacement. But Show's career seems to be stable and he went over Rowan, so I don't know why they tried that.

Last I checked, being a lesser version of someone else has never gotten anyone over...

 

[Aquaman6686]

The best thing that could happen is next time he says it, Rowan step out of the ring, go over to the announce table, pick up JBL and toss him into the upper balcony. Now that would be epic and get him over immediately.

The best thing that could happen in that situation is JBL gives Rowan the Clothesline from Hell, and Rowan is never seen again. Making legends look like inept nobodies to give rookies two minutes of fame never works in the long run. Cough, Chris Jericho and Fandango, cough.

 

[Kidpolean]

Neither has Roman Reigns and look where he is? Now before you start I'm a fan of his, but just pointing that out.

I like Rowan, like someone else said, he's a big guy, can go in the ring and isn't supposed to be a parrot. I think though that JBL has spoiled him a little by continuing to call him Big Red. Everytime he says it, I'm reminded of a stick of chewing gum.

The best thing that could happen is next time he says it, Rowan step out of the ring, go over to the announce table, pick up JBL and toss him into the upper balcony. Now that would be epic and get him over immediately.

Roman Reigns is more over than Rowan, has probably the best look of any current wrestler on the roster, and has a ton of charisma...Rowan has none of that. Reigns has proven that he can get the crowd behind him. Rowan was the worst wrestler in the Wyatt Family, a group where Bray Wyatt did all the talking and had all the big matches. Reigns was, towards the end of the shield, pushed as the leader in a group that showed that they could all succeed individually. Rowan and Reigns have been given the same opportunity, they were both thrown into a stable. Rowan just never capitalized on the opportunity. Look at Harper....he did exactly what Rowan failed to do.

 

[Bone For Tuna]

People are probably going to shit all over this but honestly, I'd have him be the one to beat Rusev. He is Merican. Have someone else interfere maybe, sell it as a huge upset and an embarrassment to Rusev considering he lost to a hillbilly more or less and yeah. Undefeated steaks are stupid and yeah you could have someone people see as a real threat like Cena or Ziggler be the one to beat him, or you could have Rowan roll up Rusev in a random match on Raw and give him the rub. Does Cena need to beat Rusev at Mania, just because? Rowan has an awesome face for TV and personally I think what he does in the ring is perfect for his character. Him squishing peoples brains just by pushing his fists together, it's believable enough and his facial expressions when he does it are awesome.

I like him and see a lot in him, maybe more so than others. If he starts to get lost in the shuffle, how about him teaming up with Bray?

 

[kadroan]

They got to book him better. They dropped the ball on him. When he joined Team Cena, it seemed like there could have been a Rowan vs. Harper feud based on Harper's reaction when Rowan joined Team Cena. However, they decided to let him feud with Big Show and let Ziggler feud with Harper over the IC Championship.

Show vs. Rowan was an interesting feud. I thought it would have been the perfect opportunity for the former World Champion, Show, put over Rowan as the next jolly big man but instead they gave Rowan the loss. Big Show had nothing to gain from the win, meanwhile, Rowan is in limbo.

I believe it was last week, Rowan lost to Bray in a meaningless match. I thought nothing of the match until Bray's promo after the match where he talked about how he beat his brother (Rowan). The way Bray/Harper/Rowan act towards each other you would think it would some bad blood between the 3 that wasn't addressed. They could have had a Rowan vs. Bray feud for fans to buy into.

Whenever they let Rowan win, that'll be a start to get him over. Him keep losing isn't going to help.

 

[MartialHorror]

To be fair, Show needed a win in order to effectively put over Reigns. One of the problems with the WWE right now is that the villains have gotten weaker. Outside of Lesnar and Rusev- who have been cheating/needing help more recently- everyone else are wimps. Rollins, Barrett, Cesaro, Kane, Henry. Harpers solo career started off poorly by having him cheat to win the IC belt, but immediately lose it once the Authority could no longer keep him up. Bray wins and has retained his dignity...mostly...but I keep forgetting he even exists.

Big Show is in a position that he needs to be credible, if a victory for Reigns is to mean something. Part of the reason why 'Rusev Vs Big Show' worked is because Big Show rarely loses cleanly. Mark Henry and Swagger do, so Rusev's wins weren't quite as substantial (although Swaggers matches were so good that both benefited from that feud). I still see Rowan as midcard material for life, other than the occasional 'heel monster' push.

 

[Reflection]

I feel they should keep booking him as this super-face, gentle giant. It is not possible to give every superstar wins, otherwise the roster will be divided into blocks, where everyone in a block will remain in the same level, as in TNA. Some guys have to get losses, and Rowan is currently in the receiving end of one after another loss. As such, as long as he is this good big guy that stands up against what is wrong, he will have the people's sympathy and support. Conversely, when a douchebag character like Cesaro was on a losing streak, the damage caused was of a much larger scale.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

At the moment he is being pitched as the new George "The Animal" Steele, which in itself is not a bad thing. For his age, Steele had a great career and is a pretty memorable guy from those first 3 Mania shows. If they're going to stay that course with him, "big wins" will be few and far between for Rowan, inherently the "Gentle Giant" has to get nasty to win more as we've seen with Big Show, Kane and Mark Henry ad nauseum

One idea I suggested in another thread is to actually use the 3 fired guys and Sting with Flair as WWE's version of the Four Horsemen... Ziggler is the perfect Flair replacement in the ring, Rowan would be a good "enforcer" , he has the size Arn didn't have... Ryback perhaps doesn't go in, or if so he's in the Lex Luger/Windham role. Personally I'd leave him out and put Curtis Axel in... the first second gen Horseman... he and Rowan would be a strong tag team. Sting of course is himself as the veteran/Ole role and Flair on the outside as the JJ Dillonesque manager.

Why would this work for Rowan?

They can have skits with Flair taking Rowan and teaching him "how to be a Horseman", that he's the "rough diamond" and forget Wyatt, it's Naitch who can polish him up... over time Rowan grows in confidence and swagger and becomes a true enforcer on the mic and in the ring. Maybe then it goes full circle to a new Wyatt Family feuding with the Horsemen if they go the Sting v Bray route...