Can Bo Dallas be a successful good guy?

[MartialHorror]

I hated Bo when he first showed up doing the 'self help' parody, although I guess that was a step up from the complete and utter indifference I had felt towards him before. Yet over time, his smugness, genuine comedic timing and random bursts of violence won me over. I love to hate him and just wish that WWE gives him a more interesting feud to keep him relevant.

But can he ever be an effective face without discarding the gimmick? In many ways, Bo has been booked much like Kurt Angle when he had first begun his career (a villainous parody of the hero). But when Angle turned into a good guy, he became the kind of character that he was deconstructing/satirizing. It worked well enough, at least based on my memory of face Angle.

But if you took away that element from Bo's gimmick, it sort of loses its flavor. At least with Bray Wyatt or Bad News Barrett, I can see their gimmicks carrying over into face roles. But I can't imagine Bo ever being a successful face without changing or dropping the gimmick...and that might mean a rehash of his initial failed run as a good guy.

Do you think Bo can make the gimmick succeed if he ever has a face turn? Or will he be a lifelong heel? That would present another issue though as I do think the Bolieve gimmick will eventually get old. I suspect Bo is doomed to midcard status regardless of what he does, with maybe a brief Ryback-esque run as a main eventer before being reduced to talent enhancement. But I have been wrong before.

 

[cmedge]

I could see Bo Dallas being a decent face with his Bolieve gimmick. And yes, I think Bo Dallas at best could be a midcarder which there's nothing wrong with it beats being just a comedic jobber like Adam Rose and Fandango.

 

[MartialHorror]

I could see Bo Dallas being a decent face with his Bolieve gimmick. And yes, I think Bo Dallas at best could be a midcarder which there's nothing wrong with it beats being just a comedic jobber like Adam Rose and Fandango.

I don't see a problem with being a midcarder either, but if he develops enough of a fanbase, another Daniel Bryan situation might arise. I actually don't want that to be common as it gives the audience too much control. Fans also want Ziggler to be a main eventer, but I think he's only midcard worthy.

lol, Adam Rose is a comedic jobber? Has he even been defeated on television yet? But the less screen-time dedicated to him, the better.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Bo Dallas he just has that thing about him that he just goes out of his way to be annoying or he goes out of his way to try to make the fans hate him but in all actuality the fans just like this guy because his gimmick is genuinely likeable or at least it's funny when you really think about it on a realistic level

 

[deadman talking]

i was always hoping that this gimmick was just to get him in the ''front door.'' i bet and hope he is a hell of a wrestler ala Barry Windham, his uncle. i was hoping they would put him in the ring with someone like a D Bryan and give em a good 15 to 20 minutes at least. Because i bet the kid can go in the ring. And much like Angle, he wovld be able to slowly drop the gimmick. ya babay!

 

[Mustang Sally]

i was always hoping that this gimmick was just to get him in the ''front door.''

Understandable, and given the rumors of Vince McMahon already getting sick of it, I was surprised to see the whole schtick resurrected against Kofi Kingston last night. It was the same stuff over again.

Can Bo be a good guy? Sure, why not? All he has to do is play it straight, save some innocent performer from a beating by a mega-heel.....and see if Bo can carry on by himself. Hell, I remember a time I didn't think John Cena could transition to good guy. Shows what I know.

Only two things I don't like about Bo: He's too damn young to carry that roll of flab around his middle and......His regular facial expressions don't bother me, but when he smiles, I want to puke.

 

[WBL]

I think the whole self-help inspirational BS thing can work great for a guy, depending on who the guy is. I mean, remember, this is how we were introduced to Kurt Angle.

I just think Bo wasn't ready for the big time. For the second time in a row.

 

[Mudlup50]

I could see him being a face in blurred lines WWE. There have been weeks where it sounded like he was getting cheers. I remember that because the next week he fought the Bull thing

All it would take is for Bo to target heels, imagine Bo beats like a Cesaro. And instead of insulting them he says the line "all you have to do is bolieve." Cesaro gets mad and attacks Bo. Hell, imagine Bo saying it to Bray! I could see him being face, not as funny but it'd still be good. He just shows up to Brock Lesnar and says, the reason you win is because you bolieve and he gets F5ed. I know not likely but still, I can see it

 

[Creepy Old Man]

He's becoming one already. The character is so ridiculously over-the-top that you can't help but be amused by it.

 

[kadroan]

I could see Bo Dallas being a decent face with his Bolieve gimmick. And yes, I think Bo Dallas at best could be a midcarder which there's nothing wrong with it beats being just a comedic jobber like Adam Rose and Fandango.

I could see him work as a face if he starts giving pep talks to heels like Sandow, Orton etc. when they lose matches to get a positive response from the crowd.

He definitely was getting over with the win streak. It's definitely possible to see him as a successful face.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Not without changing his gimmick. Bo Dallas is far too annoying to work as a face. The "Bo-Lieve" stuff is beyond annoying and really only fits for a heel. Every single one of the guys who watch PPV's (and occasionally Raw, Smackdown or NXT) with me all detest the guy. Hate is a strong word, they all hate him, but I won't go as far as to say that I do. I don't dislike Bo as much as my friends do, I'm certainly not a fan of his, I find him incredibly annoying though. So, despite what those who dislike him may say, he's doing his job if you want to see him lose. I see him continuing the annoying "Bo-Lieve" promos until he gets a new gimmick, then again they could always use him as a jobber.

 

[Reflection]

I think the entertaining part about him is that he is a scumbag acting like a good guy. And that's something that makes his promos more funny than inspiring. Full-face promos will be more inspiring than funny and will get old pretty soon.
As a full face, he will be limited to "Don't give up even if you lost, all you have to do is Bo-Lieve!" but as a heel, he can play a lot more with the gimmick, like "Titus, you fell from your horse. But that didn't stop you. You got back up... and then you fell again", "Jack Swagger let the whole country down", and my personal favourite- "...like your hockey team Chicago Blackhawks..." "YAAY!" "...is going to lose tonight..." "BOOO!" -there will be very limited scope for such acts. He should thus remain a heel with this gimmick for at least a few months more, and then change it if it starts getting old.
The only downside I notice is the crowd being confused whether to cheer or boo, somewhat like in Damien Sandow's segments. I wish they'd do at least one rather than sit silently.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

The only downside I notice is the crowd being confused whether to cheer or boo, somewhat like in Damien Sandow's segments. I wish they'd do at least one rather than sit silently.

This is EXACTLY WHY I think he's going to fail. When the crowd can't make up it's mind whether or not you're a face or heel or if they have a hard time understanding whether or not you're trolling, there's trouble looming. The remedy to this is to make him randomly pop up to address guys who are completely over as faces or heels. Also they'd have to follow that formula nearly weekly. That way the crowd would know how to act when they see Dallas.

The problem is that there aren't any mainstay guys that over right now on either the good or evil side...aside from his brother Bray (whom I'm sure is someone the writers don't want to pit Bo against so early).

 

[The Butcher]

I think he can, though he might need assistance. In a thread regarding what to do with Randy Orton, I just threw an idea out there that I ended up really liking: an odd couple tag team named "RK-BO!"

Orton's struggling and going through a period that could make him doubt himself. If he started to show that while remaining heelish and mostly unsympathetic, Bo could jump in and bug him for a few weeks about Bolieving in himself. Randy, being the cold sumbitch that he is, would shrug him off, insult him, and they could have a match or two. The whole time, though, Bo would be ridiculously positive to the point where it became endearing. Eventually, Orton would grudgingly accept that Bo isn't going to stop and grow to like the guy, all while still remaining The Viper. Bo gets a bump in his stock price thanks to being associated with Orton, and Orton gets a bit of a rejuvenation by being a part of something that's not super serious. I think there's a lot of entertainment value there, and if they could find a safe way to tie the Bo-Dog and the RKO together, that'd be a sick finisher.

Just a little fantasy booking, and I admit that the odd-couple team isn't a terribly original idea. It is a proven one, though. There are other characters Bo could get an assist from (tag team or no) that could help him be an effective face, and he might be able to do it on his own if creative is up to the task. It is possible, however. Plus, if the fans turn on him at any point, I certainly wouldn't mind a main roster incarnation of NXT Champion Bo Dallas. There have been plenty of characters that I or others have thought wouldn't work as a face, only for that Superstar to show otherwise. Dallas could be the next one.