Riley, Curtis and Bateman, The Varsity Jocks

[AwesomeRko]

Alex Riley, Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman are three of the most promising young superstars on the roster. Yet they are still awaiting an agle to get them on tv and moving up the card.

I was thinking in line with the prominence in pop-culture and with young-teens and kids who probably comprise the majority of the WWE audience with high-school type movies and shows. Ranging from High School Musical to Friday Night Lights and One Tree Hill that their is a niche in the market that WWE has yet to and should capitalise on. Riley, Curtis and Bateman are all young, athletic, good looking and talented, three guys you can easily imagine being the cool kids at high school. Hell Alex Riley has previously used a Varsity gimmick already.

I would have them come up acting like the top guys on campus, stereotypically big-headed yet at the same time quite slow and goofy. Think E&C, with letterman jackets instead of surfer style outfits. They could breathe some life into the tag-division whilst one probably either Riley or Curtis could target the United States championship.

This is probably too far but the leader (either Curtis or Riley) could have the initials QB sewn into his jacket, whilst the other two could be running backs, with the possiblity of hiring someone like Zeke or Ryan as an enforcer type figure playing the role of Safety and a hot diva manager as a cheerleader/ rally-girl.

So do you think that the idea in itself could work, in line with the popularity of high-school based drama in mainstream entertainment and do you think Curtis, Riley and Bateman woud be the right people to spearhead it?

 

[Nickster12909]

maybe you could use Bateman and Riley in that senario but as a tag team??

WWE needs more tag teams and this could be the way to do it, but when they do it dont' just make it a random paring like Kofi and truth but have it last for like a few years

 

[GI Cake]

This could either work really well, or make Riley, Curtis, and Bateman into a complete miss to the crowd. Out of the three, Riley had a higher peak than Curtis or Bateman because of his feud with The Miz. And it got him extremely over with the crowd. But after that, he had nothing to connect with the fans. And even after that, he couldn't keep himself out of the dog house after getting arrested with a D.U.I. But I could see Riley pulling off the jock thing again. Even more the case if he can get Curtis or Bateman to join along. But it won't be able to work as a stable. Not unless you can get someone already over with the fans to be the leader. If the stable doesn't have an identifiable leader, it quickly falls to the wayside. Much like the Spirit Squad during their twilight moments.

 

[AwesomeRko]

This could either work really well, or make Riley, Curtis, and Bateman into a complete miss to the crowd. Out of the three, Riley had a higher peak than Curtis or Bateman because of his feud with The Miz. And it got him extremely over with the crowd. But after that, he had nothing to connect with the fans. And even after that, he couldn't keep himself out of the dog house after getting arrested with a D.U.I. But I could see Riley pulling off the jock thing again. Even more the case if he can get Curtis or Bateman to join along. But it won't be able to work as a stable. Not unless you can get someone already over with the fans to be the leader. If the stable doesn't have an identifiable leader, it quickly falls to the wayside. Much like the Spirit Squad during their twilight moments.

Yeahh, I completely agree it could go either way, it could end in unmitigated disaster but with smart booking and the right promo wirting/work an era in which all three excel at it could do really well I think.

I get where your coming from with the stable point but I think it might be ok, they wouldn't be in the main event or dominating the show like most tend to they would be a mid-card stable, kind of similar to the brood with Gangrel, Edge and Christian and thus wouldn't need massive pre-existing fan support to attain their goals.

But yeah if i had to cut it down to two I'd probably opt for Riley and Curtis, I think they are both a little more developed than Bateman promo-wise and their image seems to be a slightly better fit.

 

[MoizH28]

I like this idea a lot actually. Anyone remember 3 count from WCW? It be cool seeing Riley, Curtis and Bateman come out in letter jackets to some highschool alma matter sounding music. You can also place a diva like Kaitlyn with them in a cheerleader type role like the OP said.

 

[#BabyFace]

Great Idea!

Ive been pitching the idea for a Dibiase & Riley team but I like this one too. Like a few others said you would give them a diva too and Kaitlyn sounds perfect. This is a great idea, good way to get another tag team and give the three future stars some air time!

 

[brochester8]

Personally, I think it would be a good way to add another tag-team to the mix but also test these guys on the mic and there teamwork. It's a good way to see if they can possibly have a future in WWE or if they need to be replaced on the roster.

 

[tjprime2010]

So your proposing a new version of the Varsity Club at best and at worst another Spirit Squad? It has legs unfortunately WWE doesn't leave teams together, so it would be destroyed in a few months when the WWE decides to push one and the other is a wash out

 

[daddyJ_t]

if ya gonna go with the school themed varsity club thing, which mike rotunda did so well. either pull mr irs himself or matt striker the teacher in to manage. u could start with those 3 or tie anybody with football background into. we all know how people feel about 4 person stables, so who would or could be the 4th?

 

[Daniel]

Hmmm. The whole gimmick sounds a tad contrived, no? The jackets, the name - it didn't work for the Mean Street Posse. The high school approach is something I really dislike in wrestling. How am I supposed to take someone who dresses like a jock seriously? I just can't. It makes whoever has that gimmick look like a kid, not a man.

Plus, it's not like these guys are struggling for character. Alex Riley is over, and has been for some time. If WWE pushed him solidly on Raw or Smackdown, they'd have a star on their hands. There's no doubt in my mind about that. Curtis is really coming out of his shell with the "dirty Curty" gimmick. It's really just a joy to watch this guy be as creepy as fuck. It's different, and it could get over if WWE just give him a chance.

All of these guys suffer from a classic WWE flaw - they don't have the balls to push people. WWE needs big stars now more than ever, and they're not going to create them by keeping everyone who comes up from FCW on NXT and Superstars. No, they need to push people. They need to throw some shit at the wall and see if it sticks, because if they don't they're going to struggle soon.

But yeah, I'm not a fan of this gimmick idea.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Not sure if the OP is aware of the Varsity Club. I will leave some of the more knowlegeable wrestle-head historians give an accurate description but I think it basically included Rotunda, Sullivan and the Steiners wearing college lettermen jackets and headgear in early 90's WCW.

That doesn't make this a bad idea though. Big time factions usually have at least one guy that is already tremendously over. This doesn't have to be a faction that is taking over the WWE. It can be a group that feuds in the tag team ranks and low card against other lower factions. They just have a common theme and are united.

It could lead to decent filler and help some guys get noticed.

 

[The12thMan]

I really like this idea a lot. Somethng different. I think the only problem that this could run into is a few things. First, Alex Riley is still in the doghouse and 2 we had something similiar to this with the Spirit Squad.

Although it wasn't nearly the same as what your proposing, its still the same type of concept. Cheerleaders are more so associated with college sports, high school sports etc.....but personally I like the idea!

 

[TempestH]

All of these guys suffer from a classic WWE flaw - they don't have the balls to push people. WWE needs big stars now more than ever, and they're not going to create them by keeping everyone who comes up from FCW on NXT and Superstars. No, they need to push people. They need to throw some shit at the wall and see if it sticks, because if they don't they're going to struggle soon.

THIS

Alex Riley is already over. He's probably the most over out of all of the low card guys, and that is WITHOUT being on TV and without the Zack Ryder/Ted DiBiase-esque pandering.

Curtis & Bateman are the highlight of NXT. Their current storyline could probably be brought over to RAW or SmackDown, and I could even see a "forced to be tag team champions together" storyline for them in the future.

I feel that they're fine as they are, they just need a bit more TV time, and WWE needs to promote their lower card more.

 

[dencar84]

I like this idea and who says you need someone already established to be the leader, nexus burst on the scene and none of those guys were established at the time but they still got over and more of them might have gone on to bigger things if it wasn't for wwe booking them horribly.
the varsity club is a good compaison but they were a collegient style wrestling team and the op is talking about more of a football gimmick, plus its been how many years since the varsity club was around so I don't think that would be an issue.

 

[AwesomeRko]

Not sure if the OP is aware of the Varsity Club. I will leave some of the more knowlegeable wrestle-head historians give an accurate description but I think it basically included Rotunda, Sullivan and the Steiners wearing college lettermen jackets and headgear in early 90's WCW.

That doesn't make this a bad idea though. Big time factions usually have at least one guy that is already tremendously over. This doesn't have to be a faction that is taking over the WWE. It can be a group that feuds in the tag team ranks and low card against other lower factions. They just have a common theme and are united.

It could lead to decent filler and help some guys get noticed.

I had never heard of the Varsity Club, I've only watched since around 1996, when I was six, I need to brush up on my history it seems! And yeah that was the point I was making it wouldn't be a main-event level stable, thus wouldn't need the initial big draw.

I think all three could really pull off the goofy jock type perosna whilst still coming across as a credible threat, similar to E&C. Their character could of course develop into something more this would just serve as a launching pad for their tv career, as well as providing a much needed boost to the tag division and mid-card.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

Yes, for those of you that aren't very familiar w/the Varsity Club, here you go...It was Sullivan, Rotunda, Steiners AND the late great Dr. Death.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x59wzx_varsity-club-vs-the-road-warriors-n_sport

As for the idea of the stable, these guys all play goofs well. It could be Riley's key to a push, as I believe he is over enough to call the shots. Another great addition would be Husky Harris as the fourth. You have to have the meat, the enforcer. Plus, he was a college football player. They just need to not focus on looking the part, but playing it. I am a former collegiate athlete, and I know how it is when I hang out w/my high school friends I played sports with, we are complete assholes clinging to something that passed. Those four guys would be Nexus v.2, but can really get over with their work. Bateman is prob the greenest ring wise, but I think he's awkward and really funny. The American Flag Zubas were great!