Rowan and Harper?

[kadroan]

It seems like from the looks of things Rowan and Harper have probably peaked already as solo wrestlers.

Harper was put over as a legitimate heel when he joined Team Authority after beating down Ziggler and winning the IC Championship. However, he's no longer IC Championship and Team Authority lost. He's not even in the IC Championship picture anymore. I can't even remember the last time he's won a match.

Rowan joined Team Cena. Team Cena won. He got in a feud with Big Show, a feud that presented an opportunity for him to be put over like Harper when he defeated Ziggler for the IC Championship, however, that didn't happen, Rowan lost. Since then, I can't recall the last time Rowan won a match. Smackdown two weeks ago, Bray beat Rowan and Bray cut a promo on how he beat his flesh and blood. I thought maybe Rowan could come after Bray rather than be enhancement talent but he didn't.

The way Harper reacted when Rowan joined Team Cena, I thought there would have been a feud between the two following up at TLC but that didn't happen. I recall the RAW after Survivor Series, Harper had a match against Ambrose, Ambrose won by DQ because Harper shoved Ambrose into the ref. Bray ambushed Ambrose. I would have thought even though Bray and Harper aren't in a group anymore, they're still heels and just gang up on Ambrose to get heat but they didn't even acknowledge each other.

What's next for the two former Wyatt Family members?

 

[Navi]

Didn't Harper beat Reigns tonight? I can't remember and I just watched it that's how much I retained.

Harper is great in the ring, and I wish they would put him in a feud that had some meaning too it. For a big guy he's powerful and can go, plus he has an amazing moveset for a guy his size. He can also sell like a son of a bitch.

Maybe a feud with Reigns is in the works now, I hope so, because the feud between Reigns and Big Show is just awful.

Rowan when he comes back should feud with Kane or some other member of the Authority as a result of being fired by them. I like both of them, and want to see them succeed. Doubt they will ever main event, but they are solid mid carder's.

 

[John McCass]

They should have remained as a tag team. They were putting on great matches against The Usos. If Rowan and Harper would have been as a tag team then,they should have feuded with the Ascension and it would have been better.

 

[Aquaman6686]

The VAST majority of fans don't care about these two, and that's because they recognize Harper and Rowan as near-to-totally useless. They're awful wrestlers with no charisma. Why should crowds get behind them? Although some audiences are easy to trick, most crowds aren't going to become massive fans of everyone WWE tells them to like. Harper and Rowan were shoved down the fans throats as "NEW TOP GUYS! LOVE THEM! THEY'RE AWESOME!", but most of the crowd can see, they just aren't anything special. Two generic big guys who bring nothing to the table. Hopefully they'll both be released and more deserving stars can take those spots.

 

[Double S]

Harpers matches are becoming a highlight if every show he's on, when he debuted I never would have thought it but he could be an amazing heel to have in the upper midcard

 

[MERPER]

Harper is terrific in the ring and could do some great things solo if they let him.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The VAST majority of fans don't care about these two, and that's because they recognize Harper and Rowan as near-to-totally useless. They're awful wrestlers with no charisma. Why should crowds get behind them? Although some audiences are easy to trick, most crowds aren't going to become massive fans of everyone WWE tells them to like. Harper and Rowan were shoved down the fans throats as "NEW TOP GUYS! LOVE THEM! THEY'RE AWESOME!", but most of the crowd can see, they just aren't anything special. Two generic big guys who bring nothing to the table. Hopefully they'll both be released and more deserving stars can take those spots.

Do you watch Raw on mute? Harper regularly gets decent pops, and his matches are way better than the expected big man fare. Rowan is still green, I'll give you that, and they definitely should have remained as a heel tag team, but geez man, give them a chance: 2 months into their singles career and you're calling for their future endeavour meant already??

 

[Reflection]

Didn't Harper beat Reigns tonight? I can't remember and I just watched it that's how much I retained.

No, the report on the main site states that Roman Reigns beat Luke Harper after countering his lariat with a spear.

Harper is great in the ring, and I wish they would put him in a feud that had some meaning too it. For a big guy he's powerful and can go, plus he has an amazing moveset for a guy his size. He can also sell like a son of a bitch.

That's quite a benchmark of selling moves. Well, his recently-concluded feud against Dolph Ziggler was quite good (given the standard of WWE feuds these days) and logical. I like how the WWE handled the two of them differently than the usual norm of having them enter a feud against each other right away after the split. Btw, aren't big guys supposed to be powerful?

 

[MR K]

They should have stayed as a team and then feuded rather than just randomly have one heel and the other face. That being said, Harper, in my opinion has the brighter future. He is solid in the ring. I would love to see a long mid card title reign for him and then used in the main event occasionaly. He could be really useful as a monster heel kind of like Mark Hendry at the later end of his career with the hall of pain gimmick.

 

[MartialHorror]

Rowan is struggling to get over, not helped by the pointless attempts at fleshing out his character. Harper is getting better reactions, but his storylines seem to be getting nowhere and his booking came out badly.

I mean, he gets those vignettes and makes his return debut by beating the shit out of Ziggler. Then he actually beats Ziggler, albeit unfairly. Then he loses at Survivor Series and drops the belt at the following PPV. While they're rebuilding him pretty well, I do think it hurt his momentum.

Of course, it's possible that the WWE is intentionally keeping them on the midcard level so that they don't upstage Bray.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Didn't Harper beat Reigns tonight?

No, Reigns pinned Harper, but I thought Harper looked particularly good in the match. Y'know, it's one thing to have a good looking match with someone who's expert at making his opponent's work look effective, but face it; Harper wasn't working with Daniel Bryan or Tyson Kidd.....he was up against Roman Reigns, who possesses a great look but is still too inexperienced to be the one responsible for creating great matches. Still, Reigns sold like a champ last night, and he needed to, given that Harper was allowed to bring a lot of offense to his ring repertoire. Luke did a fine job.

And that's the deal with Harper & Rowan......they're huge men (always a plus factor in Vince McMahon's heart) and they can work. That's really all they have to do because I doubt they've been receiving a tryout to gain main event level these past months. Rather, they were slotted for midcard status from the time Wyatt's group split.....and we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking it was any more than that.

They're doing what they were intended to do....and they're doing it well, imo.

 

[MartialHorror]

Am I the only one who thinks Harper's gimmick needs to change? Swamp dude no longer seems necessary since the Wyatt family fell apart. All that's left of it is the announcers making fun of his shirt. His personality or character have nothing to do with it.

Rowan at the absolute least is portrayed as an eccentric/slasher villain, so his gimmick does fit him.

I feel that gimmicks tend to restrict people these days. The most 'over' guys are simply people with more grounded-in-reality personalities. Even Bray seems like someone I could see meeting just based on how natural he is. Luke Harper feels like he belongs in the 80's/early 90's, even though I am a fan of him.

 

[MERPER]

Am I the only one who thinks Harper's gimmick needs to change? Swamp dude no longer seems necessary since the Wyatt family fell apart. All that's left of it is the announcers making fun of his shirt. His personality or character have nothing to do with it.

Rowan at the absolute least is portrayed as an eccentric/slasher villain, so his gimmick does fit him.

I feel that gimmicks tend to restrict people these days. The most 'over' guys are simply people with more grounded-in-reality personalities. Even Bray seems like someone I could see meeting just based on how natural he is. Luke Harper feels like he belongs in the 80's/early 90's, even though I am a fan of him.

I don't think his gimmick needs a change. Just for WWE to use him correctly.

He plays his character well. He's also outstanding in the ring, able to pull off a wide variety of moves and deliver quality matches against anyone -- big, small, fast, A-listers, mid-card, etc.-- just use him correctly and give him some storyline/feud with some substance.

 

[CyberPunk]

I really hope Harper amounts to something more. He is more than a decent worker, extremely agile for a man his size and has good ring presence and psychology. Working with Ziggler is one thing, but in his match with Reigns, he showed that he can work with anyone. I don't think he'll be anything more than a solid midcard, but I really hope he takes up that Kane role, albeit in a better way, where he is a solid hand in midcard and every now and then slides in and out of main event picture. I also think that down the line, Harper could be a very effective face. His selling and moveset can really work as a face.

As for Rowan, he's not as bad as people make him out to be. I rate him lower than Harper, but then he isn't bad. I still don't know what future holds for him. He works well for a big man and is comparatively decent brawler. I just don't see anything special about him though.

 

[MartialHorror]

Rowan probably gets the most flak out of everyone on the roster as he doesn't have any notable strengths. Guys like Ryback might be divisive, but at least they have a better look and charisma. I still think Rowan would've gotten over better as a creepy stalker guy. But then again, that is a hard sell with such a goofy mask and appearance. Kane was much scarier.

 

[GeTiTT]

They need to be brought back together!! i get that Harper is a great athlete and they seen potential in him being a singles star, but he is still fresh no where near the level that Bray Wyatt is. Harper & Rowan were an actual tag team and they could have shone in the tag division developing a strong rivalry with the usos and the coming Ascension. They pulled the plug on them way to soon. With so many Mid-card talent at the moment this really put them in a sink or swim situation and unfortunately it looks like they are sinking. They are still new and have plenty of time to have their singles run just like Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz. I recall shortly after the Wyatts split Bray had said something along the lines of when he needs his "family" back they will be there. Maybe around Wrestlemania when the Undertaker feud begins he can regain his family it would be best for business and The Wyatt Family.

 

[MERPER]

They need to be brought back together!! i get that Harper is a great athlete and they seen potential in him being a singles star, but he is still fresh no where near the level that Bray Wyatt is. Harper & Rowan were an actual tag team and they could have shone in the tag division developing a strong rivalry with the usos and the coming Ascension. They pulled the plug on them way to soon. With so many Mid-card talent at the moment this really put them in a sink or swim situation and unfortunately it looks like they are sinking. They are still new and have plenty of time to have their singles run just like Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz. I recall shortly after the Wyatts split Bray had said something along the lines of when he needs his "family" back they will be there. Maybe around Wrestlemania when the Undertaker feud begins he can regain his family it would be best for business and The Wyatt Family.

Harper is significantly better in the ring than Bray. I don't even think it's close right now. As a matter of fact, I think this is why Harper wrestles actual matches as opposed to a plethora of gimmicks.

Wyatt has been good in matches that includes tables, ladders, chairs, pumpkins, presents and ambulances. i believe he keeps being in these because his in-ring work is average at best.

Harper has become one of the consistently best in-ring guys on the roster, making the decision to let him go single one of the better choices WWE has made in recent months.

Now it's on their writers to find a way to make him more meaningful.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Where is all this "great ring work" people keep talking about from Luke Harper??? The ONLY people I've seen pull good matches out of him are Dolph Ziggler and The Usos. Dolph Ziggler can get a great match out of anybody with a pulse, and The Usos are the best tag team of the past several years, and have gotten really good matches out of every team they've faced. Every other match I've seen from Luke Harper has been average at best. He's better than Bray Wyatt, that part I'll agree with, but that doesn't say much because Wyatt is an absolutely atrocious in-ring worker who hides behind gimmick matches and incoherent promos.

 

[MartialHorror]

I'd say he's a good in-ring worker, but I agree that he's not great. He might be the best of his size group, but only because the others are either past their prime or inexperienced.

 

[MERPER]

Where is all this "great ring work" people keep talking about from Luke Harper??? The ONLY people I've seen pull good matches out of him are Dolph Ziggler and The Usos. Dolph Ziggler can get a great match out of anybody with a pulse, and The Usos are the best tag team of the past several years, and have gotten really good matches out of every team they've faced. Every other match I've seen from Luke Harper has been average at best. He's better than Bray Wyatt, that part I'll agree with, but that doesn't say much because Wyatt is an absolutely atrocious in-ring worker who hides behind gimmick matches and incoherent promos.

Honestly, it has a ton to do with his size. For a big guy, he moves around the ring well and is incredibly agile. His repertoire for a guy that size is pretty freaking good and he combines a good mix of power moves with mat work and speed (for a guy his size, of course) while selling the "hurt aspect" to promote his opponents' moves.

In all honesty, part of it could also be the lack of quality wrestling taking place on a weekly basis making him look better as outside of Rollins and Ziggler very few guys are great in the ring.

I was entertained by his match vs. Roman Reigns on RAW, it was either the best or 2nd best match of the night.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

Harper will shave his beard and head and get re-packaged next year. Mark it.
Dude is the best in-ring big man they've had in a decade.

 

[MERPER]

Harper will shave his beard and head and get re-packaged next year. Mark it.
Dude is the best in-ring big man they've had in a decade.

That's fine with me obviously as I think he's great.

Quesion is: Can he actually speak and cut promos? I mean we've heard basically nothing out of him since he started.

 

[Crispin Noir]

The VAST majority of fans don't care about these two, and that's because they recognize Harper and Rowan as near-to-totally useless. They're awful wrestlers with no charisma. Why should crowds get behind them? Although some audiences are easy to trick, most crowds aren't going to become massive fans of everyone WWE tells them to like. Harper and Rowan were shoved down the fans throats as "NEW TOP GUYS! LOVE THEM! THEY'RE AWESOME!", but most of the crowd can see, they just aren't anything special. Two generic big guys who bring nothing to the table. Hopefully they'll both be released and more deserving stars can take those spots.

i take it youve literally never watched Harper wrestle before because he does very little of the 'generic big guy' shtick. Hurricanranas, dropkicks, suicide dives etc are far from what we expect and his in ring ability is up there with the best imo. watch his singles matches, he even had a cracking match with cena a few months back

 

[Aquaman6686]

i take it youve literally never watched Harper wrestle before because he does very little of the 'generic big guy' shtick. Hurricanranas, dropkicks, suicide dives etc are far from what we expect and his in ring ability is up there with the best imo. watch his singles matches, he even had a cracking match with cena a few months back

I've seen every match Harper has had since debuting on the main roster. And the only matches he's had that were very good were with Dolph Ziggler (who can get a great match out of anyone with a pulse) and The Usos (who can likewise work tag team magic with anyone). Every other match he's had has been bad or, at best, mediocre. His match with Cena was decent, and his match with Chris Jericho was crap. Harper is an AWFUL wrestler.

 

[MERPER]

I've seen every match Harper has had since debuting on the main roster. And the only matches he's had that were very good were with Dolph Ziggler (who can get a great match out of anyone with a pulse) and The Usos (who can likewise work tag team magic with anyone). Every other match he's had has been bad or, at best, mediocre. His match with Cena was decent, and his match with Chris Jericho was crap. Harper is an AWFUL wrestler.

You're really funny as it's evident by this post you have very little clue what you're talking about.

Not only do you continually say Harper is an AWFUL wrestler, which isn't even remotely true but then you go on to praise the USOs.

If I didn't know better I'd think you're a bad stand-up comedian.