10 Wrestlers Who Cracked WWE's Secret Code

Australian Cinephile

How to survive (and stay over) in WWE's broken system. These are 10 wrestlers who cracked WWE's secret code.

Transcript

00:00What is WWE's secret code, you ask?

00:03For me, it's the ability to get over and stay over with management and the audience

00:08in a creative system that frequently takes in world-class pro wrestlers like ornate

00:13furniture and spits them out as if they were sawdust.

00:16Each of the people I'm going to talk about today understands how to thrive in Vince McMahon's

00:20fictional universe better than the man who created it.

00:24They truly have figured WWE out.

00:27I'm Andy from WhatCulture and here are 10 wrestlers who cracked WWE's secret code.

00:3410.

00:35R-Truth

00:36A rare example of a genuinely funny guy in a horrendously unfunny company, R-Truth knows

00:41how to make people laugh, which is key to his enduring value as an entertainer.

00:46He's been in WWE since 2008, and while he has spent most of this time as an undercard

00:52comedy act in wacky backstage segments, he's always there or thereabout.

00:57Particularly since the advent of the 24-7 title.

01:00Now, creatively, that's not the most exciting thing in the world, but at 50 years old, R-Truth

01:07has given himself a job for life.

01:10He has gone all in on a character that Vince McMahon clearly enjoys in a wise choice that

01:15will extend his run with WWE for as long as he wants it.

01:209.

01:21The Miz Miz deserves great credit for entering pro wrestling

01:25as a reality TV tourist, overcoming the small dick energy of wrestlers court and becoming

01:31the polished TV performer that he is today.

01:34In fact, for his role in the promotion, he's literally perfect.

01:39Miz has been doing this for 16 years now.

01:41He's a two-time WWE Champion and a perennial fixture because he understands his role perfectly.

01:48Tasked with appeasing WWE's base and those writing his checks with sound complimentary

01:53work, he is 100% secure in WWE.

01:58Nobody expects Miz to rip out a 5-star match on pay-per-view these days, or ever being fair,

02:05but he isn't trying to do that.

02:07Miz has found his spot as a loud, brash and colourful TV character, in fact, he found it

02:12a long time ago and it's why he continues to thrive.

02:168.

02:17Riddle

02:18The riddle of today is not the Matt Riddle of yore.

02:21In the mid-2000s, it looked like the former UFC fighter was going to break out as a work-rate-centric

02:27wrestler on a thriving indie scene where he more than held his own with the likes of Chris

02:32Hero, Keith Lee, Zack Sabre Jr and all the great talent that was doing the rounds at the

02:37time.

02:38But something like that isn't always enough to cut it in WWE, it takes more than being

02:43a great bell-to-bell wrestler.

02:45In this company, he has had to tailor his character into something, well, dumber.

02:51Riddle's transformation from indie wonderkind to Monday Night Goofball has gotten him over

02:56huge.

02:57Taking his aloof stoner vibes, making them family-friendly and forging the exact brand of comedy synonymous

03:02with the market leaders, complete with his own spin.

03:05Riddle stands on the cusp of a long, successful WWE run.

03:107.

03:11Seth Rollins

03:12Here's a guy who knows exactly what he's doing any time he hits Twitter and leaps to

03:17his company's defense.

03:19Even if Seth positioning him as one of those stand-up for WWE guys feels a little gotten

03:23to at times, it doesn't really matter.

03:26He has become the ultimate company man in an often nasty, toxic and tryable pro wrestling

03:31environment, planting his flag and making no apologies for it.

03:36And on the character side, his visionary gimmick is big, colourful, fits WWE's brand of content

03:42to a tee.

03:43Darning a wacky jacket that no right-minded person would ever be caught dead in sends Rollins

03:48viral every single time.

03:50He knows it, he plays it up, and he loves it.

03:536.

03:54AJ Styles

03:55Nobody could have predicted that AJ's WWE run would have been so successful when he

04:00came into the company in 2016.

04:02Now, that's not because of his talent, because that has never been in doubt.

04:06But because being a world-class in-ring guy who's under 6 feet and isn't the most expressive

04:11on the microphone doesn't always do well in Vince land.

04:15But WWE's glass ceiling hasn't really existed for Styles.

04:19He has made himself indispensable to the company by becoming one of the most talented utility

04:23men the sport has ever seen.

04:25Whether he's being used to carry a brand as a world champion or elevate a towering green

04:29giant as part of a tag team, he always does a good professional job without the intense

04:35in-ring focus that he can bring, but isn't necessarily required as it would be in other

04:40places of work.

04:415.

04:42Shinsuke Nakamura

04:43Shinsuke Nakamura came to WWE in order to earn a great living in pro wrestling without

04:48having to trash his body in captivating but physically demanding matches like he did in

04:54New Japan.

04:55And that's exactly how his run has panned out.

04:58While it does feel at times like he is maybe coasting on charisma and personality, you can

05:03get away with doing that.

05:05In WWE, in fact, that's kind of what the company's all about.

05:09Nakamura probably figured WWE out before he even landed in America, in fact, knowing he

05:15can live a happy, fulfilling life that perhaps lacks the highs of before, but suits him greatly

05:20as he enters his 20th year as a wrestler.

05:244.

05:25Sami Zayn

05:26Nobody should have been surprised when Sami Zayn re-signed with WWE earlier this year because

05:31WWE is the perfect place for Sami Zayn.

05:35This guy has figured out every aspect of the company.

05:39Every week he plays his very over, very entertaining character on TV without having to stretch his

05:44increasingly damaged body to breaking point.

05:47Sami can still go when required, but for the most part he is on TV every single week because

05:53he's an entertaining personality, not because he's busting out big popping matches.

05:58In WWE, he gets to be an entertaining shtbag heel without the extra pressure.

06:03It's a winning formula for both him and the company.

06:063.

06:07Kevin Owens

06:08For Kevin Owens, the key to cracking WWE's secret code was finding ways to elevate material

06:13that would bury lesser wrestlers with his wit, charm and personality.

06:18It doesn't matter how crappy the script is because Kev is going to infuse it with his

06:22usual brand of sharp quips and other dashes of the man behind the act, keeping a place

06:27in the fans' hearts because of it.

06:30Enjoying a strong relationship with Vince, who personally negotiated Kevin's recent

06:34contract extension, Owens has built himself a great WWE career, and at this stage, it'd

06:40be a bigger surprise if he ended up leaving the company before retiring than staying.

06:452.

06:46Randy Orton

06:47If the ultimate goal of professional wrestling is to get as much as possible from as little

06:52as possible, Randy Orton has got it all figured out.

06:56His approach to wrestling is borderline genius.

06:59While choosing to become a more dynamic, athletic wrestler earlier in his career might have produced

07:04a more exciting body of work, the extra level of exertion and inevitable physical wear and

07:09tear would have taken a toll.

07:10At one point Randy just said, hey man, that's not for me.

07:14What he did was figure out very early in his run that the right physical presentation,

07:19his charisma and an incredible crowd popping finisher would carry him a long, long way.

07:25Thus, he crafted an arsenal of cool looking moves, found his character and chose a life

07:29that would bring him immense success without the costs felt by his more hard bumping peers.

07:35Now, none of this is to say that Orton hasn't worked hard or that he hasn't had his fair

07:39share of painful matches over the years.

07:42He most certainly has.

07:43Regardless, Orton is the king of working smarter.

07:46He's going to go down as a WWE cannon goat without leaving the sport on crutches.

07:531.

07:54Brock Lesnar It doesn't always sit well with bands, but

07:57Brock Lesnar has had WWE eating from the palm of his hand since he returned in 2012.

08:03And yes, his push causes problems, but blame the system, not the man.

08:07Brock is doing what's best for Brock.

08:10He understands his value to WWE and he uses that to his advantage.

08:15Building his own unique negotiating system, there's no need for this guy to hit the road

08:19and bust his ass every single week when he can crush it, get rich and main event shows

08:24without any of the grind.

08:27And yeah, he's still really awesome to watch as well.

08:31Say what you will about the push.

08:32Brock Lesnar's Bull Rush is a unique pro wrestling riot, even in 2022.

08:38Nobody else recaptures the same thrill.

09:01Hey, I'm Bencher.

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