In his latest, PWP Nation’s John “JCD” Dimiceli gives his take on Baron Corbin and why he could be professional wrestling’s next great heel
He is a lot of things: a former NFL player, a former Golden Gloves Champion, a former United States Champion, a former Mr. Money In The Bank, former André The Giant Battle Royal winner (in his debut), former Acting GM of Monday Night Raw, and the man who defeated Kurt Angle in his farewell match at Wrestlemania. However, soon Baron Corbin might just add the title of wrestling’s next great heel. That’s right, I don’t mean just WWE, I said mean professional wrestling as a whole.
Like many of you, I also did not know what to make of Corbin a year ago when he showed up on Raw and announced he was going to be Stephanie McMahon’s constable for Kurt Angle. Corbin went from long hair, a cut off t shirt and jeans to a shirt, dress pants, and of course vest. Before long, Corbin had become a big enough thorn in Angle’s side that he helped get Angle removed as Raw GM.
Since then Corbin has quietly maintained a spot at or near the top of Raw. He has outlasted Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, and heel projects like Braun Strowman and Dean Ambrose. Corbin has also feuded with everyone on Raw from Finn Balor to current Universal Champion Seth Rollins.
Along the way Corbin has quietly improved his in-ring work and has mastered the cocky douchebag heel character that you want to see get his. His heat has gone from “go away” to “we hate you”, and at the end of the day, that is what a heel should be. He is arrogant and a jerk, yet he can brag about doing something clean when everyone doubted him and didn’t want him to (defeating Angle at Wrestlemania).
At 6’8 and 285 pounds, Corbin has the build to be a star. While he could get in better shape, what makes Corbin different is his current in-ring look. Corbin can carry a promo and at the end you hate him more for what he said, or in the case of Super Showdown, you hate the fact that he does have a point. His ring work has quietly improved. While yes, it can be contributed to who Corbin has worked with, it is not deniable that Corbin is not the same Corbin he was a year or two ago.
In a time where the whole product is down, everyone is looked at differently. Don’t let anyone fool you, if WWE was producing better TV, the perception of Corbin would be worlds different. WWE even did a quick storyline blaming the ratings drop on Corbin.
In an era when heels can come off as “cool” or still manage to get a crowd behind them, Corbin still has that universal hate factor going for him. He doesn’t want to be IWC or certain crowd cool. He hates everyone equally and will crap on anyone even if they like him. Corbin can even grab hometown heat, which in this era hardly ever happens. That is a great quality for a true heel.
I know this will be crazy to say, but maybe, just maybe Corbin should defeat Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. Corbin with the title would lead to every feud being looked at as, “I really hope …. beats him for the title”. Believe it or not, that helps draw business.
Corbin is on the cusp of hitting that level as a heel that no one else other than maybe Bully Ray in Ring Of Honor is at right now. He doesn’t need to be elite, when he can stand alone as the greatest heel in the entire business sooner rather than later.
All Hail Baron Corbin!!!!!!
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