So, I’ve been seeing Social Media flooded with opinion after opinion after opinion stated as ‘fact’ that Baron Corbin is “not worthy” of facing Kurt Angle at the Show of Shows in 3 days. So let’s explore this shall we?
“Corbin hasn’t done anything to deserve this match!” is just one thing said that struck me and whilst everyone is entitled to an opinion, it’s also important to remember that everyone is entitled to disagree with your opinion. Whether you like Baron Corbin or you don’t, you simply cannot deny the consistency of his character and the elevation he has received as a Heel ever since joining the main roster – I’m about to dive into why the majority of fans are wrong about Baron Corbin.
A Very Brief Rundown of Baron Corbin
Corbin started In NXT after signing from the NFL and his rivalry with Rhyno on the Black and Gold brand put him on a course of destruction for a year or so that lead to ruining Austin Aries’ debut, a moment in NXT history that I feel many may regret as it didn’t get Aries the recognition needed in debuting so close to the recent debuting Shinsuke Nakamura, thus derailing Aries momentum before he’d even started, but that’s another article for another time; after this, Corbin went to Wrestlemania and won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, this helped ease him in to the main roster a little, but he was floating around in creative limbo for a while and every time you’d go to Twitter or Facebook or YouTube or anywhere opinion based, Baron Corbin was being predominantly dragged through the mud on all of them. “He can’t wrestle” “he can’t talk” “he can’t sell” “he can’t cut a decent promo” “he can’t do this” “he can’t do that” and you know what? He actually heard it all and took it on board. Every single week he was improving something he’d been criticised for as the man said himself. He used to ride with Chris Jericho and according to Y2J Corbin would be picking his brain all journey long and taking notes and things on how to be better and then slowly but surely he was sculpting a main eventer based on what people were berating him for, turning negatives into positives to further enhance the positive negatives of being a Heel.. Now he can cut a half decent vicious promo, he can talk, he can act, he can wrestle as good/if not better than most of the ‘Big Men’ they have on the main roster and his selling has improved by tenfold. Not only this, but he learned to work a crowd like the back of his frickin’ hand.
But let’s focus in on the main topic at hand. Kurt Angle’s final opponent at Wrestlemania should not be Baron Corbin. Was he anyone’s first choice? Probably not. But to say he’s not deserving of it is simply not true and I’ll explain why that is and why I think he should win at Wrestlemania 35.
Most Hated ’18
For the last 12 month’s he has been the most consistent bad guy in the company, he gets a big reaction everywhere he goes, he’s been a fixture in almost every major storyline of the year and has been a huge thorn in the side of Kurt Angle since Kurt was the GM of Raw, when he forced Kurt into a position where he could have been fired on multiple occasions and then took his job from him; top that all off with being the McMahon Family’s scapegoat for the humongous decline in Raw ratings and you’ve got yourself a ‘Mania Moment deserving roster member there. However, it didn’t end with that. Since then, he has been involved in the angles for brutally taking out Braun Strowman via crushing his arm with steel steps, he said Roman Reigns’ Leukaemia battle wasn’t as hard as being the GM of Raw and shamelessly confirming those thoughts a few weeks later.
The point is, Baron Corbin has thrown himself at the role of “Heel” unlike anyone else in the modern era, except maybe Tomasso Ciampa, but even Ciampa didn’t go for the jugular like Corbin has and, as a result, Corbin was voted ‘The Most Hated’ of the Year across a multitude of End Of Year polls and for good reason; He is the top Heel of the company! All that the title of “Most Hated” shows is that he is doing his job really bloody well.
The “Kurt Angle Deserves Someone Better” Thing
I know we all expected Cena, even Kurt Angle’s wife took to Twitter to voice her anger when Cena wasn’t announced. Almost everyone wanted John Cena so it’d be all fairytale like and come full circle and “RUTHLESS AGGRESSION” & everyone hugs after and people cheer and cry and laugh and it’d be all poetic justice or whatever and that would be just fine.. but if you really look at this from a meticulous stand-point (as I so often do) Corbin has been locked in an on-going feud with Kurt Angle since May last year; so in terms of a storyline perspective, this feud has been 11 months in the making! So even if you disregard everything else he’d done prior to May 2018, to claim Baron Corbin “hasn’t worked for it”, “doesn’t deserve it” or as somebody said on Twitter “isn’t worthy of this honour” just simply isn’t true when you look at the proof that’s in the pudding and if you are a fan of his, then you know that Corbin’s been working towards a big Wrestlemania moment for years. So I really do hope that the seeds planted 11 months ago will bloom into a sharp and twisted tree bearing the poisonous fruit of the greatest Heel in WWE today as he emerges victorious this Sunday.
Why would that work?
Thomas Pestock is the man, but he is Baron Corbin on screen and on social media. He has generated organic hatred from the majority of fans through years of dedication to his character. From humilating heckling fans live in the audience and burying hecklers on Twitter with his quick and razor-sharp wit to shouting at Referees and forcing Greg Hamilton & JoJo to introduce him with his full title or listing all of his accolades with the inclusion of being the “favourite son” of whatever city they’re in as a sour cherry atop the villainous sundae he’d already made. Baron Corbin is unlike anyone else in that sense and even Shane McMahon has used that routine over the last few weeks, I know Corbin wasn’t the originator of it but it works so well for him that you can’t help but think it inspired McMahon because it was just so damn smart! That’s what I think is so incredible about the negative reaction Corbin draws; it’s organic and organic heat is so rare in Pro Wrestling that when it occurs it’s almost impossible to put a foot wrong even when it looks like they have. That’s why it’ll work. Because the reaction he gets is already so richly invested in.
The Reception Of Defeating Kurt Angle
Now, speaking of reactions, can you imagine the state of the New York crowd if Baron Corbin actually wins? The anger from the Raw crowd the next night? Or the white hot rage of the Internet Wrestling Community? Now that is just the kind of situation I think a character like Baron Corbin would absolutely thrive in and with his slick new(ish) look, devastating finishers & unique moveset, commitment to his character at this level & a platform as big as he would have after a win this Sunday, the sky would be the limit for Baron and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him among the first to challenge the soon-to-be new WWE Universal Champion, Seth Rollins, for the gold.
End
I hope at the very least this breeds some appreciation for the match for some of you. If not, I tried. I like Baron Corbin and I am a proud fan to see him reach this height. I hope he wins this Sunday and cements himself as the top Heel of the WWE.. Also he would bring me some points for the Pro Wrestling Journal predictions poll we have going.. so go Corbin go!!
I welcome all counter arguments, tweet me @DriftAway93 and let me know your thoughts on this piece. Have a wonderful Wrestlemania weekend, everyone! Something tells me it’s going to be memorable, fun and IICONIC!
Myself, Rox & Wynter will be covering the review and analysis for Wrestlemania this year as it’s a mahoosive show so look out for that shortly following the show!
Peace & Love to you all!
CB
