I Didn’t Know I Couldn’t Do That

*** WARNING: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING A WRESTLING NERD DISCUSSION ZONE!!! *** PLEASE KEEP ALL EYES AND EARS INSIDE OF KAYFABE AT ALL TIMES *** The use of constable to describe Baron Corbin’s new role of “actual heel version of Bad News Barrett” is a little on the nose, but it’s one that Stephanie’s character desperately needed. As an direct extension of Stephanie’s authority, but not necessarily her decisions, it will actually allow some of her heat to transfer to Corbin, who has been living in Antarctica since making his way to Monday Night Raw.

It also helps solve the age-old problem of Stephanie and her comeuppance. By serving as her proxy, Baron is allowed to both lean into his natural dickiness and invoke her name as an excuse to do anything particularly egregious. Why Stephanie is off TV isn’t something we’ve been made privy to, so one hopes that the show takes this time to reestablish delegating as Stephanie’s strongest heel move, with her (or, more accurately, her character) being particularly adept at either making dangerous people do things against their will to people the crowd likes or finding someone inherently safe/weak and turning them into a force simply through the machinations she’s able to oversee from her position of power.

For Corbin, his character shifts from “asshole from work” to “asshole manager at work,” a major upgrade from interrupting jobber matches to ruining match endings after the face has already been awarded the victory, the ultimate height of asshole authoritarian heeldom. It also gives him time to work on his backstage talking, which never a weakness, is a real asset for someone with his look, for better or worse. He can look and sound like a bully all he wants, but until someone like that has real power, they largely feel more hapless than someone with a less intimidating natural look might not.

Where Kurt Angle fits into this equation is the one part of the equation that the WWE will have to solve by themselves. Establishing a hierarchy or even just a dynamic between the two would go a long, long way in helping to focus Corbn (and his role) to maximize his character’s purposeful/meaningful time on screen. Corbin’s reprimand and threatening of the ref — including flat out saying “this job isn’t for everyone” — following his convincing Kurt Angle to reverse his decision helps to plant seed for future shenanigans while also re-establishing Corbin as an insidious bully who genuinely enjoys exerting power over other people.

Which is probably why Stephanie hired him in the first place.

*** WARNING: YOU ARE NOW EXITING A WRESTLING NERD DISCUSSION ZONE!!! *** PLEASE ENJOY YOUR COMPLIMENTARY SONIC CHILI CHEESE PRETZEL DOG SHAKE, NOW WITH EXTRA DOGSHAKE!!! *** 

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