Bobby Roode On Raw

WWE has a ton of mid card wrestlers and sadly Roode falls into the category. To me since thendraft came into play, everyone of both brands are mid card exept. AJ Styles, Roman and Brock. Brock isn't even there, Roman is the chosen one and AJ is the WWE heavyweight champ. Braun I thought was really headed somewhere, then it just seems they have put him in tag matches etc and are not even mentioning him and Brock which would be killer , if he would relieve Brock of the strap which we all get to see about 7 times a year for a average of 5 minutes on a PPV.

Still find him boring and he also seems to be taking more losses of late than i thought he would - maybe this is WWE's way of keeping him out of peoples thoughts when deciding who their picks are for the MITB match?

Rico Len wrote: He's absolutely fantastic as a heel, but this character we're getting right now is so cookie cutter and gets no time on the mic so it just doesn't matter. I hope he wins the MitB ladder match simply so he'll turn heel. Not that I wouldn't mind a short MitB holding run for Strowman either, but seeing Roode troll would be fantastic.

WWE must be aware of this, certainly Triple H who praised his heel work in NXT.

I think they are just waiting for the right moment to turn him heel, right now he’s serving a purpose as a cookie cutter babyface who is dull as ditch water but he can work so they can use him to elevate guys like Elias.

Longterm though the plan must be a heel turn, a heel Roode on Raw can be a player in the high mid-card even the main-event perhaps?

Rico Len wrote: Yeah, this IS a good example of how someone is used as a part of a team. People tend to forget that WWE is actually a team at the end of the day. He has the US heavyweight championship so if nothing else it means he's being protected to an extent. My problem is that as a fan I really want to see Roode at his worst on the face/heel spectrum because he's almost as good as Jericho was during his last run, and that was outstanding. Right now I have almost nothing worth tuning in to watch.

As a fan of Roode you would want to see him work heel as that’s where he excels for sure. A heel Roode is right up there with the best in the business.

But you’re absolutely right it’s also about being a team player and elevating others which is what he’s doing as a face. My only concern is that now Roode is around 40 maybe 41 WWE maybe just see him as a solid hand in the ring that they can use to put over up and coming heels and will keep him in the cookie cutter face role.

During a recent edition of The Ross Report, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross commented on which WWE stars should turn heel. Here is what JR said (transcript courtesy of WrestleZone.com): “Their persona makes me think heel first. And so sometimes when the average Joe, like me or you, look at somebody and we think ‘villain’ it’s hard to get us to change our opinion of that personality, but I think in the long run, there’s money in Bobby Lashley and Bobby Roode both as main event-level heels in WWE.”

 

JR is spot on here. As discussed in this thread Roode excels as a heel which he has proved in both TNA and NXT, while as a babyface he is bland and too cookie cutter and the only role he is likely to occupy is that of a enhancement talent for up and coming heels because Roode can always deliver in the ring and as a veteran can call matches and help the younger guys. 

Lashley I think would be superb as a Lesnar type heel. Like Roode he is too dull and cookie cutter as a face, as a heel he would have more of a edge and can play on his athletic credentials and raw power.