#1. R-Truth Returns as Babyface
I was already planning on putting Truth (and Miz) in this week's column, but fellow WZ contributor Mike Killam sent along the following email that echoes a lot of my sentiments, so I figured I'd include it as well.
@MikeKillam wrote…"Do you know what's not bothering me? R-Truth. Give it a second, let that statement sink in. R-Truth…is not bothering me? Do you remember last year at this time, when Ron "the Truth" Killings was one of the most, if not THE most annoying thing in professional wrestling? Not only was he the face that nobody cared about, but his STUPID RAP SONG would get stuck in my head for days on end. It got to the point where I would rather listen to Glee/Rebecca Black mash-ups with my head stuck in a fully-operational blender than sit through another R-Truth entrance. And now, as if from out of nowhere, it's 2012. Truth is back, he's taking it to the Miz, and he's NOT rapping…for now. I'll admit, I was on board with the Truth Train when he made his heel turn by destroying John Morrison in the UK. The deranged mutterings were a nice character addition, but it was that moment with the cigarette that sold me. Total bad ass.
Truth's heel turn taught him how to connect with the audience. Unlike most of the heels on Raw (Michael Cole, John Laurinaitis, Brotunga) he is boo'd for the "right reasons". And now he's returned, seemingly as a face, to a pretty strong reaction. And who wouldn't cheer for the guy beating the snot out of the Miz? Really? Really. If Truth can keep himself from rapping, and stick to the sweet guitar solo (probably done by the same people who put together the Rock's new theme) I think he's got a great year ahead of him in 2012. I love the utilization of "Little Jimmy" from a face perspective, and it's just one more thing Truth is doing that is unique to only his character. We need more individuality in the WWE, hell in all of professional wrestling! He may be insane. He may have been the most annoying character in the WWE just one year ago…but Truth's got personality in spades!"
CC Response: I was against Truth returning as a babyface at first — not so much because I didn't think he could pull it off, but more because I was enjoying his work with Miz as a tag team. However, it became abundantly clear that Vince wasn't going to give them anything good to work with, even before it was known Truth would have to take time off due to suspension.
I agree with what Mike said, but only in theory. Truth's gimmick "should" work as a babyface. But to what extent? Fans will care about his program with Miz for the most part, but what happens when it's over? My fear is that he'll become nothing more than a comedy act, a la Santino, assigned to help put over talent on "their" way up.
I don't think Truth should be World Champion anytime soon, but I think he's proven himself capable of more than that. That's why I was high on the heel faction idea with him, Miz, Nash and one or two others — it would have given Truth a legitimate spot on the roster. I'm not sure he'll ever find the babyface equivalent of that, especially on his own.
Chris Cash can be reached by email at wzchriscash@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @RealityofChris and tune in live every Monday night from 7-8 EST as Chris and Nick Paglino host the Voice of Wrestling radio show, exclusively on WrestleZone.com and VOWLive.com.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
