At one point in time, Otis was seemingly set to be WWE‘s next breakout star. Fueled by a swell of the fans’ support throughout his popular romance storyline with Mandy Rose, the Heavy Machinery standout won the Money in the Bank match in 2020. But his rise to the top rapidly fell apart; he lost the briefcase and toiled in the midcard for a while before he joined forces with Chad Gable to form Alpha Academy.
Over the past few months, the duo has thrived on WWE RAW, and their pairing led Otis to his first championship victory in his WWE run as a RAW Tag Team Champion. Though they lost the gold, the two men will aim to recapture the titles at WWE WrestleMania 38. Whether they win or lose, this stretch of Otis’ career has been a success, as he has become a featured player on the red brand.
During a recent appearance on the “Bleav in Pro Wrestling Podcast“, Levi Cooper, formerly known as Otis’ tag team partner Tucker, shared his belief that the powerhouse could be a world champion in the right situation. When asked to describe Otis’ ceiling, Cooper stated that, as a babyface, he’s confident that Otis could be a top star if he had the right backing. He also pointed out how Otis’ pairing with Gable has been beneficial, as he plays his part very well.
“I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t be a world champion, right, with the right, I think there’s some pieces he needs around him,” said Cooper. “I think his ability to get to where he is now from where he was shows that he’s a very quality performer. And you watch what he does in the ring, and I think it’s very believable. There is just like an underlying kind of silliness to him, he just has this natural kind of charisma that I don’t think you could ever get rid of. It’s just really hard to dislike the guy, he’s such a likable guy.
“Not that he’s not capable of convincing you that he’s a killer and he’s scary, he certainly is. But to convince you he’s a dislikable human being, pretty difficult to do. And it helps to have Gable because Gable’s kind of a sarcastic prick, and he plays that role well. He’s not that, but he’s good at it.”
Cooper went on to describe how Otis can truly thrive as a babyface because he’s a genuinely likable person. He also emphasized his stance that the powerhouse could be believable as a top star in the right environment.
“I think his ceiling as a heel is not up top,” said Cooper. “But I think his ceiling as a babyface, I don’t think there’s any reason why he couldn’t get over like Dusty Rhodes and be as believable as that kind of a character if the environment was right. But I think the chances of that happening maybe are not super high but obviously, I’m biased because I love the guy but I don’t see why with the proper booking and sort of the proper environment over a six-to-eight month period why he couldn’t potentially be believable in that spot.”
Cooper was released among a group of other WWE Superstars, but he recently returned to the ring.
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