This one is strictly a rumor that’s been going around social media, but it does have a modicum of truth to it. With the Revival’s (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) contract nearing its end, the WWE has reportedly been trying to sign them without any luck. WWE’s given them championships and a big part in a handful of storylines with the seemingly implied nod to their importance to the promotion. But Wilder and Dawson have resisted those enticements, citing their unhappiness with the creative direction of their characters. According to Dave Meltzer, the stage is set for the Revival to become a comedy act as a result of their choice.
New gimmick
Following their decision, they started a feud with the Usos that involved the Usos recording Wilder shaving Dawson’s back. It seemed like a silly storyline at the time that was meant to inject some humor into the show.
While the bit was quickly forgotten, Wilder tripping when coming out on December 13’s edition of Friday Night Smackdown (It was too obvious not to be done on purpose) revived the theory, and the Miracle on 34th Street Fight with Heavy Machinery reinforced the idea when both were slammed on legos, then Elias came out to offer a song mocking them to cheers from the fans.
While this may be popular for some fans, Meltzer admitted that the idea my be squashed in the coming weeks, “The booking plan on SmackDown is to turn The Revival into comedy characters. There are mixed feelings on this for obvious reasons and it still may get shot down, but the deal where Wilder tripped and fell during the ring entrance was supposed to be the start of it. The Revival only has a few months left on their contracts and haven’t agreed to a new deal after attempting to get a release months ago. The proposed idea is to do a spoof of the Fabulous Ones, which, funny enough, is actually the original Fargos heel gimmick in the late 50s.”
Throwbacks
Since debuting in 2014 on NXT, the Revival have become one of the most successful tag teams in the WWE. They are two-time NXT tag champions, and have held both the Raw and Smackdown tag titles. It’s an impressive resume built on a serious, old school type of tag team that, to be honest, is a refreshing change in an age where everyone dives around. Instead of flips or over-the-top moves, they rely on mat skills to wear down their opponents.
It’s definitely a lost art as most promotions and fans want the wrestlers to mimic what they can do in video games or movies. While high impact moves can be entertaining, seeing them a hundred times a night causes them to lose their appeal.
It’s this style that lends the Revival to become a comedy act as it’s easy to use them as straight men to others’ jokes. It leads to fun exchanges and adds some comedic moments to the programming, but to make them an outright comedy team? Maybe if their credibility as a top-flight tag team hadn’t been already shredded thanks to various gimmicks it’d work. Now it just feels like bad timing.
