Titus O’Neil has not had a great run in WWE during his singles career. He’s had relative success with his partner Darren Young on the tag team scene, winning the WWE tag team championship once as the Prime Time Players.
They have since split up for the second time (seemingly for good this time), and Titus O’Neil has been left to float around Raw on his own.
I’ve always been a fan of the big guy, even before I learned about all the brilliant things he does outside of the business. He always seems like he has unbelievable potential when he wrestles and I think he is very underrated when it comes to him being on the microphone.
That might be quite an unpopular opinion among most, and a lot of you may be thinking of the two minutes he was given on Raw a few weeks ago, to cut a promo on his former tag team partner. He completely botched the promo; it was awkward for both him and the audience, and I knew right there, that he would not get another chance for a while.
I wasn’t wrong either.
He seemed to vanish from the main shows for a couple of weeks and reappeared with an amended gimmick, new catchphrase, and an alliance with the Shining Stars. If that doesn’t tell you something, nothing will. It just seems like a great shame to pair him with a tag team, that aren’t over with a gimmick that I can’t see anyone getting behind. #MakeItAWin
Oh, how I wish you would Titus. I’m not a fan of wrestlers going on ‘losing streaks’. I didn’t like it when it happened to Sheamus either. Titus is already a heel, so it’s not even to facilitate that change. It just makes him look weak and to be honest; it feels like he’s still being punished for playfully pushing Vince McMahon.
The fact is that Titus is a great superstar and if he was utilised in the correct way, we could have a well-rounded wrestler with good mic skills, who could ultimately go on to be a main event star. If it is going to happen, though, it would have to happen very soon as Titus is 39 years of age, and that doesn’t give the man too long to make a lasting impact on the WWE Universe.
He has a fantastic physique, a great attitude, is an amazing advocate for the company and I don’t just think he deserves a shot at being a singles champion, I think he could carry it and make it interesting too. The power he displays in the ring is stunning. It’s exactly what a champion used to need, to be dominant.
With the influx of a lot of lighter Superstars such as Seth Rollins and AJ Styles, the focus has shifted from astounding physiques, and we’ve moved into a more technical era. This is another reason I fear Titus is getting lost in the shuffle.
His promo on Raw that I mentioned earlier did not do him any favours. The problem is, he’s actually hilarious when he gets the opportunity to do backstage skits and interact with interviewers or other superstars. Even when he’s in the ring competing, he’s talking to the other competitor, trash-talking like they used to, and quite frankly, that’s a lost art.
Kevin Owens is one of the only current superstars I can think of, who constantly taunts his opponent in the ring.
When he was on commentary with Darren Young during his second run, he was gold every single week. I looked forward to Raw, in the hope, he would join the commentary team. If you haven’t heard him on there, I suggest you get on the WWE Network just to see what I’m talking about.
If he ever retires, main event run or not, I’d stick him straight on the commentary team.
So I’ve established what skills and attributes Titus has that he could bring to the main event table, but how would it be executed?
The best way to help the rise here would be to keep him as a heel. Distance him from the Shining Stars as much as we can, package him with a new theme song, just let him go in the ring and show what he can do first of all.
Kind of like what they’re doing with Braun Strowman, but just let Titus beat up some proper Superstars that aren’t doing anything at the moment. Curtis Axel for example. I wouldn’t have him cut any promos first of all, and if I did, they would only be 15-30 seconds max, so as to help with the confidence factor.
He would then have enough momentum to go for the United States Championship. Have him win that to establish him as a real threat to the roster, then the road to the main event is a little more open. There are more options available to WWE.
Turning him face would then be the best option to let that natural charisma, I alluded to earlier, flow. I feel like he could be The Miz of Raw. He could quite easily fill those shoes of a cocky champion, and it would get people on side.
Following one or two successful championship runs with a mid-card title, he could then go on to challenge for a main event spot. I have full faith that he could be WWE Champion. We’ve had World Champions in Booker T and Mark Henry etc, but this would be quite monumental if Titus O’Neil were to make it as far as I think he can.
Over the years, I’ve seen WWE mishandle many talents, however, never have I felt so passionately about a guy, who has the potential to be something special but just can’t manage to take that step to make it to the big time. I can only hope that WWE sees the same potential I do, in Titus O’Neil and that we see him in a spot worthy of his talent sometime soon.
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