#3 Not playing to people’s strengths
The best characters in WWE history have always been extensions of that performer’s true personality taken to the next level.
Shawn Michaels was a cocky pretty boy with a sense of humor, so it was only natural for him to play a version of that character as The Heartbreak Kid and a member of DX. “Red Rooster” Steve Austin just wouldn’t be the same as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, as that is who Austin is at his core.
Whenever someone is shoehorned into a character they don’t have within them, it never works out. It doesn’t take long for them to have to go back to the drawing board or risk looking like a total loser.
Sadly, if WWE wants to have a certain type of character, they seem to try to insert people they particularly want to fill that role into that spot, rather than seeking out who would be best for it and letting them run with the idea.
For example, Roman Reigns is their pick for the top babyface and the promotion has been pushing him as hard as possible for years now, yet it hasn’t worked. They tried to have him turn from a silent juggernaut to cracking the type of sophomoric jokes John Cena often does and it was cringeworthy.
Now that he is back closer to his former self of being less talkative, the promos aren’t as bad, but the damage has already been done and the audience refuses to accept him as the top dog, so they’ll boo him no matter what.
When Emma was first building up steam, her character was a precursor to Bayley, who succeeded far better when it comes to connecting with the audience. By no means was Emma’s act of the clumsy but cute babyface who pops bubbles, a true prototype of Bayley’s uber-positive hugger, but it was still a more wholesome gimmick.
Tenille Dashwood—the woman behind the Emma and Emmalina characters—seems to be a rather sweet girl in real life. One look at her former YouTube cooking show will give you a glimpse of someone who is more likely to browse Pinterest boards than anything this Emmalina character seemed to be interested in doing.
Rumour has it the reason this was scrapped is because WWE saw what she was trying to do and simply felt it wasn’t clicking like they had intended. Well, when it comes to acting, not everybody is good for every role, and WWE wrestlers aren’t exactly the best thespians, to begin with, so they are already working at a deficit.
Tenille’s strengths are similar to Cesaro’s, where her in-ring skills far outweigh her talent on the microphone, so WWE should be looking for ways to accentuate that and bring out the best in her rather than trying to force her into a gimmick she won’t be able to pull off.
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