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The Ascension's run in WWE didn't work out as per Konnor and Viktor's expectations. Now going by the name of Big Kon and Vik, they've become The Awakening.
The Ascension started in WWE in 2011 and the duo was a vital part of the promotion's transition from FCW to NXT. In NXT, they were the most dominant tag team at the time. The Ascension didn't become as successful as many NXT fans had hoped, and we have a clear picture of why exactly that was the case.
Speaking to Lucha Libre Online's Michael Morales Torres, Konnor and Viktor revealed the origins of The Ascension's concept and how it underwent several changes:
Viktor: “It started after they kind of moved everybody else out away. Norman Smiley was always kind of trying to push me to be in there. He saw me fitting and I guess it was at one show. I think it was one of the ones you (Konnor), I can’t recall if you were working Big E or not. I guess it was Norman (Smiley) and Billy (Kidman). They were sitting there talking about it at the timekeeper’s table. Norman had said that Rick Viktor (him) would be a really good fit with Konnor here. They were talking about it and supposedly Hunter (Triple H) walked up five minutes later and kind of ask the same question more or less."
Konnor explained that it was after he got voted off NXT season five that he ended up going to FCW and the seeds for The Ascension were planted. He was admittedly not in good spirits after being booted from the competition, but former head trainer Bill Demott approached him with a concept where four male talent and one female talent were to be paired into the faction.
Konnor said that it made no sense and that it felt thrown together. He explained that spiritual concept that Ricardo Rodriguez had in mind for The Ascension was something completely different. Konnor then spoke about how WWE legend Dusty Rhodes was behind a vampire-like concept for The Ascension:
Konnor: "Then he (Dusty Rhodes) called us all in and said: ‘What do you see here baby? I was sitting there and I literally said five a****les. I really didn't know. I was so confused. Dream goes: ‘No baby. I see vampires’. I'm like, okay. Then he starts talking about what I think at the time was True Blood and that television show. Then Shaul [Guerrero] was like: ‘Oh yeah. True Blood. It's awesome. It's amazing’. And I don't really watch a lot of TV”.
Viktor revealed that he started watching True Blood and managed to watch one season, but hated the show. Konnor said that he felt pretty much the same way as his tag team partner. The American Dream eventually realized that Ricardo Rodriguez couldn't fit in with the group.
It was implied in the interview that The Ascension went through several different transitions, including a goth phase and then a heavy metal version of the team.
Was The Ascension doomed from the start?
Ultimately, The Ascension's run didn't work out, and it's not hard to see why. There was never a clear concept from the inception until their release. When The Ascension jumped over to WWE's main roster, they instantly went from being the most dominant tag team in NXT to enhancement talent for the rest of their run.
Hopefully, the duo manages to find success outside of the WWE realm as The Awakening, and away from The Ascension concept.
