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Otis shockingly turned heel on last night’s episode of WWE SmackDown by attacking Rey Mysterio after their match at the insistence of Chad Gable. While it will be interesting to see where this story goes from here, Otis’ heel turn comes at a time when it may be too late to salvage him.
At this point in time last year, Otis was arguably the most over character on the roster. His love story with Mandy Rose was relatable and nearly everyone was rooting for the two to finally get together. However, once the pandemic hit and crowds were no longer in attendance, the storyline lost a lot of its steam. When they finally kissed at WrestleMania 36 it was a great moment, but with no fans, it just didn’t feel like the huge moment it could have been.
When Otis went on to win Money in the Bank last summer, it came as a huge shock considering the competitors in the match. It felt as though someone like Aleister Black was the best candidate to win the briefcase. Many fans were willing to give Otis a shot, though. However, his momentum gradually drained. It got to the point that the Miz was chosen to win the briefcase from Otis, effectively canceling the biggest win of his career.
It could be argued that Otis has not been hot for around a year now. In a perfect world, WWE could have turned him heel after he won Money in the Bank or right after losing it to The Miz. If they turned him heel after he won the briefcase, the story could have revolved around Otis, Mandy and Tucker as a new power trio in WWE. The power could have gotten to his head and he could have grown an ego.
There were several options to turn Otis heel
Another potential angle could have been to have Otis lose Mandy Rose, since she was moved to another roster, as well as losing Tucker and the briefcase. This would have been the typical “babyface loses everything and is down on his luck” story, where they slowly turn heel.
As it currently stands, Otis is now potentially a full-on heel, but has no momentum behind him. But it will be interesting to see where the relationship with Chad Gable will go. Is Gable manipulating Otis? Is Otis actually doing these things willingly? Time will tell.
What are your thoughts? Are you interested in a heel Otis? Do you think it is too late to salvage him? Let us know in the comments below.
