What’s the story?
As reported by IWNerd, former Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan has been trying out a new clown gimmick at recent WWE Live events.
The Background
Rowan recently returned to SmackDown LIVE after an injury lay-off and immediately realigned with his on-screen master, Bray Wyatt. However, after the ‘Superstar Shake-up’ last week, Bray is now on Raw and Rowan has been left to fend for himself.
With the ‘White Sheep’ of the Wyatt Family’s former tag team partner, Luke Harper, also operating as a singles superstar nowadays, Rowan’s immediate future is unclear.
The heart of the matter
If Erick Rowan is to play a significant part on SmackDown LIVE, he needs to change up his current persona, and he looks like he has been doing just that on non-televised WWE shows.
Also read: WWE SmackDown LIVE Preview: April 18, 2017
You can see Rowan trying out his new gimmick at a recent WWE Live event in the picture below.
The Wrestling Observer have given a more detailed description of Erick Rowan’s new character after his Live event match against Luke Harper.
“Rowan’s entrance had him come out with a clown variation on the sheep mask. He also had balloons, which he gave to a kid and proceeded to pop them immediately. During the match, he pulled a balloon out and blew it up and shot it at Harper. They had a back and forth match with Harper getting the win with a discus clothesline”
What’s next?
It appears as though Rowan is approaching the next chapter of his career, and it will only be a matter of time until we see it debut on television.
Author’s take
Although Erick Rowan is largely considered the weakest member of the original Wyatt Family, he is still a talented in-ring performer and has something to offer WWE.
First impressions of his latest gimmick do not fill me with optimism, but until I see it for myself and see the finished product on SmackDown LIVE, I have to give it the benefit of the doubt and hope for Rowan that it works out for the best.
Personally, I find Erick Rowan to be quite an intriguing character and the short videos he regularly shares on his Twitter page show suggest that he has a creative mind. SmackDown LIVE is in need of strong mid-card talent, so I hope for them and Rowan that he finds a gimmick that works.
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