How to survive (and stay over) in WWE's broken system. These are 10 wrestlers who cracked WWE's secret code.
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00:00 "What is WWE's secret code?" you ask. For me, it's the ability to get over and stay over with
00:06 management and the audience in a creative system that frequently takes in world-class pro wrestlers
00:12 like Ornate Furniture and spits them out as if they were sawdust. Each of the people I'm going
00:17 to talk about today understands how to thrive in Vince McMahon's fictional universe better than
00:22 the man who created it. They truly have figured WWE out. I'm Andy from WhatCulture, and here are
00:29 10 wrestlers who cracked WWE's secret code. Number 10, R-Truth. A rare example of a genuinely
00:37 funny guy in a horrendously unfunny company, R-Truth knows how to make people laugh,
00:43 which is key to his enduring value as an entertainer. He's been in WWE since 2008,
00:49 and while he has spent most of this time as an undercard comedy act in wacky backstage segments,
00:55 he's always there or thereabouts, particularly since the advent of the 24/7 title. Now,
01:01 creatively, that's not the most exciting thing in the world, but at 50 years old,
01:06 R-Truth has given himself a job for life. He has gone all in on a character that Vince McMahon
01:12 clearly enjoys in a wise choice that will extend his run with WWE for as long as he wants it.
01:20 Number 9, The Miz. Miz deserves great credit for entering pro wrestling as a reality TV tourist,
01:27 overcoming the small dick energy of wrestler's court, and becoming the polished TV performer
01:32 that he is today. In fact, for his role in the promotion, he's literally perfect.
01:38 Miz has been doing this for 16 years now. He's a two-time WWE Champion and a perennial fixture
01:45 because he understands his role perfectly. Tasked with appeasing WWE's base and those writing his
01:51 checks with sound complimentary work, he is 100% secure in WWE. Nobody expects Miz to rip out a
02:00 5-star match on pay-per-view these days, or ever, really, being fair, but he isn't trying to do that.
02:06 Miz has found his spot as a loud, brash, and colourful TV character. In fact, he found it
02:12 a long time ago, and it's why he continues to thrive.
02:16 Number 8, Riddle. The Riddle of today is not the Matt Riddle of yore. In the mid-2000s,
02:22 it looked like the former UFC fighter was going to break out as a work-rate-centric wrestler
02:27 on a thriving indie scene where he more than held his own with the likes of Chris Hero, Keith Lee,
02:33 Zack Sabre Jr, and all the great talent that was doing the rounds at the time. But something like
02:38 that isn't always enough to cut it in WWE. It takes more than being a great bell-to-bell wrestler,
02:45 and in this company he has had to tailor his character into something, well, dumber.
02:50 Riddle's transformation from indie wonderkind to Monday Night Goofball has gotten him over huge.
02:56 Taking his aloof stoner vibes, making them family-friendly, and forging the exact brand
03:01 of comedy synonymous with the market leaders, complete with his own spin, Riddle stands on
03:06 the cusp of a long, successful WWE run. Number 7, Seth Rollins. Here's a guy who
03:13 knows exactly what he's doing any time he hits Twitter and leaps to his company's defence.
03:18 Even if Seth positioning him as one of those stand-up-for-WWE guys feels a little got into
03:24 at times, it doesn't really matter. He has become the ultimate company man in an often nasty,
03:29 toxic, and triable pro-wrestling environment, planting his flag and making no apologies for it.
03:35 And on the character side, his visionary gimmick is big, colourful, and fits WWE's brand of content
03:42 to a T. Donning a wacky jacket that no right-minded person would ever be caught dead in sends Rollins
03:48 viral every single time. He knows it, he plays it up, and he loves it.
03:53 Number 6, AJ Styles. Nobody could have predicted that AJ's WWE run would have been so successful
04:00 when he came into the company in 2016. Now, that's not because of his talent,
04:04 because that has never been in doubt, but because being a world-class in-ring guy who's under 6 feet
04:10 and isn't the most expressive on the microphone doesn't always do well in Vince-land. But WWE's
04:16 glass ceiling hasn't really existed for Styles. He has made himself indispensable to the company
04:21 by becoming one of the most talented utility men the sport has ever seen. Whether he's being used
04:26 to carry a brand as a world champion or elevate a towering green giant as part of a tag team,
04:31 he always does a good professional job without the intense in-ring focus that he can bring,
04:37 but isn't necessarily required as it would be in other places of work.
04:41 Number 5, Shinsuke Nakamura. Shinsuke Nakamura came to WWE in order to earn a great living in
04:48 pro wrestling without having to trash his body in captivating but physically demanding matches
04:53 like he did in New Japan. And that's exactly how his run has panned out. While it does feel at
04:59 times like he is maybe coasting on charisma and personality, you can get away with doing that.
05:05 In WWE, in fact, that's kind of what the company's all about. Nakamura probably figured
05:10 WWE out before he even landed in America, in fact, knowing he can live a happy, fulfilling life that
05:17 perhaps lacks the highs of before, but suits him greatly as he enters his 20th year as a wrestler.
05:24 Number 4, Sami Zayn. Nobody should have been surprised when Sami Zayn re-signed with
05:29 WWE earlier this year because WWE is the perfect place for Sami Zayn. This guy has figured out
05:36 every aspect of the company. Every week, he plays his very over-very entertaining character on TV
05:43 without having to stretch his increasingly damaged body to breaking points. Now, Sami can still go
05:49 when required, but for the most part, he is on TV every single week because he's an entertaining
05:54 personality, not because he's busting out big, popping matches. In WWE, he gets to be an
06:00 entertaining sh*tbag heel without the extra pressure. It's a winning formula for both him
06:05 and the company. Number 3, Kevin Owens. For Kevin Owens, the key to cracking WWE's secret code was
06:12 finding ways to elevate material that would bury lesser wrestlers with his wit, charm, and
06:17 personality. It doesn't matter how crappy the script is because Kev is going to infuse it with
06:22 his usual brand of sharp quips and other dashes of the man behind the act, keeping a place in the
06:28 fans' hearts because of it. Enjoying a strong relationship with Vince, who personally negotiated
06:33 Kevin's recent contract extension, Owens has built himself a great WWE career, and at this stage,
06:40 it'd be a bigger surprise if he ended up leaving the company before retiring than staying.
06:45 Number 2, Randy Orton. If the ultimate goal of professional wrestling is to get as much
06:50 as possible from as little as possible, Randy Orton has got it all figured out. His approach
06:56 to wrestling is borderline genius. While choosing to become a more dynamic, athletic wrestler earlier
07:02 in his career might have produced a more exciting body of work, the extra level of exertion and
07:07 inevitable physical wear and tear would have taken a toll, and at one point Randy just said "hey man,
07:12 that's not for me." What he did was figure out very early in his run that the right physical
07:18 presentation, his charisma, and an incredible crowd-popping finisher would carry him a long,
07:24 long way. Thus, he crafted an arsenal of cool-looking moves, found his character,
07:29 and chose a life that would bring him immense success without the costs felt by his more
07:33 hard-bumping peers. None of this is to say that Orton hasn't worked hard, or that he hasn't had
07:39 his fair share of painful matches over the years. He most certainly has. Regardless, Orton is the
07:45 king of working smarter. He's going to go down as a WWE cannon goat without leaving the sport
07:51 on crutches. 1. Brock Lesnar
07:55 It doesn't always sit well with fans, but Brock Lesnar has had WWE eating from the palm of his
08:00 hand since he returned in 2012. And yes, his push causes problems, but blame the system,
08:06 not the man. Brock is doing what's best for Brock. He understands his value to WWE,
08:12 and he uses that to his advantage. Building his own unique negotiating system, there's no need
08:18 for this guy to hit the road and bust his ass every single week when he can crush it, get rich,
08:23 and main event shows without any of the grind. And yeah, he's still really awesome to watch.
08:30 Say what you will about the push, Brock Lesnar's Bull Rush is a unique pro-wrestling riot,
08:36 even in 2022. Nobody else recaptures the same thrill.
08:40 (Outro)
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