WWE Has Finally Figured Out How To Book Babyfaces 

Highlights

• WWE has historically struggled with booking babyfaces, often making them unlikable and ruining their momentum. However, in 2023, the company has been on a roll and has a roster of popular and well-booked babyfaces.
• Vince McMahon has shown hesitance in taking advantage of naturally over babyfaces, often missing potential stars who could've made it big. This was frustrating for fans who supported WWE superstars without any reward.
• Under the creative control of Triple H, WWE has a plethora of hot babyfaces who are gaining momentum. Triple H has shown patience in booking, allowing wrestlers like LA Knight and Cody Rhodes to naturally rise and capitalize on their popularity. However, there is still room for improvement in booking babyfaces.

In 2023, there have been a variety of babyfaces in WWE who have risen to the top of the card. The latter half of the year has seen shows littered with the likes of Cody Rhodes, John Cena, LA Knight, and more, all of whom feel more popular than most good guys fans have seen for several years. Perhaps since the PG Era began, WWE has often struggled when it comes to babyfaces, and aside from pre-established stars like John Cena and the odd boost in a name like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, Vince McMahon has failed on so many of his good guys from a booking perspective. Right now though, WWE is on a roll when it comes to booking babyfaces.

Vince McMahon Wasted Babyfaces In Recent Years

Under the creative rule of Vince McMahon, WWE has seen a whole host of popular good guys from Steve Austin to Hulk Hogan to Mick Foley, and many more. However, as the years went on, the booking of babyfaces became a very real problem for McMahon. He had a tendency to make babyfaces unlikable, goofy, and too forced, which led to fans turning on the superstars and ultimately damaging their momentum. Examples of this have included “The Big Dog” Roman Reigns, who became one of the most hated good guys of all time. More recently, the likes of Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Big E, and others had a rise to the top as good guys, only to be completely ruined when they finally got there.

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Another major issue which arose time and time again was Vince McMahon’s hesitance and sometimes complete refusal to take advantage of a babyface who was naturally getting over. In fact, it seemed like he absolutely hated it when someone unplanned was doing such a good job that fans got on board with it. This led to WWE missing the boat on a whole load of potential stars who could’ve made it big. It really did feel like a slap in the face to fans who were supporting WWE superstars, especially when there was no reward at the end of it. Even on the odd occasion in which they did pull the trigger with someone, in the long term it didn’t work out, and they fell off, or else had to turn heel due to the bad spot they were in.

WWE Has Many Hot Babyfaces Right Now

2023 has seen WWE go down a different route, and a lot of that comes with the creative control of Triple H. For the first time in a long time, WWE has a whole load of super hot babyfaces who don’t feel forced, nor does it feel as though they will falter at any time soon. In every division there are popular names - Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Chad Gable, Asuka, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and more who are growing in prominence and steadily gaining momentum. It isn’t just that these names are popular, but they are getting reactions comparable to past eras of WWE which were far more successful and had much more crowd investment, and this alone helps WWE feel like a hot company.

Triple H has shown great patience when it comes to booking. For instance, LA Knight was struggling for a spot despite massive reactions, but Triple H noted at the Money in the Bank press conference that his time would come. In the months since, Knight has shot up the card and recently teamed with John Cena in the hottest angle on SmackDown. Triple H has listened to fans, figured out a plan, and let it play out to make the most of his popularity and allowed his natural rise.

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The handling of Cody Rhodes has been another great example. His loss at WrestleMania 39 under Vince McMahon would have led him down a bad path, but under Triple H, WWE have kept things simple and allowed Rhodes to continue doing what got him so over in the first place. It hasn’t felt forced, and he looks set to gain even more momentum ahead of perhaps a second WrestleMania main event in a row, where the wait will pay off for his world title victory.

WWE Can Still Improve In Booking Babyfaces

Things haven’t been absolutely perfect, with Sami Zayn’s huge popularity being absolutely wasted this year when he could have easily become a world champion. Sure, a WrestleMania main event victory was great, but in the months since then, WWE have fallen into similar traps of the past with popular babyfaces. The women’s division has a ways to go in terms of capitalizing on momentum and keeping babyfaces hot, but it is getting better for sure.

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Triple H and WWE have kept things simple, easy, and allowed wrestlers to continue doing the things that got them over in the first place, rather than trying to force goofiness and lame jokes, which is often a way to waste babyfaces.