Friday 15 March 2013

The Brad Maddox Experience

WWE are not making the most of Brad Maddox. He's not the best wrestler or the best promo, nor does he have the best look. On the surface there's nothing remarkable about the guy and nothing that warrants any extra attention from the already stretched writing staff.
 
Look at the rough character that's been sketched in for him since he debuted on TV last autumn and you'll see there's an opportunity to do something different with him. The guy has been established as someone who wants to get over at any cost. He wants to be famous. He has said, point blank, he wants to be a Superstar™.
 
Considering the cult of celebrity that exists in today's world and the fact that WWE have been billing their wrestlers as Superstars™ for well over a decade it's surprising this sort of character hasn't cropped up before. Someone who wants to become a WWE star just so that they can say they're famous is the perfect self-aware character for the promotion.
 
The closest they've come to this before now is The Miz. The difference with him was that his past on reality shows was emphasised, making it clear he'd already gained some (minor) notoriety before becoming a sports entertainer. This isn't the case with Maddox: he has made the choice to go straight into wrestling as his sole means to gaining fame. Wrestling is his ticket to notoriety, not reality TV augmented by the status of sports entertainer.
 
Maddox's goal has been made very clear over the last six months. After low blowing Ryback at Hell in a Cell he stated that he trained to be a wrestler in WWE's developmental system before agreeing to become a referee just so that he could get on TV. Following that he started The Brad Maddox Experience, an internet show that followed his daily dealings, which was a solid idea but could have been better. His most recent on-screen role has been as assistant to Vickie Guerrero. It's a pretty uninspiring move.


It's Brad Maddox!

The scraps that we have on Maddox are enough to etch out a pretty decent character. The BME (no not Chris Daniels' moonsault, Maddox's net show) should continue with a weekly entry. Either follow Maddox backstage at WWE shows or out in the world trying to establish his name. He could be shown auditioning for a bit part on a TV show (and not getting it) or purchasing ad space on a billboard just to slap him name on it (in caps naturally). It's a great tool to get over what an ego he has and it sets him apart from the rest of the heels on the roster.
 
Have the guy wrestle on the weekend shows and maybe occasionally give him an outing on RAW or SmackDown. They don't have to be long matches and he doesn't even need to win often, the point would be to give the commentary team the chance to talk about him and for Maddox to get his character over, pausing during matches to pose or head out to ringside and chat with his adoring public.
 
I'd like to see him enter arenas not to music but to his own name said over and over again. Either the inflection could change each time it's said or different people could be recorded saying it. Once in the ring Maddox could say "Hi! I'm Brad Maddox... Brad Maddox! ... BRAD MADDOX!"
 
Let the guy stand out and be different to everyone else. It's the best chance he has of making an impact in a company that writes all of its bad guys the same.

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