Manu's Gimmick

by Jack Windham
September 28, 2008

WWE needs to do something with Manu's gimmick because he's generating absolutely no reaction whatsoever right now.

Manu's Gimmick

For those of you that don't know, I'll go ahead and fill you in on what Manu's gimmick is.

With him being the son of the legendary Afa (of the Wild Samoans), Manu was a good choice to join the other 2nd and 3rd generation superstars on Raw.

Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase are playing the role of cocky young guys who have famous fathers.

Those three fit pretty well together because their gimmicks and looks are pretty similar.

WWE, though, decided to give Manu the "generic Samoan" look instead of making him similar to the others.

Generic Samoan Gimmick

Apparently, there's an unwritten rule in wrestling where a Samoan wrestler always has to be savage beast.

The gimmick worked fine for the Wild Samoans. It even worked fine for the Samoan Swat Team. Umaga looks like a savage beast.

However, the gimmick isn't working for Manu.

Right now, Manu looks like a watered down version of Umaga.

He doesn't look intimidating at all, so the gimmick really doesn't fit him.

WWE should have done something different by making his gimmick fit closer to the other guys.

Why not let him wear trendy street clothes like the other guys? Why not let him speak in a normal tone?

Establishing Identity

Aside from changing up his looks, WWE should also seriously consider doing things to allow him to establish his own identity.

It's fine for him to be aligned with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. However, he should also be allowed to be his own man as well.

It wouldn't hurt for WWE to give him a feud or two to work with.

Why couldn't he be feuding with Kofi Kingston right now? Or maybe even CM Punk?

There's also a few other midcard wrestlers (Chuck Palumbo, Charlie Haas, Jamie Noble) that he can feud with to gain some credibility.

It takes a little more work to do multiple storylines for the wrestlers, but it does pay off pretty well in establishing their identity.

Closing Thoughts

If they're going to bring these guys up from developmental, then they need to do something special with them.