The New Day as WWE's Babyfaces in Heel Clothing
The New Day is over. They're so over. The New Day is over more than anyone in WWE right now and with each week comes more cheers, more applause and more laughter. The New Day is Vince McMahon's hottest act and you're not supposed to love them.
But you do. You do like crazy.
How can anyone hate on these guys? Is it even possible? Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston have made WWE fun again and they've done it by being the silliest, most ridiculous group possibly in the history of the company.
That's not even the best part. The fact is they've gotten over by doing a lot of nothing.
The New Day have running jokes between the three of them, they speak to each other during promos almost more than they speak to the crowd and they act like 7 year olds trying to make each other laugh. They live in their own little world and they seem oblivious to everyone else around them.
They're as goofy as the original Dudley Clan and much like them, The New Day has found their niche.
They inhabit a unique place in WWE, one where breaking the fourth wall happens so often that the crowd feels like it's in on the joke. Fans know that they're supposed to buy in to the heel versus babyface dynamic but once The New Day goes into their routine, none of that matters.
Think of The New Day like Deadpool, constantly stopping and acknowledging the reader. This is the connection that the group has made with fans and it's a connection that will not be easily broken. At this point the only way to really turn them heel is if they stop the craziness and play it straight.
Until that happens, The New Day will continue to be babyfaces playing the roles of heels.
It's an odd situation, mostly because WWE Creative need only tell them to tone it down in order to get heat again. Fans want to be entertained so if that stops, then the hate will probably come soon after. But they get such a great response, they're obviously having such fun, that cutting the crowd out seems like the wrong move.
WWE as a company thrives on those big moments, those loud moments in which the fans emotionally react and it's those moments that The New Day help bring every week on TV. They're ridiculous and they're asinine at times but no one can look away because they know it's all about having fun.
The only question is why not turn them face?
Why not allow them to become the top protagonists on the roster? The moment they turned, they would immediately take off in terms of popularity, even more than they are now. Why not give them the the chance to go with it and see what else they could do?
Maybe it's more of the same from WWE; it's not the first time the crowd has wanted something and the company has refused to comply. Remember John Cena and Roman Reigns? If fans had their way, John would have turned heel a long time ago and Roman would be heel right now. Yet WWE disagrees, even in spite of all the fan reaction to the contrary.
Or maybe it's because The New Day is supposed to be a group of clowns, the royal fools in Vince's kingdom. They dance and they sing to make the people happy and even though they look foolish, they exist only to entertain. Isn't that the purpose of pro wrestlers, to entertain?
WWE thinks so and that notion is obviously more important than anything else The New Day could be doing right now. So they will remain babyfaces in heel clothing and they will do it with more flair than anyone else in the company.
They will also have more fun doing it as well.
