Fandango: Why His Character Is Such a Hard Sell to Fans of the WWE

Let me start off by saying this is not Johnny Curtis' fault. It's hard to be taken seriously with a Dancing with the Stars gimmick attached to your back like a bunch of Hornswoggles.

Aside from the dancing (and really hot dancers he has brought to the ring with him), Fandango has been a decent addition to the WWE. He has proven he can "wrestle" aside from the theatrics of his ring entrance, which is one of the better segments on Raw or any other of the WWE programs.

While fans chant the theme music and whistle at the beauty ringside, Fandango is still a hard sell by the WWE to fans who are being asked to accept this character as a serious wrestler.

In the few months he has been back in the company, there has been an overabundance of the superstar shoved down our throats. 

The Fandango character, however, appears to be a fixture of programming, mainly because it is the pet project of Vince McMahon, and well, you don't tell the owner of the WWE he cannot have his way and throw it in our faces, too.

Take away the shenanigans and you cannot help but look at Curtis (I will use his name for his assessment) and see a brash and arrogant wrestler with a great look about him—and good technique in the ring. He reminds me of a young Chris Jericho in terms of ability and his arrogance. Maybe that is the reason he was placed in the program with Jericho leading to the match at WrestleMania 29.

But I also have to wonder: If he is supposed to be taking the WWE by storm, then why has he not claimed the United State title from Kofi Kingston? And why has he been in a program with, of all people, Khali, which seems to be a complete waste?

He won his first match at WrestleMania, which is something that was supposed to mean something. Obviously, it didn't.

Oh, I am sorry—this is the WWE. The place where we are teased with programs and angles and then have the football pulled away like Lucy and Charlie Brown. In order for us to buy into what the WWE is selling (like John Cena and Ryback or Triple H and Brock Lesnar), we have to be amazed. We must be captivated. We must be completely taken in.

We aren't any of those things with this character. Had Curtis come in as a rugged, aggressive wrestler, maybe even a brawler, there would be more "credibility" to his persona. There is none. The dancers on stage with him are great "eye candy." However, they are not keeping the fans interest.

The entrance music seems to be more popular than he is. Right now, that is not a good thing.