Examining Luke Harper's Direction, Upside and Long-Term Potential

Despite having all the makings of a monster, Luke Harper is asked to be a background player, an afterthought.

A big man wielding thunderous strikes, Harper commands one's attention in the ring. He has the look and skills to be an overwhelming force. But he's presented as more stiff breeze than gale right now.

Harper's time away from The Wyatt Family was brief.

After a short run as intercontinental champion at the end of 2014 and a low-profile feud with Dean Ambrose, the bruiser went back to his clan. He reunited with Bray Wyatt in mid-2015.

Since then, he has been lost in the shadows of his family members. Wyatt is the leader and spokesman of the group, the man offered the most spotlight of the foursome. Braun Strowman has overtaken Harper in the pecking order. It's the immense powerhouse who WWE portrays as dominant and dangerous.

Harper is more of a supporting member of the cast at the moment.

Credit: WWE.com

He hasn't had but a few seconds of mic time whenever The Wyatt Family addresses the crowd. He hasn't been fighting on his own either. His last win in singles action came back in August of 2015.

Stop-and-start booking has hurt The Wyatt Family. Just when it looks like WWE is prepping the faction for a rise, momentum halts. In a rivalry with The Dudley Boyz, Harper and company suffered a number of losses. In their newest feud against the "titans" of WWE (Ryback, Big Show and Kane), The Wyatt Family fell at WWE Fastlane in six-man action.

The group is just 3-3-1 overall in 2016, per CageMatch.net. Harper's only other action this year was a loss in the Royal Rumble. And with the WrestleMania 32 card taking shape, it doesn't look like Harper is poised for anything other than the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

It's baffling that WWE hasn't made him a higher priority. Harper looks built for this business.

Strengths

Harper towers over his prey at 6'5'' and 275 pounds. A fearsome aura has drawn comparisons to Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen, two legendary brawlers.

His power and striking are his best assets in the ring, as one might expect. But for a man his size, he has surprising agility. Seeing him dive through the ropes remains a stunning sight.

He is at his best, though, when he is in a slugfest.

Fans saw that when he and Erick Rowan cracked their fists against The Usos' flesh during their rivalry in 2014. Those bouts and when Harper has been allowed to go on a rampage have shown off his potential.

Justin LaBar of Chair Shot Reality believes he is only going to get better:

At 36, Harper seems to be hitting his prime as a performer. Every time he gets a chance on a brightly lit stage, he makes the most of it. His excellent ladder match with Dolph Ziggler at 2014 is an example of that.

Those chances, though, haven't come often enough.

Obstacles

Harper is not going to give you work-rate classics. Even as good as he is, he's not going to challenge Seth Rollins or John Cena for best match producer on the roster. 

Still, he can more than hold his own in the ring. He can wrestle circles around the emerging Strowman and would thrive opposite top talent. 

His real weakness is as a talker. He's limited on promos, serviceable at best. That's surely why WWE has Wyatt do the talking while Harper scowls behind him or throws in a few growled threats here and there.

If WWE were to push Harper, it would either have to present him as a silent, stalking style or have a mouthpiece deliver the goods on the mic for him.

That can be overcome, especially when he looks the part of a predator. Just having him snarl in silence can be plenty effective.

It's the hole WWE's booking has put him that will prove to be his worst enemy. After eating so many pins and being booked as so ineffective for so long, it's hard to take his and Wyatt's threats of destruction seriously. 

He's a low-level midcarder right now. To change that would take a sustained effort from WWE Creative, something that seems unlikely at this point.

That situation is an odd one. As Aubrey Sitterson of the Straight Shoot podcast tweeted, Harper should be getting much bigger opportunities:

Hall of Famer Jim Ross is confused by Harper's booking, too. Last year, Ross wrote on his blog, "Really like Luke Harper, and he, like Cesaro, seems to be undervalued and underutilized. Head-scratcher to me." 

Long-Term Potential

It's easy to imagine Harper being the most successful Wyatt Family member outside of Bray himself. Harper can outdo both Strowman and Erick Rowan in the ring. He has more presence than those men, too.

If set free, Harper is bound to flourish.

Mick Foley said on Chad Dukes Versus the World in 2014, "I do think he has what it takes to become a singles star." Foley is right here. A big man who can move like him is rare. That alone should help catapult him to success on his own.

A trip back to midcard title contention is on the low end of things to expect from Harper. A run with the United States Championship or reclaiming the IC title is very plausible. But if WWE places real confidence in him, he will ascend higher than that.

He's the ideal adversary for WWE's top babyfaces. Cena, Roman Reigns and Finn Balor will all need an imposing figure to face them as world champ. Harper is the right man for that job—the mighty beast who pushes the hero. 

Be sure to check out previous editions of this ongoing series:

• Kevin Owens
• Sasha Banks
• Titus O'Neil
• Tyler Breeze