Push or Bury: What Should WWE Do With Baron Corbin?

Following his recent split from JBL, WWE's burial of Baron Corbin has begun.

Their partnership on WWE Raw was short-lived. They first joined forces in October, and in the four months they spent together on television, Corbin largely spun his wheels and lost more matches than he won.

On the Feb. 5 edition of Raw, JBL lambasted the former King of the Ring winner backstage and severed ties with him. Later that week, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co) that WWE essentially "gave up" on the act after realizing it wasn't working.

This has led to much conversation and speculation among fans regarding what that means for the 38-year-old. He's been a main roster mainstay since April 2016 and has constantly been a victim of start-and-stop pushes.

Is Corbin worth repackaging with a renewed focus despite his many failed pushes in the past, or has he officially reached "damaged goods" territory?

Why a Hard Reset Is Needed for Renewed Push to Work

The biggest issue with WWE's latest attempt to rebuild Corbin was that there wasn't anything drastically different about him compared to when we saw him last on SmackDown.

He moved from Fridays to Mondays and had a manager for the first time in his career in JBL, but there wasn't much depth to the act beyond that. It didn't help that he racked up wins over lower-level talent for a month before losing any time it mattered most in the weeks that followed.

Worse yet, he was essentially still Happy Corbin with a slightly different name. It might be an extension of who he is in reality, but it hasn't made for the most entertaining on-air act for the past two years.

It has always had a short shelf life, and putting him with a heat magnet in JBL wasn't going to change that.

With whatever he does next, WWE must ensure it is a hard reset from the Happy Corbin character, even if that means reverting back to a gimmick that once worked and brought him his greatest stretch of success to date.

Reverting to Lone Wolf Roots

In recent years, the Baron Corbin character was at his most compelling when he was "broke" coming off his loss of the King of the Ring crown. He embarked on a lengthy losing streak and played the part to perfection by nailing the disheveled look.

The gimmick was cut short too soon, but it's not as if it would lasted much longer than it did. Prior to that, he hadn't been overly interesting since his days as The Lone Wolf, a role that came to him naturally.

Corbin excelled in that character throughout his stint in NXT as well as in his first few years on the main roster. He was protected as a dominant heel and came close to capturing world title gold in late 2016 and again when he (unsuccessfully) cased in his Money in the Bank briefcase the subsequent summer.

Triple H hasn't been shy about giving Superstars their old gimmicks back, and Corbin should be no exception. It wouldn't get him to the main event level, but anything is an improvement over what he's doing in at the moment.

Alliance or Feud with Cameron Grimes Can Be Mutually Beneficial

Corbin's last notable feud on the main roster was with Madcap Moss last spring. While that did them no favors in the end, it at least gave him a sense of direction for a few months. But he has been involved in nothing of note on Raw since then.

Sometimes having the right rival can make all the difference. For Corbin, pairing him off with longtime NXT star Cameron Grimes would be an excellent use of both guys on The Road to WrestleMania.

Grimes has been absent from WWE programming since October when he finished his feud with Joe Gacy on the black-and-gold brand. He has been overdue for a main roster call-up for months if not years, and it's imperative WWE has a plan for him in place from the get-go.

These two are polar opposites and would work exceptionally well together both as partners and as opponents. The chemistry is bound to be there, and a story can easily be told with Corbin acting jealous of Grimes' fortunes.

The end goal should be to elevate Grimes, but a tag team run would be fine as well. Another Superstar needs to bring the best out of Corbin in some form and fashion, and Grimes can be that guy if the angle is executed properly.

How Much More Can He Accomplish?

This April will mark seven years since Corbin joined the main roster, and he has accomplished more than most thought he would in that time.

From a brief reign as United States champion to winning Money in the Bank to becoming the King of the Ring to retiring Kurt Angle, he has done extremely well for himself and has had a handful of standout matches along the way.

However, we've now reached a point where he's been so badly booked that it would be impossible for fans to take him seriously at a level higher than where he's at. Being relegated to the midcard scene is fine, but in Corbin's case, beating him means little.

He's had the same storylines for years and his various characters have limited what he can do in the ring. If he can't ascend any higher than where he's at, it begs the question of where another push would get him on the card and what purpose it would serve.

Fresh and familiar faces are routinely being brought into WWE to add to the roster depth. Corbin shouldn't be prioritized over most, but there's still a role for him in the company that would make another push worthwhile.

Final Verdict

Corbin doesn't often get the credit he deserves for making the most of everything he's been given over the course of the career and for being a super-skilled performer to boot.

He was on the right track for the first year or so of his main roster run in WWE, but we'll never know what would have become of his singles push and how far it would have gotten him had he not been booked to fail his 2017 Money in the Bank cash-in.

All that matters is what WWE does with him now and in the future. He has been dealt a bad hand of late, with his gimmicks not getting over. But that doesn't mean WWE should give up on him completely.

There is value in having someone such as Corbin on the roster. He can talk, work and generate heat, but he can't be in line for another aggressive push until the company can craft a better character for him.

Corbin consistently brings the best out of his opponents to elevate everyone he shares the ring with, but when the time is right (ideally post-WrestleMania 39), he should be in line for another major makeover and start rebuilding momentum or risk settling for midcard mediocrity indefinitely.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.