WWE News: Why Repackaging Brodus Clay as 'Funkosaurus' Is a Smart Move

For weeks WWE fans have eagerly (or indifferently) anticipated the re-debut of Brodus Clay. It was expected that the 396-lb. behemoth would return as a monster heel, but instead we were treated with something so much better, the "Funkosaurus."

Ring announcer Justin Roberts introduced Clay on Monday's edition of RAW, saying he hailed from the "Planet Funk." Clay then made his way to the ring with FCW Divas Naomi and Cameron Lynn in tow. He and the girls danced down to the ring in what was truly a surreal scene.

Clay was the runner-up on the fourth season of NXT and he served as Alberto Del Rio's bodyguard for a few months last year. When he was phased out in that role, he wasn't seen on television for several months. He then returned as a fixture on Superstars, where he would squash local jobbers en route to his eventual return.

A couple vignettes aired touting his return and it seemed as if he would be coming back as a no-nonsense beast. RAW general manager John Laurinaitis continually delayed his re-debut, and it became somewhat of a running joke as to when he would return.

According to Ryan Clark of WrestlingINC.com, part of the reason for Clay taking so long to re-debut may have been a tweet that he sent out prior to the show in which John Morrison was "injured" by The Miz. Clay tweeted that he would lay out Morrison, so the "Funkosaurus" character could very well be a punishment.

Punishment or not, I think this repackaging was for the better. Clay has an interesting look, but there was nothing about his previous character to draw people in. There have been countless occasions where wrestlers have been touted as unstoppable monsters only to eventually be buried and forgotten about.

Maybe the old version of Clay could have patrolled the midcard as a monster heel for a while and taken out the likes of Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne, but I doubt anybody would have cared. If nothing else, Clay's new Flash Funk-esque gimmick has people talking.

The WWE doesn't shy away from comedy characters as both Zack Ryder and Santino have gained plenty of popularity. With the gimmick Clay currently has it might seem unlikely that he will ever secure a championship, but Ryder and Santino have held gold in the past, or in Ryder's case are holding gold right now.

I guarantee with 100 percent certainty that Clay got a better crowd reaction on Monday than he ever has or ever could as a monster heel. His dancing, gyrations and comments in the ring were all classic, and he still managed to squash Curt Hawkins despite the comedy of it all.

It's hard to say how long this new character will last, but if he continues to get the crowd reaction he did on Monday, I can honestly see the "Funkosaurus" being a success. Wrestling purists may be angry because they saw some sort of potential in the old Brodus, but he was flat-out boring.

Clay is now hilarious and entertaining, plus he still has the incredible size that made him different from everyone else. There was only so much that could be done with Clay's old gimmick as it had already been done to death. The "Funkosaurus" seems to have some staying power, though.