A Bo Dallas Losing Streak Is Good for His Heel Character

Bo Dallas, a once-undefeated motivational phenom, is now a loser.

Monday on Raw, Dallas entered his most recent match, and the symptoms were no different than that of his previous 17 wins.

In the ring stood R-Truth, an enhancement talent who was about to become the latest beneficiary of a patronizing Bo Dallas promo.

Dallas pointed out Truth’s losing ways before insisting that, to reverse his fortunes, all he has to do is bo-lieve. The bell rang, and Dallas became overly exuberant after his first hint of offense, another staple of his style.

But this time, Dallas’ own enthusiasm backfired. He was quickly pinned with a schoolboy roll-up, thus suffering his first loss since being called up to the main roster. His perfect record during his newest gimmick was now blemished. The heavily promoted win streak, which WWE dedicated a YouTube video to, was over.

And it’s probably for the better.

Despite being staged, wins and losses matter in pro wrestling. Those who win more than they lose get to be John Cena. Those who lose the majority of their matches have to play Damien Sandow—or whatever he’s dressed as on a given week.

But just as wins and losses matter, the story behind the decisions adds dimensions to characters. Dallas’ win streak was treated as a big deal.

Following recent victories, JBL would shout “15 and Bo!” or “16 and Bo!” This ensured that the viewer not only knew Dallas was undefeated, but, true to the gimmick, he did so in the most obnoxious way possible.

Dallas’ win streak may have ended, but that doesn’t mean his momentum as a heel has to. Despite being a heel, Dallas was garnering babyface reactions, to the point where WWE had to alter its booking of the former NXT champion, according to the PWInsider.com (h/t WrestlingInc.com).

Cheers for Dallas in this wrestling climate make sense. Here was a motivational speaker whose overly positive messages appeared to be working. All he did was win, and the condescending nature of his promos didn’t quite transcend to a large-scale audience.

In the Reality era, what’s not to love about an extremely optimistic orator? Even if he does come off as patronizing and annoying, his message (and catchphrase) is admirable.

Bo Dallas was a cool heel.

But following his first loss, Dallas exacted immediate revenge by attacking R-Truth after it seemed like he was preparing to congratulate his opponent.

Dallas’ facial expressions and cheap shots conveyed a sense of unsportsmanlike conduct, which was much more difficult to embrace than manufactured optimism.

Dallas’ losing ways continued on SmackDown when he took a disqualification loss, once again at the hands of R-Truth. Another tantrum followed.

If Dallas’ losing streak is promoted as much as his winning streak, he’ll be a more effective heel than when he started.

With this character, maybe it’s not the winning and losing streaks that matter. What matters is the story behind the streak.

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