Examining Baron Corbin's Direction, Upside and Long-Term Potential

When WWE dreamed up the Performance Center and NXT, Baron Corbin was surely the kind of prospect it envisioned emerging from the developmental system. An athlete plucked from the gridiron, he has gone from a big guy with ample raw potential to a convincing force in the ring.

Corbin is one of WWE's best homegrown talents in a long while. The Lone Wolf boasts presence, a gimmick that fits him well and power and footwork that allowed him to flirt with an NFL career.

As Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald pointed out, his progress since his early days as a green NXT prospect has been impressive:

After Corbin looked good in a feud with Samoa Joe and impressed as Rhyno's partner in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, WWE decided to call him up for WrestleMania 32. The powerhouse made a surprise appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he outlasted his foes en route to a surprise win.

Now on the main roster, he has taken aim at Dolph Ziggler, sparking a suddenly bitter feud.

That's a smart way to kick off his main-roster run. As one of the best in-ring performers today, Ziggler will help lead Corbin to strong performances from the get-go. The Showoff promises to be a quality stepping stone as The Lone Wolf begins his march toward WWE stardom.

WWE has protected Corbin record so far, having him avoid defeat in his first few matches. And with as much spotlight as he has received already, it's clear that WWE values this newcomer. There's good reason for the company to feel that way.

Strengths

At 6'8'' and 275 pounds, Corbin has the size WWE has long coveted. That's especially valuable in an era where so many incoming wrestlers look much like the fans sitting in the audience. Corbin is instead a larger-than-life figure, someone who forces the crowd to take notice with just his build.

He also has a presence and an overall look that helps him stand out.

While his intensity on the mic has been inconsistent, Corbin always has an aura of ferocity when he stomps down to the ring. He's done well to bring that more into the ring, growing as a brawler over time.

He's powerful and excels at the high-impact part of the mat game. And as a bonus, End of Days is one of the best finishing moves going today.

It wasn't until he found his voice as a character that he really took off, though. During the last few months of his NXT stay, he began to exude a powerfully condescending attitude.

As Cageside Seats' Sean Rueter wrote, "It's that attitude—being quick to dismiss anything he deems as beneath him, which is pretty much anything that isn't him—which finally got him over for good."

The more he gets to show that on the main roster, the better chance he has of success. Pitting him against WWE's indy darlings and Internet Wrestling Community favorites is ideal for him. He's the opposite of guys like AJ Styles and Sami Zayn; Corbin is a product of the WWE machine, not a natural underdog with underground classics floating around on YouTube.

Taking advantage of that is vital. 

Obstacles

While Corbin has had some good matches against Joe and Austin Aries, he is not elite in the ring. The Lone Wolf is a sledgehammer in the squared circle, not a Swiss Army knife like Cesaro, Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins.

He'll be competing for top spots against a roster full of in-ring artists who can churn out better bouts.

But WWE isn't likely to expect him to pull off Rollins-quality action. He's a big man who will do more demolishing than composing dramatic masterpieces. 

Corbin is no mic maestro, either. He's an inconsistent talker who sometimes nails it when talking trash to his opponent and sometimes offers up a tepid speech.

Simply put, "Baron isn’t a live promo guy, and WWE knows this," as Will Pruett wrote for ProWrestling.net.

He can deliver in small bursts on the mic, especially if he has multiple takes to do so, but is not charismatic enough to hold the audience's attention for a long stretch. Asking him to open Raw or enter an extended verbal battle with John Cena would be a bad idea.

Long-Term Potential

When he was an NXT prospect who mowed down no-name foes, the crowd seemed unimpressed with Corbin. There was the usual pushback from diehard fans thanks to his lack of independent experience.

He's managed to slowly win over the audience. And he is already over to a degree. The guys at the New Age Insiders podcast noted that fans were chanting The Lone Wolf's name before his Raw debut:

That will be helpful moving forward. Roman Reigns can attest to how much harder it is to flourish when fans are dead set on not buying into someone.

Corbin isn't the natural athlete that Reigns is but has the benefit of size and looks much like The Big Dog. That combined with how well he has worked his gimmick and how much he has evolved in his first years as a wrestler point to big things ahead for Corbin.

He is fully capable of rising to the level of world champion. He will make a strong high-level heel. High-profile matches at SummerSlam and WrestleMania are on their way.

Corbin, though, doesn't have the personality or the mic presence to be a cornerstone. That will force him to sit below Dean Ambrose, Rollins, Bray Wyatt and others on the food chain.

Expect Corbin to scale the WWE mountain, but not to set up camp at the peak. 

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

• Bray Wyatt
• Zack Ryder
• Becky Lynch
• Neville