Enzo Amore, Big Cass vs. The Shining Stars: The Good, Bad and Ugly of WWE Feud

In the smorgasbord of entertainment that is WWE, Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. The Shining Stars is the platter of raw vegetables.

It has a purpose in theory, but it's kind of just there. Not many folks are excited about seeing it.

Amore and Cass have been one of the hottest, most intriguing acts on Raw since arriving from NXT. Their feud against The Shining Stars has only worked to cool them down, though.

Epico and Primo's turns as Puerto Rican timeshare salesmen aren't working. The Shining Stars are a filler team, so their clash with The Realest Guys in the Room unsurprisingly feels like a way for WWE to pad its programming.

As the story rolls on, can WWE use this feud to elevate Amore and Cass? Or will it be doomed to elicit a series of eye-rolls from the audience?

The Good

Anything that puts Enzo Amore and Big Cass on TV more often is a good thing.

The electrically charismatic Amore and his likable sidekick transferred their popularity from NXT to WWE proper with no issues. Fans were sold on the catchphrase kings right away. WWE has been smart to make sure they have a rivalry even when they aren't in the tag team title picture.

Amore and Cass need someone to contend with. And beating on The Shining Stars is potentially a way for them to move up the ladder.

For The Realest Guys in the Room to be believable threats to the tag team champs, we need to see them overcome lesser challenges.

As for Primo and Epico, taking on the NXT transplants is the most relevant they have been in a long time. If WWE is going to create some buzz around that pair, pitting them against a red-hot act is a fine start.

The Bad

Enzo Amore's childbirth pantomime remains the top highlight in a story with very few memorable moments.

The teams have exchanged a bit of trash talk, but little else has happened. The Shining Stars haven't attacked Amore and Big Cass backstage. There have been no subplots, no narrative twists, no escalation of personal issues.

The Shining Stars and The Realest Guys in the Room have bickered and then wrestled. For this rivalry to be more than the filler it currently is, WWE has to add something to that pattern.

As ho-hum as the feud has been, it's unsurprising that the matchup is not currently on Sunday's Clash of Champions pay-per-view card.

And early on, a lot of the showdowns have favored The Shining Stars. That has the rivalry delivering the opposite effect on Amore and Cass that it needs to. 

After Epico defeated Amore on Sept. 12, Kenny Herzog of Rolling Stone called the feud a "real momentum-killer for Enzo and Cass." That's hard to argue. The babyfaces haven't benefited much from their interactions with the patriotic Puerto Ricans.

The Ugly

The Shining Stars gimmick is only marginally better than Primo and Epico's run as cartoon bullfighters.   

The heels' shtick consists of big smiles, a vocal adoration of Puerto Rico and trying to sell timeshares to suckers. They are mildly annoying at best, but not nearly as captivating as wrestling's great villains.

The New Age Insiders podcast tweeted, "For the life of me, I don't understand The Shining Stars."

Primo and Epico's floundering act has given Enzo Amore and Big Cass little to work with.

The best rivalries have two equal combatants who push each other to the limit. It's hard to sell this clash that way with The Shining Stars coming off as such a substandard team.

Amore and Cass vs. The Shining Stars' fatal flaw is not an easy one to change. WWE will either have to deepen the heel's characters in a hurry or craft an interesting enough plot to overcome the duo's underwhelming nature.

Projections

Enzo Amore and Big Cass are the hotter commodity. The only sensible move is to end this feud with those two celebrating.

The Realest Guys in the Room will beat out The Shining Stars in their climactic match. 

Until then, the rivalry will retain a silly dynamic. Expect some bad comedy segments and hit-or-miss one-liners. WWE isn't suddenly going to start inserting Shakespearean elements into the narrative.

Amore and Cass vs. Primo and Epico won't catch fire. It won't improve much. Instead, it will fizzle out after just a single PPV match.

The babyfaces would be better off moving on to something new ASAP.