Andrade a Star

Earlier this year, I put together a series showing how I would move Andrade up the card in WWE and make him into a star. It got to the point where it was clear Andrade would be better off moving on from WWE and finding a new place to start. His arrival in AEW was expected, but was still a surprise when it came. Leaning on Vickie Guerrero to make the introduction was the perfect use of someone who still gets the reaction of a top heel even after all these years. Seeing the vignette from Dynamite it makes Andrade look like a star. 

A vignette is supposed to make the wrestler seem like a star from the start and in the shortest way possible. Exposition is most important in wrestling, because it gives the fans a reason to be invested, and a vignette is supposed to set up expectations for how fans view a wrestler when they arrive. Next week Jim Ross will sit down with Andrade which will keep him separate from the pack and make him look differently than other talent on the roster. The toughest job for any company is making talent stick out and look different from other wrestlers. Basically giving fans a reason to care about one wrestler more than others. Andrade needs to stick out from the pack, and they need to take it slow, building a new image for one of the top signings in recent memory.

Untapped potential is a term that isn't used nearly enough by wrestling fans or critics like it should be. Andrade is the embodiment of a wrestler with untapped potential, and hopefully this second chance will prove worthwhile for someone who can be a top draw anywhere in the world. The vignette set the ball in motion and now next week's sit down interview will take another step toward separating Andrade from the pack.