5 Reasons wrestling fans should not hate Baron Corbin
When Thomas Pestock was born, we're betting his parents would never conceive of just how much hate he would one day receive from an audience millions strong. Yet, that is exactly what has happened to the man better known by his ring name, Baron Corbin, or King Baron Corbin if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
The young Thomas Pestock was a large framed man who also happened to be a gifted natural athlete. He first turned his sights upon professional boxing, winning the regional Missouri Golden Gloves designation, which is no small feat.
Soon thereafter, Pestock would switch his attention to football. He starred while in college and was successful enough to play for two different NFL teams before being released. Then he turned his sights upon pro wrestling. WWE scouts were so impressed they offered Pestock a developmental deal even though he had no prior wrestling experience.
Baron Corbin was generally well received by fans while on the NXT roster, but ever since he's been brought up to the 'main' rosters of Smackdown and RAW, fans have decided that they can't stand him. This goes beyond typical heel heat, becoming what some in the industry refer to as "X-Pac Heat," meaning that the fans don't hate Corbin the character, they just don't want him on their screens or in the ring at all.
But is all of this hate justified? We'd have to say no. Here are five reasons why fans who despise King Baron Corbin are dead wrong.
#5. He has legitimate 'tough guy' credentials.
Back in the 'old school' days of professional wrestling, when kayfabe was a creed that was taken with deathly seriousness, you'd never see someone like Lio Rush being seriously pushed in the business. This is not a knock against Rush's size, but rather his lack of legit real world tough guy credentials. For example, Kyle O'Reilly isn't much bigger than Rush, but has combat sports credentials, giving him old school grit.
Baron Corbin also has legit combat sports credentials from his amateur boxing days. This, combined with his size and athleticism, makes him an easier sell to the audience as someone who could legitimately beat the snot out of another man.
Corbin also has some Jiu Jitsu under his belt, meaning all the fans who want to throttle him probably couldn't actually accomplish the feat.