WWE: Peter Rosenberg and the Difference Between Character and Personality

In professional wrestling, fans buy tickets or tune in to see the men and women performing inside the ring. In WWE, too many other on-screen entertainers try to grab the spotlight.

Earlier this week, I argued the case that Booker T had worn out his welcome on WWE Raw. His commentary has become more of a negative than a positive. When he makes a terrible point, he’s quick to throw out his resume, as if that’s a reason to ignore the garbage spewed forth from his mouth.

But later in the week, yet another WWE employee garnered all sorts of attention for a ridiculous viewpoint. Peter Rosenberg – Hot 97 DJ, co-host of The Michael Kay Show on YES Network/ESPN Radio, and WWE host – decided to fire up the ol’ Twitter machine when the signing of War Machine was announced.

First out of the box: Rosenberg tells the entire social media universe that he doesn’t know that War Machine is a tag team. This would be forgivable, except for two big reasons. Number one: Rosenberg’s job with WWE is likely contingent on knowing who the superstars are. Number two: even if you couldn’t muster up the keystrokes for a quick Google search on War Machine, WWE’s official announcement literally started with “One of the planet’s most ferocious and intimidating tag teams is on its way to the WWE Performance Center.”

Next, he denigrated the fans who called him out on this faux pas, before revealing that he thinks “his” name should be changed because of former MMA fighter Jon Koppenhaver.

For those who don’t know who that is, congratulations! You’re in the vast majority of people on the planet. Only a small minority of the population would have associated “War Machine” with Koppenhaver, who pulled a Jim Hellwig and legally changed his name to his nickname. Koppenhaver is currently serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, beating, and sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend in 2014.

In fairness to Rosenberg, he’s a big UFC fan, so his having Koppenhaver in the front of his brain when hearing “War Machine” makes some sense. However, a cursory Google search would again have shown that Koppenhaver is not exactly in the public eye.

But Rosenberg wasn’t done – he called out Kevin Owens for not paying attention to New Japan. Perhaps it was light-hearted, but KO’s reply certainly let the WWE Universe know his true feelings.

A little bit of digging shows that Rosenberg actually proclaimed he was looking to be an even bigger heel in 2018 than he had been before. And that’s where I take issue. As a broadcaster, Rosenberg should be primarily neutral. Not heel, not face – he should be like Switzerland. Think Mean Gene Okerlund – sure, he would be frustrated by the actions of the heels, but he never was blatant about supporting one wrestler over another without reason.

But here’s a guy who by self admission is a lifelong wrestling fan – and now he’s trying to be the biggest heel of all because he got on television? Sorry, but that’s not cool. I watched the special on the WWE Network Rosenberg hosted with Corey Graves about RAW 25, and seeing him in that Bobby Heenan* jacket was sickening.

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This got me thinking – certain people in the wrestling business just don’t understand the difference between “character” and “personality.” Everyone should have a personality if you’re appearing on camera. No one wants a wet blanket. Christopher Walken dances in everything he does – that’s personality. Robert Downey, Jr. oozes charisma whether he’s acting or not – that’s personality.

But only those who are integral to the story should have a well-developed character. When Downey played Iron Man in The Avengers, no one cared about the guy in the background playing Galaga. He got no lines, he didn’t get to expound on why he was playing Galaga –  he had no character. Iron Man was the character. Clicking back to the game? Well, that shows personality. But no one made a Marvel One-Shot called “Galaga Guy Stops Galactus” or whatever, because he’s not that important.

Rosenberg – and Booker T, and Brock Lesnar Guy, and Frank the Clown, and probably a ton of others I can’t think of at the moment – need to remember that there isn’t a single person in the audience who bought their ticket for anyone but those in the ring. Superstars should have characters. If you’re not in the ring doing the work, just let a bit of personality come through so you’re not dull as dishwater, and not try to take things over.

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*Bobby Heenan (and many others) have played the role of heel commentator for years, but just about everyone who did that was a former wrestler/manager who already had a clearly defined character. No one came off the streets and was just made a heel broadcaster.