WWE: Why the reintroduction of Cameron Grimes is working

Cameron Grimes is heading to the moon

Towards the end of 2020, Cameron Grimes was a Superstar on the rise. He had feuds with Keith Lee, Dexter Lumis, and KUSHIDA. He also participated in a five-way ladder match for the vacant North American Championship, as well as the gauntlet match for the NXT Championship. It was his match with Lumis at Halloween Havoc that took him to the next level.

Their match was a cinematic story called the Haunted House of Terror. Grimes’ overzealous, yet fearful energy played perfectly off of Lumis’ quiet, creepy demeanor. There were even zombies that terrified Grimes throughout the match (which he referred to in a later match).

They had two more matches: a blindfold match that ended in a no-contest and a strap match at NXT TakeOver War Games IV. Their feud was fun and creative, although one-sided when it came to victories.

After a match with Tommaso Ciampa in December, the “Carolina Caveman” disappeared for a while. It was a little surprising considering that Grimes’s star was on the rise. In fact, he’s someone I am looking to have a breakout 2021.

Cameron Grimes returns to WWE with a new character direction

On February 10, Grimes remerged with a bit of a character change. Rolling up in a white Lambo, he made his return. According to his promo, he participated in the Reddit GameStop stocks frenzy, in which he bought and sold AMC stonks (stocks, for all you Boomers) and made a small fortune. What makes this even better is that it actually happened.

According to Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Network, Grimes really did win a good chunk of money.

"“Listen, in real life Cameron bought AMC in the Game Stop deal at a ridiculously low price, like $13 and sold it for like hundreds of dollars, so legitimately Cameron Grimes made a ton of money that week. He does not have more money than Elon Musk. He might have more money than anyone at NXT at the moment. So, now that’s his character, and it’s the greatest.”"

(h/t Jonathan McMahon of BodySlam.Net)

The fact that WWE jumped on it so quickly is good for Grimes. His character is topical, as are his promos. It’s almost like a modern take of The Beverly Hillbillies: redneck strikes it rich. He’s even added a popular Southern catchphrase: “kiss my grits!” Grimes is highly entertaining and this current development adds another layer to his character work.

The GameStop stocks will eventually fall out of favor with popular culture and it’ll be on to the next trend. WWE was smart to jump on it when they did and had the good fortune of it actually happening to one of their brightest Superstars. It’ll be fun while it lasts.

Whatever it takes, keep pushing Cameron Grimes “TO THE MOOOOOON!!!”