When Raquel Rodriguez debuted on SmackDown, she was like another bored smiling baby face. With her presence, she would be better as a dominant heel.
Raquel Rodríguez is someone who has a lot of potential in the professional wrestling industry, and her time in NXT showed it. However, despite her imposing figure and strong ability, her time in WWE Slap The brand has not lived up to expectations thus far. Although it may not be as simple as this, there could be something that unlocks your potential in the company and takes it to the next level, and that is a change of direction. This is arguably something WWE should have done from the start, but it’s not too late given that she’s only 31 years old and has many more to go before she becomes a world title contender.
Raquel Rodríguez is not working as Babyface in WWE
After WrestleMania 38, Raquel Rodriguez was inducted into WWE’s main roster in a backstage segment on an episode of SmackDown, which was a pretty low-key introduction. From his big smile and promotional style, it was clear he was under direction to be like every other babyface on the roster, and that was often a backup call from Vince McMahon, having previously seen the likes of Ricochet, among others lose momentum.
From there, she began racking up wins, going undefeated. This was a good decision by WWE, but it ended abruptly when she lost to Ronda Rousey in an open challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Title. She looked like a heavy loser in this match, but things have gone downhill from there. Losing her could have been the start of a redemption arc that saw her come back in several months to win the gold, but it wasn’t. Instead, she has become a part of the women’s tag team division, competing in tag teams together. She won the Tag Titles alongside Aliyah, but this decision was dismissed as random, and made no sense considering they lost the gold after only two weeks. She hasn’t been able to show much of a personality in recent months, and her spot on the card has stayed pretty low, with no sign of any kind of proper momentum as of yet. To fix this, WWE should consider turning around.
In NXT, Raquel Rodríguez was a great rude
When Raquel Rodriguez first made a name for herself in NXT, she was as the heavyweight for Dakota Kai. She made her debut in shocking fashion at an NXT TakeOver event, with the pair playing the classic role of “Shawn Michaels & Diesel” to perfection. Her size and strength, which surpassed everyone else on the list, made her feel like a dominant competitor and a terrifying badass. Her stock continued to escalate, with a brilliant matchup with Rhea Ripley that really showed how good she can be in the ring as well.
Her impressive in-ring work brought about a natural facelift from the audience, who had grown tired of Dakota Kai’s treatment of her. This was accentuated when Kai faced Rodriguez after she had won the NXT Women’s Title from Rhea Ripley. Rodríguez would have a good run as champion until dropping the gold to Mandy Rose. Rodriguez functioned as a babyface in NXT, but this was because fans got to know her over time. Presenting someone as a babyface can be difficult, and that has been the case on SmackDown.
WWE can save their main roster run with a heel turn
Although a few years ago, fans were very familiar with NXT’s call-ups and their history, this has been less the case as time has passed, with all the debuts and comebacks in 2022 proving it. Because of this, it is sometimes advisable to start completely over. For example, if Rodriguez had been included on the main roster as a heel, and even as a bodyguard character once again, WWE could have gone through the same kind of journey with her, leading to a natural facelift from baby.
That time is long gone, but for someone of Rodriguez’s size, who towers above most of the roster, WWE can still test her as a badass. It would be a perfect way to refresh her character and try to build her up as someone who could become a big part of the women’s division in the future. On SmackDown, there are names like Shotzi and Aliyah, two of Rodriguez’s former teammates, who could make for the perfect first few matches in a heel run, making Rodriguez look dominant as she dispatches them, before moving up the card to become potentially into a World Champion at some point in the future. She certainly has the talent to become a star, and for WWE it’s about finding the right formula to take her to that level.