If there’s one thing most WWE fans can agree on, it’s that they hate Baron Corbin -- and not just because he’s a heel. While Corbin was alright during his early “Lone Wolf” era, in the years since he’s developed that unique “go away” heat where he’s not a villain you love to hate, but someone you don’t want to see on your TV ever. And WWE seems to interpret that as “We need more Baron Corbin on television.”
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He’s had two recent gimmicks, first being demoted to Constable Baron Corbin before becoming King Corbin. So which one is worse? They're both heavily criticized, so let’s trash them equally and determine which one sucks way more.
10 The Constable: Worse Name
When Baron Corbin made the jump from SmackDown to Raw in 2018, Stephanie McMahon appointed him as the show’s “Constable,” which brings to mind a Victorian England cop investigating the Jack the Ripper murders.
It did not make him sound cool or authoritative, but it did sound like somebody backstage though it would be funny to play off of the “Baron” part of his name by swapping it out for an even more antiquated title. It was not.
9 King Corbin: Had to Win a Tournament
Say what you will about Constable Corbin, but at least that role was given to him in kayfabe. He didn’t have to win it in a tournament as he did with King Corbin. Every couple of years, WWE tries to revive its King of the Ring Tournament with mixed results.
2015’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it edition had Bad News Barrett add “also a king” to his already-over gimmick. The following 2019 iteration of the tournament, while entertaining, ended with Baron Corbin wearing a crown for an entire year and counting.
8 The Constable: A Needless Gimmick Change
Baron Corbin, the biker who also might have been a werewolf, was a solid gimmick for a guy of his size and attitude -- and flexible enough to work whether they wanted him as a face or a heel. His in-ring ability is debatable, but a good gimmick is a good gimmick.
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The Constable is a definite downgrade from the Lone Wolf, especially because it doesn’t really benefit the performer.
7 King Corbin: Created “Shorty Gable”
WWE seems to only have two ideas for Baron Corbin: bad gimmicks and feuds centered around how much taller he is than some babyfaces. On Raw, he hassled Finn Balor for weeks entirely because Balor is 5’11” and on SmackDown he did the same to Chad Gable, a grown man who competed in the Olympics.
But this time he was King Corbin, and somehow had the power to degree that Gable be billed as “Shorty Gable.”
6 The Constable: Worse Ring Gear
When it comes to attire, King Corbin is objectively better than Constable Corbin because he wears something resembling ring gear.
Constable Corbin, on the other hand, competed in actual pro wrestling matches wearing an all-black number with pants and a button-down shirt that made him look like an assistant manager at Olive Garden more than it made him look like a wrestler. Even Corporate Kane took his shirt off.
5 King Corbin: Endless Feud with Elias
Elias is one of those heels that’s so entertaining that WWE has turned him face a couple of times over the past few years, first at Baron Corbin’s expense on Raw. That rivalry has continued on SmackDown, with Elias playing targeted songs and photoshopping Corbin’s face on toilet paper.
Corbin threw Elias off a balcony in the build to WrestleMania 36, where Elias won off a roll-up, signaling that the feud would continue. The only thing that seemed to end it was Elias being out with an injury.
4 The Constable: Authority Figure
The thing about King Corbin is that you only see him in a segment or two every week on SmackDown. Back when he was on Raw, Constable Corbin ended up becoming the show’s sole authority figure, and you had to see him all the time.
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For four long months, Corbin was the boss of Raw, booking himself in matches and wearing out his welcome as ratings plummeted so far that on-screen characters were accusing Corbin of ruining the show.
3 King Corbin: Ruined the Only Cool Thing He Ever Did
At 2020’s Money in the Bank, King Corbin showed how much a briefcase that lets you steal championships meant to him by trying to kill Rey Mysterio Jr. and Aleister Black, throwing both men off of the roof of Titan Towers.
Attempted murder is great fuel for a rivalry, but the very next night Corbin did a backstage interview where he stressed that both men fell onto a “secondary roof” six feet below the normal roof. This did not make him seem like a dangerous bad guy.
2 The Constable: Over-Pushed
Baron Corbin’s time as the Constable resulted in such saturation of the character that it was impossible to get the stink off. Even once he lost his gig as Raw authority figure, he stuck around long enough to get into a title feud with Seth Rollins that incorporated Rollin’s real-life girlfriend Becky Lynch and her enemy at the time, Lacey Evans.
Still, the residual Constable Corbin feels made a lackluster feud even worse. Moving Corbin over to SmackDown to be a midcard heel was a very good decision.
1 King Corbin: Inherited The Artist Collective
Constable Corbin was responsible for ruining WWE’s weekly flagship show, but at least he didn’t make great wrestlers seem worse by association. In 2020, Sami Zayn wisely decided not to work for WWE during a pandemic, but that left his stable The Artist Collective without a leader.
So Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura ended up as henchmen for King Corbin. A massive downgrade for the group that did none of these guys any favors.
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