When Robert Stone came into NXT and partnered up with Chelsea Green to form The Robert Stone Brand, it seemed like he could have people lining up at his door, hoping to be his next client.
But that didn’t happen.
Instead, once Green started to win, she promptly dropped Stone as her manager (only to never be seen again since…which is strange and not at all what you’d want your career trajectory to be. Mistake.)
Since then, Stone was down in the dumps. Whenever he’d appear on NXT, he was a disheveled mess, as if he’d been on a perpetual drinking spree. Losing Green as his client meant he had no clout, resources or stars to piggyback off.
Eventually, Aliyah—whom he had basically rejected before—came to his aid and they’ve since joined forces. They’ve also tried to recruit Rhea Ripley to their cause, as she’s one of the top superstars in the division.
Ripley rejected the offer, but Stone teased a “huge new signing” for Great American Bash, possibly to drive up speculation it could be Tessa Blanchard or the returning Mercedes Martinez.
All that played out with Shotzi Blackheart also turning him down, before Killian Dain attacked him, for some reason.
All this got me thinking: who should actually join The Robert Stone Brand? Are there any superstars who could benefit from being part of this stable?
What to Look for in a Prospect
When a superstar doesn’t fit in with the theme of a stable, they stick out like a sore thumb. Gangrel worked in The Ministry of Darkness, but Flash Funk wouldn’t have. As great as Cesaro is, he never would have fit in The Wyatt Family. So on and so forth.
The overall idea with The Robert Stone Brand seems to be two-fold: millennial overhyped self-aggrandizing with no legitimate foundation.
When Stone is on, he’s touting his association to be extremely lucrative, despite not having the track record to back it up. After all, if that were true, people would want to join him.
It’s the age-old idea that something is popular because it’s popular. When something catches on, people must like it, so other people are more likely to give it a chance and then like it, too. Ever run into a situation where you can’t find a date until you get a girlfriend/boyfriend and suddenly, you seem so much more appealing to everyone else, who now realizes you must have value because someone else wanted you?
Fake it till you make it. Members of this stable should have false bravado and/or be looking for a leg up in their careers. They absolutely should not, under any circumstances, be successful.
Prospect #1: Bo Dallas
Picture this. Stone goes on and on about how he’s officially signed his next client, and it’s a doozy. This superstar is both young (30) and a veteran in WWE (12 years from when he joined Florida Championship Wrestling).
The real hook? This person is a former NXT CHAMPION. Whaaaaaaaat?!
Is it Seth Rollins? Finn Balor? Kevin Owens? Bobby Roode? Shinsuke Nakamura? Adam Cole?
Nope. It’s Bo Dallas. Womp womp.
It’s amazing those facts are true. Dallas is only 30, had a run with the NXT Championship and has been in the WWE system since 2008. Crazy, right?
Dallas has been a loser ever since coming up to the main roster. He’s never been taken seriously and his career highlight was a joke run with the tag team titles alongside Curtis Axel as The B-Team.
It’s been a while since he’s even been seen. Perhaps he doesn’t want to work during the pandemic, or WWE just has no need for him to come in, as they could just not want to use him. No use writing stories for a jobber.
At this point, without a full-on revamp of his character, he’s not going to accomplish anything else by sticking on Raw or SmackDown. He’d be better off going back to NXT and working with some of the other talent while trying to revitalize himself as a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
Dallas would be a perfect addition as he’d offer some legitimate veteran help while still being someone who could be molded into a better star for the future, as well as a punching bag and butt of a joke.
Prospect #2: Kona Reeves
“The Finest” in NXT is nothing but the sort. I honestly can’t remember if he’s won a single match in his career. At the very least, I can tell you he’s never beaten anyone significant or accomplished anything.
It’s arguable he was better off when he was just starting out and was merely enhancement talent under his real name, Noah Potjes. Then, he had some potential to grow into something more than what the Kona Reeves character became.
Reeves would be another perfect fit, though, because of how much of a loser he is.
He still thinks so highly of himself, despite being a failure. He’s “The Finest” despite not being some drop dead gorgeous guy on the roster, too. This just screams Robert Stone Brand modesty (or, more to the point, lack thereof).
Dallas would be a bit of a stretch to believe in, as it would require a switch from the main roster to NXT (which has been done before, but is rare). However, if Reeves doesn’t end up in The Robert Stone Brand, I’ll be genuinely shocked WWE could miss something so obvious.
Prospect #3: Indi Hartwell
Aliyah had been teaming up with Vanessa Borne for quite a while as the tag team Borne & Boujee, but they didn’t take off anywhere. Now that Borne has been MIA for quite some time, for whatever reason, I think it’s worth keeping them separate from each other, rather than retreading familiar ground.
But it wouldn’t hurt for there to be another woman in the stable. That way, Aliyah has someone she can team with, who can help interfere in each other’s matches and so on.
Back when Green was with Stone, it seemed like Deonna Purrazzo was a guaranteed next member, but that didn’t come to fruition. Therefore, let’s treat Aliyah as Green and give her a Purrazzo, of sorts.
Most of the women’s division doesn’t need this, nor would fit. I can’t imagine Xia Li, Kacy Catanzaro, Emily Andzulis, Simone Johnson and so on taking part. But I could see Indi Hartwell joining the ranks.
She has no discernible character at the moment. In her rare appearances, she’s just been another generic girl with a bit of an attitude.
That’s good for this role, as it means she can step into the part without baggage, fill the spot she’s intended to fill and grow into her own as time goes. It’s like training wheels on a bike. She’s in a group with an identity and can get screen time without sinking or swimming on her own one shot of a character, as someone like Taynara Conti did.
Hartwell is a generic choice for now, but she could be a long-term asset.
Prospect #4: Tehuti Miles
One of the names I knew nothing about heading into 2020, but I now know, is Tehuti Miles. It’s okay if you have no idea who he is. He wrestles for 205 Live, mostly, and I know few people watch that show.
Miles has been one of the talents who has benefited from the dried up pool of superstars willing and able to work during the pandemic. He stepped in and filled some gaps, so WWE is now using him as a rather regular member of the cruiserweight division.
He’s yet to really run his mouth all that much, but you can tell he thinks highly of himself based on his braggadocio.
Nothing states Stone can’t be dipping his toe in the cruiserweight pool. He should, theoretically, want to have a client holding all the different titles. Why not go for a championship that definitely has less challengers for it than something like the NXT or North American titles?
Miles strikes me as the type of guy who will either find himself in a few months or never get past this point. Joining Stone’s stable could be what changes him from a guy with some tools, but a few missing pieces of the puzzle, to someone who finds where he fits in.
Prospect #5 and #6: Chase Parker and Matt Martel (Ever-Rise)
While they don’t have the same swagger as The Street Profits or anything like that, there’s something about Ever-Rise that strikes me as “these guys think they’re hot shit and should get taken down a peg.”
That’s great. As heels, that’s their job. I’m not a huge fan of them, yet, but if they inherently have something annoying about them, it means their characters are working and could probably fit well in a group meant to revolve around losers who think too highly of themselves.
This could be the tag team representation of the group. They’re technically also in the cruiserweight division, so that doesn’t hurt. But as Miles could be a member, he’d be better off in that role, with Parker and Martel sticking to the tag team scene.
On their own, I don’t know how far they’ll go. I can’t see them becoming even the next Blake and Murphy—and that was a duo I didn’t like at all. But if they partner up with RSB, maybe that will boost their credibility in the long run.
Who would you like to see join The Robert Stone Brand? Got any other suggestions? Drop them in the comments below!
