These are unprecedented times for pro wrestling. Nothing highlights that more than the empty arena shows WWE and AEW have been putting on for weeks. While both companies have been making the best of a bad situation, AEW has arguably done a better job of embracing the absurdity of the situation. At least until R-Truth finally reappeared at Money in the Bank, and with him came a level of ridiculousness only he could bring.
During his long tenure with WWE, R-Truth has gone through some drastically different phases when it comes to TV time. He'll be featured prominently for a while, then suddenly disappear from screens. There's seemingly little rhyme or reason to this, but that's how things always appear from the outside in McMahon-land. When he's allowed to do what he does best, R-Truth has been able to make anything work. Take the 24/7 Championship as a case in point.
The announcement of the new championship was met with a mixed response, primarily a mix of mocking and disinterest. Then R-Truth and Carmella got a hold of it. They had already been building a partnership thanks to Truth's inexplicable pursuit of her SmackDown Women's Championship and their subsequent victorious team up for Mixed Match Challenge. The 24/7 Championship allowed them to cement that partnership and get creative.
Without R-Truth and Carmella, no one would have cared about the 24/7 Championship. Their antics made those segments the most must-see parts of the show, from YouTube to TV to pay-per-views. Since splitting the duo up and removing them from the 24/7 Championship picture, both R-Truth and Carmella have struggled to find a consistent storyline, and the title has faded into the background. It was inexplicable WWE booking at its finest.
After a long absence, R-Truth reappeared at Money in the Bank for a match with MVP. As it turned out, the match ended up being with Bobby Lashley, who defeated Truth with a spear. But it was his entrance that reminded everyone of what makes Truth great. He played to the empty space like it was filled with a capacity crowd, seemingly oblivious to the lack of an audience. The bit came across as earnest and without the least bit of awkwardness.
The same could be said about his appearance the next night on Raw. R-Truth teamed up with Ricochet and Cedric Alexander to take on MVP, Brandon Vink and Shane Thorne. Throughout the match, the camera would show Truth standing on the apron, but every second time he would be his alter ego Pretty Ricky. It was odd, confusing and should have been wholly unnecessary, but R-Truth made it a key, unexpected element in the match.
During these empty arena shows, much of what WWE has been lacking has been the absurd, excluding pre-taped pay-per-view segments like the Boneyard Match, the Firefly Funhouse Match and the Money in the Bank Match. But every week, absurdity has been missing from their programming. When you don't have a live audience on hand and you're limited by your location, you need to reach for new and interesting ideas to put out an engaging show.
In the end, R-Truth's greatest strength is bringing an unexpected element into the mix and making it the highlight of the night. No one else could have run into the Royal Rumble, pulled out a ladder, gone after a non-existent Money in the Bank briefcase and have the whole bit make sense. R-Truth did. Again, these are unprecedented, absurd times and WWE has mostly left their best player to combat that on the bench. WWE needs to embrace R-Truth and everything he brings to the table, now more than ever.