Xavier Woods: If you watch UpUpDownDown you can see that he is essentially the same as he is in the New Day, basically he’s an Otaku.
Least like his/her WWE Gimmick (3 way tie for me on this one):
Baron Corbin (Tie): I’ve heard he isn’t nearly the asshole that he convincingly plays on TV, and is a pretty nice guy.
Kevin Owens (Tie): This one is obvious, its scary how convincing he is at being a condescending ass, yet in interviews he comes off as incredibly nice.
Stephanie McMahon (Tie): I’ve heard a few wrestlers say she is the complete opposite of her on-screen authority character. What’s funny with her is that her “WWE Branding” persona when promoting WWE is more like who she actually is.
Most like:
I agree with Xavier. Daniel Bryan has always also just been himself on screen. On Total Divas he’s the exact same guy as he is on Smackdown.
Before the heel turn, Sami Zayn seemed like he was just being his somewhat eccentric self.
John Cena on-screen seems to be basically identical to Cena off-screen. The hardest working guy in the company who is WWE through-and-through and focused on the fans and kids 24/7 (to the detriment of his sanity and relationships).
Least like:
I slightly disagree with Kevin Owens. When you listen to interviews you can tell he has a stubborn streak and a “chip on his shoulder” which does come across in his on-screen character. Similar to Seth Rollins.
Sasha Banks doesn’t seem like “the boss” at all. In her interviews and on UpUpDownDown she’s an anime/video game nerd.
The guys with ridiculous gimmicks are probably the most removed from the person playing them: Bray and Matt are good calls. Same with Undertaker. Bludgeon Brothers. Nia Jax. Rusev.
Fun question. I’d say there’s an awful lot of Jonathan Good in Dean Ambrose, at least insofar as the former’s being straight about himself in interviews and on Total Divas, and when the latter has been presented properly (ie, not fifth grade prankster, not comic book “lunatic”). I think his interviews on Jericho and Colt’s shows communicated a fair bit of that.
Awesome question. I wanted to list like 5 for each question, but I’m going to keep it at one each and it’s going to be a little bit educated guessing as obviously we’re going to be limited on the out of the ring stuff.
Most : I’m going Bayley.
She seems like a total wrestling nerd fan girl that her character seems to be. Heck, this is just my opinion here, but I think she shall I say ‘goes way overboard to take care of her opponent’ as she’s probably friends with all of them and doesn’t want to even slightly hurt them. I think she’s the Queen of Soft Style which I could totally see aligning with her actual sweet personality. Every time she does that back elbow move with her opponent in the corner (after the Nakamura summersault thing) I’m pretty she wouldn’t even crack an egg with that light of contact. She’d probably be super cool to talk to as she seems to have a wealth of wrestling info from being a hardcore fan.
Least: I’m going to say Randy Orton
I’ll have to preface this by saying the ‘totality’ of Randy Orton’s gimmick over the years (even keeping it to the more ‘face’ side of those gimmicks). I think most would describe this Viper character as arrogant, entitled (with the family lineage and youngest world champion), a prick to Kofi for that one move eons ago, and a ‘I have the greatest move in all of wrestling’ mindset. (boy I’m taking a bunch of liberties here)
I have never in my lifetime seen any human being speak more happily about his step kids than Randall has. On multiple occasions. A humility that the ‘Viper’ doesn’t portray. If he retired from wrestling tomorrow, I wouldn’t be shocked. He seems that excited to just spend time with his wife and kids.
I have friends who interned for NXT at Full Sail and they said that Baron Corbin keeps to himself, but isn’t a complete dick. He’ll still be cordial enough in regular interaction and won’t necessarily give you the cold shoulder if you respectfully exchange a few words.
I’ve been told stories of younger Randy Orton prior to becoming a family man, and he used to be a huge dick. There were stories of him losing his temper when naive fans would innocently ask about kayfabe (especially if they ever used the word “fake”) and would get visibly angry, to where he’d leave the venue and wouldn’t come back until his match.
Of course, he’s probably mellowed out in recent years, especially now that he’s not doing drugs and partying as hard.