On the August 22 edition of WWE Raw, Dexter Lumis emerged yet again and this time cemented his future as WWE's perfect reality horror character. After weeks of appearing in the background of backstage segments, only to be detained once he reached the ringside area, on Raw this week Dexter Lumis finally got his hands on WWE superstar The Miz. In what will certainly be remembered as one of WWE's most shocking modern sequences, Lumis trapped The Miz in a sleeper hold and dragged his body back through the crowd and into the bowels of the Scotiabank Arena.
Dexter Lumis was among ten NXT names released by WWE on April 29th, 2022. Since then, Lumis has been included among former WWE superstars brought back after Triple H was promoted to EVP of Talent Relations and WWE Head of Creative. On the main roster, Dexter Lumis will be able to fulfill a storytelling role that WWE has incorporated, to varying degrees of success, since the 1980s.
Dexter Lumis is positioned as WWE's next iconic horror character whose roots are planted in a realistic presentation similar to past icons like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Waylon Mercy. While WWE Legend Jake Roberts is an exception to the rule, past iterations of characters like Dexter Lumis are regarded with less fanfare than supernatural horror characters like Undertaker and Bray Wyatt. Already, however, Lumis has proven himself to be more than WWE's next Nailz. The narrative build-up of Dexter Lumis on the main roster has succeeded by blending reality and fiction, which was a key component of WWE's historic success during the Attitude Era.
WWE Doesn't Need The Supernatural To Be Scary
Lumis himself isn't exploring uncharted territory with this character either. He's proven the longevity and fluidity of his horror gimmick over the last nine years. Dexter began his rendition of horror-inspired characterization in 2013, depicting a fan dangerously obsessed with TNA's Christy Hemme. Lumis would draw on horror icons like Patrick Bateman and Dexter Morgan as he continued his work with TNA and ultimately arrived as a member of WWE's NXT brand. Once performing under the WWE umbrella, Lumis demonstrated the range of his character by participating in angles that ranged from intense to outright comedic.
Triple H's commitment to WWE storytelling makes the company's faith in Dexter Lumis feel undeniable. He's been arguably the most-discussed topic of Raw since his first teased appearance on August 8th. Capitalizing on that buzz by having Lumis legitimately attack WWE superstar The Miz only increases the likelihood of Dexter having a long-term presence on the main roster. This presentation is far and away from other recent horror characters. Looking past those with a supernatural presentation, WWE has shown an unwillingness to commit to these gimmicks. Assigning super-face Diamond Dallas Page as Undertaker's stalker in 2001 and revealing Erick Rowan's mysterious pet to be a cartoonish animatronic spider in 2020 are two obvious examples.
If this combination of reality-skewing presentation, Dexter's own experience, and WWE's renewed creative focus will be enough to keep Dexter Lumis in the limelight remains to be seen. However, these past weeks have made the Lumis story a true highlight among WWE's current hit-or-miss decision-making. As WWE moves toward its promising new future, fans could finally see the return of a frightening real-world gimmick in the rising Dexter Lumis.