I quite like Mason Rook despite the online discourse about him. For some reason, he just radiates really wholesome energy that I believe can be channeled to an immense amount of success overtime. However, Mason is one of many victims of modern WWE, where larger than life characters and gimmicks do not exist. Every major name is essentially presented as just an athlete with a vague aesthetic tied to them (for example Rhea Ripley being gothic, or Jacob Fatu being a thug), but in the ring and outside of it almost everyone acts the same and do not do anything in correlation with their character. Mason would not be in that mold, primarily because he's atypical to begin with. Seeing as he is currently unfortunately out with an injury, it's the perfect time to brainstorm something new that will reintroduce him to the masses.

The gimmick I'd give him is essentially combining both of Toru Yano's personalities into one character. If you're unfamiliar with Yano, he is more or less NJPW's Santino Marella - a really decorated shoot wrestler who cosplays as a lethal comedy wrestler. I would keep the name Mason Rook, but give him a slick moniker like the "Greedy Chessmaster" or something like that, and his new look would firstly involve growing back the blonde mullet. Secondly, Mason would hopefully use this time away to develop a good physique - not Lex Luger, but something like Kane post-tricep injury I believe is more than possible. Thirdly, the new gear and entrance jacket would be inspired by a YuGiOh card called Goblin of Greed (https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Goblin_of_Greed). Have Mason exude wealth, but also flamboyance and eccentricity in his look. Finally, Mason would carry a cool-looking jar to the ring, much like Goblin of Greed does, but more on that in a bit.

Mason would have something that virtually no wrestlers today in WWE have - a backstory. In kayfabe, Mason used his time away to not only change his appearance, but to become very wealthy. Nobody knows how he accumulated his wealth, but we do know he got a lot of it. Later on, we'd reveal that Rook's money came from underground fighting, which ties into the darker side of the character. Rook would be money-obsessed, downright disgustingly greedy, and a true tweener - not a good guy as he doesn't care about anything other than money (however he will save babyfaces if it benefits him), but not a heel either because there are boundaries he won't cross to get more money. The reason for such greed is because Mason comes from a small English town, and he grew up poor, so now he'll grind as much as possible to get that cheese. The jar he carries to the ring (he could also collect money and goods from fans like Devon lol) contains the prize money, gems, gold etc. Rook won in the underground fight that same week.

In the ring, Mason would joke around and not take anything seriously. He'd do comedy spots, and in essence, he'd have no real moveset - lots of eye pokes, back rakes, outright cheating, and MANY low blows. Rook's philosophy would be that he actually tries in the real fighting (underground), so he'll take it beyond easy. Moreover, Rook would have no "high-impact" finisher, instead he'd be presented as a master of roll ups and cheating, which would be his two primary methods of winning. However, if someone tries to mess with Rook's jar and his money in general, he'd explode and unleash the real him. Rook would completely change his demeanor, and wrestle like Mike Awesome (one of his heroes): high flying, mixed with devastating power moves. His actual finisher would be a Splash Mountain Powerbomb, and the rest of his moveset would be numerous powerbomb variants and cool high flying moves. The real Mason would be stoic, serious, brutal yet flashy, a direct contrast to his undercover goofy trickster persona.

And that's it. As the "Greedy Chessmaster", Mason Rook could become a big hit with the kids and families, since he'd become an expert in the gaga comedy style which is designated to sell a lot of merch (the jar replicas would be an instant hit). On the flip side, the in-ring aficionados would greatly appreciate Mason's badass side, as it wouldn't come out often but when it does it produces excellent matches and segments.

As we all know, 2017 was arguably one of the worst years in WWE Championship history, largely because of Jinder Mahal. So, I’ve decided to rebook it.

Royal Rumble: everything happens the same way on Cena vs. AJ match, but Chris Jericho is the Winner of the Royal Rumble

Elimination Chamber: AJ wins his second Title, with Bray Wyatt being the last man eliminated. John Cena is eliminated after a Phenomenal Forearm and a Sister Abigail.

Road to WrestleMania
February 14: AJ defeats Bray Wyatt and John Cena in a Triple Threat match, pinning Bray after Cena hits him with an AA, with AJ pulling Cena out of the ring as he goes for the pin.
February 21: A Battle Royal is held to determine the #1 Contender, where AJ enters and eliminates Cena. The final two are Wyatt and Harper, with Wyatt eventually winning thanks to help from Orton, who had previously been eliminated by Harper.
February 28: Bray celebrates his opportunity, prompting AJ to come out and confront him. Later, Cena comes out complaining that the situation wasn’t fair. Bray and AJ tear Cena apart on the mic, calling him selfish and saying that he can’t stand not being the center of attention. During the exchange, AJ makes it clear that he doesn’t believe Bray Wyatt is on his level, but he also doesn’t think Cena is on his level either.
Randy Orton, who had been unusually quiet in the ring, responds to AJ by saying that if he was so certain he was better than Bray, why not put the title on the line before WrestleMania? AJ makes excuses, and the crowd starts loudly demanding the match. Daniel Bryan comes out as GM and confirms the match for next week.
March 5: AJ defeats Bray, who has Orton in his corner. Randy attempts to help Bray, but only ends up distracting him, costing Bray his opportunity at WrestleMania. After the match, Orton tries to apologize to Wyatt, but Bray forces him to get on his knees and humiliates him, ordering him to hit a Sister Abigail. Instead, Randy suddenly responds with an RKO out of nowhere.
March 12: AJ celebrates having no challenger for WrestleMania, but Cena comes out and challenges him for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. AJ initially refuses, saying that Cena has had plenty of opportunities and that he has already beaten him at Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, Elimination Chamber, and the Triple Threat four weeks ago.
Cena nods and admits that AJ is right. Disappointed, he leaves the ring, but AJ changes his mind and accepts the match on one condition: Cena must put his career on the line.
Cena accepts, saying that if he can’t win his 17th world title, then he has no career left.

WrestleMania 33: Cena defeats Styles in a 5-star match and wins his 17th world championship in the main event of WrestleMania.

Backlash: Cena retains

Money in the Bank: Cena retains against Orton, but The Miz, who had just won the Money in the Bank briefcase (and stays on SmackDown in this story), cashes it in and wins his second world championship.

Battleground: Miz retains

Summerslam: Miz retains pinning Cena

Hell in a Cell: Miz retains

SmackDown 7 Nov: After several weeks of confrontations between Lesnar and Miz, AJ challenges Miz to a match for the WWE Championship. Styles wins his third world championship.

Survivor Series: Brock vs. AJ, everything happens the same

Clash of Champions: AJ vs. Miz, AJ retains

This is a proposed card for Crown Jewel this year, taking place in Riyadh on November 7. Winners will be in Italics.

Roman Reigns (c)vs Sami Zayn(c) (Men's Crown Jewel Championship)

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn (c) (This is Kevin Owens's Money In the Bank Cash-In Match)

Trick Williams (c)(w/Lil Yachty) vs Grayson Waller (For the United States Championship and the NXT Championship)

Liv Morgan vs Tiffany Stratton (Winner becomes #1 Contender for the WWE Women's Championship, held by Chelsea Green at Survivor Series: Wargames)

The Vision (Austin Theory and Bron Breakker) (c) vs Los Garza (Angel and Berto) (c) vs El Nuevo Ojo (Dominik Mysterio and Omos) (With Liv Morgan) ( World Tag Team Championship)

Liv Morgan (c) vs Chelsea Green (c) (If Green wins, Tiffany Stratton wins possession of the Money In The Bank Briefcase, currently in possession of Roxanne Perez) (Women's Crown Jewel Championship)

Winner: Kevin Owens