2 Quick questions for the B.O.D. Your Ryback commentary got us discussing main event level pushes on the blog. You were 100% correct in your assessment - WWE will shove the rocket up Rybacks ass, push him through the glass ceiling to the main event regardless of how over he is, inevitably making him a made man and main-eventer for years.
Obviously they're gonna choose the cream of the crop in their eyes and typically choose the right guy for the rocket push (Orton, Lesnars first push, etc), have they ever done this and just completely shit the bed with whom they've chosen?
The closest guy I can think of was Billy Gunn but I don't recall him getting the Ryback/Orton support beside 1 short program with the Rock. Perhaps in hindsight the Miz but the guy freakin main-evented a WM.
Oh yeah, they've fucked up monster pushes MANY times before. Heidenreich was supposed to be The Guy for a while, and we can't forget Nathan Jones and his lactating nipples (allegedly), or the million Mark Henry pushes, or the few weeks they thought Bull Buchanan was gonna be the superstar of the next century, and on and on.
Obviously they're gonna choose the cream of the crop in their eyes and typically choose the right guy for the rocket push (Orton, Lesnars first push, etc), have they ever done this and just completely shit the bed with whom they've chosen?
The closest guy I can think of was Billy Gunn but I don't recall him getting the Ryback/Orton support beside 1 short program with the Rock. Perhaps in hindsight the Miz but the guy freakin main-evented a WM.
Oh yeah, they've fucked up monster pushes MANY times before. Heidenreich was supposed to be The Guy for a while, and we can't forget Nathan Jones and his lactating nipples (allegedly), or the million Mark Henry pushes, or the few weeks they thought Bull Buchanan was gonna be the superstar of the next century, and on and on.
It's an easy way to build someone, but it's FAR from foolproof.
Speaking of The Ryback, just read the Raw spoilers. SMH. The match they put him in tonight was one of the dumber booking decisions they've made in recent months.
ReplyDeleteRikishi. "I did it for da people."
ReplyDeleteAlso "The Sultan."
ReplyDeleteMaking a difference.
ReplyDeleteRyback vs The Shield in a 3v1 handicap match for the 12/31 Raw.
ReplyDeleteMiz never got the real rocket push, he did the midcard title thing for awhile, cut a few nice promos, was "the guy" on NXT for the first 2 seasons (even though he wasn't a contestant and wasn't the biggest star, the show seemed to be all about him), carried around his briefcase for a few months then got his run on top. I mean for modern day WWE that's a pretty slow, natural build.
ReplyDeleteWWE's problem isn't that they fuck up the monster push it's that they go from a solid push to pushing them straight down the card to "make them earn it".
Sheamus went from the WWE title to a losing streak gimmick after winning King of the Ring.
Punk got himself over with the Straight Edge Society and didn't win a PPV match in something insane like 18 months.
After Miz lost the title he didn't win a TV match for about 6 months. And part of this was before he was being punished for Survivor Series, they just didn't feel the need to let one of their "main event heels" ever win (this is partly why he has no credibility now but hey let's not go there).
Bryan gets the best reactions, had the world title and still loses almost all his matches.
I'd rather them monster push a few guys like Ryback/Tensai, swing and miss than create a star then instantly tarnish it and make people forget why they liked that guy.
Awesome that accomplishes a lot for all parties involved!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I'm worried about Ziggler.
ReplyDeleteHas to be a set up for Hell No to attack from the blindside and let The Ryback destroy the one member of Shield left standing, no?
ReplyDeleteHow about Tensai?
ReplyDeleteWorst Monster pushes has to be the Great Khali and Vladimir Kozlov
ReplyDeleteI've tried to forget that Khali had the world title. I think they try also, I don't seem to recall them calling him a former world champion anymore.
ReplyDeleteThey got out of it fine. The Shield attacked Ryback on the ramp and Sheamus and Orton came out for the save, so the match never officially took place.
ReplyDeleteSheamus vs Ambrose would be a lot of fun. Ambrose takes a shit kicking very well, and doesn't mind working stiff. And the stiffer Sheamus can be, the better he is.
ReplyDeleteThat made my head shrink.
ReplyDeleteThat was awful, I'm sorry.
I'd have to go with Justin Credible.
ReplyDeleteReading about how the show ended, I'm already preparing my poop jokes.
ReplyDeleteCena promo?
ReplyDeleteHere is a hint. It was like the end of Ghostbusters. But instead of the Stay Puft marshmellow man, Ray thought of a Cena poop joke.
ReplyDeleteFirst guy I thought of was Ludvig Borga. He came out of nowhere and was pushed to the moon for a few months. Tatanka was another one. Given a huge undefeated streak and it wasn't gonna work because the shipped had sailed on the Native American gimmick by the 90's.
ReplyDeleteNathan Jones really has to be the greatest flopped push of all time. He came in with a ton of hype, an awesome character and a genuinely menacing look. And then he fails to back it up in the ring so badly that they actually had to create a story line for him explaining why he was so bad in the ring. His WWE tenure was like one extended Shockmaster entrance, just tremendous, will never be duplicated. 5 stars, would definitely reminisce about wrestler again.
ReplyDeleteThe most incredible part of Kozlov's career: In early 2009 he went over the Undertaker by pinfall, 100 percent clean. Think about how often THAT happens. Then just a few weeks later, what is he doing at Wrestlemania? Lumberjack in the dark match. Amazing plunge, 4 stars, would reminisce about wrestler more often if I understood what happened.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't awful in the ring either. WWE just gets bored with guys if they don't immediately become the second coming of Austin. And next thing you know, you're stuck in a tag team with Santino.
ReplyDeleteWas Tatanka over? I loved him when I was a kid, but I don't know if the majority did. The undefeated streak was great but he didn't seem to do a whole lot. I cared enough each match because he was undefeated but they didn't give him a lot of meaningful matches.
ReplyDeleteYou should be arrested.
ReplyDeleteCall the swat team!
RICKY ORTIZ~!
ReplyDeleteFatu!
ReplyDeleteRyback's making friends with the other top faces! It's only natural. Like basketball wives, once you've become one of them you have to associated with the rest.
ReplyDeleteI bet if you show 10 people a pile of shit in the ring and John Cena on the ramp 7 of them can't tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteBut Rrrandy Oooorton wants to turn!
ReplyDeleteYeah, though his team with Santino wasn't the worst thing in the world.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, if you compare Kozlov and Batista at their starting points in the WWE, I'd say Kozlov had the higher upside. Both were pretty lousy in the ring, but Kozlov was younger, more athletic and had a more resonating ring presence. (And he appeared briefly in the background on the greatest TV show of all time, at least twice!) But it was Batista who was kept around and allowed to evolve into greatness. Why? The answer probably involves "HHH" somehow, but I suppose sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
Kozlov never had the superstar look that Batista had. His ceiling was always monster heel.
ReplyDeleteJBL mentioned it on Main Event the other night, but no, they don't tend to bring it up during his comedy matches with David Otunga, do they? Well, that and JBL will mention literally every accomplishment anyone's ever achieved if you give him time.
ReplyDeletePoor Heyman, thinking he could have gone somewhere with that Jobber 4 Life as his champion.
ReplyDeleteHe was popular in the sense that he was a babyface who was pushed, but he was never really OVER in any conventional sense, especially since he was a fourth-tier non-titlist in a company on a downturn. He was also given a Streak gimmick without actually beating anyone IMPORTANT, so he never got much cred.
ReplyDeleteOh man did he suck. I had wiped him from my memory banks!
ReplyDeleteMaybe because Koslov was hired as a favour to Jerry Jarrett while Batista was more homegrown?
ReplyDeleteEven though this part of the thread expanded beyond the original two posters, it's still too cool.
ReplyDeletehe was terrible
ReplyDeleteOmg just read the raw spoilers. The ziggler/aj toast sounds like an all time wrestlecrap unless you enjoy the comedic stylings of jon cena. Do yourself a favor and go get drunk instead of watching this
ReplyDeletewasn't Albert/A-Train/Tensai thought of to become a huge deal for several times? I just remember the commentary putting him over huge during his A-Train days (and obviously when he first debuted as Lord Tensai).
ReplyDeleteKhali also pinned the Undertaker - with one foot!
ReplyDeletethis. and if we compare them from the time on that Batista learned how to give decent-to-good promos it is really no match anymore.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely.
ReplyDeletealso at this point I guess I would take almost anything over their horrible 50/50 booking which really gets NO ONE over.
BUT DOUBLE DOUBLE E IS A CATCHPHRASE THAT CAN SELL T-SHIRTS I TELL YA.
ReplyDelete