| 0 |
Subject: WWE: What's Cool - what isn't
Posted by: Species
- Leader [07724916] Mon, May 01, 2006, 13:29
I've liked what the WWE has done with some recent storylines. There's still lots of room for improvement, but I wanted to start some chatter about the good and bad in WWE:
RAW
The Good
The Spirit Squad - A seemingly stupid premise originally, the 5 young guys have taken what they were given and have run with it. Their athleticism has meshed perfectly with the "spirited" nature of their gimmick, and Ken Doane's top rope leg drop just kicks ass. I crack up every time when they celebrate and one guys does "The Vogue" (putting a 'square' up around his face) while another guy scoots has ass across the ring. Being McMahon's stooges doesn't hurt.
Carlito - Carlito has followed the recent path of Ric Flair - each were heels with undeniable charisma with the crowd who have turned face and get to 'cheat' to win, much to the delight of the crowds. When JBL uses the ropes for leverage, we boo. When Flair and now Carlito use a little extra, it's hilarious and cheered. Carlito's face turn also is somewhat similar to John Cena (until he got horribly stale)- heels with great mic skills who turned their insulting, trash-talking personas into face turns. To his credit, Carlito has expanded his moveset with his original (at least for this generation) backcracker and inverted neckbreaker moves, along with some springboard/moonsault moves. The scowl on his face during promos, as if he is in the middle of a dirty public bathroom, is priceless.
Shelton Benjamin - FINALLY they have done something with Benjamin. His heel turn has been a good one, and he's showing his superior technical skills for all to see. The sunglasses and silk shirts (looking much like the early Rock) help add cheap "I'm better than you" heat as promos are a weakness for him. But this heel/aggressive turn has been great. Now change his music and keep it going.
Edge - Edge has stepped up big and with HHH in the midst of a DX face turn he is the best heel on RAW. His persona radiates heat and he gets the crowds going, even getting Cena cheered on occasion, which is hard to do. I wish he would have left Backlash as Champion.
Mickie James/women's division - I love Mickie. She's taken her opportunity and kicked ass. She's amongst the best actors/storytellers in the company and outshined Trish in creating the buildup for their feud (although Trish came back strong when she dressed like Mickie). There may be some problems coming up with Trish's shoulder injury, so this could be a key juncture for the division.
The Bad
Chris Masters - I've thought he would get better, but he just hasn't yet. He's okay on the mic, albeit a bit stiff, but I think he has potential there. His character isn't bad, he just needs work in the ring. Badly.
Umaga - just lame.
Tag Division - they basically don't have one and use the non-wrestling divas instead. I think the divas can be more sparingly used to get some action here.
Heels - if HHH does a DX face turn, the RAW side seems really short of heels with Edge, Kane (assuming this sticks after the movie), Masters and Benjamin the only decent ones.....although Matt Striker has a chance at being a nice midcard heel. His teacher persona is working out okay, although it is pretty cheap heat to have to continuously resort to insulting the crowd - although he does it well and has a good mic presence. But I digress. Umaga doesn't do a thing for me, and The Spirit Squad is heel but is used mainly as McMahon's stooges.
Miscellaneous
Hopefully the McMahon/Michaels thing gets put aside sometime soon. Although, as usual, Michaels has taken what has been given him and has put everything he can into it. RVD's popularity surprises me, but he does put on a good high-flying show.....but for some reason I just don't like much of his offense outside of the five-star. Goldust and Snitsky have the makings of a pretty good comedic team. The WM promo was amongst the funniest of the year.
I'll do Smackdown later. |
| 1 | Great One
ID: 10459111
Mon, May 01, 2006, 13:59
|
What is up with all Shawn/HHH DX crop chops and references etc...?! Is it going somewhere?
That backcracker move Carlito is using is someone's finisher in ROH/TNA and it slightly irks me that he is using it, but I guess guys all steal moves from each other all the time so... And actually his finisher is the same as Roll of the Dice that Vito used in the Natural Born Thrillers, right? anyone? Bueller?... As long as nobody starts using the greatest finishing move in the biz - The Canadian Destroyer - I won't be that aggravagted. :)
The Spirit Squad has only scratched the tip of what this gimmick is capable of... once they start getting some real mic time and have some interactions with people backstage we can see what they are capable of. Maybe Tree can elaborate on that some as he has the OVW DVDs, but just what I saw on YouTube was hilarious. And more trampoline spots!! Thats an innovative thing that I never even though of but could be used very well.
Alejandro Estrada is also gold on the mic and really has yet to be unleashed - but I agree they need to run like hell from Umaga. How many times do we need - the wild and crazy samoan!!!...
|
| 2 | Species
Leader
ID: 07724916
Mon, May 01, 2006, 14:12
|
Well, Carlito's is original at least in terms of the 2000 decade of the WWE. Carlito used to use the Figure Four in OVW but had to abandon it in WWE. It's pretty hard these days to have some originality in the big moves.....it's not like every wrestler who uses a chokeslam or powerbomb gets ripped for it.
|
| 3 | Great One
ID: 54433112
Mon, May 01, 2006, 14:33
|
There are only so many things you can do, this is true. I do love that moonsault he working on - and the one from the ring apron is even better.
|
| 4 | Species
Leader
ID: 07724916
Mon, May 01, 2006, 18:37
|
Smackdown
The Good
Booker T and Sharmell – I was skeptical of Sharmell initially, but the two of them together are comic gold. Sharmell and the tiara rock. They have played beautifully off of each other, complimenting things magnificently. The King of the Ring promo with Booker trying on the robe and scepter and a big toothy grin and crooked crown was hilarious. Throw in numerous comedic vignettes (Boogeyman stuff, pretending to be sick/injured, whatever) and they have been great. I love Booker’s “Tell me I didn’t just see/hear THAT!” is classic.
JBL – His WWE title reign lasted WAY too long. He’s out of shape and has a limited moveset. But the development of his character has improved geometrically to where he carries every feud he is in from a promotional standpoint. His promo deliveries are spot on (loved the anti-England rant this past Friday) and he generates great heat.
Kurt Angle – simply the best wrestler in the company. He brought an energy to Smackdown that they sorely needed. He deserves to be counted amongst the industry’s best and it’s a crying shame that fricking idiot Henry hurt him.
Opportunities for those that might not have – The injuries (see: The Bad) that have hit Smackdown have turned into opportunities for new talent to get a chance to move up. The cruisers (Helms, Kash, London, Hendrick) have received more opportunities in the past 6-8 weeks (too bad for Kash’s injury) than they might have had Batista, Kennedy and the like not been hurt.
Tag Teams – At least SD has TRIED a bit more to have a real tag division. MNM are a great heel team with a scheming (screaming) manager. London and Kendrick need to lose those dumb masks though, but their high-flying antics have gotten a chance to be displayed. They need to continue to build this division.
The Bad
Mark Henry – When does his contract end? Okay, he’s done a passable job over the past 5 months, but he’s hurt 2 very valuable men now so it’s time to send him to the glue factory.
The Undertaker – His inability to be more involved hurts the character and the show. Yeah the whole dead man gimmick is way over, and when he’s in there he DOES give it all he has (his matches with Angle were fantastic, the leap over the casket at WM was awesome) – but there is no consistency to his storylines with his hit-and-miss participation.
The Great Khali – This just isn’t going to work. It’s one thing when there’s only 1 man as big as Andre the Giant in the 1980’s (and I still mimic his almost unintelligible “Hulk Hoh-ghan” promos) , but when there are so many pretty large men out there, the shock value of his size just isn’t worth the lack of moves and promo ability.
Injuries – Injuries to former World Heavyweight Champion Batista and rising star Ken Kennedy have definitely deflated the show. Now add Kurt Angle to the list and you are missing 3 pretty key components. Sadly this is forcing JBL to be thrust back into the world title scene by default, although after Booker wins KOR perhaps he’ll get a title run that he deserves.
The Boogeyman – needs no explanation.
Miscellaneous – Chris Benoit is a great wrestler – too bad he can’t cut a promo to save his life. He doesn’t really add to storylines. Lashley’s getting pushed to the moon. His physique is carrying him but he needs to improve his moveset and mic skills. Matt Hardy can’t seem to catch a break. He seems to constantly get really big pops from the crowd, but they don’t give him a real feud – and the Road Warrior doesn’t count. Finlay has created a great hardass character and his intensity is needed – how sad they had to bring him into the ring from his agent role. The Paul Birchill makeover has gotten over big – good for him. He has charisma and has nice moves too.
|
| 5 | kev
Donor
ID: 043111845
Mon, May 01, 2006, 19:12
|
I love the great Khali. I will admit, I dont watch SD, even though it's still on Thursdays up here...but when I saw him try and speak, I laughed so hard. Now, everytime I see him with a mic, I stop flipping, and turn up the sound. He's great.
He literally sounds like he has marbles in his mouth
"Undatagger, ugh, beagtuphimido!"
|
|
|
|
Post a reply to this message: (But first, how about checking out this sponsor?)
|
|