Wrestling things everyone hated but you loved

[shamelessposer]

An inversion of the other thread. I'll start. Rikishi being the man who ran over Austin was a great idea until they chickened out and turned him into a generic heel. Dustin Rhodes walking out instead of playing the part of Seven seemed like it could have gone in all sorts of interesting directions. I thought the Heidenreich character was pure genius. David Arquette as WCW champion makes perfect sense once you've heard Vince Russo's reasoning behind it. For that matter, I think Vince Russo gets a bad reputation he doesn't fully deserve. He's put out a lot of crap in his day but he's also been forced to take the blame when his genuinely good ideas got derailed by someone higher up.

[BurningHamster]

Midgets - I don't care which midgets or where they are or what they are doing, I like them. The Flying Elvises - Anyone remember the early days of TNA (well NWATNA back then) You had Jimmy Yang, Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki in Elvis Costumes for no reason other than to make them not look like three oddly matched guys teaming together? Pro Wrestling Guerilla Commentary - I heard a few people bitch and whine about how the commentary from Excalibur and Disco Machine on ye olde PWG shows was annoying or distracting. I personally thought it was entertaining. Nathan Jones - Yeah, he was crap in the ring but well ... so were all the other WWE roid heads, and unlike them Nathan Jones was a crazed Australian convict which I could buy as menacing unlike someone like Goldberg or A-Train who just struck me as bloated goofs.

[lordprimeau25]

Jon Cena. I am gonna get blasted for being a mark and a half here but all I am saying is the boos that man was getting were unwarranted. Cena is quite possibly the hardest working and most dedicated individual in WWE. He carries the company on his shoulders at a young age, is an excellent role model for kids, and has worked very hard to earn his spot. When people boo him because they are tired of seeing him or because he was "given too much too early" I think it is downright ludicrous and disrespectful to a young wrestler who actually deeply cares about the business unlike some of his peers (Carlito, Lashley, Miz). I thought it was great when he stood up to that sellout Rock...

[Moe Hunter]

[QUOTE=shamelessposer;466829] Dustin Rhodes walking out instead of playing the part of Seven seemed like it could have gone in all sorts of interesting directions.[/QUOTE] Yeah, seeing that promo made me realise how awesome he can be. The whole setup with him "flying" to the ring was so BS and fake, and highlighted how bad WCW's commentary was... and then for Dustin to **** all over it was excellent. I don't really agree with "let Dustin be Dustin" or that Goldust "ruined his career" but that was a solid promo to be sure. I think it would have been awesome if he continued showing up dressed with the black cloak and white paint, and bitched every week about how management's forcing him to fit the gimmick. [QUOTE]I thought the Heidenreich character was pure genius.[/QUOTE] His face turn was where it really picked up. Him going psycho on jobbers and calling them his friends while pummelling them was great, as well as when he brought a fan from ringside to be in his corner - if they'd kept it up he could have had that sort of throwback to Bret Hart giving a kid his shades at every show. Also his POMES were hilarious! [QUOTE=BurningHamster;466839]Midgets - I don't care which midgets or where they are or what they are doing, I like them.[/QUOTE] My biggest regret about the WWE Juniors Division is that we never got to see what Super Porky is capable of. Everything that was going on in that New Talent Initiative (Kennedy, Burchill, Juniors... I'm sure there were more) had great potential but they never lived up to it. We didn't have Burchill breaking arms with his modified Fujiwara, Kennedy (on injury) didn't take a fully authoritative position like he was teasing, there were only about three Juniors matches... [QUOTE]Pro Wrestling Guerilla Commentary - I heard a few people bitch and whine about how the commentary from Excalibur and Disco Machine on ye olde PWG shows was annoying or distracting. I personally thought it was entertaining.[/QUOTE] I don't know if this counts but I saw a match with Ebessan (and I'll be damned if I can remember his opponent!) and the commentary went along the lines of "these two have fought all over the world... in front of tigers in Africa, in front of Penguins in Antarctica..." Brilliant stuff, as well as the whole match which was just pure comedy (including a spot where both competitors and the ref got low-blowed in succession). I don't know if everyone hated him, but I loved Simon Dean. That gimmick was so well played, and I still think Batista vs Simon Dean is one of Batista's most watchable matches.

[Franchise22]

i dont know if this is loved or hated, but im currently LOVING the jamie noble skits going on right now. they have me in tears almost. maybe its because i live in VA, and see his "character" often lol

[Guest Ransik]

Steve McMichael - Honestly... I just loved the guy and I don't know why. He had a presence when he got into the ring like he knew what he was doing even if he didn't. David Arquette - Honestly... didn't bother me really. It's not like Arquette ever got a clean win aside from pinning Bischoff to win the belt. What came of Arquette winning the WCW Title was that ANYONE was capable of taking it from him and it could've led to any number of possibilities... if anyone had used the foresight to give it a go. I mean come on folks... the net was going nuts because they all thought TANK ABBOT was going to win the World Title.

[Franchise22]

anyone remember when chris kanyon used to mimic DDP? he would pull the diamond cutter out of nowhere on random staff and stage crew, annoucers, jobbers, all while wearing a blonde wig and doing DDP hand signs ect. man i used to laugh so hard..... something like this: [IMG]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc20/SamCotterell/rkoinfj1yo4ds2.gif[/IMG] one of if not my favorite finisher of all time.

[Franchise22]

example of the funny kanyon stuff: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blAHjuUhADE[/url] [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baCK0DXwkZU[/url]

[SuperOwens]

[QUOTE=Ransik;466881]Steve McMichael - Honestly... I just loved the guy and I don't know why. He had a presence when he got into the ring like he knew what he was doing even if he didn't. David Arquette - Honestly... didn't bother me really. It's not like Arquette ever got a clean win aside from pinning Bischoff to win the belt. What came of Arquette winning the WCW Title was that ANYONE was capable of taking it from him and it could've led to any number of possibilities... if anyone had used the foresight to give it a go. I mean come on folks... the net was going nuts because they all thought TANK ABBOT was going to win the World Title.[/QUOTE] That's because Tank Abbot was going to get the title. This is the decision that got Russo the chop. Maybe if he hadn't booked him as a dancer it would have been better...

[Prophet]

I'm not sure if this was hated, so much as people just didn't care, but I dug the RTC. Okay, not the theme, that blaring alarm drove me insane. But the concept, the fact that all these people who languished in obscurity at the time were banding together, essentially as the anti-attitude era. I hate how it was handled, and the fact that it all but fell apart with no real reason, but the beginning of it, I thought, was genius. Steven Richards and Sean Morley given the opportunity to be "real" people instead of caricatures. Shame it was mishandled so badly.

[Mr T Jobs To Me]

Kevin Nash's PCS. It was like watching him give smarks the Jacknife Powerbomb through a flaming barbwire table.

[shamelessposer]

[QUOTE=Mr T Jobs To Me;466927]Kevin Nash's PCS. It was like watching him give smarks the Jacknife Powerbomb through a flaming barbwire table.[/QUOTE] I remember when Nash accused one of the X-Division guys of being "on the juice" and checked his arm for track marks. Good times. EDIT: As a matter of fact, I'm going to add Kevin Nash's very existence to this thread. I don't care if he ended Goldberg's streak through backroom deals and I wouldn't care even if he really was the guy who killed WCW, because Kevin Nash has provided endless entertainment to me ever since he first played Super Shredder.

[tristram]

[QUOTE=Franchise22;466885]anyone remember when chris kanyon used to mimic DDP? he would pull the diamond cutter out of nowhere on random staff and stage crew, annoucers, jobbers, all while wearing a blonde wig and doing DDP hand signs ect. man i used to laugh so hard..... something like this: [IMG]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc20/SamCotterell/rkoinfj1yo4ds2.gif[/IMG] one of if not my favorite finisher of all time.[/QUOTE] KANYON CUTTER! KANYON CUTTER! KANYON CUTTER! I'm not sure if it's well known, but I'm a big Kanyon mark and frankly Diamond Dallas Kanyon was funny, and well done. Kanyon should have gone to the next level IMHO.

[NickC13573]

Spirit Squad!!!!

[Remianen]

[QUOTE=lordprimeau25;466852]that sellout Rock...[/QUOTE] Here's one! I like Rock and I loved Rock leaving WWE to do movies. I can and will never fault a person for leaving "the place that made you" to capitalize on their natural gifts (someone please tell me WWE gave Rock his overwhelming charisma and screen presence....with a straight face), which allows you to make far more money than you could have otherwise while having far more control over your own destiny. Also not having to work 300 days a year to make that money. It's just like those people who like to say similar things about people who quit their jobs to start their own business. Like "working for the man" is everyone's lot in life. Yeah, downsize this. :p Katie Vick. Was it in poor taste? Yes! Was it funny as all hell? To me it was. ("Why the hell is Triple H humpin' a corpse?") Scott Steiner in WWE. I thought he fit their product (and Vince's general preferences) to a T. Evolution. Finally, a stable worth a damn in WWE. Shame they had to shut it down (instead of cycling people through it, ala the Horsemen).

[alden]

I got one for this also. The 96 uncensored main event. The tower of doom or what ever it was called. It was such a cool concept I think. The cage was just so impresive to a kid who was still a mark ;). I know it had a tarrible ending and the pillman storyline i still don't get but i still watch that show all the time *got it on dvd*.

[shamelessposer]

On "That sellout Rock": There's this saying among wrestlers that what fans call "selling out" is what a wrestler calls "feeding my family." Obviously The Rock wasn't hurting for money, but the idea that he was selling out by taking a job that wouldn't leave him crippled by retirement is ridiculous. When a pro wrestler turns into a mainstream media icon it benefits the entire industry. When it's a guy like Dwayne Johnson, who's not going to make a spectacle out of himself by driving drunk and beating his wife like some people I could mention, so much the better. When The Rock decided to go and make movies he was performing a great service for wrestling fans. Hey, look, here's a genuinely entertaining, funny and athletic guy that those wrestling fans have been watching for years! He's not a drug addict or an alcoholic, and people are cheering him even though he isn't white! Maybe those wrestling fans aren't inbred hicks after all! Three hundred days a year, The Rock was [i]killing himself[/i] for you and me and everyone else who watched wrestling. Whether you were a fan or not, his workmanship and professionalism raised the bar for the rest of the roster, and by extension the rosters of other companies as well. For a couple of years he was [i]the guy[/i], the one who had to carry the entire company on his shoulders. Three hundred days a year, face of the company, attending political conventions to represent pro wrestling interests, doing commercials, and still being able to smile and fulfill a record number of Make-A-Wish Foundation requests. What some people like to call a sellout these days comes awfully close to my definition of hero.

[Imarevenant]

[QUOTE=Franchise22;466885]anyone remember when chris kanyon used to mimic DDP? he would pull the diamond cutter out of nowhere on random staff and stage crew, annoucers, jobbers, all while wearing a blonde wig and doing DDP hand signs ect. man i used to laugh so hard..... something like this: [IMG]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc20/SamCotterell/rkoinfj1yo4ds2.gif[/IMG] one of if not my favorite finisher of all time.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=tristram;466973]KANYON CUTTER! KANYON CUTTER! KANYON CUTTER! I'm not sure if it's well known, but I'm a big Kanyon mark and frankly Diamond Dallas Kanyon was funny, and well done. Kanyon should have gone to the next level IMHO.[/QUOTE] LOL, a very well guarded secret Tristram :p Seriously though, pretty much everything Kanyon did in WCW was gold; if there was any justice in the wrestling world, Kanyon would be main eventing major pay-per-views and kids would be wearing Who Betta Than Kanyon t-shirts. On to things I loved, that some may have hated: 3-Count; loved them, can't really say why, I just did. David Flair; a bum in the ring, sure, but his days with Daffney ( :D ) and Crowbar were awesome; and his coming out to dance with 3 count was pure joy for me. Goldberg; yeah, I was a Goldberg mark, I'll admit it.

[Moe Hunter]

[QUOTE=Franchise22;466880]i dont know if this is loved or hated, but im currently LOVING the jamie noble skits going on right now. they have me in tears almost. maybe its because i live in VA, and see his "character" often lol[/QUOTE] Hell yes. I loved Jamie Noble hitting on / complaining to Vickie Guerrero, then his thing with McCool, and his stuff now in the same vein of facing big guys to impress chicks... It's so awesome. Apparently I do a decent impression of him too. [QUOTE=Mr T Jobs To Me;466927]Kevin Nash's PCS. It was like watching him give smarks the Jacknife Powerbomb through a flaming barbwire table.[/QUOTE] Every one of those skits was gold and if TNA had better production values (how I loathe Jeremy Borash!) they would have been perfect. Nash is a comic genius, and everyone from Shelley to Senshi played their parts really well. All the stuff about Warrior and Backlund was hilarious. I'd also add all the stuff with Shelley and Devine previously, and the Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt stuff afterwards - from claiming he sold out MSG to more than its actual capacity, his fake ratings chart, being a gimmick doctor... and the first glimpse of Stone Cold Shark Boy was SO good!

[The Shape]

I love The Miz. The man is sheer awesome in everything he does. :cool:

[BurningHamster]

[QUOTE=Imarevenant;467041] 3-Count; loved them, can't really say why, I just did. [/QUOTE] I'm with you on this one. I don't know why but I even liked 3 Count's music and I think the gimmick was a good idea, not only because it was funny but also well ... how better to disguise the fact you got wrestlers like shannon moore who look all of about 14 than putting them in a boy band. Plus they put on some pretty fun matches with the Jung Dragons.

[ColtCabana]

Chris Masters. :eek:

[Basmat01]

Orlando Jordan! I thought he was a very good wrestler and had one of the best gimmicks ever. They could of gone so many different ways with his Chief of staff gimmick insted of just dumping it like they did! I really couldnt of cared less if everyone thought he was "Bland" or not I liked seeing him wrestle

[Comradebot]

I'll second the Heidenreich comment. I actually loved that guy. And, of course, I will now and forever mark out for Viscera. BDV is the man. Oh, and I loved X-Pac back in the day. I think the only problems were: 1. ****ty heel gimmick 2. Lost to Billy Gunn in KotR. Made him look terrible as a face. 3. That never ending feud with Kane, where X-Pac won every single big match. Waltman in his prime was a very talented cruiserweight with solid charisma. If the WWF/E hadn't misused him so terribly I think he could've been huge. Alas, they turned him into such a big dick on screen that it became impossible to stand him. Bad bookers, bad.

[keefmoon]

I agree with the Cena and Orlando Jordan shouts, liked them both, but RTC is high on my list. I loved them, I thought they were perfect. They were just so hateable, they were the ture definition of heels. A lot of the IWC seemed to hate American Bad Ass 'Taker, but I liked it. If he hadn't have been the Deadman first I think people would have really liked it. People also seem to be really down on Edge too since the Lita thing. Not for me, I thought the guy was gold when he debuted and I've never been anything other than impressed with what he's done on screen. I too liked Goldberg at the time. People can say whatever they want about him in hindsight (much like Hulkamania or Ultimate Warrior) but at the time an awful lot of people got swept up in it, myself included. And at the start, I liked the Invasion. It had flaws but was entertaining for sure. I really marked out for the Invasion PPV, especially WCW & ECW winning the main event, but gradually it became clear that there weren't any real plans there, and that it was only going to have the WWF looking superior above the others. This may not be a popular one, but I loved Tori. I thought she was really, really hot (I don't know why, I still do though) and for some reason I really bought in to her, even though she couldn't do simple things like run without looking like she was dragging a lorry behind her. Erm... X-Pac. Sure, he was stale, but I think people forget how over he was just before and during his time with Kane. I loved that storyline where they teamed, Kane became emotionalyl detatched and more human only for -Pac to screw him over. Had they had a proper, intense feud with Kane losing control and becoming a bit bitter and twisted that may have even become one of my favourite ever feuds. It's a shame it just sort of dwindled out without anything all that interesting happening. I think that's everything... :o EDIT: Oops, was beaten to it with X-Pac, and with a completely different view on Kane & X-Pac! Well, I didn't like the actually feuding bit, but the build up with them teaming and everything was great.