Did WWE drop the ball with Rikishi?

[Trill Co$by]

Right before the turn of a new era, the WWE gave the fans of the Attitude era one of the greatest swerves that could possibly happen. Stone Cold was ran down and put out of action... But it wasn't by the usual main eventers like The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, or the like. No, the rundown came from the unexpected Rikishi, who after doing so, became known as "The Bad Man"... a blatant take on "The Bad Guy" but whatever.

For me, this time was THE moment for WWE to break Rikishi away from his dancing ways and make him out to be a full fledged main eventer. And he even had the prowess to make him a believable champion. But somewhere along the lines, Rikishi got lost in the shuffle and he got taken out of the main event.

My question to you is, did WWE drop the ball there?

IMO, he was so over as a heel when he ran down Austin and he played up to the buddy-buddy of Triple H pretty damn well.. so why didn't WWE pull the trigger and let him run? Were they afraid that he would catch an arrogance problem kin to the Big Show's when he first debuted? What do you think?

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I don't think WWE dropped the ball with Rikishi as I think Rikishi dropped his own ball.

Rikishi had a few hot months as a heel (when he was becoming a top babyface) but to be fair Rikishi became stale and stale quickly as a heel. I don't even recall him at WM17 (not sure why that was) when just a few months before he was #30 in the Rumble and a top guy to win it all. I don't think he did well in his feud with Austin and that's why he got pushed to the background quickly. I also think that's why they made HHH the mastermind behind Austin getting ran over because he could at least keep up with the Rattlesnake and give him a much better feud.

I think Rikishi got his shot and screwed it up personally as I don't remember anything memorable about his heel turn whatsoever. He was boring and bland as a heel.

 

[klunderbunker]

To answer the Mania question, Rikishi got hurt earlier that month. He was out until May, came back for about two weeks and got hurt again, putting him out until December.

As for the question, no not really. At the end of the day, Rikishi was a horrible choice to be the big bad. For one thing, he debuted before the whole thing started so if you saw that debut (which I did) the explanation made no sense. Second, he was still the same guy: the Samoan in a thong. It's hard to take him seriously as someone who is attired like that. Third, there's only so much a guy of average size (for a wrestler) like Austin can do with a guy like Rikishi. Rikishi was so big that only certain people could ahve a decent match with him and Austin wasn't one of them.

In short, it wasn't anyone dropping the ball. It was a bad decision in the first place.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I was actually going to make a thread like this but you beat me to it: the WWE completely dropped the ball with Rikishi. No one can deny that he was one of the most over stars on the roster throughout all of 2000, sometimes he got pops that rivaled the Rock's (especially on the night that he saved the Rock and Foley revealed Rikishi ran over Austin). The heel turn (even though he disagreed with it) was actually a good idea, no one expected it to be Rikishi and he had the charisma and good storyline to make his turn huge and believeable. Imagine if they made him like Mark Henry was in 2011? Taking out every top guy on the show? Then he would've been the monster heel he should've been.

The problem with Rikshi is that no one cared about him after they fed him to Austin and the Rock. Austin beat him mercilessly time and time again and then The Rock destroyed him at Survivor Series. How is that supposed to give Rikishi credibility or get him over? Rikishi desperately needed a win over one of these men to remain a top heel (just ask HHH he beat them all the time) by they made him look weak, therefore the fans thought he sucked and didn't care about him after Survivor Series. From the heat he had from his initial heel turn, he could've captured the title and headlined WrestleMania 17, but they didn't let him win a match clean. 400-pound Rikishi should have a better chance against Rock and Austin than HHH, but no HHH is the golden boy who wins all the time and Rikishi gets his ass whooped all the time.

 

[justtxyank]

I don't think they dropped the ball with him. To disagree with the poster above me, I think the problem with Rikishi was he didn't have a menacing enough look to pull off a Mark Henry monster roll. He wasn't talented enough in the ring to work big time main event matches with guys like Rock and Austin long term.

While Henry is a big guy who is also fat, Rikishi's size was based entirely on being fat. It wasn't that he looked hella strong or anything or big and mean like Vader, he was just a big fat Samoan.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Second, he was still the same guy: the Samoan in a thong. It's hard to take him seriously as someone who is attired like that.

Yes, and it's equally hard to see someone like that as a heel threat, at least on a continuing basis. By the time WWE got sick and tired of him, he had become a one-trick-pony......with his entire persona based on his ass, for crying out loud. When one's signature move is the "stink face," what kind of longevity do you expect from the guy?

We've read that WWE fired him because he ignored their repeated requests to lose weight. Well, given the incredible amount of poundage he put on since his Samoan Swat Team days, during and after which they always had a role for him, it seemed kind of unfair for them to expect him to lose it now. And even if he did, did that guarantee they'd keep him around?

Rikishi's character was set and established. If it's not over 'til the fat man dances, then it's certainly over once they ask him to stop dancing.

It's not that WWE dropped the ball; it's that the ball only had a limited life span.....and really, it lasted longer than you'd expect it to.

 

[King of the Words]

When they made the Game the mastermind it kinda took the focus off Rikishi. Everyone was focused on triple h. then and Rikishi became an after thought. I think they could have done more with Rikishi if he never got injured. To me, though, I would have rathered it was the big show instead of Rikishi. It would have been a chance to turn show into a monster heel. After all, the night Austin got ran over was the same night big Show won the WWEC. They said it had to be someone big because the springs in the front seat of the vechile that ran Austin over were damaged. I thought for sure it would be Big Show, but then they made it Rikishi which was a good twist, and a chance to make him a big deal, but I think big show would have made more sense. The first day Big show was in WWE he went after Austin in that steal cage match with vince. I think Austin and Big show could of had a great feud but they ended up making the Game center point of the story, which was cool at the time, but now i know it was probably one of those times when they gave into triple h's ego. He always had to be in the main picture and still do when he's around. triple H. was always a great heel but this could have been a great chance to push someone else as a monster heel which would have been refreshing. But still, this story line was pretty great.

 

[justtxyank]

Yes, and it's equally hard to see someone like that as a heel threat, at least on a continuing basis. By the time WWE got sick and tired of him, he had become a one-trick-pony......with his entire persona based on his ass, for crying out loud. When one's signature move is the "stink face," what kind of longevity do you expect from the guy?

We've read that WWE fired him because he ignored their repeated requests to lose weight. Well, given the incredible amount of poundage he put on since his Samoan Swat Team days, during and after which they always had a role for him, it seemed kind of unfair for them to expect him to lose it now. And even if he did, did that guarantee they'd keep him around?

Rikishi's character was set and established. If it's not over 'til the fat man dances, then it's certainly over once they ask him to stop dancing.

It's not that WWE dropped the ball; it's that the ball only had a limited life span.....and really, it lasted longer than you'd expect it to.

Seriously, he was a fat samoan in a thong who danced and pulled his thong up while raised the roof and then rubbed his but crack in people's face. That wasn't ever going to go away.

 

[SFC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufzHXDcW8wM&feature=related

That's a great interview with Rikishi.

He pretty much lays it on the line saying that he resents how they dropped the ball. He feels they ruined his character and he loved being face. He had no passion for his Bad Man character at all.

Based on this, it sounds like it's on them.

 

[BaconBits]

I was a huge Rikishi mark (no pun intended, lolz), and I felt creative dropped the ball with him. His heel turn felt really forced and it was doomed from the beginning. He just didn't have it in him to be a quality heel and they had to know that going in.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I wouldn't so much say they dropped the ball. There really wasn't much of a ball to begin with. The heel swerve was unexpected but that whole story was a clusterfuck. Kishi hit Austin because he was mad at white people and wanted Rock to get a big push. Yet HHH was the mastermind behind the hit. Once HHH became the main guy there he went downhill. His biggest highlight during that run was when Taker choke slammed him off the cell into that truck at Armageddon.

 

[Karilas]

Rikishi's entire appeal was as the goofy dancing guy, trying to turn him into a serious heel never struck me as a good move, they could have easily milked that mid-card, Too Cool, boogey shit for another year or two.

I think the thing that hurt Rikishi's turn the most, for me, was the fact that he sold The People's Elbow for a full thirty seconds before Rock got the cover in their match. Really wound me up did that.

 

[SavageTaker]

I loved Rikishi when I was younger and was happy when he went to TNA because he was on television again. He was a decent mid-carder and tag team wrestler and he did entertain me. But that's as far as he should've gone. I loved him and all, but I could never take him serious as main eventer nor did he have the look of a main eventer like KB basically mentioned.

I don't think the ball was dropped on either end because the ball should have never even been there. Had they left him in the position he was in then I think things would've went fine. But they put him up higher in the card and I thought that was a problem since he really couldn't compete with guys like Austin, Rocky, Triple H, e.t.c. Those guys are the ones who should be headlining pay per views, not guys like Kishi.

 

[Workrate]

Of course they dropped the ball: they're the ones that put Rikishi in that spot. He wasn't suited for it, obviously, but he didn't write the angle himself. The only reason he was in that spot is because they panicked about having the pay-off be too predictable. That's precisely why HHH was revealed as the mastermind behind it: he was originally going to play that role but they felt it would lose impact because everyone would see it coming, so they tried to throw the knuckleball on the fly.

 

[OutsiderDX]

It was a combinaton of :

HHH's backstage politics / stealing all the heat from Rikishi
Rikishi's attitude towards the heel turn
Rikishi's injuries / Weight

It was very very convoluted situation for Rikishi. That was doomed to fail.

Put into an angle by taking out Austin, who could not wrestle, so their was no pay off match.

His reason for doing it was for The Rock... not even himself

He wasn't even the mastermind... it was HHH.

So there was never really any focus on him. And nowhere for him or the angle to go.

 

[matman8540]

The closest I can remember Rikishi being credible as a heel, was when he was in a tag team with Haku, and they were going after the Road Warriors for the tag titles. This was right before Wrestlemania (17? Can't remember which one, because I saw that Raw in Phoenix. The memorable segment at that Raw was when Trish Stratus was made to go down on all fours, and get slopped by Stephanie). The issue with Stone Cold went away quickly, with no explanation.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I don't think they dropped the ball with him. To disagree with the poster above me, I think the problem with Rikishi was he didn't have a menacing enough look to pull off a Mark Henry monster roll. He wasn't talented enough in the ring to work big time main event matches with guys like Rock and Austin long term.

While Henry is a big guy who is also fat, Rikishi's size was based entirely on being fat. It wasn't that he looked hella strong or anything or big and mean like Vader, he was just a big fat Samoan.

You must have never seen Yokozuna before. Yokozuna was nothing but 500 pounds of fat and yet because of his size (and size alone, he never spoke) he became a top guy in the WWF and captured many accolades including winning the 93 Royal Rumble and headlining 2 straight WrestleManias. His little cousin Rikishi was not only better on the mic, but much quicker and agile in the ring while still using a lot of his moves he was an improved Yokozuna. Rikishi could've have gonefar in this business as a top heel (just like Yoko did) if they let him beat top faces the way Yokozuna did.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

When they made the Game the mastermind it kinda took the focus off Rikishi. Everyone was focused on triple h. then and Rikishi became an after thought. I think they could have done more with Rikishi if he never got injured. To me, though, I would have rathered it was the big show instead of Rikishi. It would have been a chance to turn show into a monster heel. After all, the night Austin got ran over was the same night big Show won the WWEC. They said it had to be someone big because the springs in the front seat of the vechile that ran Austin over were damaged. I thought for sure it would be Big Show, but then they made it Rikishi which was a good twist, and a chance to make him a big deal, but I think big show would have made more sense. The first day Big show was in WWE he went after Austin in that steal cage match with vince. I think Austin and Big show could of had a great feud but they ended up making the Game center point of the story, which was cool at the time, but now i know it was probably one of those times when they gave into triple h's ego. He always had to be in the main picture and still do when he's around. triple H. was always a great heel but this could have been a great chance to push someone else as a monster heel which would have been refreshing. But still, this story line was pretty great.

I think Big Show was either out with an injury and/or honing his craft down in OVW or one of the other developmental territories for the second half of 2000. He didn't make his return until Royal Rumble 2001.

As for whether they dropped the ball with Rikishi, maybe...to an extent. I mean, looking back now, they probably should've given him different ring attire and done away with the stink face while he was a heel. At the same time, it made perfect sense for HHH to be behind it all. However, WWE at the time, was elevating Kurt Angle and wanted to make him their champion. Rikishi eventually found himself feuding with Taker and got pushed down the card once Haku came in. It's too bad that he was injured for a lot of 2001. I remember when he came back in May of that year. I was expecting him to turn on Foley and go back to his heel ways, but he ended up dancing to his old music again and he ended up losing a quick match to William Regal (not a good sign) at Judgment Day 2001. So, in some respects, they did sort of drop the ball with Rikishi. Like others have said, has he ever beaten Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, etc.? I think post Wrestlemania 17 when a heel Stone Cold Steve Austin beat a newly turned face Rikishi without too much trouble pretty much signaled the end of his run on top.

However in 2004 (after Brock left and Kurt Angle was injured), I think if they kept Rikishi around a bit longer (and assuming he was healthy) and rebuilt him, they could've made him WWE champion. (Even a run as a transitional champion.) I mean, JBL got to be champion. I think a feud between those two would've been interesting. Smackdown, as I recall, was kind of lacking in top talent by the summer of 2004.

 

[Jackal960]

Rikishi was one of my favorite during that era. I enjoyed watching him when he started off as a face. Just look at the crowd reaction he can get:

[YOUTUBE]C1Vpk3v3nfM[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]5r3Y1j810BY[/YOUTUBE]

How many times have you seen someone getting the whole building up like these? Well, I'm not talking about Austin, Rock etc.

However, WWE did drop the ball by not being able to capitalize on this crowd reaction. Turning him a heel was the right move, but it was too soon. He had to eventually turn heel because he wouldn't be a legitimate main eventer otherwise. But it was too soon and they didn't give him enough credibility as a monster heel. It could be way much better

 

[jbartlett7]

I think he should of stayed face, he was over, believable as a genuine contender, i mean since the start of 2000 he was getting huge pops, and constantly being involved in mini Angles with HHH, and was good enough in the ring aswell.

 

[DirtyD79]

The problem is for one heel Rikishi really wasn't that much different from face Rikishi. He still wore the same gear and still used the stink face as his finisher. The only real difference is now he was doing it to faces instead of heels. Also taking that bumped into the hay truck sure didn't help make him seem any more menacing.

Secondly being injured/out really didn't give him much of a chance to gain heat. There's only so much a wrestler can do on the sidelines. Sooner or later they're gonna have to get in the ring if the story is gonna go anywhere.

Also the storyline more or less never really was about him. What does he get out of it? OK he did it to help The Rock because he was tired of it being all about "The Great White Hype" as he put it. It would have made more sense if he did it to somehow benefit himself like if it put im in line for a title shot or something. The angle also got derailed and convoluted by it turning out that Triple H was the one who had Rikishi do it (remember the Great White Hype?). Rikishi more or less became an afterthought in the whole thing.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufzHXDcW8wM&feature=related

That's a great interview with Rikishi.

He pretty much lays it on the line saying that he resents how they dropped the ball. He feels they ruined his character and he loved being face. He had no passion for his Bad Man character at all.

Based on this, it sounds like it's on them.

Well, lets look at this in a different way.

So, he had no passion for the "Bad Man" character? It was up to Rikishi how much effort he put into the role. WWE obviously saw that he had the potential to play the role well and went with him as the guy who ran down Austin. They gave him the biggest spot of his career, a main event level heel and he had NO PASSION FOR IT?

Do you think every wrestler really loves every role they are given? It's up to the performer to make the most of every role they are given and put in 100% effort to make it work. So what if he preferred being a face? He wasn't going to be main eventing shows as the fun dancing guy rubbing his fat ass in peoples faces, this was a REAL character which could have made him the big bucks and led to him becoming a possible champion.

He should have made himself passionate about it. He was going to be up against Stone Cold for Christ's sake, the biggest star in the company. There is no reason why he shouldnt have been up for it, and given it his all. If he had done, then there is alot more chance the "Bad Man" character would have worked.