Greatest Success of getting a wrestler over with the fans?

[Skullz Crack'Em]

What do everybody think was the most successful result at getting a wrestler over with the fans?

For me, it has to be Batista. Let's be honest, in 2004 we never thought this guy was going to become a World Champion one day, but he did and it is mostly thanks to the Triple H-Evolution storyline. Batista seemed like a permanent enforcer/monster role that would always be a heel and the fans wouldn't give a shit about, like Snitsky, but something happened that made him one of the most popular superstars in the WWE today. From 2003-2005, Triple H was one of the most hated wrestlers on the RAW roster because he was a title-hogger and beat all the biggest faces that got in his way and whoever was going to dethrone him was going to gain permanent star power from the fans.

When Batista won the Royal Rumble in 2005 he was a heel and the fans didn't really give a big reaction to his first huge milestone in the WWE because they didn't know if they should cheer or boo(they also wanted Cena to win it, believe it or not). He was already hyped up in late December when he won the "Beat the Clock Sprint" to determine the last entrant in the Elimination Chamber which he helped HHH win. So the fans slowly got behind Batista in the next couple of months because of all the little hints WWE was throwing at us which was their way of telling the fans "here's your new Bill Goldberg".

He was given a choice to go over to SmackDown and challenge JBL at WM, but he declined and when he powerbombed HHH through the table, that was the moment he officially became a face. At WrestleMania 21 he beat Triple H for the World title and the fans loved him, he beat HHH again at Backlash and the fans loved him even more, and he beat HHH one last time at Vengeance in a HIAC and the fans loved him to the extreme.

So, two and a half years later he is still getting huge pops from the fans even though he is as stale as John Cena and feuding with the legendary Undertaker has not resulted in many boos from the fans to my surprise. The IWC despises Batista even more so than John Cena, but the casual fans still cheer for him and that is why I think Batista is one of the best "Put Over" superstars in wrestling history. Apparently, beating HHH three PPVs in a row is enough to get the fans to cheer for anybody or anything, even a lump of shit.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Stone Cold Steve Austin. The obvious choice. I mean, the man was a member of "The Hollywood Blondes" and entered the WWE as "The Ringmaster." I'm sorry, WHAT!? The WHO!? OH, the Million Dollar Champ who feuded with Savio Vega...the bigest draw since Hogan?

Eric Young. Unassuming goofball. Yet the TNA crowd pops huge for him and it's earned him significant TV time and feuds with Robert Roode and James Storm.

 

[Gus]

Jeff Hardy He leaves WWE in 2003 becuase hes burnt out, he goes to TNA, where instantly, he gets over, comes back to WWE after being gone for 3 years, and, bam, instantly over, HUGE CROWD REACTIONS, 2-3 Intercontinental Title reigns, and a Hardy Boyz tag title reign, he is more over now than ever

 

[PocketJokers]

Bobby Lashley As much as I respect this guys in ring abilities, he's as stale as the next guy. One of the worst guys in terms of mic skills in a while, and yet, the hair vs hair rivalry at wrestlemania put him clearly over the top.

 

[Agrex]

Montel Vontavious Porter - When MVP debuted he got no reaction, everyone thought he'd end up as a jobber. When he started feuding with Kane people started caing a bit more, but still he wasn't anything big. Then MVP hit gold with his feud with Benoit. That feud made him big. The fans started caring. When he won the title he finally got over with the fans as a major heel. His feud with Hardy gave him even more heel heat, and now he is one of the most over wrestlers on SmackDown!

 

[ABS]

Evoloution , the reason why we have our champs at the moment.

Now who the hell thought a guy who had notihng but his fathers name and appearing on the screen moaning how we should help him by his injury be the the youngest World Champ ever by the next year.

The Batista one , well the Thread maker expalained it all.

Now from these 2 memebers Evoloution took to make them into stars are the Champs of the company.

Evoltution was A TOTAL SUCCESS.

 

[Uncle Sam]

For me, it's Edge.

OK, admittedly, he was very over in the tag scene with Christian. But since when was being over as a tag team wrestler a guarantee for being over as a singles wrestler. I didn't watch wrestling for a few years between... I think it was 2003 and 2004, so I didn't really know how over he was, although I got the feeling his return hadn't gone over super well. But he sleeps with Matt Hardy's (yes, Matt "who really gives a shit?" Hardy) girlfriend and bingo, heel turn and he's over. Good stuff, good stuff. At least, that's what I think happened. I think I may have memory loss, I've been forgetting stuff immediately after I've said it lately. Worrying...

 

[Papa Shango]

I agree with Mr. Sam (of course I do!)
Edge started out as a rage-a-holic who pretty much only talked when he was screaming or reciting poetry during his hype promos. OMG, HE WAS HEIDENREICH!! Then, in his first match, he knocked out his opponent on accident. He was then given a vampire/goth gimmick and grouped with The Brood. ooooohhh, spooky! Still no-one cared that much. So the Brood was grouped with The Ministry of Darkness. Good way to get a young superstar noticed. But Edge And Christian soon left the The Brood to be their own tag team. And they something that you rarely see. They got themselves over without the help of management. They put on a classic Ladder Match with The Hardys. And the rest is history.
True, there have been more popular wrestlers,more truly over wrestlers, like Hogan, Rock, Austin. But those guys were planned out to be The Next Big Thing. Edge wasn't. Edge had to go out and get over on his own through his own abilities. And it wasn't even until E&C were over as a tag team that it was realized that he had the charisma to be a singles star. Then, he broke his neck, and had to work his way back almost from scratch. Edge is definitely one of the underdog success stories of wrestling.

 

[Father:_Polley]

for me the undertaker. i mean how he managed to get over i dont know...but i remember when i was younger and starting to watch wrestling, he was setting fire to teddy bears, abducting steph and gettin booed out of the building. then he disappeared, came back with a motorbike and a bandana, cost the rock the title (by accident cos HBK dq'd rock in the iron man match) and has been over ever since. wwe fans have poor memories. lol.

respect to edge as well. yeah, i no he's not exactly over, but the amount of heat he can generate is more impressive than gettin cheered cos he actually can carry the hatred and make them h8 him more. and as was said, more impressive as he got there without being a roided up body-builder, a big guy or a high flyer. he got there by being a gr8 heel who could wrestle a bit (purposefully understated)

 

[bko]

I have to say Batista, just because he grew to be my favourite wrestler in over a night. seriously... before he left Evolution I could give 2 craps what happened to him but over night I became a mark for him.

 

[theneil450]

I think we're all forgetting about Gillberg. As Duane Gill he was......well he was duane gill jobber to the stars. He transforms into Gillberg and BANG he becomes the longest reigning light heavyweight champion in the wwe(I know he rarely defended it) and has cemented his place in history. I'm not gonna say he was a great wrestler but man did that guy get over and quick.

 

[SergioGel]

Mic Foley, Its obvious why the fans love him, but the fact that this unathletic, ugly being could be as big a star in the days of the Rock, Stone Cold, HHH, ect... . The crowd pop for him winning his first title on Raw is chilling.

 

[raveng13]

My pick: John Cena

When I first saw him in WWE, I thought he was okay. He was a decent wrestler fresh from OVW and had potential. Then the white rapper thing. It was annoying, and all I could see on tv was Vanilla Ice. But he made the gimmick his own and "battle-rapped" a few stars. He totally got over with me at that time, but I couldn't see him getting any title, let alone the World Title!

But he then had three excellent feuds that proved to me that he had the potential to main event: Big Show, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle. And even after those, I wanted him to be champ and all but thought he'd never get past the US Title, especially after losing it to Carlito on his debut! I didn't think he'd carry the company on his shoulders the way he did before his recent injury. He is a big name and a huge deal to WWE. I never saw it coming, but the CHAMP...IS...HERE!

 

[grunks]

I would say the Owen Hart/Bret Hart sibling rivalry angle. They tried to get Owen over for years putting a mask on and teaming him with a variety of guys to no success. The angle was so well done it turned Owen from glorified jobber to the #1 heel and cemented his position as a main event/upper card superstar for many years to come.

 

[DeadmanInc.]

I'd say Mick Foley. After the HiAC match with 'Taker, everyone found a new respect for Foley. He got huge crowd reactions after debuting Mr. Socko and became a more comedic character. I don't think many people remember his days as a Heel Mankind, the guy who lived in the Broiler room because the comedic Mankind was so over with the fans. Lets not forget the day Foley won the WWF Title on RAW. All those people switched over from WCW to WWF and the crowd was ecstatic.

Foley doesn't look like the kind of guy who would be a future WWE Hall of Famer, but he definitely will be. The fans recognize Foley as someone who would give everything up to entertain, and he has proved it over the course of his career.

 

[fearthereaper]

Ya gotta say Sgt. Slaughter back during the persian gulf war. He had SO much heat with the fans, Remus (the sarge for those who don't know his real name) recieved death threats and sniper threats when he was wrestling hogan. How many guys in the WWE (not ECW) have had to have extra security walk them to and from the arena and use a fake name when checking into their hotel for fear he would be attacked???

 

[blackhart07]

Rob Van Dam was so over during late 2001 it wasnt even funny. He was with the alliance and yet the fans loved him. He couldnt do anything wrong. He would barely get on the mic either. He would just go out there and give a great match. Then he was in the main event at No Mercy 2001 with Angle and Austin. The WWE really dropped the ball with Rob, he is just one of those guys that no matter what will always be a fan favorite.

 

[SergioGel]

I already stated Foley as my choice but there is footage of Foley on Youtube following the I Quit match at the Rumble with the Rock where he expresses his concern for making the match enjoyable for the fans. This is after he has a dozen of so stiches put into his head and was litterally knocked out. To me this is why the fans reacted the way they did to him. As a comedy character he was a great champion. That footage i watched made me want to post this. Look it up if you havent seen it

 

[KyleCobra]

It appears to me that 75% of these replies are implying that to be ''over'' you have to be a face..hmm..anyways..

Stone Cold
The mans look never grabbed anyones attention especially when his blonde hair was as generic as Flannel shirts in the nineties. Even as Ringmaster he was nothing special, though if you go back and pay close attention to the matches you can see some Austin in there. But just goes to show that with the right gimmick and packaging it can take wrestlers to the moon.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

DUDE I guess everyone forgot about THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR lol!!! Comes outta nowere, and jus starts destroying everyone, with an amazing package, charisma, and presentation....Honky Tonk man has the longest IC reighn ever, and gets bulldozed and ended by UW in 30 seconds!!! He debuted, and very shortly thereafter, with that packaging, he was huge...I dont think anyone has ever gotten over better, faster than the UW....

 

[Bernkastel]

Brock Lesnar....... for me personally, by the time the guy had defeated the Rock for his first title, I was hooked on him, and I think many other fans were too. It took Brock Lesnar just 6 months to win his first title, and he defended against guys like the Undertaker and the Big Show seemingly like a veteran that had been in the business for several years.

 

[BDOG]

The Late great Eddie Guerrero! every time this guy was in action 'Eddie' chants would deafen the whole arena!! even when they tried to turn him heel against rey mysterio he was able to turn back to a great face in a week and win back EVERY fan he had seem to lost!!

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Brock Lesnar....... for me personally, by the time the guy had defeated the Rock for his first title, I was hooked on him, and I think many other fans were too. It took Brock Lesnar just 6 months to win his first title, and he defended against guys like the Undertaker and the Big Show seemingly like a veteran that had been in the business for several years.

Thats a very good pick...Brocks rise was metoric, it was almost like an avalanche..you could see it coming, and it was unstoppable. From the first month we all saw him, we all knew. He couldve won the belt then, and it wouldve been beliveable. That was truly amazing...but thats also the reason I think others may have been a better job of the WWE GETTING them over...brock wouldve been huge regardless, he was an undeniable star from day one, but you are right in that his rise was maybe the strongest and fastest anyone has ever gotten over...

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Eugene: Seriously, how could you not see the overwhelming response the crowd gave this man. And for what reason? Personally, I think this was the wrestling audience's way of sticking it to the W.W.E. by saying..

"We're tired of the stupid, dumb-ass gimmicks you're giving us, so we're gonna cheer this guy to the moon, regardless of how stupid you want us to see the character as."

I think Eugene received the biggest pop & push via the crowd of any performer within the past few years. Even bigger than that of John Cena & the 2005 version of Batista. Yeah, I said it.

I don't in ANY way think Eugene seen their success, but definately their crowd pop from time to time. And I realize people are going to be thinking I'm just as ******ed as the character, but its true. Eugene was built huge by the fans.. & chances are, McMahon never thought that gimmick, that character, would get over as quickly as it did. So.. whats this explain to the wrestling community? Wrestling fans love ******s!

 

[rockofhysteria]

I have a couple of pics for this thread.

First of All Goldberg The Way WCW built him up as this super beast going through all his opponents like they were nothing he really didn't speak a whole lot and let his matches do the talking and yet the crowd cheered harder and harder every week he came out. And on the faitful night on nitro when JJ Dillon announced the Hogan would have to defend the WCW/NWO title against him the fans erupted and when he pinned Hogan to win the belt it was so loud it was like when Hogan Slammed Andre.


Shawn Michaels. When Shawn debuted in wwe as a member of the Rockers they got over big with the crowd then Shawn started his whole Boy Toy gimmick with Sherri and really honed his skills on the Mic and in the ring and eventually even though he was supposed to be a heel he was getting a lot of cheers so it was natural for Vince to turn him into a babyface and the rest is history.


Steve Austin. Who would have thought that when austin began as Stunning Steve Austin in the USWA coming to the ring to Fame by Bowie that he would become one of the most recognizable wrestlers in history just by Vince Mcmahons epifany and letting Austin come up with his own character. and Being himself.


The Rock for pretty much the same reasons as Austin without the whole USWA thing.

Hulk Hogan Hogan got over with the fans for a couple of reasons mainly marketing whether it was Verne Gagne and the AWA's Marketing or Vince Mcmahon's genius Marketing or Eric Bischoff's Genius Marketing all of them marketed Hogan to the Young audience with the whole Strength and Attitude and the Training and the Vitamins(although none of them were specific on whether those vitamins were Orals or injectables) lol but marketing made Hogan the biggest wrestling superstar of all time.