I said this in the Raw Live Discussion the other night, but I've had chance to think about it more now. Mike Knox is one of the best wrestlers on Raw, which I will get to in a moment. One thing that will certainly happen in this thread is that someone will bring up Snitsky. Just because they are both big men does not mean they are the same. Before Snitsky's last main event on Raw in February last year, he gave probably the dullest promo I have ever seen. To be outdone by Umaga on the mic takes some doing, but he managed it.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Shitsky was rubbish, and Mike Knox is excelent, and here's why:
1) Mike Knox has what very few wrestlers today have which is a gimmickless but original look. His beard gets a lot of stick, (if 400 beard jokes in a row are your bag, check out any Raw LD) but he is the first wrestler I can think of who has had such a massive one without being a biker or a wizard or som bullshit.
A beard does not make a good wrestler, but it does make him stand out from the crowd. He has a generic body type, but he avoids looking generic, which is always a good starting point on Raw.
2) Mike Knox is over as a heel. If you watched Raw this week, you will have heard the crowd be really into the match. I guarantee you that everyone who disagrees with me will put this on Mysterio, but that would be wrong. Watch Mysterio's match with Regal from a couple of weeks ago and the crowd is dead. People want to see Knox lose, which is a good start.
3) Mike Knox cuts a good promo. I can only recall two feuds for Knox in 2008/9 and that is his one with Finlay and the one with Mysterio. He was given little mic time,but he used what he had done really. His promo that he cut on Mysterio, saying he didn't know why he was attacking him was excellent. His promos on Finlay were also good.
He is probably kept off the mic because he is softly spoken and it doesn't fit with his look. However, I think that they could quite easily work that into his gimmick. After all, if you've ever heard Mike Tyson talk you'll know a mean bastard can have a high voice.
4) He is a solid and competent worker. Knox is no Bret Hart in the ring, but he isn't Ultimate Warrior either. He has quite a varied move set and his finisher is definitely in the top 50% of WWE finishers, maybe even higher. He was by no means stunning in the Elimination Chamber work wise, but he was not embarrassed either, and when you consider that he spent most of his in ring time with Mysterio and Jericho, that isn't bad at all.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Shitsky was rubbish, and Mike Knox is excelent, and here's why:
1) Mike Knox has what very few wrestlers today have which is a gimmickless but original look. His beard gets a lot of stick, (if 400 beard jokes in a row are your bag, check out any Raw LD) but he is the first wrestler I can think of who has had such a massive one without being a biker or a wizard or som bullshit.
A beard does not make a good wrestler, but it does make him stand out from the crowd. He has a generic body type, but he avoids looking generic, which is always a good starting point on Raw.
2) Mike Knox is over as a heel. If you watched Raw this week, you will have heard the crowd be really into the match. I guarantee you that everyone who disagrees with me will put this on Mysterio, but that would be wrong. Watch Mysterio's match with Regal from a couple of weeks ago and the crowd is dead. People want to see Knox lose, which is a good start.
3) Mike Knox cuts a good promo. I can only recall two feuds for Knox in 2008/9 and that is his one with Finlay and the one with Mysterio. He was given little mic time,but he used what he had done really. His promo that he cut on Mysterio, saying he didn't know why he was attacking him was excellent. His promos on Finlay were also good.
He is probably kept off the mic because he is softly spoken and it doesn't fit with his look. However, I think that they could quite easily work that into his gimmick. After all, if you've ever heard Mike Tyson talk you'll know a mean bastard can have a high voice.
4) He is a solid and competent worker. Knox is no Bret Hart in the ring, but he isn't Ultimate Warrior either. He has quite a varied move set and his finisher is definitely in the top 50% of WWE finishers, maybe even higher. He was by no means stunning in the Elimination Chamber work wise, but he was not embarrassed either, and when you consider that he spent most of his in ring time with Mysterio and Jericho, that isn't bad at all.