Which Raw Superstar Has WWE Mishandled The Most?

[FearMyBeard]

CM Punk is one of the best performers in the entire WWE. Some would even say, he's the best. He's been involved with relevant storylines(Main-event caliber storylines) since the build to MiTB. How is that mishandled?

What's mishandled were the angles(Triple H, Nash, Awesome Truth randomzzzz tag match y'all!~~~) he's been involved with. Despite that fact, he came out of 'em as a very over superstar. I say the WWE's way of booking said angles has been lackluster but they still managed to build Punk(MiTB) and his "over-ness" was retained despite being involved with inconsistent angles. In the end, that is what matters to the WWE: They got another major star that could potentially join Cena and Orton at the summit of the WWE.

So, no, CM Punk hasn't been mishandled at all.

I'd say Alberto Del Rio, the WWE champion, was mishandled. If some are you gonna reply to this post and say "HEY IDIOT, THE GUY IS THE CHAMP", then why the fuck does nobody give a damn about him and his segments on RAW? He's the champ, supposedly one of the major figures of RAW, yet here he is, not getting terrific heat at all. I'd say Awesome Truth trumps this guy in that category. Cody Rhodes, Ziggler even. I'm not implying in anyway at all that those guys don't deserve the heat that they get but are any of those individuals at this point in their careers, above the WWE title like Cena and Orton are? Fuck no. The fact that you got guys at the midcard more over(More entertaining to the fans) than the guy who holds the WWE title itself when said guys aren't even regarded by the WWE as the Cena's and the Orton's of the company means your champion sucks. He wasn't built properly. AdR is good, I get that. I acknowledge that. His promos can be better and I even found them to be entertaining earlier at his WWE career but it's been said over and over and over again. I hope he drops the title sometime at December then get him involved with a semi-high profile program that can legitimately put him over.

This guy can be built up better. I like Alberto. I think he's a complete package. Right now though..... I don't give a damn about the WWE title because of him.

 

[pharrison0scorpion]

I'm gonna go with everyone else on this one and say Drew McIntyre. The last thing I remember of relevance of his was EC last year, which I thought was the start of another push for him, as he came in and DOMINATED (throwing Rey Mysterio into one of the pods from miles away was pretty friggin epic). He looked really good in that, and he looked really at home in an Elimination Chamber, but after that, the only thing I can remember is him getting RKOd after the draft. He has tons of talent which is really not being utilised right now, although I can understand when people say he is young, and he does have his career ahead of him. A repackage and another push should be on the cards, IMO.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Hypothetical question. Had WWE not marketed Drew as "a future hall of famer" or whatever, do you think people would be all over his nuts? Personally I don't think so.

When I look at the WWE roster, I don't think too many people have been mishandled honestly. Most guys who are over are pushed, most guys who aren't, aren't.

Some say Kane but he's been getting paid a lot to be a jobber to the stars. Count me in for that job. Kane has enough business sense (despite being a republican) to not be a mark for the belt. Good workers know the belt, while meaningful, doesn't add inches to your dick. It's just a booked reward. Pay me a million dollars and a guaranteed 7 year deal instead.


One thing MOST of you are missing. You think that the WWE has some sort of magic wand to get guys over. "Well he just needs the right push" no he's not fucking over and it's his own damn fault. If a guy needs a great push and a great character and a great opponent to get him over, he's not very good is he? Like Suibon said, you work your ass off to get whatever they give you as over as possible. Scott Hall understands pro wrestling, when he was talking to Vince he said "If you want me to be GI Joe, I'll be the best GI Joe". this is the mindset you need to have. Of course, Scott pitched the idea of Razor to Vince and he took it. However, the point of the story is, if Vince tells you to dress in a skin tight gold outfit, wear a blonde wig, and act kinda homo, you do it, and you be the best fucking weirdo ever. if Vince tells you to be a wigger, you be the best wigger. If he tells you to do a trombone motion and act funny, you do it. If he tells you to be a rockstar with charisma, you don't fucking learn new flips, you work on your promos and confidence in public performance.

 

[Mustang Sally]

At the moment, I'll say Drew McIntyre has been horribly misused, simply because they do not use him at all.

Good point. When I started reading this topic, I interpreted "misused" to be "unused".....but it isn't always. On the one hand, I feel Drew has been misused because I think he should be getting stuff written for him. On the other hand, how can it be said a person is misused if they aren't using him?

Similarly, I looked at the people who named C.M. Punk and Cody Rhodes and wondered how anyone could include them in this topic, given the tremendous amount of airtime they've been given. How in hell could anyone say these two guys have been misused?

But they can. If the reader feels that the attention they've been given is totally off the mark, you could say they're being misused. Personally, I don't know if the performers themselves would agree with you. After all, it's hard to imagine Punk or Cody complaining about being misused, can you? They look at other guys in the company who sit on the sidelines, waiting for Creative to come up with something for them.....and probably considered themselves blessed, even if they don't strictly agree with how they're being utilized.

As for guys like Drew McIntyre and Trent Barretta, I would imagine they're saying:

"Oh, hell yeah, Misuse me like you misuse Punk and Cody.....any day!"

 

[scragg23]

Definitely Alex Riley for me, this year especially. I mean, after the months and months of being sidekick to The Miz, he finally broke away from him. The reaction to this was awesome, he became an instant crowd favourite. The music they give him is unreal, maybe the best entrance music (after zack ryder's. wwyki.)

All of this, being tag team partners with Cena on multiple occasions, he was heading up the ladder fast. I thought he would definitely be the man to take the US title from Ziggler, yet that failed to happen.

Now he's just a Superstars regular

 

[sunday morning wrestling]

Morrison.. I don't mind letting him job.. He put over miz and truth! Name em he prolly lost to them this year mark henry alberto. But the kids like his parcor, being more creative in his booking of his matches would mk him relevant in the fans eyes! (like edge) But they have been so busy trying to give super cena big angles which worked! Nexus. Punk. But morrison had heat in the back I guess, please resign him. The characters wwe have right now are really starting to get it. I hope. zig zag morrison for the title tonight awesome!!! Survivor Series please be Awesome(truth win) raw gets punkd!!

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Morrison.. I don't mind letting him job.. He put over miz and truth! Name em he prolly lost to them this year mark henry alberto. But the kids like his parcor, being more creative in his booking of his matches would mk him relevant in the fans eyes! (like edge) But they have been so busy trying to give super cena big angles which worked! Nexus. Punk. But morrison had heat in the back I guess, please resign him. The characters wwe have right now are really starting to get it. I hope. zig zag morrison for the title tonight awesome!!! Survivor Series please be Awesome(truth win) raw gets punkd!!

That's so stupid. PUSHES DON'T GET YOU OVER, YOU GET YOU OVER. How fucking hard is it to understand that. If you need a great push and a great angle and a great opponent to get over, you suck.

Cena got over being a rapper, they pushed him, he got more over, they pushed him more, he got more over, they pushed him more, he got more over, they pushed him more.

No matter what they've done with Morrison (and don't count wins and losses, that's dumb and markish in 2011), he has NEVER gotten more than mid-card level over.

If simply giving a guy a great story or character was all it took to make a guy into a star, their job would be a hell of a lot easier huh? Fact is, Morrison's spot-fest style isn't over. It doesn't make sense and looks fake. He's not a character, he looks like someone playing a character. Most people don't believe in Morrison. People BELIEVE Cena is who he is on TV.

they gave "super cena' big angles because he's over. everyone cares about his matches, he draws a ton of money. Morrison doesn't. It's not a conspiracy. WWE doesn't go "well he's an athlete, we don't like athletes" they don't go "lol we don't like technical skills" they dont' go "well so and so has three 4 star matches this year, let's push him" it's simply "well we gave him a shot and he didn't get anymore over, fuck him".

Pro wrestling is a business and wrestlers are products. Understand that and you'll understand what the WWE does.

 

[The_Natural85]

I think its Alex riley he has not done anything since his feud with miz he was awesome on nxt season 2 he had the best Mic skills now he's always on superstars

 

[MikeyBobby]

Recently, Wade Barrett. This guy has the "it" factor. He has some of the best mic skills in the company. He has the look. His in ring skills, while not earth shattering, are sufficient and will only get better. But the main thing is he has that presence about him that you can't teach. He carries himself like he's legitimately the greatest thing to ever happen to professional wrestling and it's damn impressive considering it's his second year in WWE. So, they went from giving him a main event run throughout the summer of 2010 against the top guy in the company, and then cut the wheels out without warning and sent him to the Smackdown midcard. Thankfully, it seems like they're back on him again.

 

[ner0]

Alex Riley certainly came to mind and I'm a bit surprised how many have been saying him so far. When he broke away from Miz he was starting to show something rising and now he's on Superstars with no sign of anything else

 

[Dagger Dias]

I strongly disagree with the opening post. WWE has done a great job with Rhodes. He has gone from a nobody tag teaming with Hardcore Holly, to being Priceless with Ted, to the Legacy, to being Dashing, to the "groteqsue" character, to his current persona. He no longer needed the mask and is ready to do some major damage to anyone who stands in his way. I never thought that Cody would have reached this level of success this fast.

Now as for who I think WWE mishandled the most? It is a tie between John Morrison and Drew McIntyre. Both guys were the total package and should have each held a world title by now because they have everything you could possibly ask for in a main eventer. The fact that they both never saw true pushes due to drama issues with the divas is incredibly stupid. Morrison is on his way out now and Drew might not be far behind. WWE will lose two potential permanent main eventers, all because of drama that divas caused by dating these guys. Forget the backstage drama. Sort it out like adults and push people who the fans want to see succeed. It's not rocket science.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm going to ignore the slip of Cody being a "Raw Superstar" that was mishandled, as he's clearly a Smackdown guy. You did source his earlier work as a Raw star, but virtually everyone on the roster has flip-flopped once or twice. In any case, it really doesn't matter and I'm not here to debate semantics.

To an extent I think Rhodes was mishandled, but I think you over-estimate his work with Legacy to an incredible degree. To suggest that the young talent who was completely overshadowed by not only Orton, but DiBiase was largely responsible for a hugely successful financial year is absurd. In fact, most people thought DiBiase was the break-out star and that Rhodes was a huge disappointment considering his legacy (pun intended). No way he's the most mishandled, because he honestly didn't show signs of greatness until very recently...

If you want to talk about mishandled, I think you should go with one of the talents that has a lot of potential but is barely used at all! At least Rhodes was given tons of chances and never shined through... How about Tyler Rekks being a huge guy with decent in-ring skills and above average mic skills, but hasn't had a single memorable spot yet in his time with the WWE. That is severe mismanagement if you ask me...

I'd say all the members of the original Nexus, but when you realize you're looking at Daren Young, Heath Slater, and David Otunga you can't really blame them too much...

 

[Thepiedpiper]

This is a no brainer for me, it's Drew McIntyre. Drew has not had a meaningful storyline or moment since being drafted to Raw. This was VKM's "Chosen One", he was dubbed a future world champ from the first time he was on a WWE tv. McIntyre's WWE career is on life support and I for one would love to see him "repackaged" and given another push.

Same here my friend, same here. I think Big Mac needs to show what he is really made of and show once and for all what VKM saw in him before they gave him the whole "chosen one" gimmick.

 

[dashthestanpeat]

I'll be honest, in my opinion on misuse, most of the posts on here are good. The one name I haven't seen bandied about that I feel has been misused is ADR. They kind of shot him to the moon and put him in a place that I just don't see that character yet. Not to mention the fact that the entire gimmick is basically Hispanic JBL. It feels to me like a rehash and that, in and of itself, is misusing Del Rio. The only thing that makes it worthwhile for me is Ricardo, he's very good at carrying himself with a really smug air, and seeing him get his ass kicked is immensely satisfying. I'm not saying I could book ADR better or anything, I'm just saying that a rehash of JBL seems...bland.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I agree that ADR is being misused. He is supposed to be a millionaire who owns a giant ranch and has many luxury cars and a personal ring announcer. I'd like to see the WWE play on the fact that he's wealthy. I'd like to see him buy himself a stable for protection and even have Laryngitis on his pay role. That way they could explain the help he has had throughout the past couple months and Kevin Nash returning and feuding with punk. I'd like to see ADR as the mastermind behind this. I think a nice, not-too-corny mob boss type character would fit him.

 

[dashthestanpeat]

And that would make ADR really credible in my mind. I don't recall them doing anything like that with JBL, but sometimes my memory could be shoddy so forgive me if they did. Have ADR throw his money around, and hell, have him hire Regal or the like to speak for him, considering I can't stand listening to him speak.

 

[The HEEL JuiceLee]

Its gotta be Drew McIntyre. I might see him in a backstage segment 1 time every 6 weeks on RAW. Im pretty sure Ziggler will be going solo in the Near future & i hope she brings Drew into the fold with her & Jack Swagger. I think she can help Drew gain confidence in front of the video camera's & help get a reaction like she did for Ziggler.

 

[BK Styles]

Cannot disagree any more with Cody Rhodes. To be perfectly honest, I've never liked him. At all. His promo's were poor, his ring work was alright but for me, it didn't stand out, and his look was just...odd. And yes, I am one of the guys who HATED that he didn't wear kneepads. It isn't a requirement, but most wrestlers who wear tights and trunks wear them, so to see someone without them is...odd.

His 'Dashing' gimmick was entertaining, but to me it just looked like one of those last-ditch gimmicks that fall flat on their face. THEN the mask came along. Initially I was sceptical, but I actually enjoyed that run, though towards the end it began to grow stale (there's only so long it could have gone on for) but it did bring a small feud with Orton.

Then his current form came. And I like it. I think Cody has evolved into a fantastic character and has the tools to become a main eventer.

In short, no. For me he hasn't been misused. Not even slightly. if anything, he has done well to progress how he has, and evolve into a very good midcard, soon to be main event, pro-wrestler.

Has Punk been misused? No. Not in my opinion. He's been given two Money in the Bank briefcases, a number of world titles, and headed two factions, all before his current main event push. Maybe he was booked in a way that made him look weaker, and maybe yeah, in that respect he has been used a bit poorly. But how you can say that a guy who won the world heavyweight title three times before this summer has been misused I don't know.

For me, I'm disappointed with Alex Riley. In my opinion, if not for his drunk driving arrest, he'd have been US champion by now. Good in the ring, good on the stick, and weas getting some good reactions. He certainly looked as if he was going in that direction. Maybe mishandled, but certainly has underachieved considering his talents.

100% misused has to be McIntyre. I can't help but feel he was starting to get somewhere, then BAM! On Superstars or backstage on Raw, and that's if he's lucky. He's a lot better in the ring than he used to be, and I actually like him on the mic. It's a shame he hasn't lived up to expectation, but hey, there's still time.