A Less Payneful Option For The Fans In 1995

[The Brain]

Over the years I've made several threads about the WWF in the mid 90s. I've been a regular defender of the New Generation but of course I can admit it was not without its flaws. One of the biggest problems with that era was a lack of main event heels. In 1994 WWF scoured the roster and plucked Owen Hart out of low card obscurity and turned him into a good short term main eventer. Later that year they did the same thing with Bob Backlund. I thought both did a great job in their new and unexpected roles. In the summer of 1995 WWF tried again with Mabel. This time it didn't work so well.

I think it's a pretty much unanimous feeling that Mabel was not a good choice for King of the Ring and an even worse choice to main event SummerSlam against Diesel. I like to look at things that didn't work out so well and imagine ways they could have been better. I once made a thread suggesting King Kong Bundy should have been Diesel's opponent instead of Mabel. Recently another idea popped into my mind. Before responding please understand I'm not saying my suggestions are anything that would have had a major impact on the business. I'm not trying to turn Diesel vs. Mabel into Hogan vs. Warrior. I'm simply trying to take something bad and make it a little better even if it's by the slimmest of margins.

There were a lot of guys that were only in the WWF for a cup of coffee in 1995. When looking through the roster none of those short term low card guys jump off the page but if you use just a little imagination and keep an open mind you can sometimes find something in unlikely places; even if it's only for a short time. With that in mind, what do you think about Diesel vs. Man Mountain Rock?

Is anyone still reading this? By now I imagine a lot of people have exited the thread but I'll continue for those that have decided to humor me. Man Mountain Rock (MMR) was in the WWF for about eight or nine months in 1995. He did nothing. Almost literally nothing. Other than the basically retired Bob Backlund complaining about his loud music I can't remember MMR doing a single thing outside squashing some jobbers. He may not have made a real difference in the grand scheme of things but I think he could have been used better. MMR was about 6'7 and 350 pounds. He could move around pretty well for a big man and actually had a great amateur background. The MMR gimmick wasn't bad but that all tie dye look wasn't really working for me in 1995. I think WWF would have been better off bringing in MMR as Maxx Payne.

I know WWF usually liked to change the names of gimmick wrestlers coming in from other companies and I'm not sure if they even had the right to use the name Maxx Payne but even under a different name the Maxx Payne character would have worked better than MMR. Maxx Payne was a dark and gritty character that would have been a better fit in 1995. He could have been the big heel WWF needed at the time and would have been able to give Diesel a better match in the ring than Mabel did. Plus he would have made a great opponent for Undertaker in the fall.

I know MMR wasn't very popular in the locker room because he was always carrying his video camera around and caught some guys in a not so flattering light but Vince could have quickly nipped that in the bud if he wanted to push the big man. Honestly, I'm a kind of intrigued by the idea of Maxx Payne vs. Diesel or Undertaker. Again, I'm not saying Maxx Payne would have made a significant difference in overall business in 1995 but at the very least he would have been better than Mabel. Thoughts?

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

If they changed everything about him, yes he could have been the "monster of the month" to go up against the babyface champion, Diesel.

Maxx Payne definitely could have worked, though maybe a little dark for the WWF at the time. I mean, they did have Undertaker and Mankind shortly after so it's not unthinkable. He would have been no worse an option than Mabel. I actually forgot all about Man Mountain Rock in the WWF. The way his character changed and without any kind of push he was kind of DOA though. To get the Mabel push would have been a big deal... King of the Ring winner, World Championship shot at SummerSlam, then feud with Undertaker in the fall. That's a pretty good 6 month run. Though it was definitely wasted on Mabel, and would have been wasted on Maxx Payne as well.

Speaking of plucking lowercard guys and turning them into short-term main eventers... I always wanted them to do more with Adam Bomb. I thought for sure he was going to be a future champion. Or at least an IC champion. If we're going to take a nobody and give them a push, 10-year old me would have much preferred to see Adam Bomb get it.

 

[klunderbunker]

Not bad actually. Payne wasn't the worst character in the world and you can even keep the guitar player gimmick that he had in WCW. The armbar was fine for a finisher and like you said, it would have been better than Mabel. To this day I'd still love to hear the logic behind that decision. Payne could have worked as a short term challenger though.

 

[Wald]

I can see why Vince went for Mabel. I mean Yokozuna was Vince's first real heel main event champion that he got behind and it was a decent success. Mabel was probably just considered as someone who could fill the big man's shoes in a feud to help put Diesel over but obviously it failed. What I would have done is gone back to Yoko to go up against Diesel at Summerslam '95. I loved the Owen & Yoko tag team but Yoko would have been better off putting over Diesel as champion. He had the pedigree as a former WWF Champion and he still looked like a legit threat to a guy Diesel's size so I would have put the two together and gone with it.

Failing that I would have gone with debuting Ahmed Johnson early as a heel (he debuted in October), turned Razor heel to feud with Diesel or has Psycho Sid face off with him at Summerslam. Basically I think there were a lot better options than Man Mountain Rock or Mabel

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

I actually really like the above idea about Yokozuna replacing Mabel. It's a perfect like for like substitution: where Mabel won KOTR by beating Savio Vega, having wrestled half as many matches that night as Savio had, Yoko could have done the same. Indeed, I believe Vega beat Yoko in the quarter finals. Why not have Vega beat Yoko instead?

Once Yoko wins KOTR, he faces Diesel at Summerslam for the title, and loses. I actually don't hate the Diesel v Mabel match as much as others, but Stevie Wonder could see Yokozuna would have been a better opponent.

Finally, the following month at In Your House 3, Diesel and Shawn Michaels fought Yokozuna & Owen Hart (and the Bulldog) anyway, so Diesel v Yoko would have fed into that.

Yep, Vince should definitely have gone with King Yokozuna in 1995.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I think Bulldog was the best option for Diesel at Summerslam 1995. Bulldog turned heel shortly before, actually turning on Diesel. Bulldog/Diesel ended up having a match at the October? In Your House. Push the match back to summerslam and you have your main event.

I stick up for the new generation and don't find it to be nearly as bad as some make it out to be. The undercard to summerslam was ok but this main event was pretty rough. Bulldog could have at least got a decent match out of Diesel. But, I also can understand the Mabel push with them looking for the next Yoko.

 

[OYDK]

I don't know... it's really easy to say that now but at the time I wholly believed in Mabel, definitely over MMR. If they had put him in there with Diesel I might have just turned to WCW and never looked back... not because I hated Maxx Payne or anything, but because he was booked like the silliest of bastards from his debut. From the name, to the tie dye bodysuit, to the guitar gimmick , it all screamed jobber to me and I don't know if I would have bought him as a legitimate threat to Diesel even if he switched it up.

I guess the same could be said about Mabel as well, but he was always booked strong and he relatively had the fans invested... sure that investment went out the window following Summerslam, but I don't think many fans would have bought MMR vs Diesel. When Mabel turned, he was just a massive, scary dude with a bad attitude, which is really all that mattered at this point. I definitely agree with above poster though, Davey Boy would have been the best bet... it also may have elevated Davey into a top heel role once Diesel left, but it was not to be.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Honestly, I'm a kind of intrigued by the idea of Maxx Payne vs. Diesel or Undertaker.

Undertaker before Diesel. It occurs that Maxx Payne might have worked better in today's "totally scripted" approach than 20 years ago when wrestlers were encouraged to work more on their own, because under the old ways, neither Diesel nor Payne were effective, imo.......both were better when working with someone who could direct their efforts. In fact, one of Diesel's better matches was against Undertaker, whom I feel could guide almost anyone to a decent contest.

I remember Payne as being indecisive and tentative, leading to some horrendous matches that were probably more instrumental in his eventual release from the company than anything else. Face it, a 350 pound person can't be anything but bold and onrushing to be effective, lest they look like Andre the Giant in his last days as an active competitor, standing in the ring and waiting for opponents to come to him so he could get his huge hands on them.

Seriously, I think ol' Man Mountain might have fared better had he fought today than in the mid-90's. I wish I had seen him wherever he worked as Maxx Payne to learn whether he had the goods to succeed.....or whether he was just another immobile, useless big guy.

 

[goalieman31]

Yokozuna is a great idea on paper but he lost momentum with his weight issues. Around 95 he was terribly out of shape and was visibly winded in tag matches let alone a 15 min 1 on 1 main event.

 

[The Brain]

I appreciate the responses but obviously the point was missed by some. The thread was supposed to be about Maxx Payne and half the people that responded didn't even mention him.

I don't know... it's really easy to say that now but at the time I wholly believed in Mabel, definitely over MMR. If they had put him in there with Diesel I might have just turned to WCW and never looked back... not because I hated Maxx Payne or anything, but because he was booked like the silliest of bastards from his debut. From the name, to the tie dye bodysuit, to the guitar gimmick , it all screamed jobber to me and I don't know if I would have bought him as a legitimate threat to Diesel even if he switched it up.

What if he debuted as Maxx Payne and we never saw the Man Mountain Rock character? That way he's just this big new sinister heel instead of asking the fans to buy into this throwaway jobber turning into a title contender. If we only knew of Maxx Payne and not Man Mountain Rock would he have been a better choice than Mabel?

 

[Makaveli31]

I don't think Maxx Payne or Man Mountain Rock would've drawn a dime against Diesel or anyone else. I didn't see anything in WCW or the WWF to make me say "Wow, the WWF really missed he boat on that guy." Basically Cactus carried him in WCW. The problem is, the WWF needed someone to could look like they could legitimately defeat Diesel clean. Mabel and Sid were the only ones who fit that bill.

I agree with Adam Bomb. If given the right gimmick (like Wrath) he would've done some major damage. He had size, speed, and athleticism. He had way more talent than Nash. It's too bad the "clique/Kliq" viewed him as a threat to Nash and buried him.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I appreciate the responses but obviously the point was missed by some. The thread was supposed to be about Maxx Payne and half the people that responded didn't even mention him.

Add me to the crowd who missed the point. I thought we were giving an alternative to the summerslam main event (that's what I get for skimming the orginal post).
My only exposure to MMR/Maxx Payne is what we saw in WWF 95 so obviously just on that, I don't see him as a main eventer. I'll have to check out some of his WCW stuff.

 

[OYDK]

What if he debuted as Maxx Payne and we never saw the Man Mountain Rock character? That way he's just this big new sinister heel instead of asking the fans to buy into this throwaway jobber turning into a title contender. If we only knew of Maxx Payne and not Man Mountain Rock would he have been a better choice than Mabel?

Possibly. WWF would have had to build him to the absolute moon for him to have been taken as a serious contender, though. It's not like he was a huge name in WCW as Payne, he was basically an undercarder (if that's even a thing...). My main problem with him, is that his look was just so damn generic. He looked just like every other big guy with long hair, whereas Mabel was very unique. 500+ pound black man with a blonde mohawk was much more marketable than a 320 pound guitar-playing goth.

I didn't necessarily enjoy Mabel/Diesel but I can't say that I would have enjoyed it any more with Maxx Payne thrown in there.