There is only one guy I heard mention a name I seriously thought was misused and he said.
"John Morrison/Nitro... misused right now... BIG TIME. Hell of a talent... reminds me of a Shawn Michaels. Don't get me wrong.. Tag Titles on him is a good thing... but I think he is much better suited back the IC title picture and with time, the World Title picture."
I don't recall who wrote this but I couldn't agree more. I have been saying for a while now that John Morrison/Nitro if they did it right could be the next Shawn Michaels. Now I know a ton of you are thinking " Rage, you must be crazy !" but let's take a closer look.
John Morrison started as a tag team member in M-N-M who much like The Rockers had kind of a rock star/ superstar persona only M-N-M actually held tag team gold, turns on his partner to branch off alone and wouldn't you guess it with a female manager much like Sherri Martel and Shawn Michaels. The Singles persona is different and both were pushed as heels, so far we have two guys with stunningly similar careers. Both athletes had I.C. runs on multiple occasions, and if you take a look at their styles the two are very similar as well. The only differences lie in the fact that they are products of two different eras that demanded different types of styles. Morrison has the same kind of attitude as the original HBK and even has a similar build, look and performance ( Flashy clothes and flashy moves) Then you have world title relations with them.... Now obviously HBK is the most winning of the two but John Morrison, like Shawn got a piece of world title gold with the ECW world title. Now I understand it is a world heavyweight title, but holding it in any era of the WWE incarnation of ECW doesn't mean shit. That title lost it's value the very second it was bought out and now it's a joke of a title, so I don't really consider that such a huge deal for Morrison. As a matter of fact I think it was pretty shitty to give it to him. First of all I think a "hardcore" or "extreme" wrestler should be holding it and Morrison is not that, he's more of a high flyer and technical guy...kind of like Shawn. And I think it would be better for him to be wrestling for U.S. or I.C. gold personally, and eventually in some time a world title run.
Think of the Matches he could have right now if going for I.C. or U.S.
Automatically you've got the Champions Matt Hardy, and Chris Jericho. So, you put John Morrison in the ring with either of those guys he not only is going to make them look great, but he will show you how great he is. Matches with him and Hardy or Jericho would be awesome, those guys could get creative and have fun and put on a good match, but instead you've got him teaming with the Miz ??? what a waste. Then you could have matches with him and Kennedy, him and Jeff Hardy, MVP, Carlito, Umaga, Santino Marella, Etc... Right now on SmackDown I know they have a little going for him but there is soooo much more untapped potential.
There are only a few elements that go into making a superstar. Beyond the look, or athleticism, or charisma you need to have the fans and there are a few ways to get the fans behind anyone, want proof...John Cena, 'nuff said. All you have to do is put this guy in matches with bigger opponents, bigger names, more established guys. Take a look every time they want to push someone they go over established guys, that builds their credentials. But with this guy what you want to do is keep him a heel, all you do is bring him out, pit him against someone the fans love, one of the big faces and put him over simple as that, there are only two things that are going to happen 1. the fans see his talent and like him so they watch him and get behind him, or 2. they hate him no matter what and so every time you put him against one of these big faces people watch to see the hero win and he is drawing people left and right. I say if you were going to do something big with him he definitely could be the next Shawn Michaels and like Michaels get big on being a heel. Some of the biggest stars became so by being heels, look at HBK, Triple-H, Stone Cold, Undertaker, etc.. etc.. the point is clear. I think Morrison has the tools and talent to make a great champion and a great entertainer and they are only showing you glimpses of it now. I think they should drop the whole Miz Morrison tag team, and the "Dirt Sheet" and let him do his own thing. I think by now we all know he is a kick ass tag team wrestler, now lets see him win some real gold. He's got the talent, the ability, the marketability, the background now, just give him a shot at that.
If you'd like some proof of his superiority, take a look at this years MITB match. That guy was insane, he did the craziest stuff of all of them, and even outshined your beloved "gold standard" Shelton Benjamin. He showed everyone up and showed that he really is the shit. You could watch any number of his matches and you can see the glimmers of HBK on this guy, for God sake they call him "the shaman of sexy". Kind of like Shawn Michaels 'the boy toy" or " the sexy boy", it's almost the same gimmick from start to finish. Then the in ring action is outstanding, this guy can really shock the hell out of you with some crazy maneuvers, and outrageous stunts, it's absolutely incredible.
Well, I am done with the Morrison thing, but I have more for any of you that are drawn in and enjoying listening to my long winded rants or can't stand what your hearing.
Another guy who needs and I think right now is getting a push is Kennedy. He's another guy with all the tools just waiting to launch. If they gave this guy more wins in big situations and so on, and put him up there I think he would go over ten times more than he already has, I think with guys like him and Morrison the more exposure to them the fans receive the more they will like them. Kennedy has held some gold and won a MITB but I thought it was kind of shitty to have him loose it to Edge in the fashion they chose. That was just punishment though, for those of you who don't know, the reason he actually lost it was because he violated the wellness policy and dropped dirty for steroids so he got suspended, while being suspended he can't wrestle and so he has to forfeit the case and everything. At that time I think they were going to give him a title run or atleast launch him into the title picture permanently but he kind of F'kd that up himself. Either way he is a guy with main event potential.
For the rest of the guys most of you mentioned I have a simple explanation despite any of your theories or thoughts. A lot of those guys many of you mentioned just weren't championship material. I mean seriously, Perry Saturn WWE heavyweight champion ??? The Red Rooster??? Tazz, Raven, Al Snow, Rick Martel, Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, RVD, Dustin Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes, Mike Rotunda(I R S) Ted Dibiase, Brutus Beefcake, Christian, Vader, SID, Jake Roberts, Ken Shamrock, Tatanka, Shane Douglas, Razor Ramon Dean Malenko and Finally Mr, Perfect
You mean to tell me all of these guys were Heavyweight Championship material. Forget what they did outside of the WWF/WWE Tazz as someone said earlier was on his way out of the ring on his way into the WWE because of injuries, Raven may have held ECW gold and done well in WCW but was not WWF/WWE world champ material and had a poor attitude outside of the ring and too many personal demons, Al Snow- another great wrestler but also not up to that level, despite anything done with him anywhere else that was not the WWF/WWE it has it's own audience that chooses it's own stars and he wasn't going to be that big in WWF/WWE period. Rick Martel had a load of success in WWF and was lucky that WCW needed faces from WWF or he would have been done after leaving WWF. Owen- tragedy. Still, never main event material, none the less given countless titles, and highly regarded by all in the sport. Davey Boy Smith- I have no idea what the deal was with him but what are you going to seriously do with that character ??? He had his monumental feud with Bret Hart only because that was the only way to get him involved in a damn storyline because they were related, and flopped from there, not enough in ring ability to main event. RVD- talented, very talented and a main eventer. He was given two titles at the same time, a money in the bank, I.C. title, tag titles, and they even put him over Cena which still has not been done legitimately, technically he hasn't been beat one on one only in stipulation matches, and was and is one of the most identifiable faces of the origional ECW, this guy is just fine. He has quit the business on his own accord, and made a killing from the busines, he did just fine. Dustin Rhodes- another guy who just never had the talent, sure he was entertaining and sure he might of been good in the ring, most wrestlers are, but he just wasn't the type, and he had too many issues with his dad and his dads career next person, Dusty Rhodes??? are you kidding me??? This guy has had his ass kissed for God knows what reason and as said earlier is a Shitty wrestler. He got lucky not misused. I.R.S. another guy who although was probably a great wrestler who played a great character was never meant to be a big deal, he was always with someone or something, he did his part that was all he needed to do, and he still works for WWE and probably makes more money than any of us so I think he was handled just fine. Ted DiBiase was great ok, but how can you call introducing the Undertaker, having your own belt, being that character alone, and always being a contender for basically whatever you want misuse than I think we are on different wavelengths, Brutus Beefcake- injured while the iron was hot, came back and was never able to round up the same amount of fan support and popularity, end of story, Christian- used right, him and Edge helped change the face of the tag team division with the Hardy Boyz, and had a good singles run obtaining the I.C. which is pretty good, looking at him in TNA now he looks better but he is a WWE guy in little old TNA, he looks like a million bucks there because very few there do, remember in WWE he was just a CLB. Vader - Peaked in WCW plain and simple, besides that gimmick just doesn't go over for long, wow another fat guy who acts like he's basically a serial killer, big deal. Sid, was pushed huuuge in WWF and was given a legitimate title reign, he broke his leg though and had spent the last decade or so trying to get back in the ring, he finally has somewhere small and independent but he was given the highest point of his career like many of these other guys in WWF. Jake Roberts- Total Drunk and a druggy all his problems came from his problematic lifestyle and excessive drug and alcohol abuse, he was given plenty. Ken Shamrock - Never should have stepped foot in the ring of wrestling and was luck y to ge twhat he did, he had a name from doing ultimate fighting that's it and the only reason WWf touched him, he had a big name already, they thought since he was already famous that they wouldn't need to do anything and he went out there and tanked on his own. Tatanka got his gimmick 20 years too late, and never did anything bigger anywhere else so I think he was handled pretty good too. Shane Douglas - Great wrestler for the indy circuit, he can be theri champ, the big boys though, eat him up. Not to the level of top WWF guys for at least the last 20 years. Scott Hall- got the push and handling that made him big, and he handled most of his own business, he even created the Razor Ramon character and Vince liked it so he had Hall do it. He got the biggest break of his life with WWF and they made him as big as any of their top stars of the time, he was greatly decorated and held the I.C. when it was still the shit, and got to make history with Shawn Michaels, again, handled well. Dean Malenko- I really like, I like the fact this guy cna put you on the mat and keep you there, he is the man of 1,000 holds and he's cool but, still not a world champion, at least not in WWF, Finlay- has had a bigger run this go round in WWE than he has had anywhere else, he is a great wrestler but not the type to be made the champ either he just isn't convincing enough, he lacks the look. And finally Mr. Perfect - What else can I say, this guy was awesome, I loved Mr. Perfect and rightfully so, I think they used him well, he played his part, and he was rewarded for it, in smaller territories and indy circuits he held world title gold but it takes more in WWF and he was just not that guy, he was however one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions ever, and that's nothing to frown on, as some of you stated he was horribly misused in WCW so I think we can agree that WWF gave him the best years of his career, it is only a shame that he fell to drugs.
"Often times, when a wrestler who appears to be on the verge of big things doesn't get there, things like work ethic, ability to get along with talent, lousy mic skills, and/or drug & alcohol problems are to blame, not some desire by promoters to not push the guy."
What a true statement.
In closing, some of these guys named up here were great and many of them were champions but there are also a lot of them that were just not good enough. If you draw than you draw, but if you can't sell out the garden or headline a pay per view you aren't going to be a top guy pure and simple. And besides, if you had all these guys and were pushing all of them it wouldn't work, the title pictures would be too skewed and there would be too many people going for them, that is why it is a business and everybody does their part. Everyone gets their chance, some make an impact some don't but it is of no fault of the companies that they fail, it is the fans. We decide how they get used, we decide who is to go where and do what. It is by our chants, our yells, the t-shirts we buy, the signs we make, everything that we decide who is or is not on top, there is only room at the top of the mountain for few, for the others, there is the rest of the mountain.
