Braden Walker released

[RatedRSE]

I was shocked when I heard the news in all honesty. He only had 2 matches on ECW from memory. The WWE didn't really give him a chance to shine. I mean sure the matches he wrestled were crap, but his opponents weren't great either. You can't expect to get the fans behind you after only 2 fricken matches.

You can't expect the fans to get behind you after only 2 matches?? I think Evan Bourne blows that theory right out of the water.

Evan came out his very first night, showed his skill and instantly got people talking. By his second match the crowd was already into the guy.

Harris came out the first night, used basic wrestling moves and won with a cross body. He looked to me like it was the first time that he had ever wrestled a match on national television. Granted not everyone can be Evan Bourne and do a Shooting Star Press in their debut match, but a freakin' cross body...are you serious??

At least in Harris' last match he won with a fisherman's suplex, but it was one of the most poorly executed fisherman suplexes that I've seen in recent memory. The fact is that he was out of a shape and was a shell of his former self from TNA. That however isn't saying much because I always felt James Storm was the more talented of the two in TNA.

The bottom line is, Harris failed on his own. He has no one to blame but himself. He could have wrestled for 6 more months if the WWE had given him the chance to, but I really don't think that it would have mattered because THIS Chris Harris...Braden Walker ws going no where. WWE did the smart thing in releasing him. Now there's more ECW tv time for someone who deserves it.

 

[SpiralHands]

Personally I cant help but think this was all done on purpose by the WWE. Pick up a well knwon and great TNA talent thats wants out. Sign him up and bring him to the roster, take away his name his look and any past that he may have. Showcase him as a out of shape no charisma wrestler and laugh at TNA. I dont think WWE was ever going to let a TNA star succeed in thier ring. It wouldnt be the first time, they did the same with Monty Brown and I mean look at the WCW invasion and ask yourselve out of all the huge names WCW had who really made it in the WWE? I feel sorry for Chris Harris but I geuss its back to the drawing board for him.

 

[Frank the Frowner]

Personally I cant help but think this was all done on purpose by the WWE. Pick up a well knwon and great TNA talent thats wants out. Sign him up and bring him to the roster, take away his name his look and any past that he may have. Showcase him as a out of shape no charisma wrestler and laugh at TNA.

The conspiracy theories need to stop. First off, TNA isn't even close to being considered competition to the WWE. You know things are bad when TNA tries to do a better rating than ECW, which is pretty much a glorified developmental show, and it still gets higher ratings. I wouldn't call Harris well-known. At the peak of his popularity in TNA, I would bet that hardly any of the WWE fanbase even watched TNA and knew what America's Most Wanted was. It's not the WWE's fault that Harris couldn't get in shape, and they had given him plenty of time to do so. Lastly, no good businessman would go ahead and pay a guy a pretty good amount of money just to release him after four weeks, just to stick it to his non-existent competition.

It wouldnt be the first time, they did the same with Monty Brown

Brown/Cor Von had a very impressive WWE run. I think I remember him getting pinned once throughout his run and that was to CM Punk. The only reason why he had to leave the WWE was to take care of his relatives.

ask yourselve out of all the huge names WCW had who really made it in the WWE?

Chris Jericho
Chris Benoit
Triple H
Eddie Guerrero
Rey Mysterio
Finlay
Booker T
Goldberg
Ric Flair

...Do I really need to continue?

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Lastly, no good businessman would go ahead and pay a guy a pretty good amount of money just to release him after four weeks, just to stick it to his non-existent competition.

You know, there's this one guy...what's his name again? McMahon something? Well, either way, if TNA WERE competition for WWE, I wouldn't put it below McMahon to do something like that. You can bet he would back in the Monday Night Wars...

 

[Rusty]

You can't expect the fans to get behind you after only 2 matches?? I think Evan Bourne blows that theory right out of the water.

Evan came out his very first night, showed his skill and instantly got people talking. By his second match the crowd was already into the guy.

Harris came out the first night, used basic wrestling moves and won with a cross body. He looked to me like it was the first time that he had ever wrestled a match on national television. Granted not everyone can be Evan Bourne and do a Shooting Star Press in their debut match, but a freakin' cross body...are you serious??

At least in Harris' last match he won with a fisherman's suplex, but it was one of the most poorly executed fisherman suplexes that I've seen in recent memory. The fact is that he was out of a shape and was a shell of his former self from TNA. That however isn't saying much because I always felt James Storm was the more talented of the two in TNA.

The bottom line is, Harris failed on his own. He has no one to blame but himself. He could have wrestled for 6 more months if the WWE had given him the chance to, but I really don't think that it would have mattered because THIS Chris Harris...Braden Walker ws going no where. WWE did the smart thing in releasing him. Now there's more ECW tv time for someone who deserves it.

If I remember correctly, Evan Bourne didn't get a good reaction until after about 4 matches. He still doesn't get a great reaction now, because he is still fairly new. The only reason why Bourne got a few fans behind him after two matches was because the WWE doesn't have someone like him that does all those wicked moves, in the company. Braden Walker didn't use the best of moves in his 2 matches, thats understandable. But I still think its stupid that he got released after only 2 matches on television.

Harris didn't fail. He just wasn't given enough time. I remember Kofi Kingston's first match on ECW. He botched so many moves and it was a terrible debut. 2 weeks later and the guy improved drastically. Now look where he is, on Raw as the Intercontinential Champion simply because the WWE gave him enough time to shine. You mentioned that now there can be more tv time on ECW for someone else. But who else would get tv time when the ECW roster is ridiculously thin at the moment? I can't think of anyone else that deserves it so I think it would have been worth while keeping Harris around on ECW for a few more months.

 

[RatedRSE]

If I remember correctly, Evan Bourne didn't get a good reaction until after about 4 matches. He still doesn't get a great reaction now, because he is still fairly new. The only reason why Bourne got a few fans behind him after two matches was because the WWE doesn't have someone like him that does all those wicked moves, in the company. Braden Walker didn't use the best of moves in his 2 matches, thats understandable. But I still think its stupid that he got released after only 2 matches on television.

Harris didn't fail. He just wasn't given enough time. I remember Kofi Kingston's first match on ECW. He botched so many moves and it was a terrible debut. 2 weeks later and the guy improved drastically. Now look where he is, on Raw as the Intercontinential Champion simply because the WWE gave him enough time to shine. You mentioned that now there can be more tv time on ECW for someone else. But who else would get tv time when the ECW roster is ridiculously thin at the moment? I can't think of anyone else that deserves it so I think it would have been worth while keeping Harris around on ECW for a few more months.

You said it yourself that Kofi and Evan both looked a bit sloppy in their debut matches, and I'll agree with that. However, in my opinion that can be attributed to debut jitters because both of them improved immensely in their next match.

Braden Walker looked ackward and uncoordinated in both of his matches. Like I said in my original post, he didn't look like a former TNA Tag Team Champion, he looked sloppy, out of practice and like he had never wrestled a match on the national stage before - for someone like Harris, it just made him look bad.

When I mentioned more TV time for someone who deserves it, I'm thinking of developmental talent that are ready to be brought up to the main roster to have a chance. I can think of Colt Cabana for one, but there are others.

I just don't buy the whole WWE/TNA conspiracy theory that people keep spouting off in this thread. The bottom line is that in the matches that Harris had on TV he was a shell of his former self and looked like a sloppy, out of shape amature. I can agree that he might have improved if given more time, but as a business decision - how much time can you give a guy who shows up to the big leagues with a gut that he has to hide with a singlet and who seems like he's sleep walking through his matches? It really doesn't seem like he wants it to me...but that's just my $0.02.

 

[mister_e]

yeh i agree this is harris's fault totally you get hired by the biggest company in the business. what do you do go train keep in shape look eager and hungry.

no harris duzent he duzent train either way he gets fat n even shitter in the ring and it didnt help givin him that horrible name my advice get down the gym lets hope they use the truth properly well it looks like they are going to lets hope

 

[Code Red]

Chris Harris didn't look like the Chris Harris everyone knew in TNA. He definitely shot himself in the foot with his subpar appearance and in-ring performance. So I would say he definitely should bear some of the blame for his quick release from WWE.

On the other side of the coin, WWE did a poor job in promoting him, by introducing him in a backstage segment with this.

"Knock Knock."
"Who's there?"
"Braden Walker. And I'm gonna knock your brains out."

Weak character development. The final line makes him appear to be some kind of Southern badass, but someone playing that role should not be doing "Knock Knock".

Finally, the name? Braden Walker? You have to admit that's a terrible name, plain and simple. Throw in the fact that it went to a five year TNA veteran who was one-half of their most dominant tag team during that time period, and it's all the more ridiculous. Yes, I know that McMahon likes to create names for his wrestlers so that he can trademark them and prevent the wrestlers from using them elsewhere, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Wouldn't it have been ridiculous if he had done the same to Booker T, Goldberg, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, etc. when they came to WWE? I know Chris Harris isn't in their league, but his name is still one that many wrestling fans are familiar with. And it's a MUCH better name than Braden Walker.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Chris Harris released.....the end of an era.

I was never a huge fan of him in TNA, but I did like him and expected alot from him in WWE. Instead, I got a lackluster debut, a horrible name (Brayden Walker? I'm sorry, but that's the nerdiest name ever), and two very poor matches. I thought he would at least get back in shape, but...

The only question now is "what's next?" Back to TNA? Japan maybe? Whatever it is, I wish him the best in his "future endeavors".

 

[RadioGaGa]

I never saw any of Harris's work as a member of America's Most Wanted in TNA so I am judging him solely on his work on the ECW brand as Braden Walker.

I hope he didn't have any aspirations for success in the WWE because being forced to wear a singlet by management to cover his gut isn't exactly a good way to start his career there. The lack of vignettes promoting his debut wasn't exactly encouraging, they debuted him in the so-far-failed talent initiative with the likes of Ricky Ortiz and.. well... Ricky Ortiz.

So he debuts as a comlete no name and consequently there is no reaction. He hits Estrada with, wait for it, a CROSSBODY! Amidst the fans's chants of "Holy Shit" he gets the pinfall. Not exactly a devestating debut.

Now contrary to his ECW tenure, I have heard good things about his work in TNA where I'm told he is solid in the ring and has tons of charisma. I'm not sure if he was released on good or bad terms from TNA but judging by what people are saying he should get his job back.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

Personally I cant help but think this was all done on purpose by the WWE. Pick up a well knwon and great TNA talent thats wants out. Sign him up and bring him to the roster, take away his name his look and any past that he may have. Showcase him as a out of shape no charisma wrestler and laugh at TNA. I dont think WWE was ever going to let a TNA star succeed in thier ring. It wouldnt be the first time, they did the same with Monty Brown and I mean look at the WCW invasion and ask yourselve out of all the huge names WCW had who really made it in the WWE? I feel sorry for Chris Harris but I geuss its back to the drawing board for him.

If you actually believe that Chris Harris was a major pick up, then I have a bridge locate din Brooklyn that I think you might be interested in buying. But I do have to agree that Harris was utilized wrongly. If anything, he should never have been let to wrestle in singles competition. He is not a singles wrestler. He is a tag team wrestler. He is the type of guy who can do alot in tag team competition because he is not having to carry the load on his own. He is a complementary wrestler, not a guy who has enough work ethic or charisma to pull off singles wrestling. Do you know why his matches with James Storm looked so good? Because they both wrestling a tag type match and carrying one another from beginning to end. TNA management hoped that dangling to main event spot in front of Harris might help him break out of this and become a star. He proved them wrong. If anything, this whole mess should serve as a wake up call for Kaz to either get it together or prepare to hit the bricks. It's no loss for WWE or TNA.

As far as former WCW stars going to WWE and making stars of themselves, let's see. We have Goldberg, Booker T, Flair, Gregory Helms, Billy Kidman, Mysterio, Noble, and cast of other serviceable names that came along even further after and slightly before the angle. It all depends on what you think of as successful. Do you think of Val Venis or Bob Holly as successful? If not, then why? Because they aren't main event stars? But they have had constant and steady work for the past decade plus. I say that's success. But I will let you be the judge.

 

[Milkyway!]

It all depends on what you think of as successful. Do you think of Val Venis or Bob Holly as successful? If not, then why? Because they aren't main event stars? But they have had constant and steady work for the past decade plus. I say that's success. But I will let you be the judge.

Now as you said it all depends on what YOU think of as successful, but i dont find bob holly/val succsessful, theyve both gotten pushes, and both just proove to be albiet above a jobber....whats the point in being the bottom of the roster, its like with me in wrestling at school my record wasnt so great this last year, but my mother thought of me as successful do to the fact i was freshman wrestling on vasity...while i find it failure

(i know this is about braden walker, but this really caught my attention when he said this)

 

[Rusty]

You said it yourself that Kofi and Evan both looked a bit sloppy in their debut matches, and I'll agree with that. However, in my opinion that can be attributed to debut jitters because both of them improved immensely in their next match.

I never said Evan looked sloppy in his debut match, he just didn't get much of a reaction from the crowd. Kofi looked sloppy in his first match. It took Kofi at least 4 weeks to improve drastically. He did improve slowly with each match though.

Braden Walker looked ackward and uncoordinated in both of his matches. Like I said in my original post, he didn't look like a former TNA Tag Team Champion, he looked sloppy, out of practice and like he had never wrestled a match on the national stage before - for someone like Harris, it just made him look bad.

Yea I agree he did look pretty bad, but maybe it was because he was a little nervous performing infront of so many people. TNA's audience is only like 3,000 in attendance. Also, maybe he hasn't been practicing much and he didn't adjust to the WWE's style of matches. TNA's matches are very different to WWE's matches.

When I mentioned more TV time for someone who deserves it, I'm thinking of developmental talent that are ready to be brought up to the main roster to have a chance. I can think of Colt Cabana for one, but there are others.

I just don't buy the whole WWE/TNA conspiracy theory that people keep spouting off in this thread. The bottom line is that in the matches that Harris had on TV he was a shell of his former self and looked like a sloppy, out of shape amature. I can agree that he might have improved if given more time, but as a business decision - how much time can you give a guy who shows up to the big leagues with a gut that he has to hide with a singlet and who seems like he's sleep walking through his matches? It really doesn't seem like he wants it to me...but that's just my $0.02.

I think there is enough room on ECW for both Colt Cabana and Chris Harris. It would have been a wise business decision to keep him around for a few more months. There would then be a much better possibility that he would have improved in the ring. I do agree that his intencity was pretty poor in his matches but wrestling a jobber doesn't exactly get you pumped. It would have been worth while keeping him around for a bit longer.

 

[wwe1581]

I wonder when Braden Walker: The Legacy DVD is coming out, can't wait lol

 

[RatedRSE]

I think there is enough room on ECW for both Colt Cabana and Chris Harris. It would have been a wise business decision to keep him around for a few more months. There would then be a much better possibility that he would have improved in the ring. I do agree that his intencity was pretty poor in his matches but wrestling a jobber doesn't exactly get you pumped. It would have been worth while keeping him around for a bit longer.

I can agree with that. Perhaps WWE was a TAD bit premature with releasing Harris.

That being said though, he just didn't seem to me like he wanted to do what he needed to to be succesful in WWE. Yeah it's a different playing field than TNA, but that's all the more reason to stay in shape and to bring your "A" Game. Harris did neither in my opinion. Had he brought to the WWE what made him great as a part of AMW in TNA, (silly WWE name aside) - I think he would have gotten the fans behind him and generated interest.

Whether he was wrestling a jobber or not, IMO you still need to work at generating some interest and show the same fire, or else how are you ever going to show that you have what it takes to face a Triple H, Undertaker or John Cena? In most cases it doesn't happen over night. I know Harris has what it takes, but Braden Walker sure didn't make it seem like he did.

2 matches or 200 matches, I'm really not convinced that it would have made a difference. I really am not sure that Braden Walker would have ever been any more impressive than what we saw of him during this short run. But I guess now we'll never know...

 

[Rusty]

That being said though, he just didn't seem to me like he wanted to do what he needed to to be succesful in WWE. Yeah it's a different playing field than TNA, but that's all the more reason to stay in shape and to bring your "A" Game. Harris did neither in my opinion. Had he brought to the WWE what made him great as a part of AMW in TNA, (silly WWE name aside) - I think he would have gotten the fans behind him and generated interest.

Whether he was wrestling a jobber or not, IMO you still need to work at generating some interest and show the same fire, or else how are you ever going to show that you have what it takes to face a Triple H, Undertaker or John Cena? In most cases it doesn't happen over night. I know Harris has what it takes, but Braden Walker sure didn't make it seem like he did.

2 matches or 200 matches, I'm really not convinced that it would have made a difference. I really am not sure that Braden Walker would have ever been any more impressive than what we saw of him during this short run. But I guess now we'll never know...

I do agree with that. He didn't show any intencity whatsoever but not many wrestlers show much on their first two matches with the company. I never saw him in TNA so I can't completely judge for myself whether he was good or not. But Harris was never going to wrestle John Cena or the Undertaker. He was just in the WWE to be a mid-carder and nothing more. He wasn't expected to be a main eventer and wrestle superstars like Triple H or Shawn Michaels. Thats not the reason he was employed in the first place.

A few more matches would have made a huge difference in my opinion. His matches would have improved over time and he would have shown more intencity in my opinion. He deserved a second chance but the WWE never gave it to him. He will go back to TNA in a few months, mark my words.

 

[BC 21]

There is plenty of blame to go around in this. However, him gaining weight after WWE signed him is untrue. (Nice pics earlier, when was that first pic of Chris? 10 years ago?) Chris gained weight during his last few months of TNA, mainly because they had taken his desire out of wrestling. If you don't believe me go look, it's easy to see when he's wearing his trunks. Was he in great shape for WWE? No, but it was way better than the end at TNA. Did he have a ways to go? Sure. And did any of you see him in person? We all know TV adds weight to everyone.

As for the name: Chris was given a list of 20 names and 10 minutes before his appearance in Teddy's office to pick a name. It ended up being a mix and match of the list but the computer was right there, so they could make sure Vince could "own it".

As for the moves: He was also limited in this area as well. No Catatonic, to close to Umaga's move. And so on. So his matches were basic.

And all in all Chris Harris aka Braden Walker was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the wrong color. Yes I said it. Look who has belts and think about when they got them. When Michael Hayes returned. He had to do something to save his job and show he isn't a racist. But that will all come back around. His comments & actions that got him suspended are nothing new. He's actually pretty lucky they didn't fire him in the first place.

Kofi Kingston - Who? Not really, but he got the IC belt pretty quickly.
Shelton Benjamin - Enough said
Mark Henry - See Shelton Benjamin

 

[BC 21]

The conspiracy theories need to stop. First off, TNA isn't even close to being considered competition to the WWE.

As much as I would agree with this comment. I know that Chris is allowed to go anywhere to wrestle today except TNA. He has to wait the 90 days. So you and I might not think that, but apparently Stamford thinks differently.

 

[Dark Blaze]

There is plenty of blame to go around in this. However, him gaining weight after WWE signed him is untrue. (Nice pics earlier, when was that first pic of Chris? 10 years ago?) Chris gained weight during his last few months of TNA, mainly because they had taken his desire out of wrestling. If you don't believe me go look, it's easy to see when he's wearing his trunks. Was he in great shape for WWE? No, but it was way better than the end at TNA. Did he have a ways to go? Sure. And did any of you see him in person? We all know TV adds weight to everyone.

Yet so many other superstars are able to look in such awesome shape on television too right? Lame excuse.

As for the name: Chris was given a list of 20 names and 10 minutes before his appearance in Teddy's office to pick a name. It ended up being a mix and match of the list but the computer was right there, so they could make sure Vince could "own it".

Was this posted someplace? Is it true? How exactly do you know this?

As for the moves: He was also limited in this area as well. No Catatonic, to close to Umaga's move. And so on. So his matches were basic.

I'm trying to understand your point here, or what you're tying to say, where does Umaga come into this? The fact of the matter is, the guy used basic moves, didn't portray any charisma so to say and was just bland. Maybe that's WWE's fault, yes, but I didn't see any major effort applied by the guy.

And all in all Chris Harris aka Braden Walker was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the wrong color. Yes I said it. Look who has belts and think about when they got them. When Michael Hayes returned. He had to do something to save his job and show he isn't a racist. But that will all come back around. His comments & actions that got him suspended are nothing new. He's actually pretty lucky they didn't fire him in the first place.

Kofi Kingston - Who? Not really, but he got the IC belt pretty quickly.
Shelton Benjamin - Enough said
Mark Henry - See Shelton Benjamin

Now imagine how racist that sounds now, so you're basically saying that if you're not black right now, you won't win any titles in the WWE right? So then why are Cena/'Tista tag champs and not Cryme Tyme? Why are Ryder & Hawkins champions?

And you know what, this could actually be valid, if there wasn't the little tidbit where Michael Hayes isn't the current head writer on ECW, that's Ed Koskey(I think it's spelt) so yeah.

And even if the WWE wasn't pushing black people to the belts (it appears so), did you expect Chris Harris to appear on ECW, win a few matches where he didn't connect with the crowd AT ALL, but yet go after Mark Henry and beat him for the ECW title? Is that what you were expecting? Because there is just a thing called paying your dues, if he won it that quickly, and so undeservingly, people would bitch anyway, and with good reason.

 

[BC 21]

Yet so many other superstars are able to look in such awesome shape on television too right? Lame excuse.

I didn't say he was he awesome or great shape. And he was way worse before leaving TNA. But he was in no way any worse than Cade, Knox, JBL, just to name a few. Just know enough and been around enough of those guys that they are no where near as big in person as they are on tv.

Was this posted someplace? Is it true? How exactly do you know this?

Probably not. Yes. I have a very good & reliable source.

I'm trying to understand your point here, or what you're tying to say, where does Umaga come into this? The fact of the matter is, the guy used basic moves, didn't portray any charisma so to say and was just bland. Maybe that's WWE's fault, yes, but I didn't see any major effort applied by the guy.

Have you seen the Catatonic? Have you seen Umaga's similar move(not sure what its called)? Too similar. Chris wasn't allowed to use it. He was forced to use very basic moves because of similarities to others. Just my opinion that he had no chance from the first time he showed up on tv. No buildup, no background. Not that I'm saying he should get 6-8 weeks of buildup like Killings is getting, but something, anything but a "knock, knock" joke attempt.

Now imagine how racist that sounds now, so you're basically saying that if you're not black right now, you won't win any titles in the WWE right? So then why are Cena/'Tista tag champs and not Cryme Tyme? Why are Ryder & Hawkins champions?

And you know what, this could actually be valid, if there wasn't the little tidbit where Michael Hayes isn't the current head writer on ECW, that's Ed Koskey(I think it's spelt) so yeah.

And even if the WWE wasn't pushing black people to the belts (it appears so), did you expect Chris Harris to appear on ECW, win a few matches where he didn't connect with the crowd AT ALL, but yet go after Mark Henry and beat him for the ECW title? Is that what you were expecting? Because there is just a thing called paying your dues, if he won it that quickly, and so undeservingly, people would bitch anyway, and with good reason.

I'm sure it does, and it's JMO. But are you telling me its not obvious? But look what titles they hold, nothing near the top. Other than the IC belt, which IMO, they have let it's value drop dramatically lately. And can you see CT getting the belts from Cena & Batista so that those 2 can feud 1 on 1. Storyline: Cena wants CT to have a shot because they are friends? Maybe?

And maybe Hayes isnt the "head" writer, but I also see this as a way for WWE to put over not firing him too.

And even if the WWE wasn't pushing black people to the belts (it appears so), did you expect Chris Harris to appear on ECW, win a few matches where he didn't connect with the crowd AT ALL, but yet go after Mark Henry and beat him for the ECW title? Is that what you were expecting? Because there is just a thing called paying your dues, if he won it that quickly, and so undeservingly, people would bitch anyway, and with good reason.

No I didn't. IMO, horrid packaging by the WWE. It never stood a chance. Bad, no horrid name, horrid music, no background, bad opponets. Hell let him do a run in and cost someone a title match. At least you get some talk.

I was at his dark match, which he wrestled as Chris Harris. He got a good reaction, not great, but not what Braden Walker got. He got to use his own wrestling moves. Just way different feel. Funny after that reaction it was months before he made tv. I just think it sucks that Vince has to "own" everything. IMO, why not send him out in a few other cities to see if the crowd reactions stay consistent. But that's just me. Who knows? Like I said earlier, plenty of blame to go around in this one.

Honestly never saw him holding any belts. Never saw it ending with 3 appearances either.

 

[Dark Blaze]

I didn't say he was he awesome or great shape. And he was way worse before leaving TNA. But he was in no way any worse than Cade, Knox, JBL, just to name a few. Just know enough and been around enough of those guys that they are no where near as big in person as they are on tv.

Well, it'd kinda be hard to see just how bad his physique might have been considering he wore that generic singlet...and those guys started out with pretty good physiques in the WWE, when JBL started out as Bradshaw, he was chiseled, it's not really his fault, he is trying to train but his back hinders him. Sure those guys fell off a bit in terms of taking care of their body...but at least they didn't start out like it. Starting out in a business where physique is considered quite important, especially when you're supposedly living your "dream" wouldn't you work as hard as possible to make sure there was no reason for your employer to be displeased? Especially when it was reported how much WWE was on him to better it.

Probably not. Yes. I have a very good & reliable source.

I'd love to know that source..

Have you seen the Catatonic? Have you seen Umaga's similar move(not sure what its called)? Too similar. Chris wasn't allowed to use it. He was forced to use very basic moves because of similarities to others. Just my opinion that he had no chance from the first time he showed up on tv. No buildup, no background. Not that I'm saying he should get 6-8 weeks of buildup like Killings is getting, but something, anything but a "knock, knock" joke attempt.

Now I haven't actually seen that move, don't watch TNA much, but I checked wiki and apparently it's the move that resembles the black hole slam right? So is it bad for WWE wanting to give the dude something ELSE besides something that people would just call an Umaga rip-off? And yes, he was given basic moves, true, but look at this, Evan Bourne debuted very much the same way as Chris did, and warranted a much better reaction. Yes it was due to his high-flying style, but his case shows that creative allows individuals to use moves according to their abilities, according to news reported, Bourne was asked what he wanted to use as his finisher, and when he said the SSP, they had him use it repeatedly to ensure that he wouldn't hurt anyone.

So maybe, just maybe WWE didn't trust Harris enough to use any move that could potentially cause harm to the other talent.

I'm sure it does, and it's JMO. But are you telling me its not obvious? But look what titles they hold, nothing near the top. Other than the IC belt, which IMO, they have let it's value drop dramatically lately. And can you see CT getting the belts from Cena & Batista so that those 2 can feud 1 on 1. Storyline: Cena wants CT to have a shot because they are friends? Maybe?

And maybe Hayes isnt the "head" writer, but I also see this as a way for WWE to put over not firing him too.

I won't deny the recent black-out and the fact that it's probably due to Hayes stupidity...but it was wrong for you to say that Harris didn't get a shot due to being the wrong colour so to say, there are still white champions right now...so everyone is getting a shot regardless, I guess WWE just looks at it as if you deserve it and can do well, you get that push towards the belt...and apparently Walker didn't show the talent he was praised of having.

No I didn't. IMO, horrid packaging by the WWE. It never stood a chance. Bad, no horrid name, horrid music, no background, bad opponets. Hell let him do a run in and cost someone a title match. At least you get some talk.

I agree.

I was at his dark match, which he wrestled as Chris Harris. He got a good reaction, not great, but not what Braden Walker got. He got to use his own wrestling moves. Just way different feel. Funny after that reaction it was months before he made tv. I just think it sucks that Vince has to "own" everything. IMO, why not send him out in a few other cities to see if the crowd reactions stay consistent. But that's just me. Who knows? Like I said earlier, plenty of blame to go around in this one.

Honestly never saw him holding any belts. Never saw it ending with 3 appearances either.

About Vince owning everything though, is it his fault for being a smart businessman? If you want someone to be successful, would you want them to do so with the name they used from the rival company? Though it is a bit of an indication that WWE is still refusing to acknowledge TNA, so they had to repackage him, and though it would have been good to have a little something that the few persons who know about TNA in the crowd could connect with, I guess WWE just didn't want people to look at him and keep on thinking, "oh that's the dude from TNA" etc.

I'm not saying that Harris isn't talented, I admit it didn't seem that he was given much of a chance, the booking sucked for him, he was just too bland and generic. However, he still has some blame to hold for letting himself go, and losing that connection (if any to the crowd), even if the guy was given basic moves, he could have done SOMETHING with them, show some intensity, let the crowd believe that you aren't just another random nobody and you can kick ass, and do those basic moves as well as possible. I mean did you see that crossbody in his first match? I thought he'd knock the guys head off.

I don't think the WWE was ever serious about giving this guy a push, or if they even had anything for him in the first place, if they did, they would have given him some kind of hype...but they didn't. Makes no sense complaining about it, because it's done. I wish Harris the best of luck, maybe TNA will take him back.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Well, I can't believe I haven't posted here yet. I am a huge Chris Harris Fan. It's a shame that this did not work out for him. Firstly though the name change did not need to happen. That was ridiculous. Secondly, he was lacking all the intensity that he had in TNA. It really is a shame. If they let him be Chris Harris, he couldve went somewhere. They shouldve promoted him different. Its a damn shame.

 

[Soul Reaper]

I'm not surprised at all. He was terrible in the ring and was bland. Everything about him was bland. His music, attire, and in ring skills. This is really Chris Harris' fault. He had let himself go and didn't try to improve himself in anyway. He never even got a reaction from the crowd. He pulled off an awful Perfect Plex. They shouldn't have changed his name though. Braden Walker is a real stupid name. He should have debuted against someone rather then Armado Estrada though. This is disappointing because they could have brought someone good like Colt Cabana up to the main roster but they brought Walker to the roster who was just a waste of space.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I have to admit, this kinda ticks me off. I was really big on Chris Harris and they just more or less did to him, what they've done to most of the T.N.A. born talent, and that's take a big unhealthy crap all over them.

I'll admit that James Storm was the better of the two, and that it's Storm who had the talent, mic skills and charisma of the team.. but Harris wasn't just some plain joe without anything going for him, he didn't have a load of all those skills, but he had some. I think he could've easily been workable in E.C.W. had they of just did something with him.

And are you seriously telling me that the Carlito rip-off is a better Superstar to keep on the brand than Chris fricken Harris?! No, plain and simple. Anyone who thinks otherwise is obviously just not a Harris fan and can't see beyond their blind dislike for him.

What really gets to me is the fact that they were obviously pushing for some type of semi-Main Event storyline with Chris Harris, why else would they have him cut a backstage segment with Matt Hardy in which it set-up perfectly for Harris to turn on Hardy? Gosh, forbid that Colin Delaney and Armando interfere at Summerslam to help Henry instead of Harris.

Oh well, I doubt Harris will end up anywhere now and he'll likely just be forgotten about within a matter of a month. It's a shame, really.