Charlie Haas

[Moneymaker_90]

Can anyone explain why Charlie Haas is "pop-killer"?
The guy is a good wrestler and he can cut a small promo. I´m not saying that he is a main eventer but he is a good mid-card. The problem is that when he comes out he gets no reaction, and when he joined the WGTT he "killed" Shelton's pop to because when they come out is the same thing as only Haas coming out. So I was wondering if you could come up with some explanation for this.

 

[Prax]

I can't really explain it... I like his charisma and energy during matches and coming out, however I don't think you can say he "killed" Shelton's "pop". I don't think Shelton has a "pop". I kinda see him as one of the least charismatic wrestlers on RAW right now. I don't see him as having what it takes in terms of charisma and mic skills to ever really make it. He's a great wrestler and it's a shame, I just don't see him as that great of an all-around talent.

That being said I think we should be talking about Shelton, not Charlie... Charlie knows he's a mid carder. Shelton should have bigger aspirations.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He's a good wrestler. But he's so bland. He might have a personality in there somewhere. But maybe WWE dont want him to show it. Seriously I think the only reason he got over four year's ago was because he was with Angle. And personally I think Rico did wonder's for him. Or maybe he get's shit pop's because WWE dont give the fan's a reason to cheer him.

 

[Moneymaker_90]

I don't agree tha shelton didn't get a pop before. It wasn't one of the biggest but he would got one. Now its just doesn't exist.
I agree that when he was with Rico there was a great reaction, but obviously that was because of Rico. Another thing that doesn't owrk for him is the heel thing. Charlie Haas is a bad heel, so I think they should turn him face and see what happens.

 

[Diehard]

I think the fans (or marks) in the crowds are smarter than we think. Everyone knows of the term Haas pop so when he does come out the fans just naturally give no reaction like its the time to get a hot dog or go to the bathroom for Raw. I wonder if Haas ever beatsdown a top face after a match and then comes out the next week and if there will be any heat or reaction at all.

 

[Kasey]

They gave Haas the same gimmick they gave Brent Albright upon his tenure in WWE: nothing. Now, normally this kind of gimmick can work for a guy to get over with the WWE automatons, as in Chris Benoit's case, but if the guy isn't allowed to wrestle at 100% with no limitations, then his in-ring product can't get over and he flops. A guy doesn't always needs theatrics to get himself over, but as a result the in-ring product needs to be damn good to compensate. Charlie has all the tools, but he hasn't been allowed to use them properly because Gewirtz's brilliant creative strategy for Haas last time revolved around pairing him with Viscera?!? Horse$hit. An easy route for Haas would be the same one they used he and Shelton for in 2003. Have them be a team of nearly unbeatable cocky tag team badasses who are the cornerstone of the tag division. No muss. No fuss. Just amazing wrestling, victories, and a killer rep. The WGTT, in their debut year, were in my eyes the heir apparent to the Steiner Brothers in terms of their crispness in the ring, fluidity, and creativity in offense. Now, though? They've been booked into the floor and are absent of any credibility on the WWE radar. He was at one time, half of the team that I thought were going to be the savior of the WWE's floudering tag-team, but so much for wishful thinking.

 

[CanadaTed]

Maybe if the WWE would get the tag straps off of Cena & Michaels and put them back within the actual tag team division there would be a reason for Haas & Benjamin to perhaps pick it up a notch. What is the incentive for them working hard right now? Shelton lost to Super Crazy on Heat this past Monday. Not too long ago Shelton was the Intercontinental champion and now he's jobbing out to Super Crazy on Heat.... terrible. I think right now the both of them are just in wrestling to get a paycheck. In my opinion I think they need a manager who can cut a promo and then let their wrestling skills speak for themselves when they step into the ring. I would love to see a super manager again in the WWE... what I mean by that is a guy who manages all kinds of guys across the board... much the way that Jimmy Hart or Bobby "The Brain" used to do. I agree with Kasey's point that these guys could have been the cornerstone of the tag team division... and I think they still can.

 

[Kasey]

^Preach on, amigo. Your first sentence explains one of the first root problems in the entire company. Tag belts sitting on singles wrestlers. Not only that, but guys who are already indisposed within different angles that have not a damn thing to do with legitimate tag-team wrestling. Every time I think about the tag-team glory days of the late '80s/early '90s I want to kick my HDTV in disgust. Today's WWE tag teams have ZERO cred because they're booked into the floor. Hell, back in the day, NOBODY screwed with L.O.D. or Demolition, singles or tag team. The Hart Foundation could mix it up with anyone in a tag situation. Now they use two sound tag wrestlers like Cade and Murdoch as cannon fodder for Lashley's untalented ass. Now if anyone can tell me how in the blue hell that's going to restore credibility and esteem to the division, I'm all ears.

Shelton is floating around just like Crazy is in a sea of piss-poor booking instead of being utilized for their strengths. Shelton was on his way to being one of the top guys until they kept putting him on the mic during a time when he was hot in matches against Jericho and HHH, of all people. My first thought during that time that he floundered on Jericho's segment would've been to yank him off of the mic until he was more confident with promo delivery. What'd they do? Kept doing it until all the steam ran out of his push and his pops vanished overnight. Now, though? You could tell a fresh newbie fan about those amazing matches and they'd think you were reading them a fairytale.

You're also dead-on about them needing a mouthpiece. This time, get Shelton a good one, you idiots! Angle was able to get them over in a guilt-by-association type of setup during their debut as Team Angle and by the strength of his mic work. During Shelton's solo stint the best they could come up with was a washed up TV actress named Thea Vidale to play his beached whale-of-a-mother?!? What's even dumber is that they showed his real mom during bio segments they'd run only about a year prior. I don't know what planet some of these creative di*kheads originate from, but it's one that doesn't have even a smidgeon of logic in the air. The funny thing is that Shelton has improved significantly since his early days when they pulled that sink-or-swim routine with him in his program with Jericho. However, the character damage has already been done and he's got even less esteem then he did the first time they shipped him over from Smackdown. Congratulations, Gewirtz, you just wasted two years of an extremely talented worker!

 

[CanadaTed]

Well... he and Shelton got buried again tonight. Raw featured 2 tag team battle royals featuring nearly everyone one on the damn roster and WGTT aren't involved in either one of them. But it gets better... they actually have a match later on Raw and get buried even further... this time Haas taps out to Ric Flair who is near 60 years old. I find it very hard to believe that a tag team of Haas and Benjamin... guys who had stellar collegiate wrestling careers and are still in their 20's would be so easily taken care of by Carlito and a guy I swear will die in that ring before he leaves it. I understand Ric Flair has earned his respect but how long do we really have to watch him attempt to perform in his current state. He used two moves tonight... the chop and the figure four... which apparently is good enough to beat two of the best pure wrestlers on the entire roster.

 

[Kasey]

^Well, it's par for the course. Athleticism and solid wrestling has been thrown on the back burner for a few years now. Flair hasn't been worth pissing on in the ring since the early nineties...and even then he was a routine man who liked to wrestle the same goddamn match over and over again (just ask Sting). I'd like to strangle Gewirtz, I really would. The chop and figure four are the only thing Flair has going for him at this point. Instead of functioning in his best possible capacity right now (a manager), they have him dropping the level of competition on a weekly basis. Right now Flair needs to manage a new group of his own handpicked Horsemen, because as far as Flair's in-ring performances these days, he can't even get on the Horse. Hell, put the WGTT in there to serve as the tag team enforcement ala Arn and Tully. It's a shame Haas and Benjamin are being wasted because those two guys could do so well if they were booked to look as good as they used to.

 

[ROHDude]

They gave Haas the same gimmick they gave Brent Albright upon his tenure in WWE: nothing. Now, normally this kind of gimmick can work for a guy to get over with the WWE automatons, as in Chris Benoit's case, but if the guy isn't allowed to wrestle at 100% with no limitations, then his in-ring product can't get over and he flops. A guy doesn't always needs theatrics to get himself over, but as a result the in-ring product needs to be damn good to compensate. Charlie has all the tools, but he hasn't been allowed to use them properly because Gewirtz's brilliant creative strategy for Haas last time revolved around pairing him with Viscera?!? Horse$hit. An easy route for Haas would be the same one they used he and Shelton for in 2003. Have them be a team of nearly unbeatable cocky tag team badasses who are the cornerstone of the tag division. No muss. No fuss. Just amazing wrestling, victories, and a killer rep. The WGTT, in their debut year, were in my eyes the heir apparent to the Steiner Brothers in terms of their crispness in the ring, fluidity, and creativity in offense. Now, though? They've been booked into the floor and are absent of any credibility on the WWE radar. He was at one time, half of the team that I thought were going to be the savior of the WWE's floudering tag-team, but so much for wishful thinking.

Quoted for the truth. The belts need to get off Michaels & Cena and they need to get back in the tag division. WGTT truely are that when they are given a shot. I'd actually like to see them go to Smackdown to have a long feud w/ London & Spanky. Put the Hardy's back together as well, and send them to Smackdown.

And they need to get rid of the stupid gimmick tag teams. Cryme Tyme, Highlander, and Deuce & Domino.

EDIT - I just read RAW results and saw that HBK/Cena have dropped the titles & The Hardy's won.