I was pretty surprised by the return of Chris Masters myself and pretty happy to have him back. I always think it is good to introduce new faces or in this case a new old face. I have read and considered everybody's thoughts and comments on Chris Masters and I largely agree and disagree with some of it.
The first thing I noticed was that he looked a bit trimmer than before which is obviously a result of being without steroids. He has obviously lost a little mass but was still very big, very ripped, and overall looked very impressive. I actually liked this look better, he wasn't as bulky and unnatural looking to my eyes. I don't like it when a guy looks overly big. For instance Triple H was pretty huge for a while back around 2001-2003. After returning from his second quad tear he was much leaner, more cut, and as a result more natural looking. I like that. It is important to look good but there is a point where it is just like "Dude ok, just calm it down a bit, your starting to look freakishly large". I did like the posing since that was apart of his original gimmick, and I thought that even though many of you were right that he could have had a better comeback, they still did ok by utilizing the element of surprise. Think about it. None of us would have been shocked or impressed if we were expecting him or knew he was coming. So although there wasn't any build up, the initial shock was still worth it, and I believe he and WWE staff knew that would suffice.
The next thing here that most of you made a point of was his ability, mic skills, and finisher which I will address. Now, last time he was around I think it is fair to say that he was pretty stiff and robotic looking, and that it is all too kind to say that his mic skills were sub-par. He seemed pretty timid and intimidated by the crowds on the mic, and really gave you the feel almost like he was being prompted or something. I am going to guess that, that is still an area of development for him since he really didn't have a chance to speak last night and they weren't exactly trying to give him one. Now this was only his first night so I might be jumping the gun on that assumption but based on his past I am going to have to lean in that direction based on just that one appearance. The WWE has never been too bashful with giving good talkers the stick, it is a great strength for any wrestler to have, ask Jeff Hardy.
As far as his in-ring ability goes I touched on that by saying he looked stiff and robotic in his last run. Last night however I thought he looked to have drastically improved. He looked much smoother to me, and well timed. Did anyone catch that sunset flip either? That's a pretty big aerial move for a guy his size and he did it seemingly with ease. If he can continue to improve, preferably by expanding his repertoire, I think you could look forward to seeing him work with some of the main eventer's at some point. I was rather pleased with his debut performance and to my recollection I don't recall seeing him mess anything up or really look as stiff as before.
The Finisher. I love the Masterlock. It is simple, believable, and most importantly a submission. There aren't many guys who use submissions at all, let alone for finishers. Even for it being a simple modified full-nelson I think it is a pretty devastating move. Have you ever been in a full nelson and had someone crank it tight on you? It hurts, you could make someone tap from it. By therein locking the hands to make the most more or less unbreakable, you put the opponent in a very vulnerable state, and have the option to put them in a lot of pain as well. I like the Masterlock, I am glad it has stayed with him, and I look forward to seeing many more people submit to it's power.
The thing I really like that some of you mentioned was the idea of giving him another finisher. I myself am a big sucker for a Power Bomb of some kind. I know Batista does the "Batista Bomb" but I don't like the way his Power Bomb is executed, it looks too out of control like he can barely pull it off most of the time if done to anyone of size. Chris Masters has the build, size, and strength to pull off a convincing and devastating Power Bomb. Nothing fancy, just a good old standing high impact slam leaving him standing and the opponent demolished. It is always impressive, and it's not a difficult move to perform. I think since he has a submission move he should then have a big power move to round him out if he was to add a finisher to his repertoire. Either than or give him a ground submission since he has a standing submission. He could easily do the "Camel Clutch" sell the hell out of it, and it would make sense since he is at the moment a submission guy. No one else uses it either which also makes that move a nice fit if you want to keep him a submission guy.
I have heard some of you say that he simply doesn't intrigue you, and I understand that. Often times if someone doesn't get you from "Hello" they never will. Once people think of you as a jobber or boring or whatever negative thing they think of you, it is very hard to convince them otherwise if at all possible. For me, I just love the gimmick "The Masterpiece" I think it's brilliant. You could have used that for Lex Luger years ago instead of "The Narcissist" and it would have probably been gold, but that's because Lex already had plenty of charisma and the right look for that. I love the gimmick but for me in a lot of ways it is the wrong guy who has it. Now, I don't know who else per say to suggest for that role, but I do know that for some reason he just doesn't quite fit the role for me in some ways. I can't explain it, I have no real explanation for it, there is just something missing.
Maybe it is just that pesky mic problem, maybe it is the lasting impression that his shotty ring work from the past left, who knows? I know that I could have bought Curt Hennig as "The Masterpiece" rather than "Mr. Perfect", but that is because he was so great in the ring as still had an impressive physique. Maybe that is it? A guy with the name "Masterpiece" shouldn't just look good physically, he should be dynamic in the ring as well. That is after all most of the reason the majority of people don't exactly buy into him isn't it? Maybe after we see some improvement technically from Chris Masters, he will earn the name, rather than have it bestowed upon him.
As for his future, who is to predict? To my way of thinking being the physical specimen he is, he should be working with guys equally as impressive. Unfortunately those guys are all main eventer's and we all know he isn't there yet. Only time can tell, and maybe with time we will see him there. As for now and the near future, I would be looking forward to seeing him as most of you said in that mid-card. I think however that if the WWE has any intentions of pushing him any higher they had better be careful not to keep him there too long. If he is just kept around the mid card for a long long time, that is all he will be viewed as, a mid carder for life. I think he has the potential to be a main event guy based on his look and gimmick alone. Brock Lesnar should serve as a great reminder to us all that those two things alone are merits worthy of main event status, Lesnar was a better technician, but his look and gimmick gave him quite an advantage. I don't think it is unfeasible at all to say that he could one day be facing Batista or Triple H in main event matches. He has the size and strength to believably rival them in the ring, he just has to improve his in-ring skills a bit before he gets there. The future for Chris Masters in my opinion could be as bright or bleak as he chooses it to be. If he puts in the work to improve and has the drive and determination to get there he could very well be one of the next guys in line for powerhouse prosperity. If he simply gets comfortable with the mid card and decides not to strive for further greatness he will be just another hard body that could have made it. You decide which outcome will be his.
