Could D-lo been more than Brown?

[FreedomOfMan]

Hey folks. I've been curious about this for a while and wanted to obtain everyones opinion of the matter.

A couple o' days ago, I was watching a vignette of Ron Simmons, a.k.a. Farooq with the APA and later on, vignettes of the Rock just after nation of Domination. And it made me think, "What the FUCK D-Lo?" And I say that because of his monumental Botch Up with Droz. I don't know if it was all his fault, but those who may know a lil more, please elaborate.

Now I say this as well because from what I remember, D-Lo brown was getting some serious pops from the crowd, I'd would say close by a short distance to that of the Rock. He had charisma, even if he did look like an eagle with a deformed neck with his head-bob thing, and he was better than decent on the mic. His matches were pretty exciting.

I ask what are your general thoughts of D-Lo with these guidelines?

Do you think had not been for the botch that caused Droz's career and nearly his life, do you think D-Lo could have gotten further than he did?

Could He have held the strap? or would he have been considered one of the greats to never wear the strap?

I think he coulda been an in between in the sense of Kane's run or christians run: D-Lo had the potential, he woulda been a champion much, much late in his career and would have held the strap 3 times most and maybe held it about 3 - 4 months. But this would also apply if D-Lo picked up his game a bit more. The D-Lo brown at the time would not be championship material.

So, what say you? If not, why?

 

[TM Punk]

Now let me ask you a question as my answer.

"D-Lo Brown, is going to wrestlemania!!!"

"He's done it! After all this time he's done it! D-Lo Brown is the WWE champion!"

"D-Lo Brown, has just defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin!"

"The Rock was so close in this one King, but he just couldn't manage to beat D-Lo Brown!"

"Brock Lesner is the champion of the world, he's finally done it, he's finally beaten D-Lo Brown!"

Now before I get carried away. Let me ask my question. Do any of those quotes sound ridiculous to you? D-Lo? Really? At his most over period in 98-99 before the draz thing happened, he still could only manage to be european champ. not even I.c. champ, european champ. No, d lo was a nice mid carder to have, but I could never see him being more than that. Dude wore a chest protector. That's all he was good for. Hell of a frog splash tho.

 

[FreedomOfMan]

Hahaha, No no no no no, Im not saying he'll be up there like that, I apologize if if came off that way. I'm goin by a short spike in his popularity, than the incident with Droz happened.

I guess I should word it differently, but if he worked on the popularity he was starting to receive, and upped his game, could he been a champion? I stated that during the time he was there that he wasnt championship material, and that was pretty much the time of austin and such. Edge wasnt champ material at that time and look at him now. Edge stepped up his game.

I'm asking could D-Lo ever have been like that if he stepped up his game. He had a loyal fan base, and thats usually what anyone needs to start growth in the wrestling world.

 

[wrestler36]

I could see him as a short term champ. He did have great overall qualities of a champion: articulate, charismatic, good moveset, etc. His head wiggle into a leg drop was just as over as the worm, 5 knuckle shuffle, ballin' elbow, what have you. He wouldn't be someone that Vince would label 'the' guy, but if they could've built a real good underdog storyline the way they did with Foley, Benoit and some of the other guys. And I think D Lo would've taken the ball and ran with it.

 

[FreedomOfMan]

I could see him as a short term champ. He did have great overall qualities of a champion: articulate, charismatic, good moveset, etc. His head wiggle into a leg drop was just as over as the worm, 5 knuckle shuffle, ballin' elbow, what have you. He wouldn't be someone that Vince would label 'the' guy, but if they could've built a real good underdog storyline the way they did with Foley, Benoit and some of the other guys. And I think D Lo would've taken the ball and ran with it.

Thats how I see him as well. Im not sayin he'll be the next top guy, but just above transitional champ at best.

 

[TUFFY54]

The Droz injury was NOT D-lo's fault.

Before you claim he put a man in a wheelchair, read the interview Droz gave about it. Droz said that he was wearing a baggy shirt to wrestle in that night. Something he didn't normally do. This caused D-lo to have a bad grip when lifting him. In addition to this, Droz messed up the timing of his jump while D-lo lifted him. Finally, a fan threw a drink into the ring earlier which caused Brown to slip. The first thing Droz said at the hospital was tell D-lo it wasn't his fault.

As for your question. No, I really don't see it. I can't really imagine it because he was so far away from the top that we never really saw him in any situations that would make us think he could be a main eventer. As others have said, D-lo was a great midcarded, but that was it.

 

[JETER123]

I don't understand the title of this thread. Am I the only one?

As for D'lo, I think he achieved more than enough of success during his stint with the WWE. He was nothing special, just a solid mid-carder who could put on a good match when needed.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Droz has said that D'Lo was not at fault for the botched move which left him paralyzed and if the WWE had wanted to get rid of D'Lo, they could have. He signed a new contract a few weeks afterwards after JR told him not to let the move ruin 2 careers. Other wrestlers were not scared of working with him, so I don't think the move that hurt Droz affected Brown's prospects in the WWE.

He was a decent mid-card talent and still had quite a bit of success, holding both the Intercontinental and European titles at the same time. However, not all wrestlers have it in them to be World Champion, and in my eyes D'Lo was one of those. He was pretty good in the ring, but nothing special although the Lo' Down was an awesome finishing move.

You can never say never, as other wrestlers went on to be credible and believable champions with the right push, such as Edge, Foley etc, and when they first debuted you wouldn't have said they were going to be multi-time champions, so perhaps with the company fully getting behind him D'Lo could have become a main-eventer, but at the time he was there the company was getting behind guys like Austin, Rock, Kane and HHH, and D'Lo was never going to be a priority with young talents like them around.

 

[RicSpade]

I dunno I know the popularity of the smurfs right now but I don't think D'Lo Blue could beat the blue meanie....Wow yeah I went there...

I liked D'Lo to a certain extent I think his main problem though wasn't the fact he was a midcarder, but other than his head bob he didn't really have nothing, but seriously it would've taken D'lo a long long long long time before he would've been a main eventer just look at Mark Henry, he's been there how long and he so far has had two spurts as a heavyweight contender? Or what about Goldust? Goldust has been in the business so long the face paint is almost permanently attached to his head, but it wasn't until before his injury he started to become relevant again, the man hadn't even had a title shot since he teamed with Booker T.

So the honest answer is no, I honestly believe that like Al Snow, Val Venis, Godfather, X-Pac, and D'Lo couldn't get back over to be a champ, and in the attitude era weren't good enough to be champ.

 

[The Hardcore Kid]

I don't understand the title of this thread. Am I the only one?

LOL definitely not the only one. Still scratching my head over how D'Lo could have been more than Brown. But on topic...D'Lo was a great mid-carder. I would have loved to see him be a perennial IC contender, but I don't know if I could buy him being anything more. Some guys just aren't World Champ material, no matter how hard they work or how good they come off.

 

[JBSMan]

he still could only manage to be european champ. not even I.c. champ, european champ. No, d lo was a nice mid carder to have, but I could never see him being more than that. Dude wore a chest protector. That's all he was good for. Hell of a frog splash tho.

Except he DID become IC champ, and held that belt at the same time as the European title.

Also, you do know the 'chest protector' thing was kayfabe, right?

And finally, yeah, the title of this topic confused the shit right out of me.

 

[tomdinardi]

Except he DID become IC champ, and held that belt at the same time as the European title.

If only Angle hadn't've done the same thing only 3 months into his debut, D'Lo would have an exclusive claim to fame no one else had. I, for one, was always Down With The Brown; I was disappointed as hell when they botched his return to WWE last go around.

And finally, yeah, the title of this topic confused the shit right out of me.

Same here: thought this was going to be a "race in wrestling" discussion, not a "WWE Booking Fail 101" thing.

 

[sWo]

I loved D'lo in the Attitude Era. But...in all honesty, he's...good. Sure.
But that's all he was. Was good. Not pretty good, not great, not amazing, or anything of that nature.

A solid guy to keep in the midcard but not someone who's going to put butts in seats, or sell swag. And that's with or without the accident with Droz.

 

[Dagger Dias]

My thoughts on D-Lo are that he sucked. Sure there have been other guys over the years who were far worse than him, but he was never going to get any further than he did. The botch with Droz was not what held him back forever. Even if that was entirely D-Lo's fault, which it wasn't, then the fact that he sucked would still have held him back. His first run wasn't all that impressive when I look back on it, and his second was just plain awful. He re-debuts and Lawler is all "Look JR, it's D-Lo Brown! D-Lo Brown is back!". My initial reaction was "Who cares?". They did absolutely nothing to make the fans care about him in his second run, and the fact that he sucked to begin with did not do him any favors either. He would have never been able to hold onto either of the world titles due to not being skilled enough to get over at that level. Not even a chance.