I miss... MVP

[D-Man]

In my latest installment of the "I miss..." series, we're straight up... BALLIN'!!!

Yep, that guy. You know, the one who wore the superman-looking unitard to the ring, a matching Breath-Right nasal strip (I guess he snored a lot in the ring), a former multi-time US champion and a guy who used to have one of the coolest ring entrances of his time?


That's right. Before Pitbull made it big, MVP was the original "Mr. 305." During his initial, 2 1/2 year-long heel stint, he had one of the most entertaining and one of the longest United States title runs of the modern era and had great feuds with guys like Kane and Matt Hardy. His heel promos were always on-point and he always found a way to generate massive heat from the live audience.

As far as I'm concerned, MVP had very little flaws as a heel. He had a unique look, a great entrance, good mic skills, was a believable champion, he was more than competent in the ring, and he carried and elevated the US championship.

His only downfalls were his lack of a good finishing maneuver and the fact that the WWE made one of their biggest blunders when they turned him babyface. The guy was so good as a heel that it naturally started to drift him into babyface territory. So what did the WWE do? They changed EVERYTHING about him that made him great; they changed his entrance, they stuck him into a "sympathy" storyline, they made him run around and flail his arms everywhere and look like an idiot, and his edge was completely stripped away. I honestly feel that, if not for that heel turn, he'd be one fo the top superstars on the roster today.

What did you guys think about him? Do you miss him at all?

 

[MCMG]

I wouldn't say I "miss him". He was a fantastic mid-carder but never really felt he would be the transition into a world champ. If he was still in the WWE it would be interesting to see what would have happened.

Would he have got World championship or would he still be a mid carder. I think it is the latter. He had talent in the ring, on the mic and he did have some very good feuds but was never going to be a huge name. I'm indifferent to whether or not I miss him. I liked him but I don't think the WWE missed anything special.

Also, his feud with Matt Hardy was one of the best in Smackdown history. I actually wanted to see what would happen each week. Especially when they were trying to beat each other in non-wrestling activities. (Football throwing, Chess, Basketball)

 

[hatehabsforever]

I totally agree, MVP was one of my favorites while he was functioning as a heel. He was more than competent in the ring, I loved his entrance music, and I thought he played the cocky, arrogant, better than you heel extremely well. I hated his face turn, but I think if they had kept him as the successful heel that he was, I thought he would have had a very bright future.

I'd gladly welcome a heel MVP back into WWE. And I wouldn't mind seeing a heel John Morrison return as well.

 

[BaconBits]

I miss heel MVP a lot. They have this current crop of absolutely generic midcard heels (save for Damien Sandow, he's pretty good) and MVP was/is unique and a damn good wrestler.

I don't think he'll ever be world champ, but as the top midcard heel and occasional main eventer he could totally put over up and coming faces, and make things overall more interesting in the process.

 

[WWE4EVA!]

I agree Wwe dropped the ball with MVP, he was great heel and I feel he could have been a great World Champion one day.

They could have used him building his life back up after coming out of prison and going on to win the title.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Loved MVP as a heel, one of my favorite characters WWE has done over the last 7-8 years. I thought he played his character very well and he was just entertaining to watch whether it was on the mic, in the ring, or segments with Jeff Hardy playing Football and Basketball. He was just fun to watch and he was definitely unique. I'm surprised WWE would fuck with someone who was on the roll MVP was on, who would think someone like MVP would be a good face?

 

[MrHashasheen]

I definitely miss MVP. He was one of the "names" on Smackdown when I'd started watching regularily, and his feuds with Kane, Benoit and the partnership with Kennedy were the highlights of my viewing experience during that time. It sucked that he got that babyface turn that pretty much castrated his character and then sent him to Raw for a slow mid-card death, but even then I thought he had some potential to get a career boost when he was working with Miz.

*sigh*

Why do the good ones always leave.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

I don't miss seeing him job. He did plenty of that towards the end of his run. It's a shame we never got an MVP/Orton feud. They had one match...and that's it. Then there was the time Big Show casually knocked him out and Sheamus squashed him in a match. We also never got a Mr. Kennedy/MVP feud which I would've enjoyed. He really wasn't cut out to be a face:

"Big things poppin', little things stopping! So sit back and enjoy the view, the VIP lounge is for all of you!"

Yeah, they neutered him pretty good after he turned face. I used to be a big MVP fan and was really hoping for him to win the big one, but it never happened. He was pretty cool as a heel. The entrance theme, the tunnel, the pose he did in the aisle....all of that.

 

[Phenomic Enigma]

I miss MVP alot, he was a good heel back in the days on Smack down and was a very good wrestler aswell. Could he had been a good World champion some day?

I don't know cause I always pictured him as a mid carder and going for the US Title (Loved his US title run) but if he did actually stayed with the WWE I say he would have at least had a chance or two like R-Truth did at Capitol Punishment and I always seen him staying in the Mid card and not even get a chance to be a world champ so if they did it with R-truth, I say MVP could have had a chance aswell.

 

[VictorySauce23]

He was pretty awesome I have to admit. He was U.S champ for a long time and fued with Matt was awesome. When he and Matt won the tag titles it was interesting because they didn't like each other. That were like Hell No long before Daniel came to WWE. I don't know if he'll come back but if he does I see him being a manager or even behind the announce table.

 

[Harthan]

I see/ have seen enough of him in New Japan to not really miss him that much. MVP had a nice character and was strong on the microphone, but he never brought much in the way of goods in the ring. It was hard to be very emotionally invested in a guy like that. He never got me into his matches as a heel or as a face. Arguably his best gimmick was the extended losing period, when he was really capable of generating a good level of schadenfreude and then genuine sympathy, but it fizzled out as he returned to the same sort of generic wrestler he always was. He didn't really improve much in Japan, either, for me anyway. He was an inoffensive roster piece when he was here, and entertained in his non wrestling segments, but I don't really need to see him back. As some have said above, I wouldn't mind him back as a commentator.

 

[The Brain]

I’m surprised to see so many people complimenting MVP. I thought I was one of the very few that liked him. When I first joined the forum it was pretty fashionable to bash him. Although that was after he already turned face. I’m with just about everyone in this thread. MVP was great as a heel but lost any momentum he had as soon as he turned face.

The heel character was fun. He was the Terrell Owens of WWE. It was easy to hate MVP early on as he would always brag about being Smackdown’s highest paid superstar despite wrestling jobbers or taking the cowardly way out against established stars. He did earn some respect by going against Kane in an inferno match. I think the fans were able to take him more seriously after that as the Power Ranger chants started to fade away. I was already loving the character and the gimmick but MVP really proved himself to me at WrestleMania 23. He was having a great match with Chris Benoit until the sudden ending. If that match would have gone another few minutes with a proper climax it would be remembered as a great mania match. I think people underrate MVP’s in ring skills.

WWE was clearly impressed with MVP as the kept the US title on him for nearly a year despite not being able to wrestle for a couple months over the summer of 2007. His feud with Matt Hardy was very good and should have ended with a one on one match at WrestleMania 24. I can see why WWE wanted to try MVP as a face as he was very charismatic. His character was just better as a heel. I wouldn’t have minded an eventual face turn, but I think it happened too soon. I think WWE really missed out on a good character by rushing that face turn.

 

[Matth3w]

Man I loved MVP:

"I'm MVP, and I'm better....than you!"

Used to crack me up all the time.

Luke others, I enjoyed his mic work moreso than watching him wrestle (technical guys always bore me); but he is/was certainly more entertaining than most mid carders in WWE today. He could've easily been WHC on Smackdown if he hung around. If Swagger or Del Rio did - why not MVP? (yes, I am aware of his legal troubles preventing him from traveling).

As far as I'm concerned: cool entrance (pre face turn), awesome mic work, and greater than sub par ring skills could and should have gotten in much further, but he did pretty well in his 2.5 years (I'm surprised by that, thought he was around a lot longer).

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Never liked him. He sucked in the ring and sucked on the stick. Now there are wrestlers I would have liked to see gone instead of MVP but it doesn't mean I want him back.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I miss MVP, but I only miss what we saw of him during the first half of his WWE run. It wasn't so much the face turn, he could have been a cool face if booked better. His entrance with the tunnel was great. They should have never taken that out and above all else they should never have put him through the losing streak angle where he was meant to gain sympathy to turn face. That was a stupid decision on WWE's part. By the time he got moved over to Raw he challenged Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in a feud that ended before it even got started, he could not be taken seriously in the role due to that awful losing streak angle. That ruined him. Had he simply turned face in a way that did not involve that, the fans may very well have stayed behind him and he could have been a credible threat to the title. Then he had a tag team with Mark Henry for a while and did nothing relevant again until his release. THAT part of MVP's WWE run was not something I miss.

He did have his fair share of memorable moments and feuds that I do miss though. The time he and Mr Kennedy were feuding with Kane & Taker was cool. I also enjoyed the lengthy feud with Matt Hardy where they kept facing each other in every possible match/segment type BUT a match where the US Championship was on the line, until Matt Hardy finally won the belt. Then there was that match at Wrestlemania 23 against Benoit that fans still remember despite Vince pretending it no longer exists .... Those parts of MVP's run in WWE, I miss. Not stuff like losing to nobodies like Kizarny or trying to get sympathy from fans during that ridiculous losing streak. MVP may have become a big star had it not been for that. At the very least a few more midcard title reigns and a world title shot or two could have been in his future.

 

[HBsam31]

I pretty much agree with everyone else. MVP was great as a heel. I loved his feud with Matt hardy, and when they won the tag championships. Loved watching them compete in all of those different ways to one up each other. He was unique, and even the VIP lounge was entertaining. It all went downhill when he went on the losing streak and turned face. I don't know if he could have made a good face, but they booked him terribly then and he didn't really get a chance after the losing streak. I miss MVP a lot as a heel, and not at all as a face.

 

[cubuff37]

I definitely miss MVP. I loved his gimmick and he had a lot of talent. He was a lot of fun to watch in the ring, he could use the mic, and he was a very original guy. I don't know why he never amounted to anything more than a US champion. I could see him being a decent WWE champion.

 

[TheBottomLine]

I enjoyed MVP alot, he was a good wrestler and a good character too, I vaguely remember his Matt Hardy feud but the Kane one sticks out like a sore thumb,especially the inferno match! I do agree with the majority of people about his heel to face turn destroying his WWE career. I haven't seen much of him since he left but I have heard a few rumours that he could be returning this year?