Is it just me or does Damien Sandow remind you of early HHH ?

[#IndyRules]

Damien Sandow as most of you know was trained by Killer Kowalski who also of course trained Triple H. Now maybe the pairs move-set is not identical but the gimmick IMO feels similar.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley when he arrived in the WWE was a snotty, upper-class type who pranced around the ring like he was better than everyone else.
Damien Sandow ? The intellectual saviour of the masses strolls down to the ring in his robe like hes the king and then belittles everyone muck like Mr Levesque did.

Back then everyone called for HHH to start moving up the card, exactly what is happening with Sandow.

I'm rambling on now and i may be the only one to share this opinion but please give me your opinions.

 

[DX Mols]

Damien Sandow reminds me of someone who's actually got a bright future in the WWE and needs to be featured instead of getting squashed. He's a perfect example (along with Wade and Cody Rhodes) of talent that should be pushed instead of boring ass shit with Big Slow, Sheamus, Ryback, etc.

WWE is really starting to piss me off lately.

 

[asiatic7]

Sandow reminds me more of Lanny Poffo's "Genius" character than HHH's "Greenwich Blue Blood" incarnation. While HHH made the most out of his character, I think Sandow is more believable. While they both embraced their characters, I think Sandow is having more fun with his gimmick than Hunter did in the mid nineteys. Sandow kinda goofs off despite being an Inellectual Savior and doesn't compromise the integrity of the character.

I think a lot of times when we see these kind of characters, it's a litmus test for that particular athelete. I think the company want to see if they can take a ridiculous persona and get the audience to either love or hate them. Most guys fail at it (Albert's Tensai and Sweet T, every Ed Leslie gimmick minus The Barber),and most guys succeed (Brian Christopher and Scott Taylors Too Cool, Mark Calloway's Undertaker), Sandow for the most part is doing great with what he was given.

But like I was saying before, Sandow is definitely The Genius minus the jobber status. It will be fun to watch the transition from Mid carder to Main Eventer and what shape the character takes on...

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to agree with asiatic7 in that his character puts me much more in mind of Lanny Poffo's "Genius" character rather than the arrogant, aristocratic blueblood character Triple H initially had. However, Sandow's character is certainly far, far less cheesy than The Genius. The fact that Sandow doesn't speak in rhymes and limericks is a huge improvement.

That's not to say that Sandow's character & Trips' original don't have similarities. The arrogance of Sandow's character really does put me in mind of a snooty aristocrat. It's partially with the way he carries himself when he walks, the little gestures he makes with his hands and the exaggerated sense of propriety & dignity do seem more like a blueblood. It works in both cases as I've seen examples of people behave in similar manners to Sandow & Trips' blueblood character even if they're not wealthy.

As far as their move set goes, you can tell that Sandow was trained by Killer Kowalski. For instance, Kowalski loved to use really stiff looking & aggressive knee shots to his opponents.

 

[MWRedskins]

Damien Sandow is the reason i hope the Miz wins the IC title really soon. WWE doesnt seem to be pushing Barrett much even though he's the IC Champion, so my hope is that they give the title to Miz and after a short feud with Barrett, they let Sandow have a run with the title. he's good in the ring and he can cut really nice promos.

 

[Dirk]

Well... You mentioned some good similarities between Trips and Sandow, but when I first saw him he reminded me of another guy altogether, Hunter's manager - Paul Heyman.

The buggy eyes, the eloquence... It's all there. I had to wiki the guy to make sure they aren't related. When Sandow has to hang up his boots, I'd think he'd make an amazing manager.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Now maybe the pairs move-set is not identical but the gimmick IMO feels similar.

I can see your point, but the similarities between Triple H and Damien Sandow end once the bell rings. While the outfit Trips first wore to the ring in the 90's made him look like the Ringmaster of a circus, his intensity once the match started separates him from Sandow.....in fact, separates him from just about everybody. We saw it as recently as last night's encounter with Brock Lesnar in the steel cage. He's strictly business during the match.

Not so with Damien Sandow, who keeps his "superior" act going during his matches. That grand gesticulation he uses once he has an opponent down.... plus his pauses during a match to catch the audience's attention, serve to make him seem far less dangerous than Triple H, far less intense.

Of course, how Trips behaved before the match during his blue-blood era has nothing to do with what he's like today. Then again, I always thought it ironic that in the mid-90's, he was billed as being from Greenwich Connecticut......and now he really lives there. What are the odds?

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

I believe Sandow is the best up and comer on the current roster (Including The Shield). Remind me of Triple H? I can't say he doesn't in some aspects. I think he needs to beat down Rhodes and basically make himself look serious while being able to give us a proper English lesson while letting us know he is here to kick all ass.

 

[Miz_America]

Sandow is in a different league then H in mic skill and in ring ability. And when I say this I dont mean HHH when he first came into WWE. I mean H know! Triple H has never been the most sound guy in the ring. Not a lot of technical skill, just a punch and kick guy through and through. Sandow shows SO much more promise on the mic then H ever has. Sandow also works the stuck up blue blood character better than H ever did. (and he doesnt even have to curtsy!) he just looks natural in the ring. He's technically sound and still has a Triple H-esque mean streak in the ring. (I really sounded like Cole there, sorry) Obviously Sandow wont reach the heights Hunter has. (There are no more McMahons to have kids with) but Damien deserves a major title push, and I believe he'll get it in the near future. Not ready for the WWE title yet, but in the next 12-18 months sounds about right. As long as he keeps doing what he's doing.

Sandow reminds me more of Lanny Poffo's "Genius" character than HHH's "Greenwich Blue Blood" incarnation.

Oh man! I totally forgot about The Genius! I used to love that guy, and yes, he's so similar to Sandow's character today. Pompous "intellectual" who just claimed to be smarter than everyone else in the ring. He did get his ass kicked a lot though, so there's a small difference there.

 

[dman1373]

in my opinion he does a better version of triple h's blue blood gimmick. He cuts better promos, his promos are better, and his style in the ring is more akin to his gimmick. I think he could go further with the gimmick, but my question is if he can change gimmicks with the same success of triple h.

 

[alexgranted]

Am I the only one who thinks Damien Sandow is boring in the ring? Brilliant gimmick, great on the mic, funny, gets loads of heat but great technical wrestler???? HELL NO. The only wrestling moves he does is a russian leg sweep and a glorified neck-breaker... otherwise, he does nothing but kick punch and elbow people. He barely does any reversals!

Sandow on the Mic... AWESOME!
Sandow in the Ring... YAWN....

 

[berlinbrawler]

I've noticed those parallesls as well. Trained by the same guy, starting with an elitist gimmick (although Sandow reminds me more of The Genius than the early Hunter Hearst Helmsley). That's probably one reason why Triple H is a big supporter of the guy.

Remains to be seen if Sandow's evolution will be similar to Triple H's as well and he morphs into a muscular bad ass.

 

[mrjoe94]

I can see your point, but the similarities between Triple H and Damien Sandow end once the bell rings. While the outfit Trips first wore to the ring in the 90's made him look like the Ringmaster of a circus, his intensity once the match started separates him from Sandow.....in fact, separates him from just about everybody. We saw it as recently as last night's encounter with Brock Lesnar in the steel cage. He's strictly business during the match.

Not so with Damien Sandow, who keeps his "superior" act going during his matches. That grand gesticulation he uses once he has an opponent down.... plus his pauses during a match to catch the audience's attention, serve to make him seem far less dangerous than Triple H, far less intense.

Of course, how Trips behaved before the match during his blue-blood era has nothing to do with what he's like today. Then again, I always thought it ironic that in the mid-90's, he was billed as being from Greenwich Connecticut......and now he really lives there. What are the odds?

I think that once someone "pisses him off" Sandow can be as intense as anyone but I agree, he stays more in-character than HHH used to in the ring.

Edit: berlinbrawler I think he could very easily. I think Sandow has a better physique than HHH did at the blueblood stage so he may not need to work as hard to become a muscular badass.

 

[nWo2]

I like him because he's a throwback to old school gimmick driven wrestling and although I do see similarities with Triple H there is an uncanny likeness to The Genius.

Sandow seems to be one of the best heels in WWE and deserves a singles feud best person to feud with ..... the returning Christian.

 

[RedRegan1005]

I get what your saying and you make some good points. But I think when you really look at the characters they're quite different. The one big thing that i think makes them similar is that Damien Sandow is money and one day like triple H is going to transition into a big star for the wwe. The guy has good size, good in ring talent, and a boatload of charisma. All things that, whether people want to admit it or not, triple h has.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This is nothing new, WWE has made a concerted effort to "reboot" old gimmicks in the past 3 years. Dolph Ziggler is based on Mr.Perfect and a pinch of Rick Rude, Brodus Clay was part Flash Funk, part Akeem and Cody Rhodes is has channelled Rick Martel in the past and is now quickly becoming the modern Rick Rude.

Sandow yes, there is a similarity in styles but that is going to be down to Kowalski's training rather than copying Trips. The gimmick is actually more Genius than anything but if it's a "blueblood" then I'd say he's more akin to Lord Steven Regal than Hunter Hearst Helmsley with his use of big words and withering put downs. Trips never really talked much back in the day, he just stuck that massive nose in the air, he got that blueblood gimmick from teaming with Regal in WCW to begin with...

I can't say I am a fan of the rebooting, but see why it's necessary - in some cases old gimmicks could work as they were, I'd love to see a modern iteration of Demolition for example although the Shield are clearly in that role at the moment - a rebooted version of them, with the masks and paint would be great.

Other's I have noticed are:-

3MB - Rythym & Blues/Freebirds
Bray Wyatt - Waylon Mercy/Jake Roberts
ADR - Million Dollar Man/Tito Santana - They have pretty much eliminated the rich guy part now and he is very close to classic Tito in his portrayal and overness.
Fandango - Honky Tonk Man
Chris Masters - Hercules/Narcissist
Wade Barrett - Steve Williams/Dan Severn/Harley Race - The "legit" fighters while Race had the "pomp" and arrogance that Barrett displays.
Big E. Langston - Ahmed Johnson/Mark Henry/Faarooq - He even dresses in a Nation 'tard for gods sake... he's a one man NOD!

 

[PLATINUM PAT]

I dont know why but sandow just doesn't do it for me. I enjoy his promos and think they're very entertaining but I just dont like his wrestling for some reason. For me thats the difference between him and triple h. I liked hhhs wrestling AND his promos. The only real similarity they have is their smart gimmicks.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Other than his same trainer (Killer Kowalski), those two couldn't be any different. HHH was a pompous snob from Connecticut. Sandow's just intelligent and insults everyone with no background to his character. Sure he's entertaining in his own way and with the right amount of development, can be a great asset for the WWE down the line, Sandow doesn't remind me in any shape or form of HHH in his younger days.

You're welcome.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I suppose. Young HHH wasn't any good, either.

Look, he's a nice mid card guy, and that's probably all he'll ever be. HHH, after a few years, was special. With Hunter, even when he stunk, you saw hints of that. I see nothing but average from Sandow, and I doubt that's going to change.

 

[Dagron]

In terms of having a somewhat goofy heel character that he's so good at, you can't help but like him as well as tremendous in ring ability, I would actually compare Sandow's work to Chris Jericho circa 1996-97. Not quite as exceptional to be sure, but the paralells are stronger to Jericho than to HHH imo.

 

[shalliin]

No, he reminds me of later Lanny Poffo aka The Genius. A mediocre talent who uses long words and insults fans to cover up his lack of originality and skill on the mic and in the ring.

 

[Owen 3:16 says I just stole your Slammy!!]

I like Damien Sandow. He is a great heel, he plays great in his role. I hope the company don't drop the ball on him and use him great in the future. I think he was better then Triple H in that role, Sandow is great on that mic. Sandow reminds me of Lanny Poffo too with the genius gimmick.