Kaz: What's The Big Deal?

[Uncle Sam]

I was absolutely certain there was a thread on this previously, but the search function threw up nothing. I thought I might as well make another one then, considering we've just witnessed the continuation of the least consistent push that I can honestly say I've ever seen.

So, everyone seems to like Kaz. I'll tell you why right now: everyone thought he was shit until he reminded us he can do some flips which every X Divisioner can do when they're not trying to be, y'know, not the default cruiserweight. You never hear pops for him when he's on the mic, partly because he's had bad feuds, partly because he makes Chris Benoit seem like The Rock. Seriously, the guy has zero charisma. Zero. In fact, I think he might have even gone into negative values, sucking intrigue from wrestlers around him. I'm still a firm believer that Christian and Angle completely made their matches with him.

So, seriously, tell me - what's the big deal? Why's he main eventing? What's so great about him in comparison to other cruiserweights housed by TNA, the fantastic AJ Styles, Homicide and the Motor City Machine Guns to name a few. What's the big deal!?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kaz is good. He's got everything you could want froma wrestler. Solid in ring skills and a handsome face. Other than that he's only lacking a personality and star power. But he's main evented a TNA PPV so I guess he's already got that. Or so I was told. Can't remember the name of the poster, but Kaz was a better option to replace Angle than Sting or Cage. With logic like that I've got TNA totally wrong. Best promotion ever.

The only reason he's so popular is because Christian did his hardest to make Kaz look great at Genesis. His thinking was ''Well he's being pushed for no reason, and from out of nowhere, I'm going to lose, so i may as well try to make him look my equal''. Black Reign thought something similar.

 

[xmoshx]

kaz has all the talent to be a great wrestler but needs to work on charisma and personalilty alot more and hed be a main event player for sure instead of a sub. i was at a impact taping when he vs angel for the tna title and it was a great match back and forth action and seemed like he could of beat angel at any time. once he builds his character up he will be big one day

 

[klunderbunker]

Kaz is fairly average to me. He's not great, but not boring. He just goes out to the ring every week and does his job. He has a decent look, good move set, not awful on the mic and can hang with the main eventers. I agree though he's hardly the second coming of Styles or anything. He's definitely worth keeping on the roster and in the upper mid card levels. Maybe a shot at the main event and a world title match down the line, but not a champion or anythign.

 

[shingi]

Kaz is a are wrestler who is sort of hard to figure out.
In terms of in ring ability he has everything he is srong quick and very agile. But in terms of mick skills cutting promo's and publicising himself he has yet to prove his worth. I hope to see more from him in Tna

 

[midgensa]

I REALLY try hard to like this guy, but I am not highly impressed by him. I think he is fairly good in the ring, but not as great as many play him up to be. TNA of course does not help with their schizo booking leaving us wondering "is he being pushed or not?" I think he has talent and a decent amount of it, but there is not one single reason I can think of to put him in a Main Event match over Sting, Styles, Cage or even Booker. Very confusing to me why they are choosing to push him so much.

 

[africonda]

Ehhhh Kaz is whatever. Just because he was put in a match with angle or the main event at the ppv doesnt mean anything to me. I think you can put any x division wrestler against angle and have a great match, aj, lethal, sabin, shelley, petey, etc, hell almost anyone with angle can have a great match.

Dont get me wrong, Kaz will put on a great match but so can a lot of the roster in TNA. Its all about gimmick, to get him some good heat they need to make him a cocky bastard and turn him heel, he has no charisma or personality to be a face. Turn him heel by first having him murder super eric, in a match that he will have to carry cause eric young is terrible, then put him in the x division and have him fued with those guys......i am a beliver that if they work the x division right like they used to, those matches could be main event matches on impact instead of putting shit like the womens title in the main event. Put the belt on AJ and have him and cage fued, that could easily be a main event. If i had my way AJ would be in every main event, hell every match

 

[KingShaw3]

Kaz is a good wrestler, but not a main event wrestler for so many reasons. He has virtually no mic skills whatsoever. His name and gimick are worthless and he looks like Antonio Banderas. He's just not interesting at all. First they push him then they stick him in stories with Black Reign where he's carrying around Reign's rat. It's just stupid. TNA's booking/creative is one of the biggest reasons TNA doesn't seem to be going anywhere. They'll make a true wrestler like Christopher Daniels go back to being some masked dancing idiot but push a loser like Kaz. I don't want to continue seeing Kaz beat people in the X Division that are far more talented than him, much less see him make a run with the heavyweights.

 

[SpiralHands]

I can never decide on whether I like Kaz or not, hes got pretty good ring skills, prepared to take risks and I think has just been lucky to be in main events. I watch him one week and think wow hes cool, has some possiblity of going somwhere but then other weeks im like, na I dont see it. I think only time will tell if Kaz can make it. I think depends on TNAs booking, if they book him like a kid that nevers gets break and has all these great battles with Cage and Angle and then suddenly one day he wins the big one for a month or so then maybe he become a hit, but I think that wont happen. If TNA can book it right, and he can develop mic skills and bit of charisma then good luck!

 

[Greenlight13]

How can you all not like Kaz? This guy screams top-level talent to me. You can Angle made his match with him, but Angle can't make a match with just anyone, Kaz is able to athletically hang with him and that makes him step up a notch, they countered each other's moves in a fluid fashion and for me it was one of the best matches i've ever seen, the first time more than the second, but both were good. I firmly believe the first was PPV main event quality and it would have made the Fight for the Right tournament seem more significant, rather than working so hard to win and then lose on Impact and that's it.

Then look at the triple threat main event, they cant trust Joe vs Steiner cos Steiner sucks and cant keep up with Joe. Kaz again filled the void because he has the speed to go toe to toe with a Samoa Joe and make the match interesting. He can work a match and do a hell of a lot in the ring. He was the wild card.

Look at what should have been a terrible match, Black Reign & Rellik vs. Kaz & Eric Young. So EY bails and we get a handicap, at this point i was thinking oh no. But Kaz dominated this match and hit some fantastic TNA-style 2-on-1 moves.

Then the ladder match, how exactly do you carry someone in a ladder match? Kaz held his own and i dont care what anyone says.

Ultimately the guy can fly around that ring with the speed of an X-Division wrestler, he can mat-wrestle and counter like a mid-card technician and he has the look and youth (despite being 30) to appeal to the fans. I really don't see what more you want from the guy.

Don't misunderstand me, i dont think he could ever hold the TNA title, that would be a step too far, nor do i think he's the second coming of AJ Styles or anything that drastic. I just really dont see why people dont like him or dont care. He is better than anyone in what TNA is calling the X-Division these days.

Ultimately, Kurt Angle has nothing but good words to say about him, and that to me speaks volumes.

 

[Uncle Sam]

How can you all not like Kaz? This guy screams top-level talent to me.

Seriously? I mean, like, straight face "I'm not joking or using hyperbole" serious?

You can Angle made his match with him, but Angle can't make a match with just anyone,

He's not very entertaining when it comes to superheavyweights, that's about it. His moves are largely throws, and so he's suited to matches with lighter wrestlers - Michaels, Mysterio, Benoit, Guerrero, etc.

Kaz is able to athletically hang with him and that makes him step up a notch, they countered each other's moves in a fluid fashion and for me it was one of the best matches i've ever seen, the first time more than the second, but both were good.

Any X Divisioner can do that. I'm straight face serious when I say that. Other than Shark Boy, I challenge you to find me someone Angle couldn't have an entertaining, which the Kaz match was, not great, match with in the X Division. The matches (yeah, there were two of them) were short TV ones to, hardly the way to measure main event talent. I stopped watching Sacrifice half way through due to how unimpressed I was with the Terrordome so I couldn't tell you how he faired in his first main event. My guess: not well, other than a few spots.

I firmly believe the first was PPV main event quality and it would have made the Fight for the Right tournament seem more significant, rather than working so hard to win and then lose on Impact and that's it.

Kaz isn't main event quality. I'd be surprised (and disgusted etc. etc.) to see Kaz in another main event. He's a bog standard cruiserweight. Besides, his best match was with Christian. As the more athletic man, Kaz should have totally outperformed Cage in terms of spots and ingenuity. He didn't. Cage made that match what it was. Same with Angle.

Then look at the triple threat main event, they cant trust Joe vs Steiner cos Steiner sucks and cant keep up with Joe. Kaz again filled the void because he has the speed to go toe to toe with a Samoa Joe and make the match interesting. He can work a match and do a hell of a lot in the ring. He was the wild card.

Haven't watched it. Couldn't say. A lot of that I'd say was due to booking anyway.

Look at what should have been a terrible match, Black Reign & Rellik vs. Kaz & Eric Young. So EY bails and we get a handicap, at this point i was thinking oh no. But Kaz dominated this match and hit some fantastic TNA-style 2-on-1 moves.

Yeah, TNA-style. Like you always see in TNA. Otherwise that term is pointless.

Then the ladder match, how exactly do you carry someone in a ladder match? Kaz held his own and i dont care what anyone says.

Have you actually seen that match? Kaz looks like Christian's equal, but you can tell how hard Christian's actually working.

Ultimately the guy can fly around that ring with the speed of an X-Division wrestler,

Well, yeah.

he can mat-wrestle and counter like a mid-card technician

Never actually seen any of this said mat-wrestling. If it does exist, I would imagine it wouldn't even be Jay Lethal standard.

and he has the look and youth (despite being 30) to appeal to the fans.

Everybody's over in TNA. Everybody, with the exception of Black Reign and Rellik.

I really don't see what more you want from the guy.

Something to make him unique. A list of original or unique things about Kaz: The Flux Capacitor.

Don't misunderstand me, i dont think he could ever hold the TNA title, that would be a step too far, nor do i think he's the second coming of AJ Styles or anything that drastic. I just really dont see why people dont like him or dont care. He is better than anyone in what TNA is calling the X-Division these days.

Ultimately, Kurt Angle has nothing but good words to say about him, and that to me speaks volumes.

I love Kurt Angle, but he's apparently a fan of the "comedy" angles too. Most consistently entertaining wrestler there's been in the last eight years, but his word certainly isn't gospel.

 

[waylon p]

sure, kaz has no mic skills. he needs a personality makeover, perhaps a gimmick to hang his character on. these are secondary points. remember the ultimate x match where he gave chris daniels that amazing neckbreaker? off the top rope, down from the scaffolding. i don't think i ever saw or heard a pop like that in tna. samoa joe's world title win pop was nonexistent in comparison. kaz has what it takes. i could watch him and daniels feud for the x division title for years.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Please. I could get a decent pop from TNA fans by jumping off something tall with scrawny Chris Daniels. If that was the criteria for success in TNA, everyone'd be a success. Hell, Elix Skipper would have made Angle his bitch, he makes the crowd explode every time he does a crazy stunt. Or did. The fact is, Kaz has nothing, yes, nothing, that sets him apart from the pack. Every other X Division athlete has exhibited a similar if not better capacity to pop the crowd and to perform innovative/unorthodox moves. I don't know why TNA suddenly took notice of this one.

 

[Trumike]

Kaz sucks. He is a waste in TNA. He does have some skills. He should be a lower mid carder at best. Stay in feuds with Black Reign. I mean he does moves than any X-division wrestler can do. He got in the main event with SamoaJoe and Steiner because Steiner sucks. He needs to go home and retire. Hell the match would have been better with Robert Roode in it. He is the future of TNA. Kaz will the John Morrison of TNA. He could be, he may be but he won't get to the top.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Personally, I don't see what's so great about Kaz.

However, when you think about it, its TNA. A guy who isn't really that great, in comparison to how small TNA's roster is (and how some of their talent goes way beyond the "abysmal" category), might end up being "top midcard" haha.

Kaz, to me, is just consistently average. He has nothing spectacular about him, but he isn't so bad that he shouldn't have a job. He has enough skills to be an X-Division champ, possibly a tag team champ, and that's about it. If he were move to the WWE, he'd only be in line for the tag team division and nothing more.

 

[g_asal]

Kaz is a terrific athlete who puts on quality wrestling matches everytime he steps foot in a ring.

However, for the purposes of fans who don't buy into him, let me break it down:

The look: Kaz is a young athlete with good looks that are essential in the business because it makes little kids want to be like him. From a wrestling stand point, his height and weight border both heavyweight and cruiserweight....a bit like Shawn Michaels in that respect.

The ability: Kaz has a large arsenal of moves that allow him to perform with a lightweight eg Christopher Daniels and match move for move. He can also work in a technical/traditional wrestling match as proved with his 2 matches with Kurt Angle in the past. His toned physique allow him to play the underdog role against a bigger man eg Abyss which works very well for a babyface eg Bret Hart VS Diesel, Shawn Michaels VS Vader, for example.
The only thing in regards to his ability is that his finishing move could be changed. Sure, it's awesome to check out the flux capaciter or wave of the future. However, with good finishers, it should be possible for them to be done on all challengers eg Shawn Michaels sweet chin music or Steve Austin's stunner.

The mic: Kaz often portrays a cool, laid back character currrently and it shows from the way he does his promo's. However, he showed shades of intensity with his brief feud with black reign (until EY ruined it with his super eric stuff). Kaz would be perfect to play the underdog role in a heavyweight division who is clawing his way to reach the top. This would require a more intense character who, whilst not playing a rebel, is commited to hi craft to be respected eg Bret Hart. Alternatively, with his looks and skill, he could turn heel and play the role of a cocky character who knows he will reach the top soon.
These are possibilities for Kaz but depends on how TNA want to book him, not to mention time. He is over with crowd, so they will believe his underdog appeal whilst turning him heel would certainly make TNA fans annoyed that an 'original' has turned his back on them.

These 3 features make Kaz a main event player in the making. Another one similar is Robert Roode, also Mr Kennedy (although he can't touch either with ability but with mic skills).
As u can see, they all share similar characteristics.

 

[image1986]

Hahahaha kaz? You got to be kidding this guy has no personality. The guy got talent but ntohing to make him stand out at all. Did you see his promo about black reign it was unbearable. Putting him and aj in the same sentence is a joke. If he is ever to be sucessful the fans have to care about his charecter. Whether he is a heel or face he has to get a reaction out of people that will make them want him to win or get beat up. Without that he might as well chill with shark boy at the jobber line

 

[krzkid]

See I was high on Frankie Kazarian since he debuted with NWA Total Nonstop Action in his fueds with Chris Sabian and Micheal Shane that ultimately lead to the first Ultimate X match. The reason is I'd seen the guy in the indies before. I saw him, Jerry Lynn and Evan Kerragis tear it up in a triple threat elimination match for Kazarian's UPW (Ultimate Pro Wrestling based out of Anahiem California) Lightweight title. And just for sidebar, Mike Mizanin was on the tape in question and impressed me far more than his WWE persona ever will.

I've watched Frankie as the leader of The First Family in PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerilla, which is a promotion created by and ran by indy wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar). And he was also their FIRST EVER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION. His mic skills differ based on the character he is portraying, as has been shown in TNA with the Black Reign fued. His in-ring, like all their current roster, is limited with them being on TV and what they will "allow". Hell, they have Jay Lethal doing a Macho Man gimmick, and had the strap on him. Before the gimmick no one though he had charisma either. Though I still doubt Jay's ability in-ring, and I've seen my fair share of his matches including his fued with Samoa Joe in ROH and the worst Christopher Daniels match I've ever seen in PWX's first match of their first show "Lighting the Fuse", which I blame on Lethal... but I digress.

If you had been able a few years ago to discount Dwayne Johnson this way, while doing the Flex Cabana gimmick, or the early days of Rocky Maivia, you'd soon be sadly mistaken wouldn't you?

And for the record, I'm a Christian Mark, and an Angle one too. But Christian is losing his speed in the TNA world and being buried and just under-used (like everyone in reality)... and Kurt needs to retire. He is going to die in the ring. He's broken his neck too many times. He's either going to die or be in a wheelchair the rest of his life. We don't need another one of those.

In closing, to discount Frankie Kazarian (or the K-A-Z), is flat out stupid. For a site that is the land of Smart Marks and those who have had major words for those who stomp on wrestling, the indies and the "IWC" (yes I'm referring to Gilbertti with that one)... for shame.... for shame....

 

[RVDgurl]

That's a good question....what is the big deal about Kaz? I don't get it either. Yes, Kaz is solid in the ring, but he is not extraordinary. Yes, Kaz has a decent look to him, but there are many others that have a better look. I just can't seem to put my finger on anything that is remarkable about about him. In my opinion, he is just an average guy with average talent that is getting pushed beyond belief.