Land of the Lost: MVP

[Little Jerry Lawler]

When Montel Vontavious Porter first came to the WWE in 2006, he instantly made an impact defeating established stars such as Kane and Chris Benoit within his first year. He had the longest United States title run in history and looked to become a big-time heel. When he was drafted to RAW this year, he dared to challenge Randy Orton. Ever since then, he has had a forgettable U.S. title run and is now in a tag team with Mark Henry with seemingly no direction.

What do you think has happened to MVP? Do you think he can get back to what he once was or do you think he will be stuck where he is for the time being. Does creative seem afraid to push him or do they know more than we do? Also, where do you see him this time next year?

 

[patdsez]

I remember thinking the WWE was making a big mistake when creative turned John Morrisson and MVP babyface at around the same time. Turned out I was half right, as Morrisson has proven more than able to handle the job. MVP on the other hand has been an outright disaster in his role as babyface. MVP has the tools to work a main event program - problem is, he's a born heel and RAW is a brand in desperate need of some fresh main event heels and it's my hope that they see this.

If creative is smart, and we all know the jury is still out on that one, they'll have MVP turn on WSM and revert back to his heel ways which, in my opinion, could lead to a very entertaining program with John Cena somewhere down the line. Lest we forget MVP worked one of the best angels of this current era as a heel to Matt Hardy's baby for the US Title on Smackdown.

It's certainly clear that MVP and WSM where put together only so they could break apart and give one of those guys a heel push, what's not clear is who they intend to turn. Hopefully it's MVP as he still works hard while WSM still lumbers around the ring slowly while no-selling moves. I think MVP still has a shot he is just in desperate need of a heel turn.

 

[Rated_R_Superstar2010]

i really wanted mvp to win the battle royal and turn heel. this would have given him his spark back and mvp v cena would be great. i think they really ruined him when he went on like a 9 month losing streak. that should never ever happen. i was surprissed my the sheamus push so quickly. mvp swagger miz morrison kofi would have all been better choices. sheamus is good, the character just isnt developed enough and he has not had a real match on raw. they blew an easy spot to push mvp or swagger.

 

[m1k3b14z3]

mvp is in need of turnin heel again right now he is stuck in wwe limbo they need to let him do a short heel turn program with WSM then go on and win back the us title evenutally

 

[bucks8897]

Its tough to watch MVP in limbo right now because he could play a much bigger role for RAW. Espically a lot of the complaint right now is RAW is stale and needs something new. Everyone seems to be pleased with the Kofi Kingston push because it's something new. I can't help but think that if they did something with MVP in the main event scene it would help RAW not seem so repative all the time.

But hey what do I know i'm just a fan.

 

[Rated PG Superstar]

I no one thing for sure, MVP stinks as a face, he may as well get on the mic and beg the crowd to cheer him with the amount of sucking up to them he does.

But anyway, the obvious change needed for MVP is a heel turn, the problem is just because you turn him heel doesnt mean hes straight back in the main event picture. He will need to be built up again as a credible challenger after mainly jobbing on Raw for the past several months, so the best thing creative could do is turn him heel early 2010 and have him win back the US title at backlash, feud with maybe Ted Dibiase and have him loose the belt at Summerslam (presuming Dibiase turns face) then have him challenge for the WWE title at one of the autumn PPV's. Alternatively, turn him heel then have him win MITB at 'Mania and cash it in at Summerslam after several months of teasing the cash in, and prolonged exchanges with the champ. It sounds easy enough to do, but nothings easy to do in the WWE.

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Its crazy the direction the WWE are bringing MVP. As Little Jerry Lawler said, he came in with a bang beating former world champs then the u.s. title for so long it all was happening so fast for him.

Now its like whats happening? Good face, but a great heel, and he should go back to that and get the final push he needs to becoming a world champion. How Kofi, no sorry, how Sheamus is getting a push is stupid can anyone really see Cena dropping the belt to him?

MVP i would love to see make it but the way its going I can see him doing stupid and pointless tag matches with Mark Henry for the time being.

 

[MVs Prodigy]

I had a similar thread awhile back, but the only difference is do you believe is he was a better face or heel.

But the current way the writers are using MVP is plain ridiculous. I abhor it. He use to be an excellent heel, but as a face he is horrible. Basically since he is a face the fans just go with it a cheer since he is a "good guy". Ever since he turned face he had limited options but as a heel he had potential to eventually become a Main Eventer one day.

 

[InterestingDrug]

I agree with MVP needing a big heel turn, but to who? There is nobody for him to turn on. He's stuck in a nowhere tag team. (I cant stand when they team up all the guys of one ethnic minority to run together. It's insulting.) He has a gimmick thats tired. His "ballin" ring move is just terrible. I mean, they paired him with Sherri Shepherd for a bit. Seriously! It was good minor publicity, but who cares really? No woman watching the View is going to watch the WWE product. And him hangin with a lady from the View isnt going to get the org any male followers.

I'm thinking, now that he didnt win that battle royale, they should just send him to ECW. Heel him on Christian and have them battle for the title. Maybe they should send him to ECW as a face, put the strap on Shelton, and let Shelton and MVP battle for the ECW title for a while.

And seriously people, a feud with Dibiase isnt going to happen. Still dont understand the fatuation with Dibiase when he's done nothing yet.

 

[Slyfox696]

I find it amusing everyone is blaming the WWE for MVP's suckage. Why can't we blame MVP for just sucking? I don't get it. He impressed me over on Smackdown as a heel, but after his initial heel run, he's pretty much sucked. The problem, as I see it, is that he's a pussy gangsta, with an act that no one can by. His character tries so hard to be "hip", and his delivery of that character is just atrocious. His mic work is fair, but not good, and he suffers from the same lack of in-ring quality that most of today's wrestlers suffer from.

The best thing for MVP right now, would be a permanent tag team with Henry against DX and Jerishow. That would be five guys right there that could help him learn how to work better.

 

[Prolific]

People may not agree with me, but I actually like MVP as a face. Is he getting booked right? Unanimously not. BUT... I think that MVP could be over more as a face then as a heel ... at least for now. Realistically, as a heel, I DEFINITELY don't see him beating John Cena for a World Title in the near future (or even distant future). On the contrary, I do see a possibility (slim, but better than beating John Cena) of beating Randy Orton with like a quick roll-up or small package to create a shocking WWE Championship turn. The fans would be shocked, as well as happy (if properly booked, of course).

So...what it ultimately boils down to is this: I don't see any progression as a heel any more than he is currently as a face. We had high hopes for Swagger...FLAT; we had high hopes for Carlito...FLAT; we had high hopes for Masters...FLAT. I don't see any difference in MVP. He has already established himself as a heel, now lets see what he can do as a face. Give him some time, if he is booked right, he'll get over pretty well.

Just look at Kofi now (which I think this is the best direction that WWE has gone in a LOOOOONG time); MVP could have fit the bill just as good. Just have him fued with a top heel (Show, Rhodes, Miz, Sheamus), and give him some time.

Or... you can do the very smart move and defect him to ECW, which would be the best career move for him. A World title would be basically guaranteed for him, which would be a great achievement for him, just like it was for Kane, Chavo, Swagger, Dreamer, and Matt Hardy.

 

[PopeIsPimping]

Agree with most of the comments here (except Prolific on one point - Rhodes and Sheamus are "top heels"?). MVP has natural talent and its clear almost all of us want him to succeed at a higher level. And he could do wonders as a heel, hopefully sooner rather than later, although even as a heel he's going to have a significant crowd following, if only for the Ballin' elbow.

He definitely needs a new finisher. The Playmaker is ineffective, overcomplicated and simply wouldn't hurt, and its hard to sell a small/medium guy as having a devastating big boot (ahem, Sheamus, ahem). Have a cool finisher, good booking, and the natural talent and charisma that he already has should put him pretty over

 

[Prolific]

Agree with most of the comments here (except Prolific on one point - Rhodes and Sheamus are "top heels).

Well... Rhodes has been one of the top heels by default, b/c he (and Dibiase) have been fueding with DX for months. Yes, he's been relegated back to mid-card status, but moving him up to a single top heel would be no problem, because people just don't like the kid.

The reason I didn't say Dibiase is because they are (or were) teasing a face turn for him.

And Sheamus: umm... the heel that will be challenging the World Champion for the World title on a PPV, that requires a contract signing, not to mention his frequent commentary of how he is undefeated and ending people's careers = not a top heel? Oooh, I disagree.

BUT... One think I DEFINITELY, and I mean DEFINITELY agree with is that the Playmaker needs to be BURIED. I don't understand why he stop using the Drive-by as a finisher (albeit he only used it as a finisher toward the latter part of he Smackdown tenure). At least that was an "out of nowhere" finisher like the RKO and Trouble in Paradise.

 

[gd]

MVP isn't getting pushed because he sucks, plain and simple.

He doesn't really get a reaction from the crowd anymore, at least not like he used to. He just looks silly coming into the ring. He isn't nearly as good on the mic anymore as he just plains sucks as a face. He's also god awful in the ring. His matches move at the pace of a snail, they're incredibly boring. MVP was pretty awesome as a heel, but there is no reason to care about his current character at all. He should be worried about getting released soon because there is really no reason to keep him around at all.

 

[TheBestThereEverWillBe]

Well it all makes sense now that i think about it.

I'm sure to everyone the Cena Orton feud got long and boring and played out. i believe that what they are doing now with Orton and Kofi was supposed to happen to MVP and Orton but the little segments they did have together, creative didn't like where it was going and pulled MVP out of it which forced them to continue the Cena-Orton feud until they could build someone up to fill the spot where MVP was supposed to be. Kofi. now MVP is just a filler but they know he's useful and that's why he's still on TV every week. its only a matter of time before they find a good spot for him to be in.

 

[johnbragg]

Very few wrestlers can get over, face or heel, while being booked to not win anything significant for years at a time. MVP is probably best remembered for a losing streak that went on forever. Recently, the MVP vs WSM tag team couldn't get it done against Jerishow when it counted.

After a dozen posts or so, no one has mentioned a feud that MVP has won. The most enduring association for MVP is still "the guy with the losing streak" The only way to erase that is to win something important--ECW title, MITB, KOTR, Royal Rumble, etc. It doesn't have to be the PPV edition of the match, he could win a three week, eight man tournament on Raw or a one-night rumble, etc. But he has to win something important.

As for the midcard titles, US or IC, once you've won that title, winning it doesn't do much for you.

I think a move to ECW would be the best move, as MVP has enough credibility left from his big start, his feud with Matt Hardy, and from at least hanging with some top guys. It's a short road to the ECW title, and he could be dominant for a while. After a 6 Month or so ECW title reign, beating all comers, he'd be ready to jump as a "free agent" into the main event scene of Raw or Smackdown.

I still say it was a mistake not to give MVP&WSM a one-night or one-week title run. If that had happened, that team would have more legitimacy, MVP would be a lot closer to being a main eventer, and I don't think that we'd be having this discussion.

 

[Wrath]

It's very simple because his character lost it's coolness. WWE took everything from him that made him cool after he turned face. What made him over was his clothes,cool ring entrance,expensive jewelries and his I'm better than you attitude. After he turned face he became just an another smiling,happy,unfunny type of guy. The things that made him over were gone and his character became so stale and boring.

For me it's creative to blame. They just fucked up his character and turned him into a ridiculous character.

 

[Freddy4190]

He turned face. That's what happened to him. He sucks ass as a face. He tries too hard. He might as well carry around a sign that says "Clap for me." I don't think he quite understands how to pull off the face thing. It's like he motions to the crowd and punches The Miz and expects people to want to put a belt on him. He was a damn good heel on Smackdown, I loved him then. Loved to hate him as well. If he continues this shit, by this time next year he'll either be buried in the mid-card, doomed to eternity as one of them, or future endeavored.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Well the problem is obvious. He's on Raw, plain and simple. If you don't win the title while on SD, you ain't ever going to win it on Raw. A lot of people thought that Jack Swagger would excel on Raw. What's he done? Seriously, what's he done? Traded wins with Evan Bourne and lost multiple US title matches. Score!

What happened to Kennedy? He was getting title shots on SD, he goes to Raw and never gets a sniff at anything ever again.

Miz and Kofi must be the only guys to have moved from where they were to Raw and actually ended up in a better position than they were in beforehand, because everyone else i.e. MVP, Mark Henry, Gail Kim, Kennedy, Swagger and Evan Bourne is worse off. I bet guys like Swagger and Bourne wish they were still on ECW, where they actually had matches that lasted more than 5 minutes and were able to get themselves over.

You could argue that Sheamus is doing well also, but let's see what he's doing after TLC shall we? If he's back to squashing jobbers and attacking ring crew, then you can start the countdown to his release right then and there.

Also, in Kofi's case, he's been on Raw for what, a year and a half now? Most of these other guys haven't been on the same roster for more than a year, without being traded at random, so that's probably the only reason the guy is actually being used right now.

What did JoMo ever achieve on Raw? He won the IC title in a meaningless reign and that was it. He goes to ECW and becomes the ECW champion, AND one half of one of the best tag teams of this decade. He then goes to SD, and his pops are getting bigger and bigger every week, and he's had a very good IC title reign so far. If he went back to Raw, he'd be lucky to be on the card every week, never mind getting over.

So that's why MVP isn't going anywhere, because he's stuck in a queue that isn't moving.

 

[Undar8d]

I was and still am a huge MVP fan, but his recent face turn and switch to RAW just completely ruined his place in the WWE. He needs to turn into that cocky, highest-paid superstar in the WWE, ballin' heel that MVP was, and go back on SmackDown! because as of right now, I see no future for MVP on RAW.

What do you think has happened to MVP? Do you think he can get back to what he once was or do you think he will be stuck where he is for the time being. Does creative seem afraid to push him or do they know more than we do? Also, where do you see him this time next year?

Hopefully, I see MVP at top mid-card getting the main-event rub by the end of 2010 only if he's moved on SmackDown! and repackaged a bit. On RAW, it's too over-crowded with no character depth on mostly any superstar.

 

[JayBriscoe2010]

MVP is so much better as a Heel. His typical "struggling out the hood movie style" storyline is just meh. It's good the 1st time but get's repetitive very quick, plus the bad booking of him hasn't helped either. I THOUGHT he was being pushed in the main event when he had a confrontation and match with Orton back last summer but that didn't pan out obviously. He has the talent and then some but it's up to Creative now to see if they Orton him or Swagger him. I would put him back on Smackdown and give him a instant program with Rey Mysterio which would catapult him to the World Title by SummerSlam.

 

[JayMiine]

MVP's promo on Raw tonight was great in my opinion. He came straight from the heart. That promo is one of the best I've seen in a while(including Miz' part of course.) MVP showed he could be a main-eventer in his feud with Benoit and even Hardy. I hope gets writing's confidence in 2010.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

MVP's promo was good but the crowd still didn't get behind him which makes me he has a terrible character. I don't see what all the hype is about him. Chris Benoit made him look like gold in 2007 and has done nothing since. He needs to change a lot of things before he can sniff the main event. He called out Orton early in the year but didn't do anything with it. MVP's promo didn't improve him in my eyes but I do think he needs to turn heel where he had the most success.

 

[gully side adidja]

i agree, i think he does need it bad, he is much natural being a heel, as a face, it seems he is saying things, but he doesn't believe what he says, benoit did make him look like gold, that was mvp shining moment IMO, I also don't think him winning the u.s title will elevate him either, he has held it twice already, and this ain't wcw, where the u.s champ is the no.1 contender to the world title.