London and Palumbo

[HBK-aholic]

Paul London, who hasn't been seen on TV in quite some time and isn't being used much on house shows, is said to be close to termination. He doesn't have any allies on the creative team which is why there has been no focus on repackaging him like they did with Kendrick.

Chuck Palumbo, who has yet to make his Raw debut since being drafted from Smackdown, is also very close to being released. It's said that Vince used to be high on his biker gimmick but grew tired of it rather quickly. In Palumbo's case, he has always had the support of Johnny "Ace" Laurinaitis, who was responsible for bringing him back into the company after his first stint with the company was over

Does anyone really care? I don't usually read the news site but when I came across the headline "2 Raw superstars in danger of being released" I thought it may be someone interesting. Truth is, neither of this guys have done anything spectacular in the ring, and getting a reaction from the crowd is almost unheard of.

Raw will not suffer in any way without them. Palumbo hasn't even been on Raw I don't think. On Smackdown he wasn't much good either.

 

[justinsayne]

Polumbo flat out sucks and should have never been brought back in the first place, London will be just fine with out the WWE, he could very easily go back to ROH, ROH fans love this guy, so I don't think he'd have much problem getting back into that company, TNA could possibly pick him up as well and throw him in the X-division, or stick him into some random thrown together tag team and it would surprise me if that's exactly what they do either, in the end neither will really be missed by the WWE fans all that much

 

[Luther_Hull]

Damn shame about Paul London in my opinion, just shows what politics can do. RAW is suffering now, I'm not saying that Paul London = Ratings but I don't see why they can't give him a chance. When he was in his tag team with Kendrick I always thought that London was more likely to be the break out star, he was trained by Shawn Michaels so I don't see why they couldn't have incorporated him into that storyline, if they can manage to fit Lance f'n Cade in there then I'm sure they could have used London as HBK's protege or something, even if it was a little mini feud with Cade underneath the main feud.

 

[Slyfox696]

I've always thought that London was the better in-ring worker between him and Kendrick, but there's no denying that London has the charisma roughly equivalent of an anvil. You can be solid in the ring, but if no one gives a damn, you're not a very good wrestler.

And Palumbo? He's a guy that just doesn't seem to have it. I think he tries hard, he's got a good look, and a lot of things going for him. But, he just doesn't have what it takes, for whatever reason.


To answer the original question. No, I don't care.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I'm obviously in the minority, but I feel more back for Chuck Palumbo than I do Paul London. I mean, London has been given pushes before and he just didn't have them work out.

I'm not saying Palumbo hasn't, but roughly put Palumbo's been given gimmicks that worked well by OTHER wrestlers, never his own gimmick.

I personally believe Paul London could've been better suited for Lance Cade's position as Jericho's lackie, but I'm summing up Cade being there only due to his size. Even with that, I'd hardly say Cade is any better off. He's still rarely being used, and the only time he comes into play is when he's getting his ass stomped by Shawn Michaels. I'd hardly call that a push of any kind. Still, I guess it's better than being kept completely off television and almost (if not soon to be) released.

Still.. in the end, Palumbo would've worked way better in a Tag Team that didn't focus 100% on him, and London would've worked better in a Cruiserweight division that's just not there anymore. Neither of these individuals will be missed in the long run, and they'll likely both jump to T.N.A. and make something of it.

Palumbo will likely spark up a Tag Team of some kind, and London will go back to being an X-Division star like he was once before in T.N.A. (I believe London's been with them before, in fact I know he has. I recall him facing Saban or Bentley for the X-Title once upon a time)

 

[tehblogger]

Nope, don't care either. London will be fine on the indy scene, or possibly TNA, where he might be genuinely useful. No point him just staying there as an occasional jobber. Palumbo is just shocking. I'm amazed he wasn't released a long time ago. He just couldn't get over, and that feud with McCool and Noble STANK. That could have been the start of a push for him, but since he sucked so much and no one cared about the feud, they dropped it. Just a generic big man that, yet again, WWE have found they have no use for after a while.

 

[Showtime]

It doesn't really surprise me (I actually guessed it was on London and Deuce, but Palumbo makes sense to). Palumbo and London haven't been doing much and creative doesn't seem to have any ideas and plans for them either. WWE seems more than ever this year towards cutting the fat, and we've seen a ton of wrestlers released this past year. As well, there have been a considerable amount of call ups as well. WWE seems determined to begin creating their future and will give up on anybody and replace them with one of their many younger talents.

Thinking about it, perhaps they're trying to justify their minor league system right now by bringing up a bunch of talent that have been there a while?

Anyway back to London and Palumbo, it's a shame for both, particularly London who is a talented wrestler, but just seems to have no friends or allies in the WWE. WWE never knew what to do with either man. With nothing left for them why not put both men in a tag team and justify the division a little more. London and Palumbo are both multiple time tag champs, each with two or more different partners, so they could form a team, they could do that whole Big Show/Billy Gunn thing that they had around the invasion time, except it might work for these two because they've accomplished less and want just to be in. WWE should be doing that with a bunch of the talent they have released, put some of them together as a team to fill the tag division and maybe get over as a team. If it doesn't work, then you release them, but at least they have an another shot, a last chance of you will, and they'll add to the usual 2 or 3 tag teams in a division.

 

[Mr. TM]

I was kind of hoping for a Palumbo Undertaker feud at one point. When Palumbo was brought to Raw, that kind of died off. Another potential opponent could be Kane. I would rather see Palumbo in the ring than I would Snisky. With London though, He could feud with any number of wrestlers in the WWE, including a high profile feud with Evan Borne and Rey Mysterio. Put him with Helms, and make the fans remember why little men in the ring can sell and entertain better than giants.

 

[The Snake]

The problem with people like London is that there is still a glass ceiling that needs to be smashed for guys his size now. Kendrick and Mysterio have broken out of the cruiserweight label and risen above into becoming part of the rest of the show, but there are only 2 titles now and I can't see either of those becoming a champion any time soon. London is really a victim of losing the cruiserweight division (whether or not it was worth losing it has probably been discussed a 100 times, but certain wrestlers were victim to it), same with people like Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang, teaming up 2 US/IC contendors seems much more common as a team as opposed to getting 2 cruiserweights together (in addition to natural tag teams), Miz and Morrison or Rhodes/DiBiase are the sorts of teams made up of people who it is plausible for them to become a 2nd level title holder, with London I cant see it, the point I'm making is that titles are central to most storylines that are not the "Non Title Main Event", because most feuds end in a PPV match, I can't see people wanting to see London vs. MVP if it were not for the US title (example).

Another problem for London is that now Kendrick is strutting his stuff on SD!, if London came back to Raw people might start to remember Kendrick back in his Londrick days and be less callous to him, of course we know subconsciously he was part of a popular team, just like we know a lot of prior things about wrestlers, but if we were being reminded of it constantly (I mean that's all the 2 of them are famous for, so we would think about it) then it would not really work. If Kendrick is this good, then there is no point risking it to keep London happy, I thought he was the better of the 2, but I might well be wrong, because Kendrick is interesting me more and more each week.

Palumbo - Erm... Not too fussed about him really, one of the 10 a penny wrestlers, he was liked by affiliation, not for his character, I also could not get the idea of the Undertaker's American BA combined with him being gay with Billy Gunn out of my head when I saw him, it would have been nice for it to work out for him, but it never really got off the ground really, Michelle McCool got a lot out of it, Palumbo evidently didnt.

Sorry if this post is a bit wishy-washy, I'm awfully tired so my sentence structure might not be very understandable.

 

[Darkshot77]

Its not these two that bother me, it the idea of whose next. Paul Burchill watch you back. Aperantly the WWE has only room for one Paul. (Isnt it strange that most Pauls have had moderate succes on SD! London as a tag team and Birchill as the Pirate. And now H is king over there just a random thought) Palumbo is neither here nor there. What killed London other than the Cruiserweithe division desolving, is the banning of the SSP and the 450. He just wasnt the same. But he cold easily make it back into ROH or TNA look at it, here is the X division not including tag members:

Petey Willams, Concequences Creed, Sheik Bashir, Johnny Devine, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt, With tag teams you have Alex Shelly, Chris Sabin, Jimmy Rave, Curry Man, and Shark Boy. Dutt and Leathal are in a feud the PJB wont be part of the X division picture, neither dose, Rave or Devine. So adding Paul London, could help the division. And if they do I hope they keep their promise and he wears gold in a month.

 

[king5000]

What killed London's WWE career was the ending the CW division and the lack of tag team division. Also being on RAW didn't help his career.

Now the WWE have pushed Kendrick its very unlikely that London will ever get a push. Its the Marty Jannetty curse.

Palumbo had a very bad heel turn. He could go for the IC but never get it.

 

[Danmen001]

he was trained by Shawn Michaels so I don't see why they couldn't have incorporated him into that storyline, if they can manage to fit Lance f'n Cade in there then I'm sure they could have used London as HBK's protege or something, even if it was a little mini feud with Cade underneath the main feud.

They did actually, although quite temporarily to be flat. Also the fact you don't remember (unless you never saw it) is a testament to the fact he means close to nothing. Shame as well, he wasn't all bad as people have said.

In light of what he did in that fued, 1 week Jericho squashed him and brought light of the fact he was trained by Shawn Michaels and what that has given him (being sqaushed no doubt). Next week he was squashed by Cade, didn't do much for him really. Except give Cade some air time, which he needs or could at least do with seeing as he is now doing close to nothing.

As for Columbo, he was better as a face.I don't really care eitehr way, but at least as a face he got a reaction. Either way, not a big loss, just a shame he couldn't get another chance.

 

[Tim]

I don't give a shit about Palumbo. He's not entertaining, and to me he's just another nig man in the WWE, but not as big as the rest. I really don't get why he's still employed, or why they brought him back.

Shame about Paul London though. I reckon that he could get to a mid card title if he was booked the right way. In his tag matches with Kendrick, he didn't seem to rely on Kendrick, he could make it by himself. He has a pretty good look and I reckon he'll do well in the indys or TNA if he gets released. Damn WWE wasting all his talent like they always do with their wrestlers.

 

[KillBill]

I actually like Palumbo. Forget all the WWE stuff, just make himthe "main EVent" from WCW. He's big and hes got decent look. If Snitsky, can still be there, then palumbo should. Everyone thinks these guys should have been released a while ago. If there still employed, someone is styicking up for them. The cruiserweght would be great for WWE. Send thses guys to ECW, they can help younger guys. Bring back Sean O Haire. Him and Palumbo were entertaining.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Paul and Palumbo. Some things to discuss:

1. At least they wouldn't be losing two important people, right? I mean these guys haven't really amounted to anything and they haven't been used much lately, so it wouldn't open up a huge gap.

2. There are two bigger fish to fry if you're looking to release people, I think. To me, Deuce has less to offer than Palumbo and London, as he's not only simply too old to improve and become worth much, but he needs LOTS of improvement. I don't see why we still have Hacksaw on the roster when he should, at most, be grouped together with IRS, Slaughter, Piper, and the other "random appearances" list.

3. Despite "Paulumbo" being limited in their use at the moment to the company, when we have such a failing tag team division, I don't know why they don't just find tag team spots for them. Even if they don't throw them into tag teams, they can still use them as jobbers. London can be Raw's resident toss-around guy similar to Funaki on Smackdown.

I'd rather these two get released than Burchill and Kennedy, as those rumors have been flying around, and I don't see a reason for letting those two out of the bag, but I'd still like to see the WWE find a spot for Palumbo and London.

 

[jpfizzle]

My thoughts on this are...

Why have an ECW talent merge with RAW meaning that two guys are possibly going to loose there jobs because they can't find enough TV time? For the sake of what? Showcasing the talents of The Miz, Morrison and Evan Bourne? These 3 are without doubt more talented than London and Palumbo so why don't they use that, hpye tuesday nights or just swap the talents.

I also feel that...

What ever happened to the mid-card, seriously, after reading Wills posts on the IC and European titles I look at todays product and think: The young talent of today is infinitley better than it was in the attitude era... the difference was that WWE/ F speant time on the mid-card back then, they had a mid-card and they had guys who could open. Guys like CM Punk would be much better off feuding for the IC title for a year, and guys like Paul London and Chuck Palumbo would be perfect fodder for him to beat to make himself worthy of a shot at the big time.

In closing,

Paul London is an exceptional talent, and Chuck Palumbo has a great look, the WWE could use these guys. I don't see why they release so many wrestlers to replace them with guys who they just end up sending the same way.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

London is a talented worker whom I personally think has never gotten his due. Sure, he doesn't have Brian Kendrick's talent on the mic, in fact I can't ever remember him cutting a promo, but he was definitely the better one of Kendrick & London when they were teaming. It shouldn't be that hard to give him a good gimmick and let him work his magic, but it seems that it's easier to save some money by letting good talent go. Way of the business, I guess.

I couldn't care less about Palumbo getting cut. First of all, he was never a particularly good wrestler to begin with and I knew from the moment he was re-hired that it would take a hell of a lot to get rid of the stigma from Billy & Chuck, something I feel they failed to, even with a macho biker gimmick ripped off from 'Taker. Palumbo's feud with Noble was pretty good, although the credit should go mostly to Noble and not Palumbo's efforts for that. Basically, he's never gonna be a draw for the company and he's not that good of a wrestler or mic guy. I won't shed any tears over him. Not that I would for London, just a figure of speech >.>

 

[AFC1986]

The only time I've been impressed by him is when he teamed with Sean O'Haire during the Invasion angle in 2001, so I couldn't care less if he went.

As for London, I feel that he should be given a chance as he is Intercontinental championship material. I think he is very over with the fans and I would like to see him and Evan Bourne as a tag-team as both are high-flyers and they could compliment each other very well. But that being said, I think he may have cost himself a job when London smiled backstage when Vince McMahon was walking slowly just before getting into the limo that exploded and I think Vince is now finally close to letting him go. I can see him going to TNA and give the X Division a massive breath of fresh air

 

[Tastycles]

I think with London, it just shows that you need at least some friends in high places backstage to get anywhere. He allegedly has attitude problems, and it looks like that has come back to haunt him, with him doing absolutely nothing, and Kendrick being given a WWE title shot and a massive push. I find London quite entertaining to watch, and he could easily have been the one to team up with Evan Bourne on Raw. However, he is nothing on Mysterio in terms of popularity and so that ship has sailed.

As for Palumbo, he does nothing for me. The biker gimmick is tired, and he doesn't have particularly thrilling fights, but I think there are people who should be closer to the unemployment line than him, because at least he has a gimmick. Snitsky, Deuce and Hardcore Holly are all on the Raw roster, and all worse than Palumbo in my opinion. Palumbo's gimmick of being a mean biker could easily let him fill the snitsky role of being the monster heel jobber, but unlike Snitsky he does not look like the subject of a public safety video warning against steroid abuse.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

I care, sorta. I really like London. He doesnt have alot of charisma but I still think he could be a good midcarder. Or they could move him to ECW where he could be a mainevent caliaber star there. London is not liked back stage and that is what's going to be the end of him. He never got the same chance Kendrick did and now will most likely be gone soon. One thing is TNA & ROH are both great fit for him, so he probably won't be jobless to long. Palambo on the other hand I think is a lost caused unless they put him in a tag team or use him as a jobber. I really dont care where Chuck goes.