Millions of invested dollars?

[Machianzo]

As you can probably guess, this thread right here is going to be one about the Prime time players, a tag team I believe could well live up to their erstwhile catchphrase.

Foremost, allow me to break down why exactly I am a Prime Time Players mark. The biggest reason is, every time they have gotten screen time and I have been watching, they have entertained me. From their debut post match excellence (with an assist from M Cole and Booker T).

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxR5BfLuQkk[/YOUTUBE]

Every time they have had any sort of skit or chance to speak, I have been amused, entertained, and generally interested in what they've had to say. These two, in my humble opinion are gold on the mic (Titus more than Young perhaps). In the ring, they could use a little more improvement (again, Titus more than Young) but time should see to that, I feel. Their mannerisms are already quite amusing, such as when Titus started doing an American football charge (at least, I think it was, being British I am rather unsure) at Sin Cara during their last PPV encounter, or D Young's dancing in the ring when the PTP's have the upper hand in the ring.

Now, ever since they failed to take the tag titles off Kofi and R Truth, the PTP's have been on a bit of a downward spiral booking wise, minus their matches against Sin Cara and Mysterio (because lets face it, anyone lucky enough to feud with Mysterio is getting pretty good treatment.)

None the less, I still feel that the PTP's will have a hard road back to relevancy. Now this is based on the fact I think the both of them could be (and are) valuable assets to WWE's future, but my view is one, rather uneducated view.

So people of wrestlezone, what are your thoughts and feeling on the Prime Time Players? Do you think they could truly be millions of dollars, or are they a few cents bound to evaporate away? (Or anything in between.)

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

The Primetime Players serve their purpose in filling up the tag team ranks, but they're nothing to write home about. That being said I can see them winning the tag titles at least once, especially when Team Hell No splits. I like their tag entrance and the music they have. But they haven't shown any real tag chemistry.

My major issue with the PTP is Darren Young. He has no charisma, he's nothing special in the ring, and about the only thing he ever does is pick at his hair. I remember the episode of RAW where the Players sat down to do commentary, and every time they shot the talking point to Darren he completely bombed. There's just nothing impressive about D. Young.

On the other side of the coin you have Titus O'Neill, who I will be honest never impressed me in NXT. But every time they've given him the ball to speak he's at least hit the ball. He's got a lot of areas in the ring to improve upon, but he has ten times the upside that Young has. He's got a lot of charisma, and even when he fails he does his damnedest to right to ship.

I think eventually the WWE will give up on Darren, and he'll become a jobber to the stars much like JTG did, and he'll eventually be future endeavored because it's going to get to a point where he's actually holding Titus back.

I'm not saying Titus has the ability to be a future world champion, but I think he'll be on the roster a lot longer than Darren. My prediction is they will win the tag titles just to give them a shot in the spotlight, and if it doesn't pan out I can see them having Titus turn on Darren and using the whole "He's holding me back" angle to get him over as a single's star.

 

[The Hardcore Kid]

I love the Primetime Players. They are and old school tag team, sharing a gimmick, caring only for Tag Team gold, they're funny, and they're improving in the ring. As you mentioned, Titus is already a great wrestler, and pretty damn entertaining on the mic. I disagree that D. Young has no charisma; he has decent ring presence and a good look. He just needs to improve on the mic, but if they keep Titus as the mouthpiece it should be fine.

I wish A.W. never made that rape joke, because him as the mouthpiece, mic'd up during their matches was gold. I feel like since that ended so abruptly it was the end of PTP's serious push.

Hopefully once Team Hell No breaks up (don't get me wrong, I love Hell No, but I would love to see Daniel Bryan get back into the upper singles ranks...a feud between D. Bry and Kane for WrestleMania seems logical at this point), there will be more room for PTP in the Tag Team Championship scene. They're the kinda team that could easily go face and feud with Rhodes Scholars.

 

[dotty_84]

Do i think they can bring in millions of dollars? No, because mainly singles and factions bring in that money, possible Legion of Doom being that exception.

But on the rest i agree with the OP. I find them amusing but all i see is them being a tag team, nobody pulling away and being a star. Titus for me is the stronger, more charisma better on the mic and funnier, although to be fair Darren Young makes an excellent foil and sometimes you need that.

If Titus were to split and get the push i could see him in the role as a goofy well built guy with a manager that gets him some wins and gets him opportunities for championship matches. I never see him getting a Main Event title match though.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The answer is very simple, they need a 3rd man (or a replacement for Young) and that man is... Shelton Benjamin...

When I heard he could be returning, the PTP seemed right for him off the bat, here is a guy who has the talent but not the "mic skills", PTP have some good mic skills but not his level of talent... so put them together as a faction and have them steadily picking up wins... Young can get pissed off and "jettisoned" as Titus starts to see the money roll in. Then as a Tag team Titus and Benjamin adapt it slightly to "Millions o' Benjamins" when they win the tag titles.

 

[soooooperdragon]

i think they should scrap darren young and replace him with xavier woods in nxt. him and titus would be gold or just keep young and add xavier as the 3rd.young playing a cheerleader role for them or something

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

The Prime Time Players are a great tag team, but losing AW was a fatal blow to them becoming anything more than a mid-card tag team that does just enough to give a taste of becoming WWE Tag Team Champions. But they don't interest me without someone telling me WHY they're worth millions of dollars. AW did that on a daily basis.

Hopefully, they'll bring back AW after a few months and the Prime Time Players are still around.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Foremost, allow me to break down why exactly I am a Prime Time Players mark. The biggest reason is, every time they have gotten screen time and I have been watching, they have entertained me.

It's kind of sad that this is what makes people a "mark" these days. No offense to you, it's a sign of the industry; not calling you a bad fan or anything. Should it not be the goal of everyone on the roster to be entertaining every time they are on screen? Just sad that people like Ziggler get cheered because he's competent. The fans are so hard-up for real entertaining wrestlers, that they've just started "marking out" for anything that's consistently good. Regardless of heel/face orientation.

Now, ever since they failed to take the tag titles off Kofi and R Truth, the PTP's have been on a bit of a downward spiral booking wise, minus their matches against Sin Cara and Mysterio (because lets face it, anyone lucky enough to feud with Mysterio is getting pretty good treatment.)

I don't think that's necessarily true. They haven't been in the tag title picture recently, but they are consistently on TV every week, sometimes twice a week. That's better than most teams that WERE in the title picture of the last few years. WWE recognizes their comedy factor, and is tapping in to it every chance they get. And they have been in matches too, and they haven't become straight-up comedy characters or anything. I think they've done a decent job keeping them in the back of people's minds.

I've come to really appreciate the Prime Time Players. As much as I dont' usually get into the obviously racially stereotypical gags, these guys execute the bit to such outlandish proportions, and with such comedic timing that I can't help but love them. They're not bad in the ring either. Titus could use more polish, but he's not been wrestling that long and is in his mid-30's so I don't fault him for it. He more than makes up for it in charisma.

At present, I feel like WWE could turn them face and succeed, but I fear at that point they will just become another token comedic gag, ala Santino or Brodus Clay. If keeping them heel means they'll be taken seriously and given title shots, than that's what I prefer to stick with. I just think that given the chance, the fans would really take to them both as babyfaces. Now, as singles stars I don't see much either of them offer. Young has proven he can't get over as a singles star. He barely got over as a part of a group with 6 other guys. THere's a couple years of tag team gold hidden in PTP, and I hope WWE sticks with them. I believe they have a lot more value together.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think the Prime Time Players are a hilarious and entertaining tag team. They are decent in the ring and I always look forward to their promos. I'm not entirely sure about how they would do in singles runs at the moment, but I can see them holding the giant pennies in the future easily. They are the best candidates for a top heel team in the division. I would give them the push to end the title reign of Team Hell No. They would then hold onto the belts for a while. I'd hope it happens, I have not enjoyed an entertaining heel tag team this much since Miz & Morrison.

Will they be the most successful tag team ever? No. Will they dominate the main event scene if/when they split up? Doubtful. Can they win the Tag Team Championship and have an entertaining run as the top team in the division? Certainly. They are helping a division that needs it and should be kept together for a good while. As far as whether they will be worth as much as their favorite phrase goes, that I really don't see happening. That doesn't mean they aren't an asset as a tag team. Someone has to defeat Kane & Bryan at some point and I'd like it to be these guys. They deserve it and can have a great run of their own.

 

[MCMG]

I really like them as well. They are entertaining and the "millions of dollars" dance thing is funny. In the ring they are good and they whole tag-team is simply terrific. I would go as far to say they could turn face they are that good and likable. Young seems like he can pull off a goofy kinda gimmick really well and O'Neil can't speak without me laughing. I'm not sure how far a tag-team can go in the current state of wrestling but they can go as high as feasibly possible.

 

[HBK-RVDFan92]

I must admit upon first seeing the introduction of PTP on Smackdown via Big Johnny, I didn't think too much of them with they're pre match promo directed at Teddy Long. main reason being that Darren Young hasn't really impressed me, and then seeing Titus after a little less than impressive stint in NXT season 2. And to be honest I never really followed their in ring careers with NXT after the fact either, but I admit after their match against The Usos I was introduced to a different kind of tag team. Both Titus and Young have the charisma and talent but I must admit right after I finally got comfortable with AW's presence at ringside, pulling the plug on their mouthpiece did push them down a few notches. But like most people have already said, their continuous promos and commentary have kept me interested and more importantly in the climate of this industry, ENTERTAINED.

Again I agree with the common idea that they may need to add a third to their team. Shelton Benjamin as said by @THTRobTaylor is a great choice, a few names I also had in mind were The Godfather (since his RR return I can see him in a manger role, Hoes included as an added incentive to win their matches lol), MVP (after a rumored return for the RR how great would it be for the Prime Time Players to add the "Most Valuable Player" to their group? US and Tag Title run anyone?), a returning Big Zeke (more muscle for the millions of dollars) and lastly maybe Big E. (after rumored plans of splitting him away from Ziggy, he could stand out with the PTP and still get enough TV time to stay relevant within the company).

Another idea I had is that given their charisma and how much pop/heat they gain from the crowd (heat seems legit but you cant ignore how invested the crowd is as far as reactions go during their matches), I can see in the future a nice face turn if they keep building up this momentum they have behind them. The higher ups have to see some type of potential in these guys besides just comic relief. I do agree that Young lacks strong mic skills but has in ring ability and charisma, where as Titus has the stronger mic skills and charisma out of the two and is solid in the ring but can only get better. I draw this final idea out to pretty much paint the picture of face turn and push for PTP to the effect of the New Age Outlaws. Billy Gunn? much better in ring work, didnt talk too much on the mic unless finishing prematch promo but had the charisma. Road Dogg? much better mic work and charisma and didn't have to do anything TOO impressive besides a shaky leg knee drop or a shake rattle n roll to get the over with the crowd. The combination of both could see the this generation's culmination of a new NAO type of tag team that entertains and makes it fun to watch them in and out of the ring. Crazy? maybe, but obviously this face turn would not be an overnight success; as they maybe turn face, win the titles and continue to have fun with their promos and dancing I can easily see it turning into a tag team the crowd with learn to love (until the idea goes stale or one turns on the other a'la Team Hell No in the future weeks to come). As long as they don't book them as the stereotypical black duo like Cryme Tyme or have them job out to ppl like 3MB their following should be strong (although a face PTP/3MB feud would do great for both teams in terms of heat/pop). Millions of Dollars off the bat? maybe not but i can definitely see PTP putting together a few million dollar ideas along the way before they hit paydirt. and yes that was a Shelton Benjamin pun.