[OFFICIAL] Michael Tarver / Carlito Discussion Thread

[Turd Ferguson]

The other night when I was watching ECW, when I saw Carlito flash up on the screen as one of the "mentors", the first thought that went through my head was, "Oh shit, hopefully Danielson's not stuck with him..." then Michael Tarver was announced as his protege, and the only thought that went through my head was, "Oh, that poor son of a bitch."

And really, I think that's the appropriate response for having Carlito, one of the laziest and sullen wrestlers of this generation who inexplicably still has a job with the WWE as a mentor. What exactly could a wrestler learn from him? Give up when your push goes wrong? How to have exactly the worst work ethic possible? To be an entitled douchebag? To be given a golden opportunity, and not capitalize on it? To spit apple in the faces of people?

There is really not too much to learn from Carlito. And poor Michael Tarver, he's dead in the water already. He's going to be 33 years old this year, which is usually considered to be old for a wrestler, and ancient for a "prospect". And he is saddled with a lazy, lazy son of a bitch in Carlito. I can just picture Tarver trying to learn something from Carlito, reclining in a chair, reading a newspaper, telling him to "go do a moonsault or something" without even looking up.

What do you see coming from this tandem? Is Tarver dead in the water without even getting started, or is he going to overcome some considerable odds, what with his age and his lazy mentor?

 

[The Doctor]

I want to look on the bright side of things. Carlito is talented, and is the son of a legendary promoter. Michael Tarver had a good MMA gimmick in FCW, and MMA is popular right now. Plus, maybe Carlito will be more dutiful and diligent now that he has some responsibility. Tarver's failure would undoubtedly reflect on Carlito and the company would get upset with him.

However, there is a strong chance this could fail. Carlito is known to be lazy and outspoken, always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. He's known to have a bad attitude backstage, and poor Michael Tarver is stuck with him. Unless there's a side of Carlito we don't know about, Tarver is (for lack of a better word) screwed.

 

[Kayoh]

Frankly, I hope Tarver knocks Carlito out. That'd be awesome to see. They probably set the two of them up because Tarver is the MMA purist guy and Carlito is the more technical wrestler who knows how to play dirty type of guy. They did a lot of opposite pairings. Just look at Miz/Danielson.

Maybe something that we don't know will have it turning out that Tarver is a complete work horse and he'll knock some sense into Carlito.

 

[Paragon of Virtue]

Since Carlito is an amazing talent, I could only see good things coming for Michael Tarver. I consider Tarver one of the more lucky ones as he has a mentor who could teach him great in all aspects of wrestling. MVP and Miz are good, but they are less skilled in wrestling matches compared to Carlito. Matt Hardy is lacking the mic skills to teach Justin Angel. R-Truth is great, but isn't as great in working long wrestling matches. Carlito is up there with Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Christian in that he has a lot of experience to offer Tarver.

People on the internet always seem to believe Carlito is satisfied staying as a mid-carder, not becoming a main eventer. I'm thinking if that was true, why was Carlito upset with how WWE was using him? For example when he was left off Wrestlemania to wrestle a dark match teaming with Ric Flair. If he was too lazy and careless, why wouldn't he have been alright with just kicking back only having to wrestle a quick little dark match.

Overall, I feel that wrestling fans on the internet don't really know enough truth in what actually goes on in a wrestler and how they are. I bet Carlito is one to actually speak up when he is frustrated, like when he was left off of Wrestlemania after having good build up in his feud with Ric Flair. When he was a face being pushed in a feud with Orton, I thought he was doing great and they should have continued pushing him forward rather than letting him fall. If he fell because they felt he wasn't connecting with the fans, maybe it's because they didn't give him good material to work with. Honestly if let's say fans weren't into him, what makes them think fans would be more into someone like Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, etc. considering Carlito's entertaining character.

I don't completely think he should have gone with the approach that he did, but I'm still supporting him because he and I know what success he could have when pushed properly.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

LMAO @ you guys thinking this will not be 100% scripted with adlibs here and there.

We're discussing how things are going to play out. Of course, Carlito isn't going to "train" and "help develop" Tarver. It's just like how The Miz isn't going to help out Danielson at all. Still doesn't mean that Tarver has any shot of winning this. And it still doesn't mean that if Carlito were to help train Tarver, in terms of kayfabe, that he'd be able to teach him anything. The fact that he was given Carlito as a mentor, which already puts him at a disadvantage because nobody gives a shit about Carlito, plus his age means that there's a lot for him to overcome.

NONE of us think this is going to be 100% reality. What the fuck can The Miz teach Bryan Danielson? We're just discussing how things are going to play out. You keep thinking that you're smarter than all of us though and contribute nothing to the discussion. Great job!

 

[GenMe]

Carlito and Tarver dont go well together. Mr. Tarver is more of a MMA fighter and Carlito likes to cheat and goes with the flow. Tarver goes straight for what he wants the W in his card.

I really dont know if carlito is really going to help Tarver with anything. As we all know that Carlito is a lazy ass. But is guess WWE put Carlito as Tarver's mentor for a reason. Let's just wait what happends in a few days.

 

[Mr. TM]

Tarver is my man here. After watching NXT tonight, no one impressed me more. He lost the match, and Im not sure why. Slater is shit in my books, but of course he didn't pick up the one for his team, it was Christain. I guess becase it was the first match of the night, it went down like that. One last thing, great fucking voice on him.

 

[The Doctor]

After last night, I'm kind of digging Michael Tarver. I thought he came off in his promo as a guy who could totally dominate you, but he also had a stylish side that I enjoyed. He has a great voice and look. I'm hoping he and Carlito get into arguments over what is "cool". In my opinion, Tarver is cooler than Carlito will ever be.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

The other night when I was watching ECW, when I saw Carlito flash up on the screen as one of the "mentors", the first thought that went through my head was, "Oh shit, hopefully Danielson's not stuck with him..." then Michael Tarver was announced as his protege, and the only thought that went through my head was, "Oh, that poor son of a bitch."

And really, I think that's the appropriate response for having Carlito, one of the laziest and sullen wrestlers of this generation who inexplicably still has a job with the WWE as a mentor. What exactly could a wrestler learn from him? Give up when your push goes wrong? How to have exactly the worst work ethic possible? To be an entitled douchebag? To be given a golden opportunity, and not capitalize on it? To spit apple in the faces of people?

The thing is, it's kayfabe. I don't think Vince, knowing what we know about him, and feeling how he does about him, would let Carlito seriously mentor anyone. The people who are *really* mentoring these guys are probably the really good ones, like Cena and Orton, and the people with the ridiculous amount of work ethic, like Funaki or some of the other agents in the back. I think this is just to give Tarver a starting image as a mid-card heel for the time being so he can use Carlito's gimmick to push himself a little bit farther.

 

[Theo Mays]

At first I wasn't so sure about this Tarver fellow, but after last night I was impressed. The guy showed promise and had a solid video package and it made him really stick out. Plus I sensed some tension between him and Carlito. The end when Carlito went to Irish whip him into Christian and Tarver countered and whipped Carlito, it didn't "seem" like that was the plan and Carlito looked a bit flustered on the outside. I can say that I like this tandem more than I did when it was first announced, but it has nothing to do with Carlito and everything to do with Tarver.

 

[mister_b1LL]

When I first saw Michael Tarver, I thought this guy was going places. He had a flashy look, looked and fought like a bad ass, and sold that Killswitch beautifully. However, a few minutes later I see David Otunga, who pretty much has the flashy gimmick as well but plays it a whole lot better. Unless there may be plans to team them up if they get out of NXT, Tarver just doesn't seem to have enough to make it.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I thought Tarver looked like a fucking beast, truly. If they go the boxer/shootfighter direction with him, make him sorta rampage jackson/Kimbo Slice type. he could be truly fucking nasty. He spoke of sleeping in cars and such, so I think they could certainly go the Kimbo Slice direction with him, if only he could add on about ten more pounds of muscle, or at the least, about 3-4 inches onto his arms. His character was good, look and physique a bit lacking.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I feel really bad for Tarver. Of all people, he got stuck with Carlito. What's Carlito going to teach him? How to be lazy? How to be a jobber? Tarver's age doesn't help either. I hope that he can overcome the odds of his age and a terrible choice for a mentor (Carlito) because he seems like he could succeed with some type of fighter gimmick, he has a lot of odds to overcome though.

 

[Via Armbar]

Kimbo Slice is shit, and he's the last person that creative wants to model him after. He's very hated in the mma community. He seems like a nice enough guy, but he isn't taken seriously at all. Tarver is my second least favorite after Slater. He has a good enough look, but there seems to be almost no charisma there. I like the idea of his gimmick, just not it's execution so far. It seems hokey. Vince hasn't the slightest idea of what mma really is and I don't think creative does either. If I were them, I'd tone down the corny aspect of the gimmick. Make it a little more subtle or else he's going to come off as created wrestler from a Raw VS Smackdown game.

 

[cm ben]

Hmm, no posts on this for over a week.

Anyone have any ideas on where this team is going? Kind of seems like the two are going nowhere, but after Carlito lost to a rookie, do you think Tarver could get a push next week? He'll be really pissed that he has a sub-par mentor and tries to do something about it..? Branch out on his own, or something?

 

[future admin]

If there are any rookies I am not a fan of, it is Michael Tarver. If he can knock someone out in 1.9 seconds, BECOME A FUCKING BOXER. I've barely even seen him wrestle a match, hes had about 5 minutes. he doesnt really have the look and he's not good on the mic from what I've heard. two of the main ingredients to success in WWE is the look and mic skills. Michael Tarver. Has none

 

[LitasRevenge79]

Too Bad Tyson couldn't have been a Pro for Tarver. Carlito should teach his rookie how to swallow a new fruit. Maybe teach a new rookie how to suck down a banana or cantalope...Now That...Is Cool...

 

[Mr. TM]

Well I am a little disappointed in Tarver. He was great in the ring, he was great after the match getting heel heat by beating down Slater after Slater beat him in the match. But for weeks now we keep hearing that he is Mister 1.9. If he is so proud of his ability to knock people out, why hasn't he shown it yet?

I think if something is your trademark apparently, then show it. If he can knock someone out, and he has the chance, he should do it. Now he is gonig to be in this feud with Slater for a while I think, as Carlito and Christain watch on, I think Tarver is gonig to get beat down a lot.

 

[Mr. TM]

1-2

This guy needs to be in the ring more often. I am really liking his character, he seems to be the face that has a bit of an attitude problem, and needs to be restrained. Carlito seems to actually care for the guy, so that makes it great.

He put up a great match this week, although he did take the loss. I really wish they could get him to actually use the punch more. He hit Young with it, but it was outside the ring, and was not something that lead to the finish of the match. But on the other hand, he moved up in standings in my book to third last, and as I saw a thread saying he was the bottom of the pack, I disagree.

 

[The Doctor]

I'm digging Tarver's character as a wild but stylish pitbull. Sadly, it seems he may be the first eliminated. Damn shame, as I loved his short but sweet and natural promo at the beginning of NXT. He could be a great midcarder if they let him be, but oh well. Hopefully I will be wrong and Young will be eliminated before Tarver, or Tarver will show up on another brand.

I wish he would work more jabs into his ringwork, as his gimmick is supposed to be a boxer.

 

[Big Sexy]

The mic work from Tarver right before the keg race was the best I've seen thus far from any of the NXT rookies. It was short but to the point and he seemed very confident talking. Hopefully they allow him to pick up a win and give him more mic time because I really think they could have something with him.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I feel kinda bad for this Tarver fella. Not only is he stuck with a pro who we NEVER see on TV anymore unless he's jobbing, but now he's jobbing himself on a show for people who are in developmental. This seems kinda indicative of where he may be going in life with WWE. I mean, he did make a good cut on the mic, and he does have the tenacity, but other than that, do you think that maybe he could've ticked someone off backstage and this could be the way to write him off? My husband said if he's got a boxing background, he should've tried the UFC show or something else, but not necessarily this genre. Just my two cents.

 

[Mr. TM]

So he has lost again, facing only rookies, and hasn't used his one big move, his punch in yet another match. His opening promo was decent, but he messed up on the delivery. He is pretty botchy in the ring, so I have little to say about him after this week that is positive. If he did promos like he does in the backstage area, he would be fine, instead, he is just trying to be too intense, when really, if he slowed it down, his message would go through better.

 

[The Doctor]

Gonna have to disagree there, TM. I actually preferred Tarver's in-ring promo over his backstage promo. His in-ring one had the right amount of intensity to me, and came off as natural and sick. His backstage one came across as more forced. I believe he should stick to doing stylish promos like he did in his video packages, with occasional forays into the "Pitbull" style that he showed off last week.

 

[The Doctor]

Double post, bant.

Tarver did very well on the mic. It's a shame they look to be voting him off early, because he's been doing well the few times a mic has been placed into his hand. He has a very intense but natural delivery, and his words flow well. Disregarding any "Win or lose, I will not lose!" moments, his promos have all been decent-to-good.

I still wish he'd adapt his moveset to his gimmick. He's supposed to be a boxer, so start using more punches!

Oh well, he's not going to be around for very long, so I suppose it's not a big deal.