Pushes in 2011

[The_Awesome_One]

There were quiet a few pushes in 2011. Which one was your favorite. If they are not on the poll then tell who it is and why they were your favorite.

My favorite was Cody Rhodes push. I used to hate the guy and at the beginning of the year he was pretty irrelevent. As soon as he started his undashing gimmick though he haas been really good. He's good on the mic and in the ring. Hopefully he will be a world champion in 2012.

 

[Azane]

I gotta go with Mizark Henry.

He was a joke mid-card jobber, who had a ton of threads on these very same forums talking about how he should just retire and how he's such a useless talent.

6 months later, he has one of the most dominant WHC reigns I've seen in years, and he looked like he belonged as the top heel of the company for a very good while. If it wasnt for the MITB and his ankle, he would probably would of hold through at least EC.

His push rivals Kane's feud with Edge last year for my favorite jobber to champion push in the PG era.

 

[keehlnate]

*technically* it should be Alberto del Rio since he won the Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank and he even have a world title match at wrestlemania. He even earned two championship reigns. But in the end, does it change anything? A little maybe, but he did not capitalize on those pushes.

On the other hand, look at Cody Rhodes. He earned a singles match card against Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania. They gave him the demented gimmick and capitalize on it. They gave him the IC title and he did a pretty good job reigning as champion. They gave him the Orton and Booker T feud that definitely boost him. Rhodes capitalized on all of those pushes. He doesn't won the RR or MITB but he did a pretty good job on all the opportunities that they gave him.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I went with Barret. I have been sayingto my friend this guy deserves to be world champ one day, he is a natural heel. He has had some minor pushes with Nexus and he was IC champion but I finally feel like he is getting that main event heel push he really deserves. I fully expect him to hold the world title by the end of 2012.

Rhodes has had a good push as well. I'm glad they took that mask off him.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I voted for The Miz. I loved this guy when he was WWE Champion. Something about him was just awesome, pun intended. I loved the cocky side about him, and also loved the chemistry he had with John Cena and The Rock. He was kind of pushed out of the way to allow for the Cena/Rock fiasco, but I feel The Miz grabbed an oppertunity and took it to get back in that main event picture leading into WrestleMania.

I think he has never been great in the ring, but you can tell he has more confidence in the ring now which has improved his in-ring work to a degree. His Falls Count Anywhere bout with John Morrison in January 2011 was just epic. It really, really was great. I also liked the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match against Cena and Morrison.

Other pushes I liked were Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes. Two guys who I thought after a brief push with the Nexus and Legacy respectivley that these two would unfortunatley fall into obscurity. But, luckily, Barrett has bounced back onto the main event scene having had a good feud with Orton. Rhodes has reinvented himself with this "Dashing" character. He then developed further becoming deranged and scary which was truly awesome. Now, he is a mixture of both with the Intercontinental title with two really good feuds with Randy Orton and Booker T. Hopefully he gets one with Goldust.

 

[Miakisaki]

CM Punk easily had the greatest 2011 push. Even though his first championship reign wasn't so hot, he found his calling as a hardline "tell you how it is" guy that superbly resonated with both the crowd and television viewers. That single chain of promos pushed him not only with the WWE but with everyone else as well, and made him a legitimate threat as a champion or contender. For everyone that knocks Daniel Bryan as a "vanilla midget" CM Punk is really made out of the same mold, but Punk has more mic skills while Daniel Bryan has more in-ring ability.

Mark Henry also had a great push in 2011 when you count the fact that it has taken him well over a decade to really get over. When you have things like the Sexual Chocolate gimmick and the Mae Young hand birth, it does take a while for most people to simply forget that. He deserved a good run with the title due to his tenure, and I hope he gets another run.

Alberto Del Rio on the other hand, really had/has no business getting pushed with his current gimmick. There's nothing that a crowd could get behind or hate, he's just a guy with below average mic skills who brings very little to the ring. His RR win and MITB cash in were both wasted opportunities for many other talented and ready superstars, and his "MY DESTINY!" tagline was overused and grew stale over time. If he wants to be taken seriously as a face or heel, he's going to need work to adjust.

 

[ProfessorPlum]

Bertie (alberto del rio) obviously had the best push of 2011.
40 man rumble, check
World title match at WM, check
Money in the bank winner, check
2 time WWE champ check,
the stats speak for themselves, del rio was pushed the hardest so to be true to the title he was the most pushed

Who made the most progress in getting over with the crowd now thats a different storey and thats none other than the american nightmare Codey Rhodes

 

[phoenixphreek]

had to go with mark henry. he went from being a joke to having the most impressive title reign of the year.
cody and sheamus get honorable mentions

 

[Pedigree1]

This was tough for me!! I gotta go with Mark Henry simply because... he had one of the most dominant reigns of any WHC ive seen in a long long time!! This guy has been the butt of so many jokes called mizark henry was with mae young i could go on and on!! This mark henry should have busted out years ago!! IF it wasnt for his ankle who knows how long he could have held the title for? ADR has been given alot in such a short time period!! He won the biggest royal rumble in history MITB 2x Champ!! BUt Henry stuck with the company throguh and through!! I hope Mark Henry is again the star in 12 like in 11

 

[J.J.]

Mark Henry hands down. This man was a father to a hand with Mae Young and had a fling with Chyna. Not to mention being sent back to OVW a few times - being in the company 15 years and capturing the gold and becoming a dominant heel. It's a good story for a guy who had previously held the defunct European title and never touch gold again for atleast 12 years later(outside of ECW title).

Close second is ADR hands down.

 

[SimonH82]

But Henry had a big push...but you can't see his time at the main event last forever.

CM Punk...has been pushed into a position where he can be 'the guy'!

 

[24fawwe12fa24]

The best push in my opinion has to be Mark Henry, he has had a few decent pushes in the past which have always ending up dying out. e.g. 2006 with The Undertaker, 2006 with Batista, 2008 when he was the ECW Champion, this year he has had the biggest push of his career, he won the World Heavyweight Championship and not only that looked like more of a monster than Kane has since 2003, Big Show has since 2000, he has had a great year and if it wasn't for his injury he would've kept the title all the way up to WrestleMania in my opinion..

 

[Tyler44]

First off, I am not sure how Mark Henry's push is considered greater than CM Punk's. I've seen no change in Henry other than him winning the title, and a little bit more a reaction from the crowd. Winning the title isn't huge anymore. Mark Henry is the same guy he has always been.

CM Punk was the best part of WWE for the Summer, and although his buzz has died down from what it is (and remember how big he was), he still gets a huge reaction and is still "the champion". His push has been one of the best I've seen in awhile, and I think he deserves it.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

...is his name.

I have been riding and riding all the Zigg marks for weeks saying that his ring work maybe great but he won't reach that upper echelon unless he belts outta a smashing promo.

I've been told it's this:

[YOUTUBE]ejDpEu9kL8E[/YOUTUBE]

I know this has everyone very excited about his persona, and frankly a promo that would complete his persona, was lacking. He has to soon distance himself from Vickie and prove he can be trusted with getting cheers or heat on his own. Now, I will admit I cannot access sound so I will take this promo home and see if it is living up to the hype but if now that he can run his mouth as well as he can run the ropes, THE final rectification would be...his name.

I know many people have gone past it but he will be representing the company on a very often basis on programs and to an audience that still marginalizes the wrestling product, and I don't want to click on youtube and hear Conan O'Brien say 'Ziggler, I knew a gigolo with that name once, he came outta my 21st birthday cake! HAR HAR HAR!".

No.

If people are bothered it's too late, Look: Johnny Nitro.

Bottom Line, it could be a slight modification to his current name, and we would all be thankful in the end.

Is Nemeth not an improvement?

 

[Matth3w]

Here's the thing: I don't think the WWE expected Dolph to get as far as he is, hence given a stupid name. Remember when he was in backstage skits introducing himself to everyone? I think the WWE back then thought about keeping him as a lower to midcard type of guy.

But then over the past year, he stepped up his game and got the people in the back to take notice; and he is where he is now. Is a name change posssible? No. He's too far into his career. Nitro worked as he was on the C show, holding a midcard title, so no one really cared. Can't say I remember his reason to do so anyway. What would Dolphs reason be? He doesn't need one.

Remember when Dolph changed his hair? Yeah, that went well. The same if he changed his name IMO.

 

[Tyler44]

Dolph Ziggler, Do i need an explanation

Yes, I would actually like one. Dolph Ziggler was a nobody, and today he's gone from being a nobody to an automatic "ughh" every time I see his face because he's such a boring character with a terrible name. His "push" got him to the mid-card and got him a US title. And now, he has a title shot at the Royal Rumble. Is that the big "push"? He went from a nobody to a title shot in a year?

Because Daniel Bryan I think is still a nobody, and he's the champion. Isn't that already better than Ziggler? CM Punk's character was dieing out, he was leaving the company, and then he was allowed to become himself. And what happened? He got this entire company booming, he made for one of the best matches this year, he created a great rivalry with HHH, and he absolutely brought a stale Monday Night RAW to life and gave it a breath of new air. He's a champion. He's one of the top 3 attractions on RAW now.

That is a push. That is the best push of 2011.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

Here's the thing: I don't think the WWE expected Dolph to get as far as he is, hence given a stupid name. Remember when he was in backstage skits introducing himself to everyone? I think the WWE back then thought about keeping him as a lower to midcard type of guy.

But then over the past year, he stepped up his game and got the people in the back to take notice; and he is where he is now. Is a name change posssible? No. He's too far into his career. Nitro worked as he was on the C show, holding a midcard title, so no one really cared. Can't say I remember his reason to do so anyway. What would Dolphs reason be? He doesn't need one.

Remember when Dolph changed his hair? Yeah, that went well. The same if he changed his name IMO.

i actullay dont know if i can it better myself haha because you hit the nail right on the head dolphs just too far into his career and honestly if hes putting on great matches every time he steps into the ring and hes cutting good promos...what does it matter if his name is Dolph Ziggler? oh and when nitro became morrison it was for something along the lines of "wanting to use his name given to him at birth" if i rember right

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In terms of the overall best push, I'm going with CM Punk thought I couldn't really blame anyone if they chose Mark Henry.

Mark Henry was definitely the most surprising push, and one of the most pleasant surprises in all of wrestling in 2011 in my opinion. For me, I can't really praise Henry's work in 2011 enough, or I should say the second half of 2011. He just came out of nowhere and became one of the best heels in wrestling and taught me the lesson of never really just writing someone off.

I picked CM Punk, however, because he was such a big part of a lot of memorable moments & matches of 2011. I also went with him because he was finally elevated to the spot of a long term main eventer in WWE and the plan seems to be for WWE to ultimately lay the foundation for Punk to truly be one of THE guys and not just someone that makes occassional trips into the main event spot. Punk also just generated a ton of enthusiasm and is another one of these guys in WWE that's dispelling a lot of general myths & misconceptions about what it takes to make it as a top talent in WWE. Punk has had a bit of a rocky road in terms of drawing viewers but I can't say that I'm surprised. People are so used to seeing the likes of Cena, Orton, Triple H, Undertaker and some others in the top spot, so it's only natural that a newcomer to the main event scene on a long term basis is going to have some growing pains. Punk has the talent and it does look like WWE is sticking with him & giving him time.

 

[Cookie14]

If people are bothered it's too late, Look: Johnny Nitro.

It's not that it's too late, he's just too well known with his current name. See:- Kerwin Wight (or to those of you who missed this epic fail, Chave Guerrerro)

The only way to get away with changing someone's name is to take them off TV and repackage them with a new gimmick, as WWE are apparantly going to do with Skip Sheffield, having him return as Ryback.

 

[TheLegendWWEJ]

I really don't think it's the name Dolph Ziggler that is not getting him over. I think it's just a all around package deal. He's good with a mic, but is he good enough? He's good in the ring, better than most athletically speaking. Since nobody really remembered him as a member is the Spirit Squad that isn't it either. I can't put my finger on it but Dolph Ziggler is missing...IT!

 

[thebromm]

I don't think Dolph has a flaw. At least not a glaring one. Dolph has gotten over on his own with his in-ring ability and deservedly so. His mic skills have improved dramatically and it is just a matter of time before he gets rid of Vickie. Although with Vickie he is able to play the classic heel who CAN get the job done on the up and up but chooses not to.

Saying he needs an epic promo before getting a world title is just rediculous. He is greatness waiting to happen.

A bunch of people have said they don't want him to win the MITB to get the World title. Are you INSANE? That is right up his alley! He's an old school kind of heel and what better way for one of the best heels in the game today to get even more over as a heel? Cashing in on a John Cena or Randy Orton who all the kiddies love? Those kids will hate him even more.

Mission Accomplished

 

[R.K.O]

I don't think Dolph Ziggler should revert to his Nick Nemeth name as people would be reminded of his NICKY!! past in Spirit Squad. I do agree though he needs a name change as his current one is AWFUL and sound like a joke. Maybe a modification like Nitro -> Morrison or simply a moniker that will replace his name similar to Mr. Perfect.

 

[aboynameddirt]

Thank you for finalling pin pointing this.

It definitely needs to be done. The name Dolph Ziggler just sounds silly and cartoonish. I agree that using his real last name Nemeth in some sort of combination with an altered version of Dolph (certainly not just Dolph, definitely not Nicky) would be the way to go.

Have him seperate from Vicki and change his name all at once. It could easily fit into the storyline. Make it seem like a self awakening of sorts. I think this would be enough to finally push him to the next level.

 

[Tyler44]

You're absolutely correct. If you've read any of my recent posts, I absolutely destroy Dolph Ziggler. I can't get behind him, he is boring, not entertaining, and all that, but honestly, it all starts with his name.

It literally kills it for him, and I cannot take him serious with it.

 

[Warrior]

I have to admit I don't have a real problem with the name. I have no real hate for it. Changing his name would only really if work they took him off TV. Although it may not be the best name for a future world heavyweight champion, it not really a flaw. His only true flaw is his current dependence on Vicky but that's not important right now. Leave his name the way it is ,it may be to late to do anything about it anyway. I kinda like this idea more than the name change.

or simply a moniker that will replace his name similar to Mr. Perfect.