Success, Bust or In-Between: Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)

[It's Damn Real!]

With a relative success rate for these in the TNA section, I figure it can't hurt to try an expansion into a larger market with the WWE/F.

Just as was done with the series in the TNA section, former talents of the company will be critiqued (by you) regarding their work in said company. You can vote them either a success, a bust or in-between if you don't feel they deserve either extreme.

In addition to your vote, I'd like to know why you feel the way you do. Why was this particular charater a succes, a bust or in-between?

Next in the series is Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP).

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Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)
Years with WWE/F: 4 (2006–2010)
Number of titles runs: WWE Tag Team Championship (1x), WWE United States Championship (2x)

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Notable Feuds:
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• Kane (2006)
• Chris Benoit (2007)
• Matt Hardy (2007)
• Rey Mysterio (2008)
• Ric Flair (2008)
• Matt Hardy (2008)
• Shelton Benjamin (2009)
• Chris Jericho & Big Show via Mark Henry (2009)
• The Miz (2009)

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Other Accomplishments:
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• Debuted in the WWE on Smackdown! in 2006 and was touted as being signed to the "largest contract in SmackDown! history".
• Longest reigning WWE United States Champion; Third longest reigning United States Champion (343 days).
• Hosted an interview segment called VIP Lounge on SmackDown!
• Held a five-month losing streak in 2008.
• Was drafted first overall to Raw in the draft of 2009.
• Was drafted to SmackDown! in 2010 as part of the supplemental draft.
• Was ranked #23 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in 2008 by PWI.
• Named Most Improved Wrestler in 2007 and Most Underrated Wrestler in 2008 by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

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Previous Polls:
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• Mr. Kennedy – 47.37% In-Between, 31.58% Bust, 21.05% Success
• Shelton Benjamin – 49.25% In-Between, 31.34% Bust, 19.40% Success
• Jeff Hardy – 75.00% Success, 16.25% In-Between, 8.75% Bust
• Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) – In Progress

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I'm Going to vote In-Between.

The first part of his career was very successful and he was a Very Good heel and looked like he was on his way to being a Future Star and World Champion. The second have of his career leading to his eventual release was a Complete Bust he was not a Good he became very stale and did nothing of significance.

 

[KeepItFresh]

I went with in-between. He had a lot of charisma and was a decent wrestler. I think WWE tried to push him hard at one point, but didn't pull the trigger. If he played his cards right he could have a career similar to Val Venis. I guess he didn't want to go down that route. WWE having quality wrestlers putting over midcarders is pretty damn essential. I would have liked to see MVP in that role at least.

Now, his accomplishments in that list seem a little off. Some don't even seem like accomplishments. Holding a 5-month losing streak doesn't ever sound any good and the 2009 draft was random. I wouldn't say he was drafted first overall when it comes to that, but it does sound nicer.

 

[ccotreau1]

I voted In-Between because I felt that I liked more leading up to his feud with Matt Hardy when it was over the US Title and from then he did nothing special for me. His earlier feuds made me want to watch Smackdown, but then he got traded to Raw and didn't do a whole lot for me.

 

[GideonGodsend]

i loved early MVP when he was feuding with kane. i LOVED it. when he had an alliance with kennedy while he was feuding with taker. those feuds really put both of them over and they both did really well in the role of rising star, if only things would have turned out differently they might both have been world champs by now.

 

[TUFFY54]

There is no way you can call his career anything but a success. MVP is an ex-con with no education who had a five year career traveling the world making millions of dollars with the biggest wrestling company that has ever existed. I'll be honest, I kind of think this series of threads is a little foolish. Any WWE wrestler that holds a belt, gets on PPV, has storylines written for him, has his toy in stores, and stays with the company more than a year is a success. To say he was anything but a success is just wrong. The average income in America is about 28,000 dollars a year and most people hate there jobs. MVP should have been working minimum wage while checking in with a parole officer. However, he worked his butt off and made it to the WWE. He was on the View and made apperances in major movies and tv shows. Not to mention the fact that, as a champion in the WWE, he was probably making more than 400,000 dollars a years. He also didn't even start with the company until he was in his mid 30's. To say he wasn't a success is like saying that any actor that doesnt win an Oscar, or any singer who doesn't have a Grammy is a failure. MVP is certainly a success.

 

[LSN80]

It depends on whether your viewing him as a face or a heel. As a heel, he was obviously a success. He debuted, and instantly was involved in programs with Kane and The Undertaker. He went on to defeat Benoit in 2 straight falls to become the longest reigning US champion in histoy.

But as a face, he was a total failure. He seemed out of his element, and he never had a real feud. He was in a dartbloard tag team with Mark henry, and couldnt have been more irrelevant in his time on Smackdown. He was nothing more then a glorifed jobber until his release.

I voted in between, but its closer to the lower end. because of his gross misuse during his last 2 years within the company, I feel he'll be remebered for that far more then his early success as a heel, unfortunately. It seems like a distant memory, which is a shame, because he was a great success as a heel.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There is no way you can call his career anything but a success. MVP is an ex-con with no education who had a five year career traveling the world making millions of dollars with the biggest wrestling company that has ever existed. I'll be honest, I kind of think this series of threads is a little foolish. Any WWE wrestler that holds a belt, gets on PPV, has storylines written for him, has his toy in stores, and stays with the company more than a year is a success. To say he was anything but a success is just wrong. The average income in America is about 28,000 dollars a year and most people hate there jobs. MVP should have been working minimum wage while checking in with a parole officer. However, he worked his butt off and made it to the WWE. He was on the View and made apperances in major movies and tv shows. Not to mention the fact that, as a champion in the WWE, he was probably making more than 400,000 dollars a years. He also didn't even start with the company until he was in his mid 30's. To say he wasn't a success is like saying that any actor that doesnt win an Oscar, or any singer who doesn't have a Grammy is a failure. MVP is certainly a success.

I can understand where you're coming from as it pertains to MVP's life, overall, outside of wrestling. Looking at his background and where he's come from, he's obviously turned his life around and has managed to make something of himself. In a broader sense, MVP has most definitely been a success thus far when you look at where he's been.

Looking at things in a narrower view, however, is primarily what this particular thread is about. Look at his overall time in the WWE and, just based on personal opinion, how well he's done. In that sense, I'd have to say in-between as well. Things looked big for MVP when he first came to the WWE and I thought he was a pretty good heel. His first run with the WWE United States Championship is among the longest runs in the near 36 year history of the title and he has been in some high profile feuds. He's pretty decent on the mic, particularly as a heel, but the guy just went off track when he turned face. He just didn't have the same pizzazz as a face that he had as a heel. Also, I thought the guy was pretty weak for most of the time he was in the WWE as far as his in-ring work went. Up until really this year, I thought MVP was slow and downright choppy inside the ring with his signature moves looking extremely weak and fake. I do think that he improved in the ring over the course of this year, but I just never saw anything ultimately great about him. He was a good, solid mid-card wrestler I think but definitely not the best.

 

[My Couch Pulls Out But I Don't]

There is no way you can call his career anything but a success. MVP is an ex-con with no education who had a five year career traveling the world making millions of dollars with the biggest wrestling company that has ever existed. I'll be honest, I kind of think this series of threads is a little foolish. Any WWE wrestler that holds a belt, gets on PPV, has storylines written for him, has his toy in stores, and stays with the company more than a year is a success. To say he was anything but a success is just wrong. The average income in America is about 28,000 dollars a year and most people hate there jobs. MVP should have been working minimum wage while checking in with a parole officer. However, he worked his butt off and made it to the WWE. He was on the View and made apperances in major movies and tv shows. Not to mention the fact that, as a champion in the WWE, he was probably making more than 400,000 dollars a years. He also didn't even start with the company until he was in his mid 30's. To say he wasn't a success is like saying that any actor that doesnt win an Oscar, or any singer who doesn't have a Grammy is a failure. MVP is certainly a success.

You are correct to a point. The thread asks about his career, not his life. When it comes to his life, he is a success. However, when it comes to his career, he is definately in between. Like others have said, when he was a heel, he was fantastic and had memorable fueds. However, when they made him a face,and most notibly teamed him up with Mark Henry, whom is a bust no matter how you look at it, his career went downhill. I voted in between.

 

[XgringolocoX]

had to run with in-between. While I agree with Tuffy54 I'm basing this on character. MVP barely touch any ME scene with a 10 foot pole. He had what it took to be a player on that level, but for whatever reasons didn't.
He was pretty good as a heel, but crap as a face. I'd love to see him come back in a couple years with a fresh gimmick and some new skills.

 

[Y2JChrisJericho]

He's in-between, and I am a huge MVP fan. Problem is, WWE dropped the ball on him when he turned face. He was a great as a heel and for some strange reason they decided to have him on that awful losing streak. Maybe it was to get rid of some of the things that came with his gimmick (his entrance). MVP as a heel could've very easily been a main eventer. He was great on the mic, and never came off as scripted, corny, or lame. His in ring ability was solid, he was nothing special in the ring but he did a good job. His best feud in my opinion was with Matt Hardy, he played the heel character so well than. He came off as afraid of Hardy, and it ended up being a one year feud (they both even held the tag titles). MVP made a huge mistake asking to leave WWE and out of his contract, he's a ex-convict, and he should be grateful to even have a job. Mark Madden said it best, and this is coming from a HUGE MVP fan.

 

[Kid Joker]

I voted in-between because at the end of the day, he wasn't really a success, but he was no where near a bust. M.V.P at the beginning was a hot-commodity getting "Signed" to the most lucrative deal ever in Smackdown! history, it was a great gimmick. As a Heal on Smackdown! in the early part of his career he was gold. It looked like he would be shot to the moon with great feuds against Chris Benoit and Matt Hardy, as well as becoming U.S Champ and Tag Team Champ, so for the first part of his career yes hes a Success.

The second part however, that's where hes a bust. He gets a solid start on Raw after the draft, coming out to challenge Randy Orton and everyone was saying how here he is and now his time is coming as a face, and it didn't pan out, he just couldn't make it as a face, it didn't work. He tagged with Mark Henry and that didn't work. He reversed roles in the Hardy feud with him being face and that didn't work, basically his Raw run, bust.

When he went back to Smackdown! He sucked just as much, if not more, he went into oblivion, M.V.P fell off the earth.

That's 2-1 in terms of bust vs success in his career, so in-between for me.

 

[Flex Cavana]

Was very very tempted to say bust because of his terrible recent run which arguably wasn't even his own fault but hey .
I also went for In Between since his work as a Heel was very much entertaining even if he didnt provide much in terms of in-ring ability he did have notable feuds and a great persona.

 

[wushady]

With the push he had early on, and the way he debuted. It's hard not to consider him a success. Besides being the longest running US champion in WWE history, and former tag team champion. He had some great matches with top stars including a great feud with Kane.

However I have to say overall his WWE run was in between. I don't blame him I think it's more of WWE dropping the ball with him. He's a natural heel he lost a lot of steam turning face.

 

[Yrrab]

Absolute and utter bust. This guy hasn't done anything that made me turn wrestling to see him. He had pretty awesome mic skills, but that only got him so far. He was a lousy worker, had no charisma, and had no one to carry him through any stand-out matches.

Of course, I gauge my success on the simple notion that if I'll remember a wrestler in 4 years without seeing them on TV, they're a success in my book. I'd already forgotten about this guy until he showed up and attacked Del Rio on Smackdown. Then, he gets fired. See you later MVP, I'm sure you'll flourish in TNA.

 

[Firebird4Life]

I guess I fall in with the majority here, it seems, as I also went with "In-Between."

MVP had a good start and we all know he was a pretty successful heel character. Once they turned him into a face, his career started to tank, but I feel like he was on track to turn it around into a Matt Hardy-type career where they put him into some feuds with younger guys and help them develop a bit. I think that WWE could have had something going with the MVP/Kaval tag team as it looked like they could have helped each other; MVP with Kaval getting over and Kaval with MVP's in ring skills.

I do feel as if WWE did hold him back a bit during the whole "Linda for Senate" thing due to his background, but if they really believed in him, they never would have done what they did.

I was really looking forward to hearing his new theme on the newest WWE the Music...

 

[Thephanboy]

I went with bust. I loved him from the beginnin. And thought highly of him. But seems after awhile him and his character hit a wall or a ceiling and couldnt or wouldnt go any higher. Thought at one time he would be in the World title picture. Great mic work, enjoyable, and loved watchin him wrestle....evn though i would have gotten him outta that power ranger wrestlin gear and somethin more in lines with his character bein the richest signed Smakedown performer.

 

[TUFFY54]

I guess I see what you guys mean by saying that you only want to look at a wrestlers career in the WWE to determine if someone is a success. However, I still think it is a bit of a misleading question. Here is how I look at it: there really is no such thing as "in-between". There have been tons of busts in the WWE. A bust is a guy like Colt Cabanna, Snitsky, Tomko, Kizarney, or Vance Archer. There are tons of talented guys like this who work there entire career to get to the WWE, only to be totally wasted by creative after a few TV matches. A guy like MVP held the US title, a very prestigous belt, for longer than any other WWE wrestler. He was also in big feuds with top guys on both brands, along with being in many other outside media projects. He is a success.

I think that todays title situation only leads to two kinds of wrestlers: world champions and losers. There are so many title changes that a wrestler who doesn't have a reign is considered a failure. Here's a question: would guys like Ted DiBiase, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Mr. Perfect, and Jake The Snake be considered in-between? These are five of the most famous and successful wrestlers to never hold a world title.

In the end, I think that if a persons career is worthy of debating, then they were a success.

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

I'm gonna say in between. He had a great run in the beginning and as a heel, he pulled off the cockiness card pretty well. Only problem was they couldn't come up with what to do with him. They tried a face turn with him and it worked for a little bit but then again they forgot what to do with him. He didn't do bad enough to be called a bust. But he didn't do enough in his run to be called a success.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I voted "In-Between"

MVP came in with a lot of fanfare and has had a decent level of success in the WWE. He held the US title for a long time, had a great feud with Hardy and Benoit too (I think).

He was majorly over as a heel, and looked set for a long term spot in a decent position on the roster. But he just flopped as a face, the entire MVP character is all about bragging over his wages and claiming he is better than anyone else, and this doesnt work with a face persona.

So..

Heel..SUCCESS
Face..BUST
Overall.. IN BETWEEN

 

[Malenko316]

Like many before him, MVP started out strong and then went nowhere. The issue is that he one dimentional as a performer. I mean that in sense of he played a great heel, his freud with Matt Hardy was one of the more entertaining ones of recent years. But as a face, he just disappeared. He's not the first to fall foul of that problem. Batista as a face was great (relative I know), but as a heel was terrible. JoMo was great as Heel but has flatlined as a face, sorry it's true.

To be fair to MVP it was not entirely his fault. His criminal past is well known, so it always acting like a weight when he was a face and limited the scope in the PG era if he were turned heel again. I think in a company not restricted in such a way, he could be championship material - hell if JH can be pushed, anyone can. I fear the last 2yrs will overshadow the great work of the first 3yrs, but in truth you can't blame MVP for that.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

I voted success. I enjoy watching wrasslin and I was always entertained by MVP's matches. Whenever he was on I always got the feeling he was giving 100%. Sometimes that's just how things work and obviously not everyone who wrestles will be a WWE champ, but I'd pay to see one of his matches again. He doesn't have anything to be ashamed of.

 

[afark02]

a bust, i never looked forward to his matches, kinda boring (never a high flyer, not very technically sound, and not really a power house), had a stereotypical gimmick. He was interesting as a heel, but once he turned face i couldnt stand watching him on the mic. Bottom line is wrestlers are at their best when they can behave like who they are, and MVP had that swagger/bad boy attitude when he first came to the wwe. But once he turned face the wwe was trying to convince fans he was a good guy without a shady past.

 

[Davi323]

I am gonna say in-between. People are going to define the terms differently from other people, some will consider just making the WWE roster, having storylines, wearing any kind of belt makes you a success, others will define it as getting to the very top, being a huge star like a Cena or Orton, with anything less than that being sub par. Because we will all define the terms differently, I feel I have to explain my criteria, so there is a frame of reference.

When I look at success/bust/in-between threads, I think of my overall reactions to the wrestler. It isn't just about winning or not winning titles, its about overall impressions. My impressions of MVP when he debuted were that he would probably be a decent midcarder, but I didn't see much to make me think that he would rise to the top. When he was released, my impressions really hadn't changed much. He was still a decent midcarder who hadn't proven he was main event material.

Some guys have made me seriously reconsider. For example, when Chris Jericho was in WCW, wrestling as a cruiserweight and hovering around the mid card scene, I didn't expect too much. In WCW, I couldn't see him as anything but a midcarder, an impression that carried over with his debut as Y2J in the WWE. Over his time in the WWE though, he greatly exceeded my expectations. I was absolutely dead wrong about Jericho's potential, he proved his worth a thousand times over. That would be counted as a success in my book.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are guys like Dan the Beast Severn...a MMA legend, excellent amateur/greco-roman wrestler, this guy should have been able to tear up the WWF like there was no tomorrow. He should have been able to absolutely dominate the WWF. This guy, skills wise, had future WWF champion written all over him. But, does ANYONE remember his wrestling career? Did he do anything significant in pro wrestling? He is someone who I would consider a fail. HUGE expectations, HUGE letdown.

Now, given those ranges, where would MVP fit in? He didn't exceed my expectations like Jericho did, but he didn't completely fail to meet those expectations either, like Severn. To paraphrase Denny Green, MVP was who I thought he was. No more, no less. Thus, in-between.

 

[OutsiderDX]

I look at success at the interest that his fueds created for me. Based on this, i would say he had failed. The only somewhat memorable fued that sticks out, is with Matt Hardy when they were having their non-wrestling competitions. And ironically, his best wrestling moments were when he was not medically cleared to wrestle.

The premise of his character was great. He was a overpaid athlete. But the WWE just never followed up on the character. And they could have with such ease. Just pick and pull from the headlines of american sports.

They could have had him create friction from over-exuberiant celebrations- Chad Johnson.

They could have had him sit out and claim he wasn't paid enough and wanted to re-negotiate his contrac- Darrell Revis most recently.

Terrell Owens- and sabotage a team/show with outlandish arrogant behavior

He could have done a LeBron and taken his talents to RAW-

Most recently- he could have done a Farve and announce his retirement every 3 months / Penis-gate

They could have mocked the supposed sexual harrassment of the hot hispanic chick in the Jets lockerroom.

Anytime something ridiculous happened in sports, MVP should have been the guy to mock them.

Their was just alot of material, much of it didnt have to be overt, but subtle jabs, while he was doing fueds. Just an extra layer to make him interesting.