Titus O'Neil

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Back in February, Titus attacked Darren Young, turning heel and it was apparently the beginning of his solo career push. Those two had a pretty uninteresting match at EC, especially considering the other matches on that card.

Fast forward to today, Titus is seemingly a jobber. He lost to Sheamus in 3 seconds or something on Smackdown. He is pretty good and funny on the mic, he is a big guy and can move well in the ring. He also actually connects with the crowd to some extent, with his dog bark thing. Why isn't this guy given a decent push? He could actually go for the US title or something.

Avoid answers like "he is a black guy" etc. I don't think that that's the reason. Can Titus be a decent mid-carder? What's a good booking for him? Personally, he could feud with Sheamus (since Rybaxel seemingly won't). Gives both men a good program and a decent feud that can carry on for a couple of months.

 

[Hawk12192]

I feel that Titus O'Neil is just another example of how baffling WWE's booking was, at least in regards to this week's episode of Smackdown. A lot of squash matches designed only to make certain people look good, without any significant story developments to speak of. I'm fine with Titus losing to Sheamus; the guy is a multi-time world champion who seems to be getting decent responses from the crowd as the new United States Champion. Fact is, it wouldn't make sense, at this point, for a guy like Titus to beat Sheamus clean on an episode of Smackdown. At the very least, there would need to be some build up. But for him to go down so quickly? Yeah, the guy has no credibility as a heel.

The thing is, I like Titus O'Neil. I think he is pretty decent on the mic with a decent amount of charisma. Given a decent storyline and a credible opponent, I think Titus has potential to be a decent mid-carder, possibly even a main event guy. Some might say that, at 36, its too late for Titus, but in my view if Batista can get made into a star at that point, then Titus deserves a fair shot too. Granted, the guy could use some work on his moveset, but given some time to develop, I think he has potential.

So, for the first question: why isn't Titus being given a big push? I think WWE was disappointed that the match between Titus and Darren went over poorly at Elimination Chamber, with a lot of people noticing how Darren was pretty much carrying the guy who was supposed to be getting a push through the entire match. Fact is, if a guy doesn't immediately get a good reaction, it seems like the WWE is willing to focus on someone else. That being said, I don't think its completely over for Titus. At least we still see him regularly; he could have vanished like his partner Darren.

I guess the big question you're asking in all this is, if the WWE can't book Titus, how would we? I guess it depends on how extreme we're willing to go in our ideas. The easiest change is simple: let him win, or at the very least, put up a fight against guys like Sheamus. This week, Titus lost matches on both Main Event (to Kofi, who still has not had the character overhaul that was rumored a while ago) and Sheamus on Smackdown. If you're going to have a heel character get on the microphone and act all arrogant, then they have to actually win every now and again.

If I could plan things moving forward, I think that it would be very interesting if, after Dave leaves to go support Guardians of the Galaxy, Evolution loses at Payback and Triple H finds his faction decimated. So, in response, he begins forming a new team to take the Shield's place. Titus in a suit, I think, would fit in just fine as the powerhouse of a new stable of heels. But hey, that's probably wishful thinking. Maybe that's all Titus really has at this point.

 

[SoulTrain4]

Titus is trash pretty much. Dude can't work for shit despite being somewhat tolerable verbally. He has used his frat call (the barking) to get over but other than that he got nothing. He can barely move but hes aggressive and that's getting him some TV time.

I hope the big homie improves but I'm not seeing anything special at all from him now and truthfully he's doing all hes capable of doing right now.

I'd rather they push R-Truth, hell he and Titus are about the same age but Truth is far more athletic and has more range on the mic.

 

[blueskyy]

To answer the OP, is your assessment of Titus O'Neil even accurate?

You say he is "pretty good and funny on the mic". Is he really? He downright sucked when he started, and I really do mean the worst of the worst when he first started in WWE. He has improved tremendously, but "pretty good" is still an exaggeration. He looks comfortable on the mic when he's with Darren Young. Now? Not so much...

"He is a big guy and can move well in the ring." So? There are plenty of other bigger guys who can move better. Not only that, moving about in the ring is one thing (and I saying it in the most literal way), being good in the ring is another. How would you have rated his in ring skill?

Finally, you say that he "actually connects with the crowd". If that was actually true, wouldn't the audience be barking back, or have some kind of reactions, positive or negative, when he did that?

My point is Titus O'Neil has improved, there's no question about it. But is he a John Cena, Sheamus, or Daniel Bryan? At this point? No. Does he deserve a push? At this point? No. Darren Young, Justin Gabriel are both more charismatic than him on the mic, better than him in the ring, and much more good looking than him, and yet, they hardly get any airtime.

 

[WarroBODFan]

I like Titus, it's just a shame he got into wrestling quite late. I think he's ok on the mic. He's quite witty, and he's good at trash talking, especially while in the ring. I like that he brings a sort of trash talk which you'd often hear during a sports match of somesort. I like him as a heel a lot.

He's still pretty green in the ring though, from what I've seen. The only match from recent memory that sticks in my mind is one he had with Big E, where both guys could fill a whole ten minute Botchamania video. He was tripping over wires, missing spots, and just flat out botching moves. Not saying Big E wasn't terrible either, but it didn't look good, at all. Clearly needs work in the ring. He looks in terrific shape though, so I don't think the fact he's already 37 should hold him back from showing some improvement in the next few years.

I'll hold fire on saying he needs, or is ready for a bigger push though, as he's clearly not. I hope he doesn't become a permanent jobber though, I like the guy.

 

[CultOfPersonality]

They should make him the new Real American. Commentary often talks about his university fraterinty background and he cut a promo vs Sheamus on Smackdown criticising the fact that he was not American. It's a simple option that makes Titus a relevant midcard heel.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think Titus is pretty decent on the mic and is okay in the ring but, personally, I don't think he's nearly as good as the OP makes him out to be. Just my opinion and not to knock anyone that's a fan of Titus.

As another poster mentioned, I think one of the biggest problems concerning Titus is the fact that he got started so late in the game. He's only been wrestling since around late 2009, I believe, and turned 37 about 2.5 weeks ago. He's still a young man in the grand scheme of life, but not so much when it comes to being an athlete. He got started in pro wrestling when he was well into his 30s and hadn't built any sort of reputation for himself outside of WWE. At this point in time, WWE is more focused on guys who'll be the ones that'll carry the company for the next decade or so. Vince has finally gotten it through his head that the time is come where he can't keep putting guys that fans are burned out on at the top of the heap like Cena and Orton, nor can he rely on part timers. The Rock is busy with a revived and thriving action film career, plus he's also over 40, Batista hasn't exactly been embraced by fans and there are all sorts of rumors going about regarding tension between himself and WWE management, Edge is retired due to injury, Austin's been out of the game for over a decade and is over 50, Taker's probably done and he's most definitely not got it anymore in the ring, Christian has had injury issues piling up the past few years and rumor is that he plans to retire once his current deal is finished, older legends like Ric Flair & Hulk Hogan are both too broken down to be medically cleared and are into their 60s, Sting's not exactly the physical specimen he once was in his mid 50s, Mark Henry's well into his 40s and injury issues have been piling up for him the past few years as well, Big Show still seems as healthy as he's ever been, but he's also been around forever and it's obvious that fans aren't all that interested in him being champ at this point in his career, etc.

Titus O'Neil MIGHT have been one of the guys who could've been a significant star had he gotten into wrestling 10 years sooner. Sometimes, timing can very much have an effect on a wrestler's career. Take a look at Batista, for example. MAYBE his reception among fans would have been completely different a couple of years ago. I can't say for certain whether it would have or not, but it's a possibility as he came back during what can only be described as a very transitional period in WWE.

 

[Pedigree1]

Titus is great on the Mic I enjoy him a lot. The Bark he does,he is awesome at trash talking just completely buries his opponents in that aspect.. But he did as folks have said,got started rather late in the business..

I guess better late than never,but as a wrestler he has no cred outside of the WWE. Titus is also good in the ring,very athletic.. He is in awesome shape is as big as batista IMO and has cardio.. But there is a plus to getting started as late as he did.. Injuries should not pile up on him that is the main thing..

37 while not old by any means,is getting up there for an athlete.. Vince as of late finall hasn't shoved guys down our throats were sick of seeing... Titus though,i dont know if he can hang for the long haul and it has nothing to do with his ability.. Its the fact he is 37 he is older than Cena let that one sink in for a moment..

I believe Titus would make a fine US champion once Sheamus is ready to battle for the WWE WHC! Titus is liked by the fans,its just too bad he got such a late start. Its damn there impossible to make up so much ground when you got such a late start.. If only he had started 10 years ago he might have been a mutliple time world champion!

 

[Hawk12192]

My point is Titus O'Neil has improved, there's no question about it. But is he a John Cena, Sheamus, or Daniel Bryan? At this point? No. Does he deserve a push? At this point? No. Darren Young, Justin Gabriel are both more charismatic than him on the mic, better than him in the ring, and much more good looking than him, and yet, they hardly get any airtime.

I think that, overall, our opinions on Titus O'Neil are the same (although I'm a bit more optimistic), but this part here bothered me a bit. Is it fair to compare him to guys like John Cena, Sheamus, and Daniel Bryan when Titus has only recently become a singles competitor? The guys you compare him to have had far more opportunities to connect with the crowd as faces and, in some cases, as heels. While Titus has been given a few opportunities on the mic, I wouldn't count jobbing to Sheamus as being the best opportunity to make a first impression. All I'm saying is, with his charisma and look, I think that Titus deserves a chance to be put in a decent feud.

Perhaps the most logical conclusion is that the Prime Time Players should not have broken up. It seemed that the two were slowly getting over with the crowd during Night of Champions 2013, and when being paired with a more technically sound guy like Darren Young, Titus's weaknesses in the ring can be covered up. There's nothing wrong with being put in the tag team division; WWE just needed to give it some legitimacy. I mean, look at Roman Reigns. Not to veer too off topic, but after being paired with guys like Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for so long, they have been able to make Reigns look good and the crowd's response every time he enters the ring proves it.

 

[123NewChamp]

Honestly. I like Titus O'Neill. And Im in support of his career. But to me this heel run wasn't as over as his first heel run when the Prime Time Players became a tag team. The PTP were just gaining steam and was almost at the peak before they broke them up. But he was in my opinion more entertaining then than he is now. Like my good ole Buddy, who I ain't seen in forever, Rufus "Pancake" Patterson. Why they call him Pancake? Because he flattens fools, that's what he do. But anyway, he was a heel, and he had a sub gimmick that was just as funny and over with the crowd. But with him being past his PTP days, we may not see him again. But then again it may can work. R-Truth and Little Jimmy Did. But if you going to build him as a wrestler, you need to put him around someone or in consecutive matches or feuds with a technical wrestler who can make him look good and help him improve like a Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, RVD, or maybe even Goldust. But if you just going to build around him as a source of entertainment then get him a gimmick to get over or bring back Rufus "Pancake" Patterson. It's as simple as that.

 

[OYDK]

Titus isn't terrible on the mic and when he cuts a promo he gets his point across and hits really well, however I think the reason he is being involved in such quick matches is because WWE see's his weakness in the ring and they don't want to showcase it to the WWE Universe (who would no doubt start the annoyingly hilarious "YOU CAN'T WRESTLE" chant, thus destroying any chance Titus has of ever getting over). As others have said, Titus has improved tenfold from when he first debuted, and I believe WWE is just waiting for him to improve a little bit more in the ring before they begin showcasing him as a serious contender.

If you look back, Titus hasn't exactly looked weak in the past few weeks. He beat the dogcrap out of Big E and wasn't pinned and than he was basically blindsided by a Brogue Kick a la Daniel Bryan. To answer your question, Titus is not being pushed because he's not good enough in the ring yet... Pushing him now would hurt him a lot more in the long run than what he is going through right now.

 

[Softcore Holly]

The whole PTP break up seems strange to me. Ok if they're going push him then it makes sense but after the EC match he went no where. He has a fantastic look and pretty decent on the mic, but in-ring wise he's needs improving. At 37 though I'm not sure how much longer they can wait for him to grow into a good in-ring performer, they're obviously more focused on the future stars.

At this point they might as well send Titus to NXT and hopefully he can improve from there.

 

[Radical]

Titus needs to be packaged a little differently.

He's too bland as 'just a big guy' right now. He doesn't look unique or act unique enough to stand out.

He needs a better developed character.

He was a former Pro Football player right? So why doesn't he bring more of that into his character. He should wear Football-esque pants as ring gear and wear a Football jersey for his entrance. Then he would appear different and interesting.

He could play up the tough Football player character more and maybe bring the POUNCE move back to WWE which works good for a move-set for a former Football players.

If he did that then he could be a Superstar worth pushing. Probably not as a World Champion yet but he could be given more credibility with a strong push towards a US or IC title championship... instead of a pathetic 3 second loss to Sheamus... who the WWE has NEVER made look bad for any stretch of time.

 

[theblasterkid]

The match he had with Sheamus before he lost in seconds in the recent one, he was kicking Sheamus' arse. I like the trash-talking and the aggressiveness he shows in the ring. I personally think that WWE is improving his in-ring work before they present him as a monster heel for a title run.

 

[Planet_Velvet]

Call me crazy, but I think Titus is one af many WWE stars who could benefit from the re-introduction of the Brand Extension. WWE is too crowded and full of guys who wrestle the WWE way. Is Titus a great wrestler? Not yet. Had he a place to really get into a program and not get lost in the shuffle, he could develop in ways other than in-ring performance alone. He is one of many wrestlers who deserve a chance to develop and eventually prosper. Whether he will get that chance remains to be seen. More than likely, it won't happen and that's a shame.

 

[BeastFromTheEast]

I see Titus as being the best available option for The Real Americans. He is actually American, unlike Cesaro, and he is a former college athlete like Swagger. I think him and Swagger would mesh well and Zeb as a mouthpiece should work for him. Plus after the way he talked to Sheamus on Smackdown it sure sounds like he would fit well with them.

 

[772Attitude]

I see Titus as being the best available option for The Real Americans. He is actually American, unlike Cesaro, and he is a former college athlete like Swagger. I think him and Swagger would mesh well and Zeb as a mouthpiece should work for him. Plus after the way he talked to Sheamus on Smackdown it sure sounds like he would fit well with them.

That wouldn't be a bad idea if they didn't break up PTP so he could have a singles run. But I wouldn't mind seeing him have a mouth piece to get over either. Not that he can't speak or anything.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

To answer the OP, is your assessment of Titus O'Neil even accurate?

You say he is "pretty good and funny on the mic". Is he really? He downright sucked when he started, and I really do mean the worst of the worst when he first started in WWE. He has improved tremendously, but "pretty good" is still an exaggeration. He looks comfortable on the mic when he's with Darren Young. Now? Not so much...

"He is a big guy and can move well in the ring." So? There are plenty of other bigger guys who can move better. Not only that, moving about in the ring is one thing (and I saying it in the most literal way), being good in the ring is another. How would you have rated his in ring skill?

Finally, you say that he "actually connects with the crowd". If that was actually true, wouldn't the audience be barking back, or have some kind of reactions, positive or negative, when he did that?

My point is Titus O'Neil has improved, there's no question about it. But is he a John Cena, Sheamus, or Daniel Bryan? At this point? No. Does he deserve a push? At this point? No. Darren Young, Justin Gabriel are both more charismatic than him on the mic, better than him in the ring, and much more good looking than him, and yet, they hardly get any airtime.

You act like he has been given incredible mic time or in ring time, especially as a solo guy. Ever since he broke out from Darren, he has only been on the mic what? 2-3 times? All of those times, he was really entertaining, at least to me, very natural and charismatic. I especially remember a backstage interview with Renee Young. There goes the "decent on the mic" point.

In the ring, he hasn't been shown a lot either. Thing is, he isn't being given something a bit more serious to make people interested in him. As I said, he has a good body, and for a big man, he moves around well. People haven't seen much of his wrestling ability though, because WWE hasn't allowed him to do so. He never had the stage for more than 5 minutes to try and perform. I don't say he is the best guy in the ring, but he was never allowed to show any skills he might have anyway, especially since he was in a tag team.

People actually reacted to the dog bark. Everytime he hit the over the shoulders throw ( I believe that was the move), he went to the ropes for the bark and people barked back. That means that at least for the moment, he was getting a reaction.

Rarely ever have people been noticed having the schedule/mic time/in ring time that Titus has. Even Bryan, when he was in the tag team, he was given some spotlight with Doctor Shelby, backstage promos and of course, he was the tag champs. No one can show what they can really do if only given 5 minutes.

 

[blueskyy]

You act like he has been given incredible mic time or in ring time, especially as a solo guy. Ever since he broke out from Darren, he has only been on the mic what? 2-3 times? All of those times, he was really entertaining, at least to me, very natural and charismatic. I especially remember a backstage interview with Renee Young. There goes the "decent on the mic" point.

In the ring, he hasn't been shown a lot either. Thing is, he isn't being given something a bit more serious to make people interested in him. As I said, he has a good body, and for a big man, he moves around well. People haven't seen much of his wrestling ability though, because WWE hasn't allowed him to do so. He never had the stage for more than 5 minutes to try and perform. I don't say he is the best guy in the ring, but he was never allowed to show any skills he might have anyway, especially since he was in a tag team.

People actually reacted to the dog bark. Everytime he hit the over the shoulders throw ( I believe that was the move), he went to the ropes for the bark and people barked back. That means that at least for the moment, he was getting a reaction.

Rarely ever have people been noticed having the schedule/mic time/in ring time that Titus has. Even Bryan, when he was in the tag team, he was given some spotlight with Doctor Shelby, backstage promos and of course, he was the tag champs. No one can show what they can really do if only given 5 minutes.

No, no, no no... This isn't the "chicken or the egg" issue. Titus O'Neil didn't shine not because he wasn't given enough opportunities, but rather, it's because he hasn't possess the quality YET to deserve a push or be given more opportunities. If I were to give you an analogy, it would more akin to "grooming a champion fighting cock". Invest in the ones who's consistently showing the most potentials.

There's a few threads here about superstars getting buried. Do you know why some superstars appeared to be buried? Because more often than not, firstly, they suck, but MORE importantly, they lose to lousy opponents who couldn't put on good matches themselves. It's a combination of these two factors that eventually kills a wrestler -- bad booking and bad wrestlers.

That's why I'm never in favor of pushing anyone who's not ready. Because ultimately, they would just bury their opponents first before finally burying themselves.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

No, no, no no... This isn't the "chicken or the egg" issue. Titus O'Neil didn't shine not because he wasn't given enough opportunities, but rather, it's because he hasn't possess the quality YET to deserve a push or be given more opportunities. If I were to give you an analogy, it would more akin to "grooming a champion fighting cock". Invest in the ones who's consistently showing the most potentials.

There's a few threads here about superstars getting buried. Do you know why some superstars appeared to be buried? Because more often than not, firstly, they suck, but MORE importantly, they lose to lousy opponents who couldn't put on good matches themselves. It's a combination of these two factors that eventually kills a wrestler -- bad booking and bad wrestlers.

That's why I'm never in favor of pushing anyone who's not ready. Because ultimately, they would just bury their opponents first before finally burying themselves.

I hear ya, and you have some merit. But the thing is, at least on the mic, Titus showed some charisma. Even if his in ring skills aren't so developed, he can still work and slowly develop the entire package by doing some promo work, similar to bad news Barrett. Barrett didn't have to wrestle for some time, he only delivered promos. Titus could do the same somehow, so that people get to know him a bit more, so that when the time comes that he has improved in the ring, he can do right at it. If he doesn't then I guess he can remain as a promo guy or just remove him from his position completely. What I'm trying to say is they should take his strong point at his moment, his mic work.