Was MVP's Face Turn, a Career Ruiner?

[SpoodBeest]

Let me state why I believe this was a bad move, and ruined the MVP character. Let's take you back to 2007 MVP after winning the US title from Benoit, and began a feud with Matt Hardy. By the beginning of 2008 This man was one of if not the most over heel in the mid card.

When he talked on the mic, as a heel he was very entertaining, and in 2008 I seen him headed big places, as perhaps a future main event heel. Then he dropped the US title to Matt Hardy, but still kept up his momentum. He even competed for the WWE title at Unforgiven 2008. Then all of a sudden he was thrown in to the dog house and began a brutal losing streak.

Which then led to him becoming an underdog face and feuding with Shelton Benjamin, and won himself another US title. Then he was drafted to RAW, and in his first major appearance with the brand he called out Orton, and looked good doing so and even went on to have a good match with Orton as well. Then after this he would abruptly drop the US title to Kofi, fall into mid card obscurity, and is now forcing out face line over the mic that are in my opinion cringe worthy. Not to mention for the last hafl of this year he and Mark Henry became a tag team.

So was turning MVP face a career killer? It certainly seems so, especially since he was one of the most over heels in the mid card, and now he is low midcard face that barely gets any reaction at all. Epic Fail.

 

[Trill Co$by]

The face turn isn't the problem... the problem is that he got moved to Raw. See, Smackdown writers happen to know how to get some great storylines going, whereas Raw writers seem to be having an uncurable case of writer's block.

See, if he had stayed on Smackdown, I'm sure that he would've been World champion by now.

 

[marklouis]

Yes. He should've stayed a heel. He had a good feud w/Hardy, and he really tapped into the "spoiled pro athlete" thing that people love to hate.

 

[Chill]

I think it's still ultimately too early to state with certainty that MVP turning face was a 'career ruiner'. With that being said however, I truly believe MVP worked better as a heel and as such was more relevant than he is now. It's quite easy to make a comparison between him and Randy Orton I think as Orton was not likable as a face and I think it's safe to say that the same largely applies to Mr. Porter.

Admittedly, his bland face turn seems to be slightly more successful now than it was a few months back, people seem to be slowing responding to his good guy antics and some people can now actually be arsed to particiapte in the whole 'ballin' thingy he does, but he is still in no way over to the degree that WWE would like. Eventually, I anticipate WWE turning this guy heel again because the face turn largely isn't having the desired effect. Of course, add to the mix that he's on Raw where it is notoriously more difficult for a mid carder to break out it and voila, there's another obstacle in the way of the good guy version of MVP.

MVP's work as a baddie was believable, natural and far more entertaining in my opinion than anything he has done as a face and I think it's only inevitable before he becomes a heel once more and starts making an impact (like we know he can) again.

 

[deathdrop81]

Yes, MVP was a much more effective heel. He still gets a good pop from the crowd as a face, but I believe the fans invested more in hating him than they do loving him. He carried on decent feuds as a heel against Benoit, Kane and Matt Hardy.
Of course, HHH squashing him a few months ago on Raw didn't help matters. Neither does his current run (what kind of run it is, I don't know). He should at least be the U.S. champion instead of the Miz.

 

[wrestler36]

I don't think it was a career ruiner. He can still get over on his own, but I think it was a bad move debuting him in a verbal spat with Orton and then not following it up very well. It makes him look weak. Hopefully, he'll have a push at the beginning of the year and he'll be on top again. I think his charisma is underrated.

 

[jayteeERA]

I didn't think it was a career ruiner. Its that WWE didn't push it far like we hoped. wrestler36 made a good point. His feud with Orton should been followed up. I also though he had a chance to shine, when he faced HHH in a tournament. HHH knees was hurting, so it was a good opportunity to give it to MVP. But once again wwe gave it to HHH & Cena. I do think at this point another heel run won't hurt.

 

[johnbragg]

The face turn obviously hasn't helped.

But I think the real problem was the Losing Streak. For four months, WWE promoted this guy as a guy who lost matches. And it's not like he's done a lot since then to erase the label "guy with the losing streak/had that long-ass losing streak". Winning the US title for the second time--big god damn deal.

Think about it--if he hadn't turned face, do you really think that the losing streak wouldn't have killed his heat? They salvaged something by playing up a little bit of sympathy for the guy who got screwed out of a bunch of wins, otherwise all you have is an dislikeable character who also isn't much of a threat to anyone.

 

[The Best At What I Do]

Yes the face turn was not good for MVP. But no it was not a career ruiner.

I think there's a series of unfortunate events/circumstances that was against MVP. Let me clarify. MVP made his debut as a cocky superstar claiming he had the largest contract in SD! history getting paid more than John Cena even. He had entertaining rivalries and the crowd loved to hate him. Then (don't quote me on this) I believe he was caught with marijuana and put into the doghouse. Went on a losing streak and eventually paid his dues. It's hard to keep heat on a heel that can't even cheat his way to a victory so a face turn through sympathy was basically done.

Here's where the problem comes in. MVP has WPW syndrome which causes his heart to beat faster than normal. I've been told that this means he has to move slowly just to keep his breath. Well the WWE is pretty formulaic with their matches. The face gets things going while the heel slows down the matches. Every time we see an MVP match now, it gets rather boring because there's basically two people slowing down the pace.

I think that a turn back to being heel can be a boost to his career... but then comes in the problem of his age. The guy's 36 in an era when the WWE is trying to push the younger stars. A push is almost pointless now because he'll be nearing 40 by the time the audience comes to recognize him as a main-eventer.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

In my opinion, the face turn wasn't the primary problem as such. How it was done was the problem. The real trouble was that it was done after that horrendous losing streak. MVP's character just isn't good as a "come-back kid". He's supposed to be a spoiled, overindulged athlete. The underdog thing just doesn't work for him and he's certainly not all that palatable as a hero (anti-hero, I could see.)

They should have gone the other way, had him start cheating to win, had him begin the sorts of thing that Orton has been known to do, perhaps get himself a "posse" or some such. The pairing of Mark Henry and MVP would work so much better as a heel paring with MVP as the brains and Henry as the brawn, the enforcer, much the way that Jeri-Show was handled. In my opinion, if MVP wants to get out of jobbing for Swagger, he'll have to make a switch and bring out a seriously nasty side, hopefully taking Mark Henry with him. It just follows, some gimmicks are better as faces and some as heels.

 

[Crush1]

I don't its due to his face turn, but more on MVP's inability to be a good face. Its easier acting heel then it is acting face and it seems that MVP just isn't good enough. But I don't blame it entirely on MVP. Its also WWE's fault for 1: Bringing him to Raw where he had no place and 2: Not putting him in a decent feud. Just because your on the card every week doesn't mean that the face persona would grow. But I got over my MVP mark out moment, because I know he wont ever amount to much more than a upper-midcard wrestler.

 

[Zeedeevel]

MVP's face turn would have been fine had he stayed on SD like many have said. There is only two main heels on Raw right now and that is Orton and Sheamus. If MVP were a heel he would be in that top tier. The best thing for him right now would probably say how him and henry are sick of getting overlooked for title shots and turn heel and challenge DX. DX would need to make them look like a threat tho in order for it to work

 

[Carolina dude]

They can re-push MVP as a heel.It's never too late.Look at Orton.He got boos in early 2005 as a face and then he rebounded by going back heel in a feud with Undertaker.Edge is another one.He even got booed in Toronto in 2004 and didn't progressively evolve until he became a World Title obsessed heel.

I think what hurt MVP's main event shot was the dead reactions he got around June and Kofi was more over in their RAW U.S. Title match.They realized Kofi had a stronger crowd connection and ever since MVP has stepped backwards instead of forward.

He got over again when he cut that promo with Swagger in the VIP Lounge and was very over in Calgary when he came out to cut a promo about Swagger.(Too bad the crowd was dead during their Summerslam match
though)

After that he started tagging with Henry and was extremely over in his
matches with Jericho and in the Tag matches w/Henry.

His reactions did become inconsistent again after that but for the past two weeks he's gotten chants and a pop on Superstars vs Swagger.(It seems like most in this thread don't watch Superstars).

Will he stay over? We'll see.

I think if MVP gets mic time and a feud there should be no problems.The guy
is pretty charismatic and I believe he can prosper in the face role.

Then (don't quote me on this) I believe he was caught with marijuana and put into the doghouse. Went on a losing streak and eventually paid his dues.

I read he allegedly made a remark to a drug tester.Nothing about marijuana.

MVP did say he speaks his mind when he got interviewed after his losing
streak and also said he got ahead of himself,so it was his mouth that got
him jobbed out.

 

[Dagger Dias]

So was turning MVP face a career killer? It certainly seems so, especially since he was one of the most over heels in the mid card, and now he is low midcard face that barely gets any reaction at all. Epic Fail.

I don't think it was as much a career killer for MVP to turn face, but rather perhaps he was ready to move on to be a main eventer. Ever since calling out Orton on his first night at Raw, he has lost his momentum. People complain about his tag team with Mark Henry (I'm not a big fan of it either), but it was better for those guys to team up rather than do nothing or become jobbers. I'd say that MVP is in the midcard or maybe even the upper midcard. It would have been a career killer if he received ZERO reaction. He does still get a few reactions from the crowd, most notably for that move where he goes "ballin!".... whatever that move is called.

Whether his face change was truly a career killer or not remains to be entirely determined. He might still be able to regain his momentum somehow because that night when he called out Orton I saw a potential main eventer. It could still happen, but we will just have to wait and find out. He's still got a chance in the long run.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

When i saw him come out a get in Legacy's face all that time ago last year, i thought, "Sweet, Orton's first fued back will be with MVP. That should be good." and then it never happened.

Since then the guy's kept the US title warm for a spell and then been lumped in a tag team with Mark Henry, and is wrestling on TV less and less.

Is it because he's a poor face? Well, the guy's barely on TV with a mic, or in a decent fued for any titles, so why would you think he's a great face? If he'd actually fueded with Orton, i think he'd have Kofi's current spot. May not have been as enjoyable but i think he could have made that work to a similar degree. Did people really care about Kofi until he smashed up Orton's car? Not with any real sincerity i imagine, but now look at him. Fans are clammering for him to be champion (just like they always do). I think that if MVP had had a breakout moment like that, we'd be asking a totally dfferent question.

His problem is, is that he's on Raw. On SD they showed us just how awesome he was and how well they could use him. On Raw, they've showed him do nothing, and used him FOR nothing, except jobbing to upper-mid card guys. It's the same thing they did with Kennedy. SD ran with him, Raw barely even picked him up.

 

[Big Sexy]

No it's not a career killer. When he was turned face he had been a heel his whole career, he was in the middle of a big losing streak, and it was time for change.

The face turn worked ok at first, but it grew old quick. However, that doesn't mean it necessarily "killed" his career. He's just a heel turn away from possibly rejuvenating his career. It's much easier to be a heel then a face and some guys just aren't cut out to be faces. Turn MVP heel again and he will have a great chance to turn his career around.

 

[King Douche]

If MVP would be a cocky, arrogant, badass face like The Rock was for example everytime he was face everything would be cool. But MVP has to kiss the fans ass all the time and not act like himself but a fake. Its unbeleivable, so just make him cocky and what not so his character can be exciting. I say turn him tweener so he can be a mix of a face and a heel. That would be good for him, and he can go back to the MVP of old in that mode, but less heel like. He also needs to get pushed into a main eventer, as him being WWE Champion if booked right be awesome.

 

[Tastycles]

It's a tough one this. He is unquestionably out of position as a face, but he was getting pretty tired as a heel on Smackdown too. I think the problem was in not moving him to Raw first. Had they moved him over as a heel, then I think he could have developed. He'd have been fine if he turned face and was left on Smackdown or stayed heel and went to Raw to freshen him up. MVP was on Raw as a face at the same time as Batista, HBK, HHH and Cena and it is obvious why he couldn't progress there. MVP lost all of his momentum then and it is difficult for him to go forward having lost that.

MVP's career isn't over, but given his age and his relative lack of status, if he's not a World champion by the end of 2010, he never will be.

 

[JBK2008]

MVP's current gimmick is set for a heel, so in a way this face turn did hurt him, but at the time, creative needed someone to face Orton and Legacy and MVP was the guy. It was a fresh face to take on Orton and it worked for a short while, then creative pulled the plug, put him with Mark Henry and the rest is history. Will he ever make it back and out of the mid card obscurity? We'll have to wait and see. I say maybe, but he'll probably have to go heel once more.

 

[VKO]

I don't think his face turn was a career killer. He could easily turn heel again and attempt to respark it. It wouldn't be very hard to do. He would just have to harm or insult someone the crowd likes more like John Cena or Shawn Michaels. Do I think it slowed his momentum down though absolutely. He was the most over heel midcarder in the WWE at the time. When he turned face it hurt him for awhile but when he was drafted to Raw I thought he had a chance to be huge. He hasn't done much sense. I wonder if its his bad attitude or drug habits. If so he better cut that shit out and get on the right path.