What could have been of Droz?

[CM Steel]

Droz: The former WWF superstar who's career was cut short due to him getting paralized in a match with D'Lo Brown after a powerbomb gone wrong. Now Droz is living his life in a wheelchair and hasn't been heard from in the wrestling world since 2002 when he had his own segment on WWE.com.

We saw the push that was "Puke" on the documentery "Beyond the Mat" in 1998-99 when Droz aka Puke entered WWF offices in Stamford, Connecticut to meet with chairman Vince McMahon. Soon after that they paired Puke up with the Road Warriors Hawk & Animal and later dropped the Puke moniker and just went by Droz after parting ways with the Road Warriors faction. And later Droz put on Prince Albert aka Sweet T as his new protege and friend. Soon after a few months with Albert, that when the accident happened at a WWF live event.

But what if that incident never happened to Droz? Where would he have been if his career in the WWF/E would have went on longer? What could have been of the WWF/E career of Droz? A future WWF/E champion??

 

[berlinbrawler]

You never know. I haven't seen most of his work, so I'm not the best person to weigh in on this.
The little I have seen, honestly, wasn't all that impressive. He seemed like one of those guys that just come and go en masse. At first glance I'd have to say midcarder for life. My impression is that if it wasn't for that tragic accident he would have been released within a couple short years and nobody would remember him today.
But again, I haven't seen a lot of him, so what do I know? I shall shut my hole on the matter form now on.

 

[Asmo]

He'd probably stay as a midcarder, sure he had talent but depending on the way the angles could have been at the time he may have been used for comic relief.

A true shame he went out the way he did.

 

[The Brain]

Here’s how I see Droz’s career playing out had he not been injured in late 1999.

2000: He’s one of those guys that floats around the hardcore division being thrown in multi man matches such as the WrestleMania hardcore match. He ends up being one of those guys that always tries to take advantage of the 24/7 rule but is never a focal point.

2001: With the Invasion under way Droz becomes one of the guys that is shown backstage watching a monitor and cheering on the WWF while barely getting any ring time on tv.

2002: Droz has a very minor resurgence as he gets some tv matches on Raw or Smackdown considering there are extra spots available after the roster is cut in half following the brand extension. Despite some extra tv time Droz does not get any serious feuds or ppv matches.

2003: After a lot of trades and defections the Raw and Smackdown rosters fall into place and the creative team learns how to handle the roster split. Droz falls to the background and spends the year wrestling on Velocity or Heat if he gets on tv at all.

2004: Very early in the year Droz is released.

Droz was ok but he didn’t stand out as anything too special. Being able to puke on command wasn’t going to get him very far. While I think his career would have been mediocre at best I would have liked to see it play out simply because it would mean he would not be paralyzed today.

 

[tom9422]

Here’s how I see Droz’s career playing out had he not been injured in late 1999.

2000: He’s one of those guys that floats around the hardcore division being thrown in mulit man matches such as the WrestleMania hardcore match. He ends up being one of those guys that always tries to take advantage of the 24/7 rule but is never a focal point.

2001: With the Invasion under way Droz becomes one of the guys that is shown backstage watching a monitor and cheering on the WWF while barely getting any ring time on tv.

2002: Droz has a very minor resurgence as he gets some tv matches on Raw or Smackdown considering there are extra spots available after the roster is cut in half following the brand extension. Despite some extra tv time Droz does not get any serious feuds or ppv matches.

2003: After a lot of trades and defections the Raw and Smackdown rosters fall into place and the creative team learns how to handle the roster split. Droz falls to the background and spends the year wrestling on Velocity or Heat if he gets on tv at all.

2004: Very early in the year Droz is released.

Droz was ok but he didn’t stand out as anything too special. Being able to puke on command wasn’t going to get him very far. While I think his career would have been mediocre at best I would have liked to see it play out simply because it would mean he would not be paralyzed today.

this is probably the most accurate, its not like Droz was this great up and coming talent. Most people don't even know who he is.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The thing Droz had in his favour was he was popular backstage with a lot of the big names, Mick Foley, LOD were all in his corner so to speak. So had he stayed healthy I doubt he would have been released, now whether he went any further than midcard is another matter.

I think Droz would have ultimately ended up in the same position as a Goldust or Hardcore Holly - around, wrestling better than most of the roster but not standing out enough to move up. He would certainly have improved over time and it's not impossible that he could have been someone special, but he would have needed a gimmick that really caught on, and puking or being the 3rd LOD member wasn't gonna do that.

The sad part of this that is often forgotten (not that the injury isn't) is that it pretty much ended two careers... D Lo was very over and doing very well before it happened, he'd just come off the Euro-continental reign and he could have easily stepped up over the following years. Whether people just didn't trust him afterwards or it destroyed his self-belief it's hard to say. Droz knew the risks and was magnanamous about the accident, but certainly some seemed to blame him and that is a pity.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

I imagine Droz would have had a run as either IC or European champion at somepoint down the line, But unless his gimmick changed I don't think he would have amounted to much more in the WWE and would know be working as either a agent or maybe competing in TNA or one of Indy promotions.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

The highest points in Droz's career took place prior to his injury. He was apart of LOD in some capacity and was known to be able to throw up on command. That's as good as it would have gotten for Droz.

Brain accurately foretold what would have been with Droz. He didn't stand out long term, he wasn't overwhelming when it comes to in-ring work, size, and charisma. He was just 'there'. A good hand in the ring, but nothing else.

I only wish that he would have been able to find that out for himself instead of being paralyzed.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's a little sad that people don't seem to give him any scope to improve in their assessments... Albert was pretty horrendous back then too but ended up a major player in Japan on his ring ability (wasted as it is now) so there was always scope for Droz to improve had things turned out different.

Who is to say that had he not made in WWE he couldn't have gone to Japan with the LOD connections he had or to ECW and been the guy who got them into the big time or a TNA standout today? You just don't know, at the end of it all he was a guy who got crippled barely 2 years into his career on TV... Ryback was in developmental for 7 years before going onto TV and I would say Droz then had more going for him then than Ryback has now other than the "machine" behind him.

 

[CarlSinclair]

I liked Droz in this LoD deal. That was a decent little storyline.

I feel really bad for him that he ended up like he did. If I am honest, I really can't see him doing better than people like Hardcore Holly etc.

I expect he would have been with that midcard type group (Test, Holly, Raven etc) during the 2000's. I expect at some point he would have been released.

After that he would have been TNA champion (as is their model) and the rest would be history.

Poor guy. Wouldn't wish that on anybody (the wheelchair, not the TNA title)

 

[HBsam31]

He is just a guy I never really saw the appeal in. I hated how they brought him in as the guy that could puke on command. I couldn't get past that for some reason. He didn't have a horrible look, and I think he could have maybe won midcard titles here and there. I suppose he could have gotten better, but I don't think WWE would have ever kept him around long enough to find out. I just never saw him as a guy that would do anything other than the 24/7 hardcore title matches.

 

[jpickens]

Upper mid card mainstay a few runs with the IC, US, and hardcore championships a couples tag team championship runs with either Albert or maybe Test released and either winding up in TNA or Japan before returning to a successful run in the new ECW with maybe a brief stint in the main event.