JJYanks121
The Mouth of the South Shore
You know, we've had this conversation before, and I've even gotten into full on, back and forth arguments about this guy. Many of the more established posters know my position on the Pope. Thing is, the last time we talked about it was a few months ago, but that doesn't mean that the guy has done anything in that time to change my opinion. Thus, I present it to you again (mostly for those who missed it last time to get a different perspective).
In my opinion, this is the most overrated wrestler in any company. What you are presented with is a man that many drool over due to a character, and with passable ring skills to combat the "all personality, no ring ability" argument, many have concluded that this mixture that is the Pope is greater than most that is out there. I beg to differ.
First off, I have ALWAYS been someone who is attracted to superstars who can speak well. Before we get our panties in a bunch, I mean attracted to in the sense that they are my favorite superstars. I saw how the reaction was to that word, so I figured I'd clear that up and not have a meaningless argument. Anyway, some have lauded Pope as "Rock-esque" on the mic, which is about as close a comparison as saying Michael Moore's abs are "Morrison-esque". That may be a bit harsh, but hear me out. When examining the verbal skills of a competitor, there are a few ways to be successful. You can be direct and to the point, you can be funny, you can speak at a higher level than the audience (Chris Jericho), or you could mix in a combination of any of those things. However, when doing any of them, you must know your lines so well that it doesn't come off as scripted, nor do you stumble across your words. Minor slips will happen on live TV, but you must not show your weakness by calling attention to it. The thing I hate most about Pope is that he always calls attention to it. He likes to say things like "you know what I mean" and "you know what I'm saying". Anyone who has taken public speaking 101 knows that using such phrases are stalls, stopgaps when one cannot remember the next line they are to deliver. Pope does it EVERY SENTENCE!! I'm sorry, but as someone who does a bit of public speaking, I cannot buy a guy as having great verbal skills when he can't seem to get from one line to another without using a stall.
Secondly, the accent is just plain dumb. Drop the accent. He is supposed to be a street preacher from NEW YORK but speaks with a southern accent. This accent doesn't make him unique or give him personality, it makes him fraudulent and ridiculous. Without the accent, he'd still be someone who can't remember his lines, but at least he could do it in a normal voice.
Thirdly, other than the accent and the money in his entrance, it's not as though he plays off his "street preacher" gimmick. It's merely a facade to present as "a character", but take away the accent and listen to his promos. He says nothing that would push this character, nor have we ever learned WHY a street preacher is in TNA. There is no character development, but it is masked by a few funny lines amidst a lot of stalling and awkwardness. Just to point out, a few funny lines do not make up for poor delivery the rest of the time. Trust me, I do stand up comedy. If i were to suck with my delivery but my punchline was phenomenal, no one would care.
Since Pope has basically hit a lull and hasn't been involved in anything meaningful in a while, I say that moving forward, you can actually fix the guy. Drop the accent (it helped Kofi), reveal more about the character, and get him a good midcard feud. The guy is a midcarder (sorry band-wagoners, it's true), so give him a good program in that midcard. Hell, what about Pope/AJ for the TV title? Someone's gonna have to step up to Fortune, why not try and have Pope be one of those guys? The only issue with that, and it might be a big one, is that anything Pope does on the mic will pale in comparison to the verbal wars Jay Lethal engaged in with Ric Flair. Thus, I say keep it simple, have Pope go after A.J., and see what happens. Just don't tout Pope as the next Rock. He's 33 and he's nothing like the Rock. Plus, he should probably shave that chest fro thing he's got going on. Just sayin'.
In my opinion, this is the most overrated wrestler in any company. What you are presented with is a man that many drool over due to a character, and with passable ring skills to combat the "all personality, no ring ability" argument, many have concluded that this mixture that is the Pope is greater than most that is out there. I beg to differ.
First off, I have ALWAYS been someone who is attracted to superstars who can speak well. Before we get our panties in a bunch, I mean attracted to in the sense that they are my favorite superstars. I saw how the reaction was to that word, so I figured I'd clear that up and not have a meaningless argument. Anyway, some have lauded Pope as "Rock-esque" on the mic, which is about as close a comparison as saying Michael Moore's abs are "Morrison-esque". That may be a bit harsh, but hear me out. When examining the verbal skills of a competitor, there are a few ways to be successful. You can be direct and to the point, you can be funny, you can speak at a higher level than the audience (Chris Jericho), or you could mix in a combination of any of those things. However, when doing any of them, you must know your lines so well that it doesn't come off as scripted, nor do you stumble across your words. Minor slips will happen on live TV, but you must not show your weakness by calling attention to it. The thing I hate most about Pope is that he always calls attention to it. He likes to say things like "you know what I mean" and "you know what I'm saying". Anyone who has taken public speaking 101 knows that using such phrases are stalls, stopgaps when one cannot remember the next line they are to deliver. Pope does it EVERY SENTENCE!! I'm sorry, but as someone who does a bit of public speaking, I cannot buy a guy as having great verbal skills when he can't seem to get from one line to another without using a stall.
Secondly, the accent is just plain dumb. Drop the accent. He is supposed to be a street preacher from NEW YORK but speaks with a southern accent. This accent doesn't make him unique or give him personality, it makes him fraudulent and ridiculous. Without the accent, he'd still be someone who can't remember his lines, but at least he could do it in a normal voice.
Thirdly, other than the accent and the money in his entrance, it's not as though he plays off his "street preacher" gimmick. It's merely a facade to present as "a character", but take away the accent and listen to his promos. He says nothing that would push this character, nor have we ever learned WHY a street preacher is in TNA. There is no character development, but it is masked by a few funny lines amidst a lot of stalling and awkwardness. Just to point out, a few funny lines do not make up for poor delivery the rest of the time. Trust me, I do stand up comedy. If i were to suck with my delivery but my punchline was phenomenal, no one would care.
Since Pope has basically hit a lull and hasn't been involved in anything meaningful in a while, I say that moving forward, you can actually fix the guy. Drop the accent (it helped Kofi), reveal more about the character, and get him a good midcard feud. The guy is a midcarder (sorry band-wagoners, it's true), so give him a good program in that midcard. Hell, what about Pope/AJ for the TV title? Someone's gonna have to step up to Fortune, why not try and have Pope be one of those guys? The only issue with that, and it might be a big one, is that anything Pope does on the mic will pale in comparison to the verbal wars Jay Lethal engaged in with Ric Flair. Thus, I say keep it simple, have Pope go after A.J., and see what happens. Just don't tout Pope as the next Rock. He's 33 and he's nothing like the Rock. Plus, he should probably shave that chest fro thing he's got going on. Just sayin'.
