Where Would Austin Starr Be Now?

[Lady Sheamus]

If this has been discussed before, my apologies, and hopefully this is in the right place. That said, here it goes:

So I am, of course, a fan of Austin Aries. He always manages to impress me whenever I watch him, and I think at least half of what impresses me is his confidence, basically his "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived Gimmick," to which I personally think his success during this run in TNA is owed. I also think it's his look. Whatever people say about his height, the way that he presents himself is compelling. He acts like a boss, and his look supports that. Despite his moments of comedy, he puts himself across as a man to be respected and who is an obvious World Champion.

And now "Austin Starr"...

Looking back on his run as Austin Starr (excluding his problems with management at the time) and reading around for people's opinions of it, I couldn't help but wonder where he would be now if he had continued with that gimmick. I don't think he would be where he is now, but perhaps I'm biased because I like the current gimmick to the point where "Austin Starr" is cringeworthy. Personality-wise, some similarities that remain, but even so, any thoughts on this?

Whatever his accomplishments and abilities, which we are all aware of, would "Austin Starr" (with the ring gear, the dancing, and other eccentricities) have become the World Heavyweight Champion in TNA?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The Austin Starr gimmick I thought was a great use of Aries' flamboyant side. It worked great for what he was at the time back when the X Division was still home to the likes of Petey Williams, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley. We even got a minor glimpse of the Generation Next carryover feud from ROH between he and Shelley.

As to how it would have translated? I'm not sure it would have at all. Starr was fine in the role he was in, but I can't imagine that same persona competing for the World Heavyweight Championship. It's just a little too extreme, like a Randy Savage knock-off on crack.

 

[waylon p]

Austin Starr was a bit of a disappointment to me at first. I had really been impressed with Austin Aries' try out match back in '05. They told us he was the hottest thing on the Indy circuit, and I totally saw why.

When he returned as Austin Starr, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, and waited. The gimmick was not a good fit, but A-dub managed to transcend it to an extent.

It was when he joined paparazzi productions that I soon began to feel they (Nash, TNA, and Shelly, as well as Aries) had jumped the shark somewhere. Those were some of the gayest promos I have ever seen. I mean literally gay. That is not enough to ruin a promo, and certainly not a career (I am kinda hoping for some seriously gay promo work between the two Robbies soon. It would be hilarious to see Robbie E tearfully screaming "I thought we were a couple, dude! What's with this chick?") but they were also a little too inside humor for the mainstream audience, and while quite funny (to me) they accomplished nothing, and I do not think most people got the joke. During this time, I felt Austin' ring work began to suffer. I was glad to see him leave. Especially since I started watching ROH shortly before his return there. Although he did not seem to have the fire I saw on ROH tapes of his previous run, it was much closer than his TNA run had been.

His return to TNA showed a willingness by management to let the man be himself, and I have been very pleased with him and the way they have used him ever since.

I guess I went on a bit. My apologies, but he is one of my faves.

 

[Lady Sheamus]

Austin Starr was a bit of a disappointment to me at first. I had really been impressed with Austin Aries' try out match back in '05. They told us he was the hottest thing on the Indy circuit, and I totally saw why.

When he returned as Austin Starr, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, and waited. The gimmick was not a good fit, but A-dub managed to transcend it to an extent.

It was when he joined paparazzi productions that I soon began to feel they (Nash, TNA, and Shelly, as well as Aries) had jumped the shark somewhere. Those were some of the gayest promos I have ever seen. I mean literally gay. That is not enough to ruin a promo, and certainly not a career (I am kinda hoping for some seriously gay promo work between the two Robbies soon. It would be hilarious to see Robbie E tearfully screaming "I thought we were a couple, dude! What's with this chick?") but they were also a little too inside humor for the mainstream audience, and while quite funny (to me) they accomplished nothing, and I do not think most people got the joke. During this time, I felt Austin' ring work began to suffer. I was glad to see him leave. Especially since I started watching ROH shortly before his return there. Although he did not seem to have the fire I saw on ROH tapes of his previous run, it was much closer than his TNA run had been.

His return to TNA showed a willingness by management to let the man be himself, and I have been very pleased with him and the way they have used him ever since.

I guess I went on a bit. My apologies, but he is one of my faves.

No problems. I admit I haven't seen much of Austin Starr, but what I have watched (& in which Nash was involved) let me know that I didn't want to see any more, as I found it very awkward. For me, flamboyance in itself (no one should wear a boa unless they're in the Moulin Rouge) and being so over the top makes it difficult for me to take a wrestler seriously, especially as the top champion. However, plus points to him for going there, though, and I respect the fact that he went all the way with it in order to be different. In some ways the way he is now more of a generic pro-wrestler by comparison though he is definitely not generic in himself, which I think translates perfectly. I think his return to ROH and then his comeback to TNA revitalized him.

 

[Freebirdfan]

Wasn't he called Austin Starr because he looks so much like Ringo Starr?