Why the Titus O'Neil lovefest?

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Seriously why does everybody think that Titus O'Neil will succeed once PTP breaks up?

Why does everybody believe that he is a bigger star than Darren Young?

If he was such a big star wouldn't PTP be tag champs by now?


Now that I have asked my questions it is time for my vent. Titus is 36 years old and far from an established superstar. The only reason he was recognizable is because the last season of NXT (before the new developmental version) ran forever and he was one of the staples of the show. Is he talented? meh. Big Zeke has talent as well but he hasn't been on TV in months. Does he have charisma? Sure he does, if he could be Pancake Patterson at all times. Other than that bland, repetitive promos and barking in the ring aren't a sign of charisma. Sorry, just sick of everybody in the forums loving Titus and making Darren out to be the "Jannety" of the group. Personally I prefer Young to O'Neil, as he also has decent mic skills and to me is a ton of a lot better in the ring. Also he is referred to by many as the "black" John Cena (Cena has even referenced that in promos). I believe that Cena would pull some clout back stage to get Young over because of the lookalike aspect (dunno maybe just a dream). Also don't forget the fact that Titus is 36, Young is 30. Young was in season one of NXT while Titus was in season two. To me that tells me that WWE believed in Young long before they had faith in Titus. Also, many people on here compare PTP to Crime Tyme and call Young the JTG to Titus's Shad. Pretty sure Shad was released shortly after Cryme Tyme split, while JTG maintains a (sparingly used) job in the company. I think I'm done now, sorry for the rant, just tired of hearing about Titus O'Neil being the next big thing

 

[Mac Attack]

I'll give this a reply however I'm going to simply appease in the response because like you I see nothing in him that is that's special but feel I recognize why people think he is a good talent and will be writing it that way just to help answer your question and support discussion in this thread.

Titus O'Neil has the cookie cutter pro wrestler build. People look at professional wrestlers and still think physique comes first and that guy is like a statue. He is absolutely fit and is your signature Vince McMahon wrestler prototype. I know you know and like me realize that his is kind of old however to the common WWE fan who has no recollection of age he is still "new." So in the three main needs for a wrestler t be considered talented he has the look. And look counts if you disagree just look at one Ohno.

Charisma, you say he doesn't have much of it I say that is wrong. Let's look at it from this perspective promo abilities he has, the charismatic entrance he has, the signature dog bark he is, the in ring presence he has. He has all the capability to be entertaining and he has the physique. He uses the two to enhance his character and get a reaction. This is half of the core of wrestling. The main object of professional wrestling is to entertain and wrestle. He entertains better than most which is all you can ask for.

Now his wrestling ability whilst some find it lacking he uses what he has to his advantage and can actually perform interesting moves whilst in the ring. He is pretty fast does not rely simply on rest holds and can work a match as seen with his various matches with Sheamus. He probably could act more aggressive and try to add a variety of slams however he has a larger moveset then most wrestlers and tries to make his move entertaining.

Now these aren't my personal opinions some are some aren't there just trying to answer the OP and promote discussion. I think overall he is mediocre however I just played Devil's advocate against myself for the sake of discussion.

 

[Merkin353]

We all have those guys that we dislike that people seem to like *Cough* Bray Wyatt *Cough* I cannot stand the gimmick or the guy.

Anyway I think this all started once Titus & Young cut a promo months back on smackdown & Titus killed it & Young just copied everything Titus said. Titus showed me something that had an entertainment value on it & that was the first & last time I remember him or PTP being memorable.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

If you referring to the PTP potential split thread, I think it was a case of people seeing more potential and an upside in O'Neil, if the PTP split, because Young is dogshit.

O'Neil has the perfect build and size for a "big man," and it's the type of look Vince drools over. He's the more charismatic one in the duo, and he's not bad on the mic. And the live crowds usually get into O' Neil's loud and cocky barking during his matches, but is that enough? O' Neil's age will hold him back. He's creeping towards forty, and he'll have to wait in a LONG line of guys ahead of him: Ziggler, Langston, Sandow, Sheamus, Rhodes, Bryan, Ryback, The Shield, etc. And you can't forget about the mainstays (Cena, Punk, Del Rio, and Orton).

Plus, "the look" isn't everything. Chris Masters had the perfect Herculean physique, but that was about it. Take away his goofy, comedic side (he was actually good for a few laughs every now and then), and Masters was just another meathead/gym rat with a muscular build. Guys like that are a dime a dozen, and looks will only take you so far.

O' Neil has too many problems working against him to receive a significant push, AND move up the card. Maybe he'll get a spot in a future WHC MITB match, but that's about it.

 

[GameOver]

Who's everybody? i certainly don't.

if i was comparing the two of them Darren Young is far superior in every aspect, D.Young can go in the ring and can talk the talk but he's portrayed as comic relief and Titu's lacket who can wrestle where as Titus is just a big guy so that immediately puts him on the up and up with Vinnie Mac.

PTP should've won the titles by now they are easily more over then the likes of The Uso's who are the new poster child's for tag team wins. But that ship has sailed and they are destined to split same as Team Hell No, Team Rhodes Scholars, Cryme Tyme all potential teams that could've lifted the division but they get scrapped soon as they get any progress.

One thing is certain for me tho and that is Titus and D.Young both have grown tremendously from there NXT days when they were both not even gonna make it to the roster let alone become prime time players (pun intended) in a division.

I can see D.Young going onto IC/US Gold in the next few years, unfortunately Titus will make it first tho unless he pisses someone off

 

[Nikeo]

I've always seen so much more upside with regards O'Neil than Young. During Titus' short NXT season 2 tenure he seemed, out of all the rookies, to be the one with the least talent - which is saying something when one remembers that particular class.

However, I remember the promo he cut after being eliminated. I remember being blown away by it, he went from generic heel to a face that I felt I could identify with in a matter of about 30 seconds.

I haven't gone back and watched the promo, and I'm in no way insinuating it was Austin 3:16 in its calibre, but to this day it stands out in my mind as one of the (if not THE) most memorable parts of NXT 2 for me. From that moment on I knew O'Neil had something.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I don't see much in Titus. He's big, which always seems to be a plus in Vince McMahon's eyes. He's well-built, although with an oddly protruding gut which causes his forward motion to resemble a sailor's rolling gait.

Biggest problem? He's awkward as all get out, making his offense difficult to watch, causing some of his moves to look like botches, even when they aren't.

Finally, he doesn't seem to know how to take a fall. When tossed, he often lands in sections instead of flat on the mat. I remember reading Killer Kowalski saying that you know the fall hurt like hell when they land like that. Alicia Fox does the same thing, and it looks awful.

I think Titus and Darren are better off together; I can't see how either one is going to rise higher than the mid-card on their own.

Then again, if the WWE machine thinks either or both of them are worth a big push.......

 

[Dagger Dias]

Seriously why does everybody think that Titus O'Neil will succeed once PTP breaks up?

Depends on your definition of success. I personally do not see him ever reaching as much success as guys like Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, or CM Punk have, let alone where John Cena is. I do think however that he will receive the bigger push out of the PTP if/when they split up for good. It's rare to see both halves of a tag team receive a big push upon a split and even in cases when both are pushed, one almost always receives a bigger push than the other. I'm not saying that Young will be the Jannetty. I also never said Titus will be a 9+ time World Champion. I'm saying Titus will likely get a bigger push than Young.

Why does everybody believe that he is a bigger star than Darren Young?

Promo skills. Titus is getting more heel heat from the fans than Young is for their promos. Titus is more gifted on the mic and once he showed up as one half of the PTP some fans, myself included, did not expect him to be better than Young. I personally had seen him on NXT Season 2 so I remember the akward "make it a win" speech. He has come a LONG way since then and if he can improve THAT much, there has to be something worth investing in there. As far as Young is concerned we already know what he can do, and Titus brings more to the table if they split up.

If he was such a big star wouldn't PTP be tag champs by now?

He was never a big star and he still is not. He does have the potential to reach a decent amount of success. A midcard title win would not be out of the question. Anything beyond that is questionable, although for Titus it COULD happen. For Young it's extremely doubtful that he'll get anything else other than WWE revisiting the comedy angle of him resembling Cena and then getting released or demoted to developmental after the split. Titus certainly won't be WWE Champion anytime soon, but he has the most potential out of the two. I would rather they not split until they have had a chance to win the giant pennies together, but anything could happen in the WWE. I believe 100% that Titus will receive the bigger push if/when they do go their separate ways.

 

[closet_fan]

Since I started the discussion, I'll leave my comment.

I don't "love" Titus, but I do think he has everything that the WWE clearly sees as potential. He has the body of a wrestler Vince is still in love with, but Ryback shows that "big" doesn't equal better. Although Titus has something Ryback doesn't have.

Charisma.

"Natural" charisma. If you look at a guy like David Otunga and watch him talk, you can tell his charisma wasn't coming off naturally. It felt forced and sometimes over acted.

You look at Titus, especially his pancake character, he's a natural mic talker. He comes off as if he really means what he says. Someone like Otunga couldn't do this. He would use too much body language to make his promos seem legit, when they still looked forced. There are a few wrestlers that still do this. They just don't look comfortable. Titus does.

The break up: The WWE doesn't break up a tag team just to break them up. They do it because they see potential in one guy or even both.

I'm sure many thought Marty Jannetty would be the guy to succeed over Michaels. Just like some might think Young is better. But me personally, I just don't see it. He offers nothing in the way of upside. Titus can get better. Young is about as good as he is going to be.

Maybe Titus will bomb. It seems the WWE is having some trouble trying to get bigger heels over lately (ADR, Ryback). Maybe Titus will break that trend, or fail miserably.

 

[LSN80]

Did I miss the part where there was a big lovefest for Titus O'Neill?

Irregardless, while I think O'Neill is solid on the mic, he's still got a long way to go in the ring. And unlike the Rolling Stones song(I just dated myself) Time isn't on his side, he's 36. He's the same age as John Cena, who's been main-eventing PPV's since before Titus even broke into professional wrestling. Titus is still quite green and while he's good enough to sell and get in some offense in the five minute squash match, he really hasn't shown the ability to do much more then that.

As for his look, yeah, he has that bodybuilder physique that Vince seems to love, but that hasn't been evident in his push, has it? The PTP's were nothing but fodder for Team Hell No in the tag team division, and they haven't meant much since. Now that they're trying their hand in single's competition, neither he or Darren Young have served as anything other then jobbers to the much bigger stars.

For the past year, the tag team division has been about two teams: Team Hell No and The Shield. During that time, any other team has been firmly on the periphery, so even if the PTP's were a great team, they weren't going to succeed inside the division. With the Shield firmly entrenched now as tag champs, they aren't going to find much success there either. So why not, in theory, have them try their hands in single's competition? Even if Titus is the more successful of the two, the ceiling for both is pretty low.

If they are to have success or win gold, they're better off in the tag team division. Even there, however, I think the chance that happens is pretty remote. With the tag teams WWE has in developmental or have recently brought up(like the Wyatt's), Titus' best chance at TV time may very well be serving as a jobber to much bigger stars.

Clearly, the HBK to Young's Janetty indeed.

 

[MCMG]

He is good in the ring; has charisma and has a good look. His "learning" process has been completed or at least progressed through the tag-team and he is ready for a push. He clearly has talent which suggests he will succeed. That isn't always the case but I'm not going to sit here and say that someone with talent won't succeed. The opposite: I hope he succeeds because he is something slightly different and he is likable.

Will he break Ric Flair's number of world title reigns? No. Will he win a world title? Maybe, but I can definitely see him in a feud with someone at the top of the card in the near future and after that; he may win the big one.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Thanks for all the comments. I will say that I may have been wrong in stating that Titus wasn't charismatic. He is, but like I said his promos just seem loud and repetitive. Again just my opinion. It is true that Vince likes his bodybuilding types and with rumours circulating that WWE is looking for an African American babyface, maybe Titus will fill the void. I just don't see the "it" factor in him. And to everybody who stated that my rant was because of the PTP POTENTIAL SPLIT thread, no that was just one of many instances in the past several months that I have seen pro Titus posts. From Titus O'Neil is a future world champ to Titus should join the Shield I have seen some outlandish statements recently and felt the need to state my disdain. Thanks again for all the comments.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Honestly, he stinks. He's not terrible in the ring but I just feel he's too generic. His "charisma" feels too forced and so do his promos. I'm mean, I've heard worse on the mic but he doesn't seem like a natural

Titus Young, good luck in all your future endeavors.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

A lot of it is to do with WWE clearly wanting a new African American star... someone who will sell merch by the bucket load in the way Rey does...

They've tried a few ideas like Kofi, R-Truth and Mark Henry - none of them have really taken so now naturally people are gonna start looking at PTP...

Young's problem is his facial resemblance to Cena, people will never get over the fact, and it's gonna hurt Darren Young on his own.


Titus I think has gotten attention cos of his comedic timing... especially the "Pancake Patterson" stuff... now in reality, it's nothing different than R-Truth did with "Pretty Ricky" a while back - try something different and see if it takes. People remembered that one "Pretty Ricky" skit and they are remembering "Pancake" too. In Truth's case it didn't get him a push as Ricky, but it did show he could do more than chant "Wassup" and when he went heel not long after, he changed his character up pretty well.

Ultimately O'Neil has the same thing as Santino, he has shown he can do more than be a comedy act, but that's where he is best suited to be so I don't see the big push for him... but already he's more of an entertaining character than Lashley, Ahmed Johnson, Zeke, all of whom got that "next big thing" tag ever were...

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Titus has never come off as all that talented or charasmatic to me, much more than Darren Young but that really isn't saying much of anything in my book. I think most people believe Titus might be given some bigger or better oppritunities if/when PTP breaks up simply because of his size & because of the fact that most people seem to agree that he has proved to be the better of the two, but I really don't see it leading to much of anything for him.

 

[sufyaan05]

Neither of them are going to be big stars,

Doubt they will even win a title.

Neither are simply good enough,