World Heavyweight Champion: Bobby Roode

[GrandSword]

I haven't really seen too much discussion about Roode as Champion so I thought I'd throw it out there.

For a while now on these boards, people have compared him to Triple h, due to his old school mic and in ring styles. I would have to say now that he is Champion he reminds me of HHH in another way. And that is how great he is at being Champion.

HHH wasn't really all that entertaining until he became this heel champ that ran over the WWF in 2000. now in 2011, Roode is doing the same, and I gotta say he looks great with the big gold belt around his waist (wish his entrance music wasn't so generic and country-ish though).

In any case as a heel, suit wearing World Champion Roode has been doing a great job, looking dominant and yet using heel tactics to retain his belt. I'm sure if the company keeps promoting him strong over the next few years in the main event spot (unlike continuously changing their minds such as the dropped mega push of Anderson), then Roode could really be one of the greats of this new decade, much the same as HHH was talked about in 2000's.

Having the Championship strengthens his character ten fold like it did with Flair and HHH before him, and with his old school, slow methodical in ring style he can really take it to another level.

Anyone else really enjoying Heel Champion Bobby Roode?

 

[IHW]

I love Heel Roode, and giving him the Title makes it 10X sweeter.
I can differently see Roode growing in some areas though. Roode can carry TNA through 2012.

 

[Y2J4ever]

I'm loving the run that Bobby Roode is having.I just don't think that at this point in time there is another candidate for world champ.I will admit that I really wasn't following Roode before he won the BFG series last year.I found on youtube the promos he had as babyface with Flair and I realized right there that he is an asset to TNA and they are finally rewarding him.Damn he deserves this title just hope they don't take it from him so fast.

 

[klunderbunker]

My problem with Roode's reign is it comes off as not "who can possibly stop him" but "when will someone stop him". It's like he's the weakest of the main event guys. He had to cheat against Storm, he lost to Angle, He won the BFG Series over Gunner who is pretty firmly in the midcard, he lost to Hardy, beat an injured AJ, drew with AJ, then drew with him AGAIN before beating him in overtime. In other words, his two wins as champion have come against an injured opponent and against the same injured opponent again in overtime. Roode looks like he can barely beat anyone and that as soon as someone competent and healthy faces him, they'll win. That's not a good way to present your champion, at least not all the time.

 

[Jack bruce]

I dont like bobby roode he bores me to tears, this guy doesnt have an ounce of charisma in his body and he seems to try a little to hard on the mic and not seem ccomfortable with it. for example if you paid attention to angle ,storm,bully,abyss and jeff hardy they seemed comfortable, as for roode he seemed to try wayyy to hard and kindve looked like he couldnt hang with them on the mic. roode isnt a draw the ratings have not gone pass a 1.2 since he had the title. pop quiz who was champ when the ratings last seen a slight increase o yeah storm. another pop quiz who were setting ratings records for tna when they were champ o yeah AJ Styles. Bobby Roode to me will always be an internet darling who is overated and has no business with the title.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I might be in the minority here, but his character right now is not working for me. he looks way too weak. since becoming champion, how many times has he won a match with a clean pin? you can probably count them on one hand. how many times has he cheated or done something to cause a DQ? as if the heavyweight wrestling champion can't win clean?
early on I expected it, to make sure he comes across as a heel, but at this point I was surely expecting him to look good in the ring while winning matches. he should be winning matches with his finishing move, the crossface.

IMO James Storm has looked much better in his face character than Roode has in his heel character.

I think what TNA should do is have him lose the belt (to whoever, doesn't matter) and for Roode to continue his heel character while not being champion. then he will have to actually win matches with his wrestling.

 

[thebarber]

lets just hope TNA dont balls this up and take the title off him anytime soon. Roode is doing a solid job as heel champion in the small pond that is Impact Wrestling. The problem is once hes dealt with Jeff Hardy, who is the next feud??? Hes had Angle and Storm, maybe a returning Ken Anderson.;

 

[TheTemp]

So far, Roode hasn't been doing too bad in this singles run. I never enjoyed him with Team Canada, nor did I enjoy his first singles run where he picked up a victory over Jeff Jarrett. However when he joined James Storm to form Beer Money, I've enjoyed him. I thought this second singles run of his might be bad, and I was against him winning the BFG Series, but he's had solid matches against James Storm and Jeff Hardy and fun matches with AJ and Angle. I'm looking forward to see what happens.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

From an overall standpoint, I think Roode's done a good job overall. Roode has shown that he has the ability on the mic, the personality and the ability inside the ring to be a credible World Champion.

One thing I'm not fond of really is that his current heel character in some ways. To me, it just seems too generic for Roode. Roode has adopted the identity of an expensive suit wearing heel when he's spent the last 4 years of his life becoming a star tagging with James Storm as a blue collar guy. In Roode's build up for the TNA WHC, TNA paid special attention to Roode's blue collar roots and it worked for Roode because he wasn't really playing a character. He was being himself and being the money obssessed heel in the $2,000 suit isn't who he is. I'm a fan of Roode, that hasn't changed. I'm just not very into his character at the moment.

I think that KB brought up a good point with his comment about "when someone will stop him", because that's mostly the sense I've gotten about his run. That's ultimately what made me create the thread I made about asking whether or not Jeff Hardy was going to be the next TNA WHC.

As to that, unfortunately, I do think that Jeff Hardy will be the one to take the title from him. I think Hardy will take the title at Victory Road. I imagine they'd work it into some sort of redemption storyline: Jeff Hardy returning to the event of his greatest professional shame seeking redemption and to reclaim what he lost due to his own demons, the TNA WHC. I have no real desire to see it happen personally because his feud with Roode has had ZERO heat. All the heat has really been between Roode & Sting rather than Roode & Hardy.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I think that Roode has given every one of us that has been begging for him to get a world title push exactly what we were hoping for. Main event-heel Roode is the revelation that many anticipated. His character work and comfort level with it, overall mic presence, obvious comfort with his standing at the top of the heap, and ring work(as always) have each been impeccable.

I disagree with the fact that he has been made to look like a weak champion. Yes he has gotten by with dodgy finishes, but that is all part of establishing his heel nature. He is still the same tough, methodical, skilled, prepared, and at times outright dominant force in the ring through the duration of his matches- only to have to backtrack to heel staples to survive the affairs, and most importantly keep his strap, once the resiliant mega-faces(played exceptionally well by AJ and Jeff thus far) make their inevitable rallies. The past three PPV main events have been a microcosm of the classic heel/face interplay, and all men involved have done their jobs well. To assert that Roode's character has done nothing in that time, except to ultimately come off looking weaker, is borderline absurd.

I think where we will really see the fruits of all the work that is being laid come to fruition is once we progress into the unavoidable upcoming Roode/Storm program. Roode/Storm has the makings of a modern day Dusty Rhodes/Ric Flair type of feud, and I am now fully confident that both men have the character capabilities(to go along with the clear in-ring ability) to play their roles and pull it off to the level that will be anticipated from them. Roode definitely feels like a natural heel and his wrestling style fits it as well, he is a good extension of the classic heel legacy of men like Flair who preceeded him. While Storm has the tough, likeable, barfighting, beer-swigging, cowboy-hat-wearing, country boy persona that has been a favorite of wrestling audiences for generations down pat. That dynamic combined with their personal history and the resulting chemistry they share gives their future feud all the makings of classic wrestling program that could potentially draw and make money for the company as well as make intriguing, compelling, and entertaining television.

As the "It-Factor" of pro wrestling the World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode has thus far succeeded in living up to the hype.

 

[JJYanks121]

While in Beer Money, I was a big fan of Roode. I always said he was the talent while Storm was the comedy of the group and I expected him to break out and become a star. I'm still waiting for that to happen.

It could have happened at BFG if he was put over to become the top face but that didn't happen. Then, rather than devote time into making him a top heel, he makes such a contrived and forced heel turn that I haven't been able to buy it. The problem I have is that I know he's acting and he doesn't feel the character he's playing. Every time he speaks, I know it's disingenuous which is both a product of his subpar acting and the fact that he is miscast in this role. That said, he has gotten better as time has gone on but he hasn't had one story yet that has made you care about him being a top heel. Perhaps a renewed feud with Storm but the time may have passed. Had it happened first and after Roode had time to digest the story, you might have had something. As it stands, the rushed nature of the initial turn kind of ruined the whole run so far for me.

Basically, I'm not impressed as of right now, but that's more the product of very poor writing by TNA creative than most other factors. Roode isn't a great actor, but he's also been giving virtually nothing to make him look great since taking the title. With better writing, maybe he gets over as that top heel. As of now.........not so much.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I wish most people in TNA didn't have generic music. It gets annoying.

That aside I like him more now than when he was in Beer Money. I've never been a fan of Storm and Roode's current character is so believable. He is just a selfish prick who is out for #1 and it works pretty well. The whole "We are just a couple of good 'ol boys who will beat people up so we can drink" never appealed to me. He isn't at the level skill wise of a HHH or Flair but he is good enough to make it work and carry TNA for a while

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I have been very impressed with Bobby Roode as the heel TNA World Heavyweight Champion thus far, he has done everything that I expected him to do. I was one of the people who was very vocal in pushing Roode's qualities and was desperate for TNA to give the man a run with the belt.

I think he has pretty much guaranteed himself a spot at the top table in TNA for the forseeable future with how well he has coped with being the top man in the company. His heel persona is far better than his good guy role, and allows him much more freedom in the ring.

He is a great talker as we have known for a long time, and as another poster has mentioned he is definitely displaying some HHH-esque characteristics in his suit-wearing heel persona.

I hope to see a good long feud with James Storm in the near future, as there is so much history between the two as tag-team partners and Storm taking the title after Roode had got so close, with Bobby beating his former friend just a few weeks later.

I am really looking forward to seeing Roode in action at the TNA UK tour in a couple of weeks. Supposedly, he will be locking up with The Icon Sting

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I remember comparing Roode akin to Hunter early on, but to be honest Hunter is a far better talker. Roode is just our generic heel but he is very good in the ring for me. He has the build look of a good heel champion but I think James Storm is someone who has 'IT'. James Storm is a character and feels much more charsimatic in front of the camera.

I see them going the 2003-04 Hunter heel booking way in some ways with Roode having him use all underhanded tactics to win. But Hunter's case was more believable in the end is because he had Flair and then Evolution. With a stable he would win with interference, however he won many matches on his own, like the triple threat with Goldberg and Kane and his matches with HBK.

Roode needs to get some clean long match wins over some credible MEs

 

[ABMorales787]

I find Robert Roode to be refreshing. He's just a basic main heel. Most of the time you have a guy who's got a major stable backing him (Angle, Jarrett, Hardy, Christian) especially in TNA. This time things are as simplistic as they can get with a simple jerk on top.

I don't really care how he's managed to keep the title up to this point because up until this point I was used to seeing all sorts of shenanigans by a bunch of people at once happen for a heel to keep the title. Now it's just simple details with Roode like AJ and Storm being hurt and getting himself DQ'ed against Hardy.

 

[JAK]

If I look back at Roode's singles run after Team Canada split up I can honestly say that he's improved a heck of a lot. The Million Dollar Man clone Robert Roode was rather dull and generic, and only really impressed me in his matches with Samoa Joe. Skip forwards to 2011-12 and I can happily say that the man has stepped it up a notch and COULD make an excellent TNA World Heavyweight Champion, but he isn't right now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising Roode, he's done nothing wrong. The blame for Roode's failure in my opinion lies with the TNA booking and backstage politics. First Roode's ascension to world champ was delayed, then it was rushed, in reality Roode should have won his first world title either at Final Resolution of Genesis if he wasn't winning it at Bound For Glory. Now that Roode has the belt on him he's doing everything right, his matches are at worst decent and his promo work is very strong, but the booking of him as a cowardly or overly smart heel world champion is really hurting him. I'm cool with Roode using such cheats as going for a draw in an iron man match or deliberately getting DQ'ed if those matches are on free TV or house shows, but having a series of disappointing finsihes to main event matches is slowly robbing Roode of his main event credibility and cheating fans of their hard earned money. The main event is meant to deliver, either the face goes over heroicly or the heel does something utterly vile to get the win but the fans are left with one huge feeling or another - Roode's being booked to create a feeling of apathy. It's like the Vince McMahon approach to world champions he doesn't like has become part of the TNA booking.

Roode will fail as a world champion and take the blame for it from TNA higher ups and the casual fans despite being an excellent champion, but it won't be his fault. Hopefully he'll get another chance at the world title where he will be booked in a fashion that allows him to get over as a loved/hated champion - but it's not this reign.

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

Weak? No weaker than Ric Flair when he was champ in the 80's.Flair constantly looked like the weaker of every opponent he faced getting beaten to a pulp nightly by the likes of Tommy Rich, Magnum TA, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Dick Murdoch. Though somehow by hook or by crook, cheap DQ, cheap shot and Figure 4, rollup out of nowhere, he always came out of the match with the strap. The goal was to make the audience think that Flair was weak, and the babyface was strong, and that the only way Flair could remain the champ was by a cheap win or DQ.

This is an old school way of building stars through your champion without giving them the strap until they are ready. Let us not forget, STING was built that way against Flair, a young star in need of that one final association, Flair escaped Sting many times like this before Sting beat him.

What I am trying to say is that Bischoff and I guess Pritchard are using Bobby Roode the same way the NWA used Ric Flair in the 80's. They used him to make the recently returned Jeff Hardy look strong again, They used he and AJ Styles to promote the best of what the company stood for just like the NWA did Flair and Rhodes, and now they are using him to make James Storm look like a main event player like the NWA did Magnum TA. Storm is seen as the stepping stone to Roode, now it is up to Roode to make Storm look like a real Main Event Player.

The reason Flair was so good on the Mic in the 80's was because if you watch his promos, Flair was a bit nuts, or always drunk. Roode isn't that way but overall TNA is doing EXACTLY what the NWA did with Flair, right down to the types of feuds. Now, will they continue this program for the long haul, I don't know, it would be great if they did, however it is hard to tell if TNA will.

 

[ABMorales787]

Roode needs to get some clean long match wins over some credible MEs

Two questions.

1) Why? What good does Roode beating other guys his level clean do for him? That seems to do more damage for the loser than good for him.

2) What ME guys? Kurt Angle? He's heel too. Sting? Not wrestling. Jeff Hardy? Brings the first question to mind. AJ Styles? No one would really care because he's like a rubber ball. He bounces off everything. Storm? Roode's food for him after all.

Roode will fail as a world champion and take the blame for it from TNA higher ups and the casual fans despite being an excellent champion, but it won't be his fault. Hopefully he'll get another chance at the world title where he will be booked in a fashion that allows him to get over as a loved/hated champion - but it's not this reign.

Wrong. Roode's objective as of now is just one. To put over James Storm. Everything from Roode winning to his inevitable rematch with Storm is just fuel to the fire to make it mean more.

 

[Lowdown]

After reading most of the previous threads, there seems to be back and forth as to Roode beating his opponents clean. He's playing the heel role right which is what he's supposed to do. I said back before BFG that I could see him being similar to HHH circa 99-00 if he were to win the championship. Some of you feel that he looks weak in beating "injured" opponents. I hear where you're coming from but since the HHH comparisons are being brought up, look back on HHH's first two title reigns and subsequent defenses. He was already the biggest heel in wrestling at that point and the majority of his victories were due to outside interference from stable mates (Chyna, Shawn Michaels, DX, Steph McMahon), or his own disregard of fair play. No one really bought him as a credible champ until he engaged in his feud with Mick Foley at Royal Rumble '00 where he actually got a clean pin (even though it was a street fight). This was followed by another clean win against Mick the following month at No Way Out in the Hell in the Cell match where Foley was "retired". Everything that Roode is engaging in is leading up to an inevitable rematch with James Storm. The problem is in doing this Roode needs to have another contender that's up the roster to defeat cleanly besides Storm. Crazy as it may be, the only person that comes to mind is Sting. Roode has already beaten AJ, Storm, drew against Jeff Hardy, and I doubt Anderson is getting put back in the mix for the title for a while. But give it some time. Not all of Roode's matches will end with screw jobs. He's doing a superb job as the champ right now, and I hope the title isn't taken from him prematurely.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

My problem with Roode's reign is it comes off as not "who can possibly stop him" but "when will someone stop him". It's like he's the weakest of the main event guys. He had to cheat against Storm, he lost to Angle, He won the BFG Series over Gunner who is pretty firmly in the midcard, he lost to Hardy, beat an injured AJ, drew with AJ, then drew with him AGAIN before beating him in overtime. In other words, his two wins as champion have come against an injured opponent and against the same injured opponent again in overtime. Roode looks like he can barely beat anyone and that as soon as someone competent and healthy faces him, they'll win. That's not a good way to present your champion, at least not all the time.

Of course he doesn't look dominant. Since when do heels have to dominate in order to be effective? He's playing a cowardly heel, man. That means his tactics are going to be cowardly, cheap and unfavorable.

For someone who acts as an essential "Guide To All Things Wrestling" encyclopedia I'm shocked to see you write this.

He's a "win at all cost" type of performer right now. Plenty of guys did so before him and plenty will do so after him. This is a very typical booking fashion.

 

[klunderbunker]

Of course he doesn't look dominant. Since when do heels have to dominate in order to be effective? He's playing a cowardly heel, man. That means his tactics are going to be cowardly, cheap and unfavorable.

For someone who acts as an essential "Guide To All Things Wrestling" encyclopedia I'm shocked to see you write this.

He's a "win at all cost" type of performer right now. Plenty of guys did so before him and plenty will do so after him. This is a very typical booking fashion.

1. I don't act like one. I am one. Imply otherwise and I'll have you covering the New Jersey Devils section.

2. You're right. It's very typical. That's why it doesn't work. Roode is the same generic heel that we've seen so many times over and over again and it's rather boring.

3. We spent what, 3 months building him up as this guy that keeps winning match after match in the BFG Series, and now he does nothing close to that? Doesn't quite work for me.

He's not terrible, but there's nothing new there at all, which is what gets on my nerves about him. That and he never wins anything, which gets annoying because he's proven he can. He's not Miz, who has never been a physical threat but manages to hold onto the title. It would be like Cena as a cowardly heel. Why would a guy with the physical ability to beat practically anyone suddenly become a coward?

 

[Uncle Sam]

Please tell me there's not an actual Jersey Devils section. A Jersey Devil section, though, that'd be something!

At this point, are we indicting Roode or indicting professional wrestling? IDR's right in as much as what Roode is doing is not exceptional; it's tried and tested. KB's right in questioning what part of that exactly makes it interesting. Killjoy's right in that Roode's ultimate objective will likely be in providing sustenance to James Storm, and so what he's doing is making himself as nutritional a snack as he can be.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I read some of the posts in this thread. I'm just a beautiful and unique snowflake like that. It just seems that if we're going to start criticising wrestling for being unoriginal-- well, there's just not enough hours in the day. The blatant inconsistency of Mr. Take-On-All-Comers turning into Mr. No Balls is something that's hardly isolated to Robert Roode, for example.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

1. I don't act like one. I am one. Imply otherwise and I'll have you covering the New Jersey Devils section.

And moderating all three of their fans? I doubt that very much!

2. You're right. It's very typical. That's why it doesn't work. Roode is the same generic heel that we've seen so many times over and over again and it's rather boring.

3. We spent what, 3 months building him up as this guy that keeps winning match after match in the BFG Series, and now he does nothing close to that? Doesn't quite work for me.

He's not terrible, but there's nothing new there at all, which is what gets on my nerves about him. That and he never wins anything, which gets annoying because he's proven he can. He's not Miz, who has never been a physical threat but manages to hold onto the title. It would be like Cena as a cowardly heel. Why would a guy with the physical ability to beat practically anyone suddenly become a coward?

I don't really disagree that he isn't doing anything new/special, but it's a safe rope for TNA to walk with regard to building a heel. They had too many failures in 2011 to really risk much else this early on IMO. The Hardy debacle really blew up in their faces so at this point I think the company is just trying to establish and draw visible lines in the sand for the time being before giving experimentation a go again.

 

[klunderbunker]

And moderating all three of their fans? I doubt that very much!

You'll also be our first on location mod.

I don't really disagree that he isn't doing anything new/special, but it's a safe rope for TNA to walk with regard to building a heel. They had too many failures in 2011 to really risk much else this early on IMO. The Hardy debacle really blew up in their faces so at this point I think the company is just trying to establish and draw visible lines in the sand for the time being before giving experimentation a go again.

Not wanting to take chances is fine, but having a champion that is being built up as he goes isn't doing them any favors at all. Roode went from being this guy who is like "hey I have a family and I've been so focused on winning the title that I haven't had much time for them" to "hey now I have the title so I'm still ignoring them, but with a sneer". That part of the turn hasn't really changed anything and the feud with Hardy has meant nothing because if I remember right, Beer Money and Roode didn't seem to mind Hardy being back. The feud has been with Sting, so the whole thing isn't really resonating. Nothing from Roode's reign is, and while being a chicken heel is one thing, it isn't going to help anything if we're just waiting around for Hardy to take back the title or for Roode to be an impressive heel.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Not wanting to take chances is fine, but having a champion that is being built up as he goes isn't doing them any favors at all. Roode went from being this guy who is like "hey I have a family and I've been so focused on winning the title that I haven't had much time for them" to "hey now I have the title so I'm still ignoring them, but with a sneer". That part of the turn hasn't really changed anything and the feud with Hardy has meant nothing because if I remember right, Beer Money and Roode didn't seem to mind Hardy being back. The feud has been with Sting, so the whole thing isn't really resonating. Nothing from Roode's reign is, and while being a chicken heel is one thing, it isn't going to help anything if we're just waiting around for Hardy to take back the title or for Roode to be an impressive heel.

Long-term? I agree. Short-term? I don't.

I think short-term it's helping to establish the 2012 product right now. Clear-cut lines are being drawn. People know who the heel's are and who the face's are, and for a company recovering from such a rocky 2011 calendar year, that's kind of important.