Current WWE

[Fantastic]

Considering how much of a legend Lawler has been in memphis it was the wrong decision what they did in the end. Lawler should have beaten Miz for the title right there at the PPV and dropped it the next night. Mind you when you look at how bad they pissed up Wrestlemania by having Lawler lose to Michael freaking Cole via reverse decision in Lawlers first and only wrestlemania match was just dire.

 

This would be the second time they put an almost-retired wrestler over Miz for a title. The previous year, they had Bret Hart beat him for the United States title...

 

Actually, if I recall correctly, didn't PWInsider or The Observer report that there talk of putting the WWE Championship on Bret Hart at Wrestlemania XXVI? The idea apparently was that Cena and Hart would team up together to take on Batista and Vince in a tag team match where Batista's WWE Championship was at stake, and the person who got the win, would win the title (like the tag match at KOTR 2000). Cena would basically stand aside and let Bret submit Vince for the win and the championship. The next night on Raw, Bret would vacate the title, thereby finally getting to do things the way he wanted, back in 1997 when he was on his way out.

[goc]

I really wish they would have put Lawler over The Miz and then did the Michael Cole turn the next night. I feel like Miz cheating Lawler out of the belt after a big feel good moment would have given him more heat going into Mania than putting him over guys clean with the Skull Crushing Finale on the weeks leading up to the show.

[sek69]

I've seen people say they should just bring Neville up as Evan Bourne 2.0 but I don't think he has anywhere near the natural babyface charisma and selling ability that Bourne had so I don't see that working. He'd be much more Justin Gabriel than Evan Bourne if they called him up as just regular ol' Adrian Neville.

 

I get that Neville probably is not going to be main event level in WWE for many reasons, but when did everyone suddenly become in favor of giving guys gimmicks that kneecap them right from the start? As cool as we'd all make a Mighty Mouse inspired character, you know WWE Creative would come up with the usual lame as fuck idea that emphasized all his weaknesses. I could see them giving him a mask with ear holes cut out so his actual ears would be the mouse ears.

[BillThompson]

 

I've seen people say they should just bring Neville up as Evan Bourne 2.0 but I don't think he has anywhere near the natural babyface charisma and selling ability that Bourne had so I don't see that working. He'd be much more Justin Gabriel than Evan Bourne if they called him up as just regular ol' Adrian Neville.

 

I get that Neville probably is not going to be main event level in WWE for many reasons, but when did everyone suddenly become in favor of giving guys gimmicks that kneecap them right from the start? As cool as we'd all make a Mighty Mouse inspired character, you know WWE Creative would come up with the usual lame as fuck idea that emphasized all his weaknesses. I could see them giving him a mask with ear holes cut out so his actual ears would be the mouse ears.

 

 

There's been two people in this thread who are in favor of Neville being Mighty Mouse, everyone else has been against it. The general tone around the internet has been against the gimmick. However, again, I would stress that Neville doesn't have any legs to cut out. He's a terrible promo, has almost no charisma, and is subpar in the ring. All of that equals any gimmick being a plus for him, because he doesn't have what it takes to make it on his own.

[C.S.]

There's been two people in this thread who are in favor of Neville being Mighty Mouse, everyone else has been against it. The general tone around the internet has been against the gimmick. However, again, I would stress that Neville doesn't have any legs to cut out. He's a terrible promo, has almost no charisma, and is subpar in the ring. All of that equals any gimmick being a plus for him, because he doesn't have what it takes to make it on his own.

 

I've been heavily critical of Adrian Neville - I am slightly warming up to him, but I'm still not a fan - and even I can't agree with what sounds like a horrible, lower-card, cartoon, comedy gimmick. What is the point of ruining him before he even gets started? Look at what happened with Terry Taylor and the Red Rooster. Yeah, people like Michael Hayes have said *puff puff, snort snort* that Rooster would've worked if Taylor had only embraced it. Maybe so. But it still wouldn't have gone past the midcard even in a best-case scenario. One can argue that Neville won't go past the midcard even as himself, but he deserves a legitimate opportunity to try.

[goc]

I really don't think it's realistic to look at every single call up from NXT as a "potential main eventer." I really don't see how in a million years Adrian Neville becomes a WWE main eventer unless there's a big plane crash on the way back from an overseas tour. I think as far as his longevity goes he could do a lot worse than being a lower card comedy gimmick that can stick around for years (Santino) than being a guy who gets called up as someone with a push and then quickly loses favor (Eric Escobar, Drew McIntyre, etc)

[MJH]

Eh... I think you're being a tad harsh on Neville. He has nothing to offer? He's the crispest wrestler they have, and has the most spectacular offense. Granted he doesn't have much more to offer (and I agree that he doesn't offer as much from underneath as Bourne did), but I see him slotting in fine in the lower midcard, used mostly in tags and being the perennial flash guy for gimmick matches and whose finish will always get a pop.

[tim]

Neville SHOULD have a lot to offer the promotion, even if not as a main event or even a very strong upper midcarder, but considering the fact that in WWE right now you're either a main eventer or nothing at all of consequence, I don't see bright things for Neville. In a well booked promotion he should be able to have a solid spot in a competitive midcard -- or a Neville/Kofi tag team could work very well. But yeah he'll probably end up the couple-times-a-year-big-spot-in-a-gimmick-match guy like Kofi.

[C.S.]

I really don't think it's realistic to look at every single call up from NXT as a "potential main eventer."

 

And this thought process is exactly why wrestling fucking sucks now. A competent promoter or writer would try to get the most out of every talent. Are all of them going to be main eventers? No, of course not. But handicapping and cutting someone off at the knees from the get-go isn't the solution either. Try to use everyone in the best way possible and let the chips fall where they're naturally going to. That makes for a much more compelling product. For all of the criticisms of the Attitude era, every character mattered. Hell, every character had a character. That's not the case today, and it makes the show a slog to get through. Does that mean D-Lo Brown was as important as Stone Cold Steve Austin? Obviously not, but at least D-Lo got to be the best version of himself. That hasn't been the case in the WWE for a long time now. Some crappy "Mighty Mouse" type of gimmick for Neville would not allow him to be at his personal best, whatever that ends up being.

[goc]

 

I really don't think it's realistic to look at every single call up from NXT as a "potential main eventer."

 

And this thought process is exactly why wrestling fucking sucks now. A competent promoter or writer would try to get the most out of every talent. Are all of them going to be main eventers? No, of course not. But handicapping and cutting someone off at the knees from the get-go isn't the solution either. Try to use everyone in the best way possible and let the chips fall where they're naturally going to. That makes for a much more compelling product. For all of the criticisms of the Attitude era, every character mattered. Hell, every character had a character. That's not the case today, and it makes the show a slog to get through. Does that mean D-Lo Brown was as important as Stone Cold Steve Austin? Obviously not, but at least D-Lo got to be the best version of himself. That hasn't been the case in the WWE for a long time now. Some crappy "Mighty Mouse" type of gimmick for Neville would not allow him to be at his personal best, whatever that ends up being.

 

If the guy is naturally just not that exciting or interesting (and coming from even the most hardcore NXT fans, he's kind of just NOT) then why wouldn't giving him some more color be a good thing? I just don't see how Adrian Neville plucked straight from NXT and dropped onto the main roster without any changes is going to give him a better opportunity than a gimmick that would appeal to kids. Kamala had a lot longer career than Big Jim Harris would have, and the Santino character had a hell of a lot longer lifespan than Boris Alexiev would have.

[C.S.]

If the guy is naturally just not that exciting or interesting (and coming from even the most hardcore NXT fans, he's kind of just NOT) then why wouldn't giving him some more color be a good thing? I just don't see how Adrian Neville plucked straight from NXT and dropped onto the main roster without any changes is going to give him a better opportunity than a gimmick that would appeal to kids. Kamala had a lot longer career than Big Jim Harris would have, and the Santino character had a hell of a lot longer lifespan than Boris Alexiev would have.

 

More color is fine, but the gimmick we're hearing about is Red Rooster levels of bad - and I don't see Neville possessing the necessary charisma to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Terry Taylor couldn't, and even he had more personality than Neville.

 

If I had to give Neville a gimmick, I'd go with a modern-day spin on the British Bulldogs (minus Matilda). Hell, why not bring Harry Smith back and make them a team? Not "The New British Bulldogs" since "the new anything" always falls flat on its ass, but something in that spirit.

[sek69]

I guess I'm coming from the place where I don't understand why can't someone be a good wrestler who does stuff no one else is doing to stand out from the pack? Why does everyone have to have a gimmick, let alone one that could possibly negatively impact their career. Let the guy be himself, maybe it works or maybe it doesn't, but give him a chance.

[BillThompson]

I guess I'm coming from the place where I don't understand why can't someone be a good wrestler who does stuff no one else is doing to stand out from the pack? Why does everyone have to have a gimmick, let alone one that could possibly negatively impact their career. Let the guy be himself, maybe it works or maybe it doesn't, but give him a chance.

 

Neville's not a good wrestler though, and nothing he does stands out from the pack. He's a spot guy who has pretty blah spots that aren't exciting and don't make any sort of lasting impact. Really he's Kofi Kingston 2.0, only with even less charisma and less ability to connect with the crowd. If ever there were a wrestler who should be welcoming any gimmick to try and give him a chance of making it, Neville is that wrestler.

[Sidebottom]

I certainly wouldn't call Neville a spot guy. Just because there are a tonne of GIF's going around of slick spots; I think people have a tendency to pigeon hole wrestlers to one of their strengths at times, and see those strengths as a negative.

[BillThompson]

It's not a strength for him, because he's not a Sydal/Bourne who has a great understanding of how to work his spots into a match. And, to clarify, I've seen plenty of Neville matches, so I'm going off of that and not any GIFs; he's a spot guy, that's all he has and he's not good at even those.

[MJH]

Oh come on, the guy has weaknesses but the idea he's anything short of great at executing his aerial spots is absurd.

[Loss]

Would a tag team with Kofi get over as an opening match-type act?

[BillThompson]

Oh come on, the guy has weaknesses but the idea he's anything short of great at executing his aerial spots is absurd.

 

Just because a director can put the camera in the right place for a crane shot doesn't mean the crane shot is well executed or works within the film. That's Neville and his aerial spots, just because he's able to physically do them doesn't mean they are well executed or work within the match.

 

 

Would a tag team with Kofi get over as an opening match-type act?

 

I could actually see this happening, as a tag team would hide a lot of their weaknesses and keep their acts seeming fresher for longer.

[C.S.]

Would a tag team with Kofi get over as an opening match-type act?

 

No, because Kofi is over-exposed and isn't over at all.

 

A tag team with two "newer" people - maybe Neville and Harry Smith, like I suggested above - would be a better bet. A tag team is a good idea, but Neville + any stale WWE midcarder wouldn't work. It needs to be fresh.

[Loss]

Even if all he can do is highspots, that seems to be the only thing WWE crowds consistently pop for anymore, so his chances of getting over are good if that's a big strength.

[KrisZ]

The reason why I'm not really believing the mask deal for Neville is when was the last time they had a non-Mexican in the company wearing a mask on a regular basis and not some screwiness like Mr. America.

[Loss]

Does Kane count?

[goc]

Would a tag team with Kofi get over as an opening match-type act?

I think it would be a much better option than teaming him with another dude who has absolutely no charisma like Harry Smith. A Harry Smith/Adrian Neville team doesn't get off Superstars. Smith/Kidd couldn't get anywhere and I think Kidd is better and also has more personality.

[KrisZ]

Kane is a slippery slope in the discussion as he wasn't your normal masked guy...kinda like Mankind

[C.S.]

I think it would be a much better option than teaming him with another dude who has absolutely no charisma like Harry Smith. A Harry Smith/Adrian Neville team doesn't get off Superstars. Smith/Kidd couldn't get anywhere and I think Kidd is better and also has more personality.

 

Which is why I said this earlier:

 

If I had to give Neville a gimmick, I'd go with a modern-day spin on the British Bulldogs (minus Matilda). Hell, why not bring Harry Smith back and make them a team? Not "The New British Bulldogs" since "the new anything" always falls flat on its ass, but something in that spirit.