Titus O' Neil

[BillThompson]

Okay, I'm starting this thread because people seem to question me everywhere online when I mention Titus as a top guy in the world in 2014. I think a lot of this stems from the general disconnect between what I think constitutes quality wrestling and the long held belief that someone is only a quality wrestler if they are on the main stage and having 20+ minute long epic matches every night. I think plenty can be found out, perhaps even more, about a wrestler in his 8 minute matches than in his epic matches. Either way, I decided to make this topic to go into why I think Titus has been great in 2014 and has developed into easily the most underrated worker in the world at this present time.

 

I started to take notice of Titus during his Superstars/Main Event run in the middle of the year where he squared off against Kofi Kingston and Big E.

 

The Big E matches being good weren't a surprise because I like Big E. But, in those Big E matches Titus showed skills that I never truly saw before. He had great timing, played to the crowd really well, carried himself like a star, hit all of his moves with a ferocity one would expect from a big man, showed surprising athleticism for someone as awkwardly big as he is, sold and bumped terrifically, and for the first time ever appeared to have a true understanding of in-ring psychology.

 

Going back and looking at the Kofi matches were where he started to really move up in my estimation. Kofi is, for lack of a better word, awful. There's almost nothing he does as a pro wrestler that I enjoy. Yet, here was Titus O' Neil managing in about 6-10 minutes to make Kofi seem like a world beater. All of a sudden Kofi's offense looked like it hurt, his timing seemed like it made sense, and Kofi took on the costume of a proficient pro wrestler. I'd love to contribute some of that to Kofi, but the sad reality is that Kofi immediately went back to being shite, and it's only those matches with Titus and a few with Sheamus where he looked good.

 

Then there are the Sheamus matches, where in against another quality opponent Titus delivered some really good hoss like showdowns. Hard hitting and impactful, they weren't good matches just because Sheamus is good, but because Titus was able to work with Sheamus and produce compelling wrestling on my TV.

 

Titus has followed up that with his very funny and entertaining run as Slater Gator, where he branched out and showed that he didn't have to be just the big hoss, he could be a comedy worker as well. He's series with Neville looks promising only because Titus is the type of worker I can see dragging something out of Neville. The idea of him working with the likes of Sami Zayn is promising as well.

 

He's never in the longest of matches, but week in and week out Titus gets the most out of every match he is in, and continues to be something to enjoy in what has been a bad 2014 for the WWE. I know most will disagree with my assessment, and honestly if you don't see any value in 4-10 minute matches then watching Titus will do nothing for you. I do see that value, and in Titus I see plenty of value, entertainment, and one of the best wrestlers in the world in 2014.

[Lee Casebolt]

I don't watch enough B shows to get a good grasp on Titus, but before the Shield breakup, I vividly remember a huge Shield vs locker room melee that included a Titus/Reigns standoff. People were losing their shit wanting to see those two go at it. That was the precise moment I decided there was something to Titus, even if I don't always see it.

[C.S.]

I don't watch enough of the B shows either to be able to make an informed assessment about Titus's ring skills, but one thing I do know is that he has star quality. They never should have broken up The Prime Time Players. I don't care how Titus and Darren Young were as "workers" - they had miles more charisma than any other tag team on the roster then or now. Unfortunately, they didn't have the push to go along with it. I think they would've done much better in the Attitude Era. Either way, I hope they get back together after Young returns. Their split was dumb and pointless anyway, and it went nowhere and did nothing for either of them.

[moazzam23]

When the PTP were together I always thought Darren was the better worker. They had some really good C-Show matches with the Usos in which Darren came off like the better FIP and the better hot tag guy too. Titus is obviously more charismatic and has gotten better now but I can't place him as one of the best in the world because there are plenty of guys in WWE who even have a better track record of short matches than him - Sheamus, Cesaro, Goldust, Bryan, Usos, Big Show, Henry. I do hope he gets to be more than a 2 minute comedy match guy on Raw though.

[W2BTD]

Bill is right on the money. I have been touting Titus all year as a hidden gem.

 

If you have the Network, I strongly urge you to go back and watch all of the Titus stuff from Superstars this year, especially the Big E & Kofi matches Bill mentioned. Good match to match psychology, which is something i'm big on. Titus is equally great rag dolling smaller guys like Kofi or in a HOSS FIGHT with Big E.

 

Superstars as a whole has featured a bunch of good little self contained mini feuds this year. Aside from those two Titus series, you've had the recent Emma vs Alicia Fox three match series, the Justin Gabriel/Sin Cara best of three that just wrapped up, and a few others. I dislike the theatrical over-the-top nature of WWE storylines, so the simplicity of Superstars is a nice change of pace.

[goc]

I haven't been keeping up with Titus since I got rid of WWE Network but I did see the Big E., Kofi & Sheamus matches talked about here and 100% agree. Titus should be one of the top heels in WWE and not being wasted in an odd couple tag team with Heath Slater. He has size, he can work, his offense all looks nasty, he has pretty good promo skills even though they don't let him talk a lot. I have absolutely no idea why they haven't strapped a rocket to the guy.

 

Their mis-use of Titus is one of the reasons that my interest in WWE is at an all time low. Pretty much only watching the stuff involving Brock Lesnar at this point.

[rovert]

My view of Titus is very similar to Bill and W2BTD but he is 37 and looked out of his depth on NXT last week both verbally and in the ring.

[cubbymark]

I don't have the depth of exposure to Titus since I don't really watch the B shows, but Batista was around Titus' age when he "got it" and really became a big star.

[goc]

Funny you mention Batista, as Batista had put over Titus in an interview and said if he came back again that was someone he would want to work with.

[concrete1992]

I'm a fan of Titus but I wouldn't say he was anywhere near a Top 10 wrestler in 2014. And yes, art is subjective and yadda yadda but sometimes I don't think it is outlandish to ask someone, in this case Bill, to justify him not just being great but #4 in the world great.

[BillThompson]

Which is why I made this topic, and offered my justifications. The only issue for me will be if people keep bringing it up over and over again. I really dislike Adrian Neville, but all I really need is one justification from his fans for placing him so high. I'm not going to keep hounding them about it all the time (not saying you did this, mind you).

[concrete1992]

I'm not saying justification for him being great just justification versus a couple other wrestlers of his ilk. That is more of an overall thing that'll come into play in the GOAT Project and WKO100, but sadly since that part of the discussion isn't really apt RIGHT here and since WKO doesn't have much talk going it really isn't necessary right now.

[soup23]

Titus has been a ton of fun on the Superstar matches I have seeked out after Lanza pushed Slator Gator. I hope on NXT he is able to develop and shine and think a program vs. Steen would be a ton of fun.

[Coffey]

Titus O'Neil reminds me a lot of Chris Masters. By the time he got pretty good, he was already on the shows that nobody watches, so no one sees the improvement & it's probably too late. If you were to slap him on RAW now, he wouldn't get a reaction. Crowd is trained to see him as a jobber.

 

Ask yourself this: regardless of how good Titus gets, is he going to be on RAW mixing it up with the top names anytime soon?

 

Not really fair but I don't think so. I feel bad for Titus because he has gotten a lot better & is fun to watch so he should be rewarded. I would rather watch Titus O'Neil than Randy Orton or Kane, for example. Or, for non main eventers, give me Titus over Miz or Stardust any day of the week.

 

It's a shame that more people won't get to see him.