Boss Rock Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 New Day's heel turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Hats 4.0 Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 5 hours ago, PeteF3 said: Re: Austin...his real break was Bret asking to work with him upon coming back moreso than winning KOTR. I have a feeling he breaks out anyway and probably either gets another opportunity to drop the Austin 3:16 catchphrase or comes up with something else that catches on in a similar way. It blows my mind like once a month that Austin’s KOTR victory and promo occurred before Bash at the Beach 96. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 Gotta be Sting as crow Sting no? And / or Hollywood Hogan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 Shawn Michaels' last run. I really thought he was finished, but it was cool to see him end things without the baggage which consumed him before his injuries did. The whole Raven gimmick for Scott Levy. Scotty Flamingo was not an inspired gimmick, and Johnny Polo was never going to be an in-ring talent. The new more up-to-date gimmick made both WCW and WWF notice him and (WCW at least) gave him more consideration when he came back to both companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Pete Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 20 hours ago, Kadaveri said: Don't think this was a big deal. Triple H's biggest leap forward was when he got paired with Stephanie. She was a total heat magnet, and eventually it rubbed off onto him. Really? See, I'd say the flip from the Regal knock-off into the defacto leader of D-Generation X is what put him over in the minds of the fans. Granted, it wasn't the most dramatic rehab and there's certainly an argument to be made that Chyna and Mick had already got the ball rolling. Regardless the point I was getting at is that a lot of these WWF stars underwent massive make-overs that rocketed them to stardom. No doubt he hit pay-dirt around that time. Interestingly, as the story goes when Russo walked out while the company was performing that Rebellion UK PPV, HHH turned to Vince and told him he'd help write the show. Suddenly Vince became the top babyface in the company and HHH was cutting twenty minute dialogues. The show hasn't changed since. Quote Yea, I definitely wouldn't put Austin in this category. Sure, he seemed like he'd just be a midcard "mechanic" in WCW and was not ever going to be given a real chance but its not like nobody saw potential in the early 90s or ever thought he sucked. Even pre-internet, he was often described as a "blue chipper" or a promising young talent with a "bad attitude" in the Apter mags. I know among my friends and I, who were like 11-12, we thought he was a good wrestler - but because he was a heel, we wanted to see him lose to Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, etc. I wouldn't call that a rehab. His career was at a real cross-rhodes in 1995. No doubt he was a top prospect, but he never put all those pieces together and it just seemed like his body wasn't going to allow him to have the career a lot of people foresaw. He really could have gone one of two ways, but he found his voice in ECW and when he was given the opportunity to talk freely he not only saved his own career, but he helped turned Pro Wrestling on it's head. All it took was that brief stint in ECW to figure that out. However, the way I interpreted this thread is a wrestler going through a bad patch and coming out of it a better worker. I personally don't think Moxley was travelling that poorly, he was just clearly being given bad material and was phoning his performances in because he couldn't want to get out. He already looked to be in great shape and primed for a big run, it just wasn't going to be the WWE. I'd say Eddie Guerrero would have to be right up there. After the car accident, Eddie struggled to perform to the same level and it seemed like he recognised that, switching from his high athletic style to more of a character worker. It got him a decent place on the mid-card, but you'd hardly know that Eddie was considered by many to be just as good as Bret, Shawn or Benoit in that decade. Eventually his drug use gets out of control, he gets released and his life spirals out of control. He eventually turns it around, starts building a reputation on the indies and is quickly hired back to the WWE where he eventually builds a legacy as one of the greatest performers of all-time. The tragedy is that his comeback could have very well been what did him in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cad Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 Negro Navarro was a star in the 1980s as part of the Misioneros de la Muerte, but by the late 1990s he was basically just a name from the past. He overhauled his working style into something new, basically inventing maestro wrestling, and made himself a consistent presence on the indies for years afterward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cad Posted August 17, 2019 Report Share Posted August 17, 2019 Oh yeah, Rey Mysterio putting his mask back on. The unmasked years were probably the low point of his career. Then right when he joined WWE people started talking about him as one of the best in the world again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malone713 Posted August 18, 2019 Report Share Posted August 18, 2019 Jamal leaving WWE with a reputation for being dangerous and hurting people to returning as Umaga getting a mega push and representing Vince in the Battle of the Billionaires has to be right up there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted August 18, 2019 Report Share Posted August 18, 2019 Mariko Yoshida. Feather hat wearing mid-card classic workrate-style tag-along in Zenjo, getting injured, coming back in ARSION in the coolest, sexiest, fittest arachnoid outfit ever and becoming a mix of Tamura & Volk Han and my favourite pro-wrestler ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted August 20, 2019 Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 Luger was clearly reinvigorated by jumping back to WCW which led to some fantastic work from 95-97. He’s a really underrated part of the whole nWo hot streak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chorros3 Posted August 20, 2019 Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 After starting perfectly fine as a white meat babyface, Eddie Gilbert had an uninspired run in the New Fabulous Ones ..... until "Hot Stuff" came along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenese Sarwieh Posted August 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2019 How can I be foolish and not mention PAC. After a so so run in WWE he went back to Dragon Gate renewed and had an excellent Open the Dream Gate run becoming a top draw and getting Dragon Gate much needed buzz after the split from CIMA and crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted August 22, 2019 Report Share Posted August 22, 2019 6 hours ago, Tenese Sarwieh said: How can I be foolish and not mention PAC. After a so so run in WWE he went back to Dragon Gate renewed and had an excellent Open the Dream Gate run becoming a top draw and getting Dragon Gate much needed buzz after the split from CIMA and crew. Except, his WWE run was...fine. And regardless of what's happening with him and AEW (whether that whole stupid fiasco is a work or shoot), Dragon Gate is a massive step down from both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 22, 2019 Report Share Posted August 22, 2019 Yeah he was the cornerstone of the whole Cruiserweight division when that still sorta meant something. His run in DG was a boost for the company but a step down for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenese Sarwieh Posted August 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2019 I was looking through the prism of how Enzo was presented as champion compared when PAC was on top. He never got main event segments on Raw and I'm sure all of his title defenses were on the ppv pre shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEdger Posted August 24, 2019 Report Share Posted August 24, 2019 I think there was one occasion when Neville defended his Cruiserweight title against Rich Swann - I would say at the 2017 Royal Rumble? - on the main card. But other than that, yeah, the title was defended on the Kickoff shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted August 24, 2019 Report Share Posted August 24, 2019 Only the Aries WM match and series with Tozawa were preshows. He won the title from Swann at the Rumble, defended against Jack Gallagher at FastLane. The rest of the really awesome Aries feud was on PPV main card of Payback & Extreme Rules and then losing it to Enzo on the No Mercy PPV. The most impressive thing about his reign to me was he was having great matches with a load of guys I had zero interest in aside from Aries (Swann at the time, Gallagher, TJP, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dragon Posted August 25, 2019 Report Share Posted August 25, 2019 The main thing I’m grabbing from that is: You have zero interest in Gallagher? What is wrong with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted August 25, 2019 Report Share Posted August 25, 2019 The main thing I'm grabbing is someone having interest in goddamn Austin Aries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dragon Posted August 25, 2019 Report Share Posted August 25, 2019 9 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said: The main thing I'm grabbing is someone having interest in goddamn Austin Aries I mean Aries might be a dick but he has a long history as a great wrestler. Too many great matches to refute, imo. But Gallagher rules and is an awesome dude, so that one is super confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Debt Posted August 25, 2019 Report Share Posted August 25, 2019 On 8/22/2019 at 2:00 AM, sek69 said: Yeah he was the cornerstone of the whole Cruiserweight division when that still sorta meant something. His run in DG was a boost for the company but a step down for him. Does it count as a step down if it was his call, though? If I remember correctly his not working DON had more to do with protecting the Dragon Gate title (even if it wasn't on the line) for Ben-K to win it at Kobe and get over than him not wanting to "do the job". It's absolutely a step down, but I really don't think he minds at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted August 26, 2019 Report Share Posted August 26, 2019 2 hours ago, El Dragon said: I mean Aries might be a dick but he has a long history as a great wrestler. Too many great matches to refute, imo. But Gallagher rules and is an awesome dude, so that one is super confusing. He does have a history just as long of being an asshole so maybe it evens out? But I agree, was just trying to have a laugh. Gallagher is incredible in/out of the ring, it was weird to me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.S. Posted August 26, 2019 Report Share Posted August 26, 2019 Aries is such a geek that even other geeks think he's a geek. Gallagher is incredible - and incredibly misused - so I hope he jumps ship the minute his WWE contract ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted August 26, 2019 Report Share Posted August 26, 2019 3 hours ago, King of Debt said: Does it count as a step down if it was his call, though? If I remember correctly his not working DON had more to do with protecting the Dragon Gate title (even if it wasn't on the line) for Ben-K to win it at Kobe and get over than him not wanting to "do the job". It's absolutely a step down, but I really don't think he minds at all Yeah I think it still counts, and I'd agree he probably doesn't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted August 26, 2019 Report Share Posted August 26, 2019 4 hours ago, El Dragon said: The main thing I’m grabbing from that is: You have zero interest in Gallagher? What is wrong with you? All I've really seen of him was the awful awful comedy shit he was doing upon arriving in WWE that turned me off huge until the cruiserweights got off Raw and I stopped watching 205 so I don't really see him. On the other hand. Aries is one of my all time favorites. Huge fan of his original ROH run, his climb to the top of Impact, and his wasted WWE run but everything about the Aries/Neville feud ruled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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