2008 Running Pro Wrestling Thread

It's because he's a face. If they bring back the foolishness and ridiculousness of the "Man of 1,004 holds," etc., then he'll actually have some kind of momentum.

 

Jericho isn't worth shit as a face.

 

I've never gotten into Jericho that much. In theory I should love the guy (great workrate, funny interviews, writes a mean autobio), but he isn't a face, and he wasn't that hot as a main-event heel. WCW probably had him in the right spot on the card. Definitely couldn't buy him as the Unified champion.

 

jericho needs to grow his hair back out and turn heel. thats it, plain and simple. jericho isnt meant to be a face at all.

 

And, referencing something ClawsForConcern mentioned earlier ... Jericho seems the type who'd be much better unscripted. His catchphrases are overused right now and fans aren't reacting.
I totally agree with those who say Jericho should be a heel.

Who would you have him turn on? I'd prefer it to be a younger talent, who Jericho would be able to elevate in the feud (much like Mick Foley did for Randy Orton a few years ago). My first thought was Punk, but I'd still lean toward making Punk a heel and let him cultivate his "straight edge" persona.

Jeez. The sad thing is, I just went on WWE.com to look at the various rosters and there's nary a young babyface who I think is on the verge of breaking out to be found. No one that Jericho could cultivate. Not sure if that's an indictment on the wrestlers or WWE creative for not protecting its younger performers and turning them all into squash-match fodder.

 

If Shelton Benjamin could put two words together and make it sound coherent, he'd be my choice.

 

Shelton Benjamin is one of a handful of wrestlers who would benefit from McMahon bringing back managers. That's what they were for in the 70s and 80s -- mouthpieces for wrestlers who didn't excel on the mic. Some of the most enduring characters of all time were managers (Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, Jimmy Hart, James J. Dillon, etc., etc.) so I don't know what the downside to bringing a few in would be.

 

Yeah, but to be honest, I don't know that it would work in today's world. You saw that they tried to do it with Khali and first Estrada and later Singh, and on both occasions, the guys were axed quickly because the crowd didn't care. Perhaps that's because both characters were less-than-spectacular on the mic, but I think that if they're going to try to have something like that, they better have a former wrestler come back and support the younger guy.

Hell, Teddy Long is a great personality, but even he couldn't get Redd Dogg over years ago.

 

Jericho isn't bad as a face, but I agree, he's much better as a heel. Problem is, WWE really couldn't have brought him back as a heel right away because the fans would cheer him. I agree that he's probably much better with unscripted interviews. I usually find that when the interviews are unscripted, that they usually come across better.

And Tripp is right about bringing back managers. It's what I've been saying here all along. Umaga without a manager is useless. With a manager to stir things up, he becomes more interesting. And I've thought that if Shelton and Haas had a manager like Flair, it would elevate the three of them and the tag team picture too. Give managers a singles guy and a tag team, and things will be more interesting.

Also caught the Undertaker/Festus match on Smackdown. It seemed like a good match to elevate Festus. Taker let him have lots of offense, unlike the typical squash of a midcarder.

 

Umaga was a lot better with Estrada as the mouthpiece. The problem was Estrada began getting a major face reaction (especially after he would do his "My name is...Armando..." bit).

Heading to TNA Lockdown in Lowell tonight. I'll let you all know how the show was when I get back. Card looks pretty shitty, but hopefully Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle lives up to the expectations. And I'm also hoping that Joe wins the TNA World Title finally, which I think he will.

 

I'd be completely flummoxed by the decision to job the Motor City Machine Guns to Williams/Steiner ... if the Canadian Destroyer wasn't the best finisher I've seen in quite some time.

 

I think Bobby Heenan might've struggled a bit to get Khali over. What a stiff.