Val Venis

[Guest Cataclysm911]

Val Venis was just a straight missed opportunity. Good worker, good talker, good look. That's everything you need to be successful. If you have those three things, you'll get heat. Once you get the heat, you become more comfortable, which can really help to bring out a persons charisma and charm.

 

It's quite sad actually. Regardless of his constant misuse, he's still, to this day, one of my favorite wrestlers.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

Actually I recall that type of cage being used for that match.

 

I may be wrong though; I haven't seen that match since 2001.

Ironic as it is, I haven't seen it in a long time either, but I think it was the regular cage. Plus the fact Rikishi was going as slow as humanly possible not to fall off.

[LJSexay 0]

Val Venis was just a straight missed opportunity. Good worker, good talker, good look. That's everything you need to be successful. If you have those three things, you'll get heat. Once you get the heat, you become more comfortable, which can really help to bring out a persons charisma and charm.

 

It's quite sad actually. Regardless of his constant misuse, he's still, to this day, one of my favorite wrestlers.

exactly. I mean.. he feuded with Mankind at one point. Totally missed potential. I wish they'd fix this.

[Guest Trivia247]

Val Venis was a decent wrestler with a overly decent moveset when he first arrived. His match with Dlo at Summerslam 98, or was it the other one...anyway that match was awesome.

 

Problem was you can't really find him much to do other than be the Porn star gimmick which has lived past its usefulness.

[Guest Brian]

And it defined his career in the WWE, which is why he's constantly coming back to it.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

Surely no one would think a PORN STAR gimmick would last a long amount of time.

 

I really can't see anyone named "Val Venis" main eventing a WWF/E PPV....well, I said that about Bradshaw too and well, we know the answer.

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

Val Venis headlined Armageddon

 

on WWE SmackDown!: Here Comes The Pain.

[Guest Adrian 3:16]

Its a shame about Val and how far he's fallen, he was always good on the mic and decent in the ring. Going back to the porn gimmick- especially the toned down later version- was the kiss of death for him. A year ago as Chief Morely he was a Raw regular, and he even would've made Mania 19 if not for being screwed over for a catfight. But as soon as Val was reborn he was banished to Heat, and if he appears on Raw its a foregone conclusion he's just there to count the lights. No one will get behind a character like that.

 

The post-porn pre=RTC Val in Trish's stable in 2000 was cool as hell. Perception is everything in wrestling and it showed how different you could look at Val (and Rikishi for that matter) when they were used properly. I liked T&A as a team back then too, they were potrayed as two big sleazy guys and they played the role very well.

 

And to whoever mentioned the Taker/Kane vs. Kronik match, I advise you to see it on the basis of unintentional comedy. Its deep in "so bad its great" territory, especially because Taker's performance is just as bad as Bryan Adams'.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

He was also getting pretty good heat in RTC for a while before he was faded into the background for whatever reason. Val could've been really big had they given him a strong push and stuck with it.

Yeah and as far as the wrestling in the RTC he pretty much had to carry to whole group on his back with alittle help from Ivory. He was pretty much the only good wrestler in that group (men wise). I mean you Bull and Godfather and Stevie was in this phase were he'd fuck himself up brushing his teeth. So, pretty much it was all up to Val when it came to wrestling.

[Cherry Blossom Viscount 0]

Actually, the best incarnation of Val Venis was when he was still a porn star, but he turned heel when he gave Mankind the "Testicular Claw" after a faux apology. He then went on to have matches with Mankind, Rock, and Austin, before they suddenly dropped the angle. He was finally getting over with his heel act too.

 

Then, he came back in a four way match for the IC Title against X-Pac, Hardcore Holly, and Benoit on an episode of Smackdown. He cut a semi shoot promo before the match and he was pretty damn over. Then, he dissapeared again.

 

Then, he came back as a heel and had that feud with Rikishi, and with each passing week his heat decreased more and more. Trish was added to stop this but it just worsened. He cut his hair and came out in generic white. He was essentially the most generic heel ever. He had no motivations, he was just a "bad guy." He was getting negative heat by this time. They changed his music to this techno shit and it was over. Once on SD! he came out to ZERO reaction, then all of a sudden, they added some canned heat. It was pathetic, and he was with Trish at that and had the IC Title. Eventually he lost it to Chyna I believe.

 

Sometime after this he went BACK to the porn gimmick for the first time since the heel turn of '99. This is when the RTC first came on the scene. After a brief feud (I think) Val came aboard as the RTC's premier wrestler. The RTC drew HUGE HEAT, despite no one here seeming to like them. After the RTC dissolved, Val went right back to a watered down version of the porn gimmick. He was called the Big Valbowski and was mostly used as a jobber. After a few months he dissapeared again and came back as Chief Morely.

 

It was a nice and effective heel character but alas, just as he was getting over, WWE pulled the plug and now Val is back to being Val. Who knows what the WWE will cook up for him next, if anything.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Although, I'll never forget how great of a pop Val got when he returned at The 2002 RR (I didn't even know he was gone at the time), unfortunately, once he got in the ring, he got beat up by Stone Cold.

[The Buzz 0]

Val Venis has no chance of ever being a top draw in WWE, but if he gets released he has a chance to be a big name indy guy. And maybe move to TNA and become a main eventer. Val was still getting decent pops during 2003, but unless he's given serious pushing he's just another jobber. The tools are there...the look is there...charisma, wrestling, look=talent........Then again the WWE does not like to push its talented workers for hte most part.

[Guest Redhawk]

Actually, the best incarnation of Val Venis was when he was still a porn star, but he turned heel when he gave Mankind the "Testicular Claw" after a faux apology. He then went on to have matches with Mankind, Rock, and Austin, before they suddenly dropped the angle. He was finally getting over with his heel act too.

Wasn't this when he kept calling himself, "The fastest rising up and coming superster in the WWF" or something like that?

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

A pron star gimmick just won't fare in the long run, as Deon said - there's too much baggage there to be a Main Event star.