zappafrank Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 - Eugene - Boogeyman - Hornswaggle - The Hurricane
Epic Reine Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Heidenreich's "friend" gimmick.
SteakGrowsOnUecker Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 "The Big Shot" Hardcore Holly
Hoff Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Umaga. Was I alone in thinking this was really ridiculous when he debuted? I mean, come on; this is 2007. Never mind that we knew who was behind the facepaint, making it that much harder to suspend belief. But, credit where it's due -- he's become a believable monster.
SteakGrowsOnUecker Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Yeah he looked pretty ridiculous when he debuted. But that goes to show you the power of booking someone well instead of treating them like a joke.
Hoff Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Shame that we can learn that lesson, but the booking team can't quite grasp it.
luke-o Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 The Godfather - I was watching WM2000 the other day and that man was scary over. Same goes for Too Cool.
CanadianGuitarist Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 I was just thinking about this at work yesterday, how some stuff gets over for no reason at all. My first three thoughts: - Eugene, who was crazy over in the summer of '04. - Armando. - Mr. Kennedy.
CanadianChris Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 The all-time champion here has to be the Honky Tonk Man. I mean, come on, a wrestling Elvis impersonator? That never should have worked as well as it did.
haws bah gawd Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Paul Birchill was getting some respectable pops under the pirate gimmick last year.
Diamonddust Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 The all-time champion here has to be the Honky Tonk Man. I mean, come on, a wrestling Elvis impersonator? That never should have worked as well as it did. I think he got over because he was an Elvis impersonator... that's instant heel heat right there. Some others - Rikishi (I know Too Cool has been mentioned, but there was a time where Rikishi had white hot heat) Al Snow in ECW - I know ECW is a bit different, but the whole "Head" angle was super hot. The New Age Outlaws - I know Road Dog had the charisma, but you have to think that the level of popularity the team had wasn't planned.
Guest Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 The Godfather - I was watching WM2000 the other day and that man was scary over. Same goes for Too Cool. A man with hos is always going to get over among the 15-30 crowd.
haws bah gawd Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Rikishi (I know Too Cool has been mentioned, but there was a time where Rikishi had white hot heat) The New Age Outlaws - I know Road Dog had the charisma, but you have to think that the level of popularity the team had wasn't planned. I forgot about him. Dear God, I remember the pops he used to get just for dancing with Too Cool after a match. I'll give credit where it's due to the New Age Outlaws. Those guy got some stupid pops for their little pre-match promo. "Degeneration X is proud to bring you the WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!!!!!" You're right though. I don't think even WWE could have predicted how over they would eventually become.
Corkscrew_Senton Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 First time I saw Rikishi on Heat, I thought there was no chance he'd get over. Turning him heel with the Austin angle was a bad move, it killed his momentum. That summer he had slowly progressed from dancin' jolly Islander to a legit bad-ass with the Val Venis feud and deep KOTR run.
Diamonddust Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 First time I saw Rikishi on Heat, I thought there was no chance he'd get over. Turning him heel with the Austin angle was a bad move, it killed his momentum. That summer he had slowly progressed from dancin' jolly Islander to a legit bad-ass with the Val Venis feud and deep KOTR run. There was a match he had with Triple H on Smackdown that really did a lot to help his career. It had a lot of near falls, and the crowd was hooked. It also helped that Rikishi was involved in that 10 man tag-team match in Dallas that featured The Radicalz, Kane, Triple H, Cactus Jack, The Rock, and Too Cool. I remember how jacked the crowd was because of the star power in the ring... still one of the best Raw matches I can recall.
Steviekick Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 The all-time champion here has to be the Honky Tonk Man. I mean, come on, a wrestling Elvis impersonator? That never should have worked as well as it did. I think he got over because he was an Elvis impersonator... that's instant heel heat right there. Some others - Rikishi (I know Too Cool has been mentioned, but there was a time where Rikishi had white hot heat) Al Snow in ECW - I know ECW is a bit different, but the whole "Head" angle was super hot. The New Age Outlaws - I know Road Dog had the charisma, but you have to think that the level of popularity the team had wasn't planned. Snow worked in ECW because the angle was tailor-made for a smart audience. I never got why Kaientai got over during their EVIL~! INDEED~! era. They were very dull in the ring, and their voiceovers were lame. La Parka's voiceover was much cooler.
The Buzz Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Triple H as a main eventer. He'll always be the Ultimate Warrior's bitch to me, but he started to grow on me around 2000.
HarleyQuinn Posted September 12, 2007 Report Posted September 12, 2007 Tying into Too Cool and Scotty 2 Hotty... Albert as the "Hip Hop Hippo"... Seriously, there was a period where it seemed anybody associated with Too Cool got massively over.
tbondrage99 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 IRS always surprised me, sure he was an instant heel with the tax man thing but, he was a stupid evil tax man, who would of thought it would get over. The thing that got over that always will surprise me the most is Stone Cold Steve Austins "What".
haws bah gawd Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 IRS always surprised me, sure he was an instant heel with the tax man thing but, he was a stupid evil tax man, who would of thought it would get over. The thing that got over that always will surprise me the most is Stone Cold Steve Austins "What". Well over 6 years later, and crowds still chant WHAT?! at heels during promos (or Cena occasionally). That's staying power!
Guest krash9924 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 Kane. This guy has been around for 10 years. Who would have ever thought that would happen. Undertaker also has to be in this category. But Kane at first just seemed to be another monster for the Undertaker dispose of and move on but this guy is still around and still a draw. So my top two choices are Kane and Undertaker easy.
cabbageboy Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 Truth be told that's what Kane SHOULD have been. As much as Kane is kind of a guilty pleasure he's mostly just been a stale guy on the roster since about 2001. As far as the "What" gimmick goes, it was over initially when Austin was a heel in the Alliance. But that said, the "What" crap is something that really started to wreck Austin's career circa 2002 when the act wore out its welcome. The fact that people still chant it today when Austin shows up makes me never want to see Austin on TV.
Diamonddust Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 Kane. This guy has been around for 10 years. Who would have ever thought that would happen. Undertaker also has to be in this category. But Kane at first just seemed to be another monster for the Undertaker dispose of and move on but this guy is still around and still a draw. So my top two choices are Kane and Undertaker easy. Even though the WWE(F) was full of cartoon characters at the time of his debut, The Undertaker was so drastically different. I used to have the tape of the Survivor Series when he debuted. The crowd didn't know what to make of him, yet it was kind of like "Holy hell... who is this monster?" type of reaction. Mark was WAY into the character at the start, and again, I think he got over because it was just something different beyond the typical character that was being presented. Taker's abilities in the ring for a man his size also contributed to him getting over (Specifically - walking the top rope) You also have to throw in the presentation - The funeral march theme, the lighting effects, the costume, the urn, etc. - It added to the whole package of "The Dead Man". Paul Bearer didn't hurt his chances either.
haws bah gawd Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 Kane. This guy has been around for 10 years. Who would have ever thought that would happen. Undertaker also has to be in this category. But Kane at first just seemed to be another monster for the Undertaker dispose of and move on but this guy is still around and still a draw. So my top two choices are Kane and Undertaker easy. Even though the WWE(F) was full of cartoon characters at the time of his debut, The Undertaker was so drastically different. I used to have the tape of the Survivor Series when he debuted. The crowd didn't know what to make of him, yet it was kind of like "Holy hell... who is this monster?" type of reaction. Mark was WAY into the character at the start, and again, I think he got over because it was just something different beyond the typical character that was being presented. Taker's abilities in the ring for a man his size also contributed to him getting over (Specifically - walking the top rope) You also have to throw in the presentation - The funeral march theme, the lighting effects, the costume, the urn, etc. - It added to the whole package of "The Dead Man". Paul Bearer didn't hurt his chances either. I miss when Undertaker would crumple dried roses onto his opponent and stuff them into a bodybag after a match was over. Good times.
Vern Gagne Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 IRS always surprised me, sure he was an instant heel with the tax man thing but, he was a stupid evil tax man, who would of thought it would get over. The thing that got over that always will surprise me the most is Stone Cold Steve Austins "What". Well over 6 years later, and crowds still chant WHAT?! at heels during promos (or Cena occasionally). That's staying power! It helped ruin the Stone Cold character. I was suprised the Double Murderer got over in the WWE like he did.
Vern Gagne Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 IRS always surprised me, sure he was an instant heel with the tax man thing but, he was a stupid evil tax man, who would of thought it would get over. The thing that got over that always will surprise me the most is Stone Cold Steve Austins "What". Well over 6 years later, and crowds still chant WHAT?! at heels during promos (or Cena occasionally). That's staying power! It helped ruin the Stone Cold character. I was suprised the Double Murderer got over in the WWE like he did.
Hoff Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 IRS always surprised me, sure he was an instant heel with the tax man thing but, he was a stupid evil tax man, who would of thought it would get over. The thing that got over that always will surprise me the most is Stone Cold Steve Austins "What". Well over 6 years later, and crowds still chant WHAT?! at heels during promos (or Cena occasionally). That's staying power! It helped ruin the Stone Cold character. I was suprised the Double Murderer got over in the WWE like he did.
CheesalaIsGood Posted September 13, 2007 Report Posted September 13, 2007 The Undertaker. Both the gimmick and the longevity. The first real inclination I had that he was here to stay was at Survivor Series against Hogan. The pop he got when the bell tolled starting his entrance music was awesome. It wasn't so much a pop as a collective GASP. I don't think I have seen that before or since.
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