The moment your favorite superstar or any wrestler jumped the shark

[Boxer 0]

So looking at your favorite superstar or any superstar in general, can you pin point an exact moment where they jumped the shark?

 

Here's a few quick picks from my brain and what I think were the specific moment where their career went south.

 

Marc Mero: When he got shelved in later 1996, never came back the same again. Now whether or not WWE didn't want him to do his Wildman stuff again is debatable.

 

Ahmed Johnson: Ron Simmon's kick to the kidney or whatever. Seriously, Ahmed didn't need to go down as it slowed his momentum down so much. Was never the same again in my eyes.

 

Bret Hart: Montreal. Don't get me wrong, as a Hart mark I could see he was nailing it in a lot during his 1997 run, but shit, his WCW stuff was totally utter crap compared to his WWF stuff.

 

Ken Shamrock: After looking like a goof twice, once by DX and once by the Rock and the nation, after NOT winning the IC title, he seemed damaged too me.

 

There are many, MANY more wrestlers I can name, but I'd like to hear your choices and when you saw them go downhill.

[King Kamala 0]

Diamond Dallas Page: I'd say turning heel in April '99 after winning the WCW World title out of nowhere. Of course, he was still pretty popular and got another World title run after that but he was never quite the same IMHO. Not only was the heel turn detrimental to DDP's career but it was a minor moment in the downfall of WCW.

 

But it did result in the formation of The New Jersey Triad so maybe it wasn't a total loss!

[Diamonddust 0]

Do I even need an explanation if it's Chris Benoit?

[Brett Favre 0]

I really liked Triple H before he tore his quad.

[haws bah gawd 0]

HHH was the MAN before he tore his quad. He was flat-out amazing in the ring. He's gotten much, MUCH better since his 2002 return, but I still haven't seen him perform like he did from 99-01.

[Garbageman 0]

I disagree about Shamrock: he was the most over in his career after his heel turn and winning the Intercontinental belt as a ice veined killing machine in the one night tournament. They blew it with him by jobbing him out in non-title matches for the next four months until they took the belt off him, undermining a character that finally worked for him.

[Timmy8271 0]

Steve Austin: Turning back face in 2001. He just wasn't the same.

 

Sting: Joining the Wolfpac in 98

 

Taz: Teaming with RVD and Sabu as the new Triple Threat.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Steve Austin: Turning back face in 2001. He just wasn't the same.

 

Sting: Joining the Wolfpac in 98

 

Taz: Teaming with RVD and Sabu as the new Triple Threat.

 

Good call on Austin; great call on Sting joining the Wolfpac. I don't think that Taz briefly aligning with RVD and Sabu hurt his credibility at all, though.

[Jonathon 0]

When Shamrock went from being awesome and a strong IC contender feuding with DX and The Rock, to being "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but the most dangerous". The descent from legit UFC badass to corporation stooge.

[Youth N Asia 0]

It was hard to take Big Show serious in the WWF, he seemed to do heel/face turns every month.

 

I pretty much lost interest in Austin as soon as they turned him heel, with that Alliance crap. Never tapped as a face and his first match heel he's tapping like a pussy...where as a face he never would

[haws bah gawd 0]

It was hard to take Big Show serious in the WWF, he seemed to do heel/face turns every month.

 

I pretty much lost interest in Austin as soon as they turned him heel, with that Alliance crap. Never tapped as a face and his first match heel he's tapping like a pussy...where as a face he never would

 

Don't forget, how many Stunners did Austin hit Kurt Angle with at Summerslam 2001, only for him to kick out every time? I believe it was 3. Austin's death move, was reduced to nothing during his heel run. No one except The Rock at Wrestlemania 15 (IIRC) had kicked out of the Stunner up until that point (Bret Hart may have). Unless Austin was cheating his balls off, he rarely got a pin after hitting a Stunner during the heel run.

[cabbageboy 0]

Taz jumped the shark to me when he signed with the WWF and jobbed to Mike Awesome at Anarchy Rulz 99. He jobbed out the last few months in ECW and was never the same.

 

Sadly I think the Bulldog jumped the shark once he lost to European belt to Michaels in England. He was never the same after that and I couldn't tell you a good match he ever had after it. His UK invincibility was also gone.

[Timmy8271 0]

Bulldog jumped the shark back in 95 when he didn't win the title from Bret.

 

As for the Taz thing, The reason I picked him teaming with RVD and Sabu was because it was so wrong. Taz was a loner, A guy that needed no one so why is he teaming with a guy he hates and RVD? I couldn't take him seriously after that.

[cabbageboy 0]

I wouldn't say Bulldog jumped the shark in Dec. 1995 when he didn't beat Bret. Did anyone seriously think he would win? Besides he did so much quality work with Owen in 1996-97. In fact the Euro title finals vs. Owen is probably Bulldog's 2nd best match, so it's hard to say he really jumped the shark.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

When the Undertaker turned into Bikertaker, that's when he jumped the shark for me.

[Kinetic 0]

I pretty much lost interest in Austin as soon as they turned him heel, with that Alliance crap. Never tapped as a face and his first match heel he's tapping like a pussy...where as a face he never would

 

Although it was at least partly responsible for tanking the company, Austin's 2002 heel character was pretty awesome and really added some freshness to an act that had been stale since '99 or so. I'd agree with the other guy that his career really started to wind down with the subsequent post-Alliance face turn, when the company attempted to press the "reset" button and he was right back to doing the same tired routine.

[Naked Snake 0]

I liked Wrath in 1998, but when big Kev put himself over Wrath, that was it.

[Chazz 0]

Lance Storm in The WWE when they started having him do his "Dancing Lance" routine, as well as pairing him in tag teams with Goldust and Val Venis. His WWE career, not surprisingly, ended soon after.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Was this before or after the WWE encouraged the fans to chant boring at Lance?

[Chazz 0]

Was this before or after the WWE encouraged the fans to chant boring at Lance?

 

 

Before, as I still remember that angle with then Raw Co-GM Austin coming out with a blanket and pillow during one of Storm's matches and said Lane was putting him to sleep.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

I saw that on YouTube recently. I wonder who the hell booked that.

[Chazz 0]

I saw that on YouTube recently. I wonder who the hell booked that.

 

It reeks of Brian Gerwertz's "comedy" And by "comedy", I mean shit that's not funny.

[The Truthiness 0]

Triple H when he turned face, I know it had to happen, but I never cared for him as face.

 

Shane Douglas after he went to WCW.

 

Bret Hart after Montreal.

 

Booker T after he lost the World Title.

 

Samoa Joe, after his match with Nigel, which was his last match in ROH.

 

The Briscoes after Ladder Warz.

 

Edge after HIAC at Summerslam...I honestly don't see what else he can do in WWE.

[Ed Wood Caulfield 0]

Although it was at least partly responsible for tanking the company, Austin's 2002 heel character was pretty awesome and really added some freshness to an act that had been stale since '99 or so. I'd agree with the other guy that his career really started to wind down with the subsequent post-Alliance face turn, when the company attempted to press the "reset" button and he was right back to doing the same tired routine.

 

Yeah. I remember they gave him back his old entrance theme, and had Vince McMahon go on TV and actually SAY that Austin didn't want to deal with "Austin/McMahon 2". I mean, what the fuck was that all about?

 

And I thought for sure that Vince was forming a new incarnation of The Corporation with Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and The Big Bossman, but that whole alliance ended for no reason whatsoever a month or two after it started.

[Kinetic 0]

What a horrible bunch of fucking bullshit that entire InVasion storyline was. Even six years down the road, I still can't believe they managed to turn the acquisition of WCW into something so unwatchable that it turned me off of wrestling forever.

[Papacita 0]

Austin's face turn was the first thing that popped into my head. The whole "what" thing didn't help matters either.

 

X-Pac after the 1999 DX reunion is probably the biggest I can think of off hand. A lot of people seem to forget that X-Pac was one of the most over faces on the roster in 98-99, and that he was probably more over than HHH (definitely in the beginning of the 99; it gets debateable towards the summer). Once HHH got the belt, they could've easily worked X-Pac into the title picture, which I think would've been a much better use of him. Instead, they sacrificed ALL of his momentum by turning him heel, and by 2000 people were practically begging to get him off TV.

 

Test is another big one, as he was insanely over via the Steph angle, but he got buried once the McMahon-Helmsley thing came into play.

 

On Ahmed...he was my fucking dude up until he got kicked out of the Nation after SummerSlam 97. He was injured at the time, and then to make matters worse, he ended up reinjuring himself in his comeback match against the Rock a month later. That was it for him as I was concerned.

 

 

[DarKnight 0]

What a horrible bunch of fucking bullshit that entire InVasion storyline was. Even six years down the road, I still can't believe they managed to turn the acquisition of WCW into something so unwatchable that it turned me off of wrestling forever.

 

I know I'm going to sound like a lunatic for saying this, but I actually find 2001 to be the last good year in wrestling. There was a bunch of great matches that year, and while everyone seems to hate the Invasion storyline, there was a lot better angles on TV then, than there is now. I really had no problem with the WWF jobbing out all of the WCW guys, because they would have been putting guys over from a company that went out of business, and its not like they had any of WCW major players at that point anyway.

[Chazz 0]

When The NWO merged factions again in early 1999 after "The Fingerpoke Of Doom." The Wolfpack Red and Black became for the elite, top tier stars, while The Black and White became a gang of jobbers and nobodies.

[DarKnight 0]

Some people could even point out that the NWO may have jumped the shark either when they added too many people, or when they feuded with the Wolfpack, and of course, the fingerpoke of doom.

[Timmy8271 0]

I wouldn't say Bulldog jumped the shark in Dec. 1995 when he didn't beat Bret. Did anyone seriously think he would win? Besides he did so much quality work with Owen in 1996-97. In fact the Euro title finals vs. Owen is probably Bulldog's 2nd best match, so it's hard to say he really jumped the shark.

 

He should have won the title if not then, He should have won it from HBK in 96.

 

Shane Douglas jumped the shark when he started teaming with Tommy Dreamer.

 

NWO jumped the shark after the First NWO Nitro.