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End of their Rope
Wrestlers who have overstayed their welcome in WWE
Now that Wrestlemania season is over and the 2012-13 calendar year for WWE is officially in the books, it's time to analyze WWE's current roster and decide who has a viable future with the company and who doesn't. This article will focus on the latter and some of the mentions may surprise you.
The Miz
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the undisputed headliner for this article.
There really hasn't been anyone in WWE in recent memory who has fallen from grace as quickly and painfully, yet still remained with the company as Wrestlemania 27's headliner and winner during the event's WWE Championship match. And when looking at what Miz has done lately, it's almost impossible to believe that was only 2 years ago. Yeah, I know. I actually just had to count back in my head twice just now to confirm that.
So what's my beef with the Miz, you say? Well, I honestly don't have any. In fact, after a couple years of complete and utter mediocrity and even flat out jobbing for most of that time, I was happy to hear he was finally going to be on the Wrestlemania 29 card in another title match, albeit for the Intercontinental Championship (an extraordinary demotion from the WWE Championship ranks). But perhaps this would be 1 step towards a remarkable comeback to his career, right? Wrong.
One the eve of Wrestlemania 29, his Intercontinental Championship bout against Wade Barrett was announced to be regulated to the Wrestlemania 29 pre-show, available only for live streaming on YouTube, WWE.com, Smart TV's, and a few other places on the internet. That immediately made me realize that even if he won, the victory would be bitter sweet... and WOW I had no idea just how much. Miz, in fact, did win the title from Barrett that night... er... I should say evening since it wasn't even dark outside yet, but nonetheless, Miz was once again a title-holder. But the very next night on Monday Night Raw, he lost the title back to Barrett after barely holding the under-card title for 24 hours (probably closer to 26, but what difference does it make?)
This is quite honestly a talent that seems to have hit a brick wall with WWE both creatively and politically. It's also worth noting that his "I'm Awesome" catchphrase was probably the loudest crowd-pleaser in WWE for a brief period before Daniel Bryan's "YES!" chants replaced it. Now we're lucky if he even gets mic time, forget about even hearing him say that catchphrase in particular, and it seems WWE has him doing the Figure 4 Leg Lock in homage to Ric Flair for reasons I'm not even sure of considering Miz wrestles absolutely nothing like Flair, stands for absolutely nothing even remotely similar to what Flair did in his prime, and seems to serve no other purpose but to make Miz look more important, which okay... LOL... he's not quite obviously.
Now before I go any further, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I don't dislike the Miz at all and I'm certainly not suggesting the WWE go right off and fire him because he's useless or anything like that. I very much still realize the potential in Miz and I think he could be a great asset to the company as he's already proven to be in the past. I honestly don't even think words like "potential" should even be used for him at this point of his career after everything he's done already. However, I don't think WWE sees that potential any longer and it's simply just sad to see a man of his talent go to complete waste the way he has been and not getting opportunities to be successful. If there's even one parallel I can actually draw to Ric Flair is the "Old Yeller" reference Shawn Michaels made to Flair during his Wrestlemania 24 retirement angle. I honestly just think Miz is a guy that should be put out of his misery at this point. It's going to be really hard for him to rebound from this complete joke that was his Wrestlemania 29 debacle. I've seriously never seen another wrestler rebound from a setback this severe unless they had WCW or another promotion to fall back on, which obviously isn't an option these days.
Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. The problem with him is though is that he's in the hospital more time than the ring these days. Over the course of the past decade, I've seen numerous wrestlers lose their spots and take years to rebound after being removed from television for an extended period of time. And honestly, it actually annoys me that Rey never has this problem. Why not? Because his merchandise, particularly the replica masks, are one of the most expensive and hottest-selling merchandise in the company. There really is no other reason. Could you imagine being a WWE wrestler and immediately getting bumped down the card when this guy shows back up after a year off just because he wears a cool-looking mask? That's what's happening here.
Now as many of you know, I have never cared about the money WWE makes off things like this. Some people use reasons like this to justify what they do, but I am a wrestling fan and I take no other side in the matter. I mean, that's great for Vince McMahon and all, but I'm not Vince McMahon, nor am I a member of his extended family. Nothing about my life changes one bit if Vince adds another zero in front of his bank account. I simply do not care. What I do care about, however, is the entertainment value of the company I've watched since I was a child. I want to see the current wrestlers evolve and get their chances at super-stardom. I want to witness the evolution of wrestling. This becomes difficult when you have situations like Rey Mysterio's holding some of the younger guys back, especially when he's rarely on television anymore yet somehow manages to halt someone's progress when he decides to come back.
Again, I seriously love Mysterio's work and even at his age the guy can still go. But unlike someone like Chris Jericho, Mysterio doesn't make it worth my while. Besides the odd match here and there, he's never been a guy that can hold my interest for an extended period of time. Not to mention Chris Jericho isn't getting injured within an average 3-4 months of every return he makes. It's simply not worth it anymore. I think it might be time for Mysterio to consider opening a wrestling school like was rumored recently and focus on bringing the fans a new crop of bad asses down the line. If he wanted to have one last Wrestlemania run, maybe go out with a match against someone like Sin Cara (something that has been rumored for at least 2 years and keeps getting put-off due to Mysterio's injuries), I would be perfectly fine with that. But for the sake of Mysterio's health, get it out of the way. The last thing I want to witness is one of my favorite wrestlers becoming the next Darren Drozdov quadriplegic and only because he didn't know when to hang it up.
Drew McIntyre
Yes, I realize that jobbers are somewhat needed in the wrestling product and are essential for filling the under-card at house shows and getting new wrestlers with vested interest over quickly, but McIntyre has a slightly different situation. This is a guy that was billed at one point to be hand-picked by Vince McMahon himself and supposedly destined to be a WWE Champion. That was his whole gig and it's practically a bad joke these days. He even had the entrance of a main-eventer and one of my favorite entrance themes of all time and I have no shame in admitting that because it was awesome.
That being said, it's hard to understand how McIntyre has just seemingly been content with the role he's had in the company for the past few years since his initial run. Not many people leave the WWE these days and actually find a better deal elsewhere, but I honestly think McIntyre could be one of those guys. I think he's someone that could go to TNA and actually have better success there. I can't imagine WWE paying him significantly more money at this point considering his non-existent role in the company and the travel schedule would be much lighter. He's actually the only guy I can possibly compare to the Miz in terms of his complete and utter fall from grace, only McIntyre was never as successful as Miz was at any point of his career.
In short, McIntyre is a guy that I always saw potential in despite the fact he was never one of the flashiest wrestlers on the roster, but he has the look and presence of a bonafide superstar and he's simply not going to get that opportunity again in WWE, barring a complete a total repacking similar to what Jack Swagger underwent and I really don't think McIntyre was a guy who ever needed one.
Tensai
The artist formerly known as A-Train seemed to be experiencing a career resurgence last year when he came back to the WWE under his new look and ring name "Lord Tensai". The guy was a legit monster when he first showed up and was strikingly intimidating despite the "Albert" chants he received nightly from the crowd. I always thought it was baffling how someone with a particular personality like D-Lo Brown could return to the WWE for a short period in 2008 and be seemingly forgotten by the WWE fans, yet someone like Tensai who had the blandest personality imaginable during his first run with the company was immediately recognizable. I swear to God that still doesn't make sense to me to this very day.
Tensai's run didn't last long and soon after debuting, he turned on his manager, disappeared from television shortly after that, and soon resurfaced as a babyface for whatever reason, and now he's just worthless in general. I swear this guy was supposed to be in a Wrestlemania 29 match with Brodus Clay and the Bella Twins... what happened with that? Was I just under the wrong impression of when that match was supposed to take place or did that match get completely scratched from the card at the last minute? Don't misunderstand me, I really don't care either way, but I was surprised when Rock/Cena II started so abruptly because I thought they would have the mixed tag match before the main event that night like they usually do with the matches involving the divas. Completely missed my piss break and I needed it because I was drinking hard that night.
Either way, Tensai has just become another bad joke in the WWE and what looked like a promising career at first has now become the role of "jobber-to-the-stars". There's other jobbers on the WWE roster that I didn't pick on (like the Usos, Heath Slater, and Epico) simply because the company does need some jobbers. But Tensai is a big dude, this is certainly not the type of guy you want jobbing because it makes him look ten times more pathetic than smaller wrestlers when they lose. This is a guy that should by all means throwing his weight around and probably even carrying the WWE Championship, but at the end of the day he just seems like a complete idiot who can't wrestle worth a fuck because he never wins and this is why I think he'd be better served heading back to Japan where his career was the most successful.
Big Show
I'll be real with you, nobody in the article makes me feel like more of a complete heel for picking on than Big Show. I really like the guy and always thought he seemed like a very good person outside the ring. He hardly ever wins at Wrestlemania and has always been vastly effective at putting over young talent.
But again, that being said... the guy has been with the company for a very long time and isn't nearly the "unbeatable monster" he once was. This was a guy that at one point posed a serious threat to Brock Lesnar's initial run, and in fact, he beat Lesnar for the championship. I know these giant-types aren't always popular among die hard wrestling fans due to their inability to put on the five-star classics they watch wrestling for, but that's not to say the giant characters aren't effective at what they do and actually necessary from time to time.
However, Big Show hasn't been that type of character in years and it's sad to say that his most memorable moment lately was winning the Intercontinental Championship off Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania 28, a relatively meaningless title these days, as if to say "Yeah thanks for all your hard work, ya big lug" right before he'd go on to lose it a month later. Can you give me a better definition of a "pity reign"? Probably not.
And it's not just his lack of accomplishments I'm picking on either, it's also the total and utter lack of consistent direction with him. Does anyone really care that he just recently turned heel for the 50,000,000th time? Does it really surprise anyone on planet Earth? No, it doesn't. In fact, it's become almost expected of him, as if Vince Russo is personally writing his career considering the swerve-whoring nature of it.
I'm definitely not saying Big Show adds absolutely nothing to the product, because that would be a total overstatement. He's good at what he does and arguably the greatest giant of all time. The problem is that he simply isn't fresh anymore and the company simply doesn't need so many giant wrestlers. Kane has been much more effective in that role in recent years, even though some wouldn't consider Kane a "giant" per say, but he is. The guy is nearly as tall as Big Show, much-more interesting, funnier, and just more diverse talent-wise in general. I honestly don't think a wrestling promotion ever needs more than one of these types of wrestlers because their physical size should be something that sets them apart from the rest of the roster. When Kane showed up in 1997 it was awe-inspiring simply because Undertaker was the only giant on the roster at the time, and it was surreal to know there were now 2 of them and they were very similar. But with the exception of the Great Khali who's rarely on television anymore these days, Big Show is the biggest guy and quite honestly he's just not the spectacle he once was. Less can be more sometimes, and I think Kane's character could be extended by doing away with his physical competition. The same could be said for Khali, but he's rarely on television these days and when he is, it's very brief, non-serious, and comedic in nature, never really posing a threat to anyone important.
Randy Orton
There goes the neighborhood. Yes, I'm totally going here.
Though this may come as a surprise to many, it really shouldn't. This is a guy that should have been made an example of a long time ago. As wrestling fans who frequent the IWC community, we've all learned at one point or another to take internet dirt sheets with a grain of salt as a lot of backstage reports are often not true. However, this is a guy that has popped up countless times over the years in those dirt sheets and one would have to believe that at least some of those reports are true.
Quite honestly, Randy Orton seems like one of the most unprofessional and immature people in all of wrestling. His frequent Wellness Policy violations which are irrefutable in terms of their credibility are just another reason this guy has been stuck in limbo for much of the past few years. He hasn't had a significant match at Wrestlemania since 2009 and one could only assume it's because of his unreliability. In fact, the only reason he has a job right now is probably because of his relationship with Triple H, despite the fact he can still be classified as a draw in the business.
But frankly, I'm done with Orton and have been for a long time. I honestly don't think Orton offers anything that a few other superstars don't and it seems like his presence on pay-per-view cards is flat out forced these days. He doesn't even remember his lines during promos apparently, as evidenced by his promo with Sheamus last Monday, so how could anyone actually believe this is a guy that takes his job seriously? He doesn't. I swear to God he doesn't and it's as clear as day to anyone who isn't a raving fan of his.
What are some other reasons Orton is still around? What about historical reasons? What about the fact he's still currently the youngest WWE Champion of all time? Maybe that's not something WWE wants him to leave the company with. Maybe they need a 20-year-old fresh out of high school to win the title before Orton's historical significance is void and they can finally part ways with him. I know I'm reaching here, but it's really hard for me to justify why someone like him can still be regarded as a priority.
Now I know what some people are going to say, "nobody's perfect" and all that jazz... but Jesus Christ, most people in the WWE are a whole hell of a lot closer to it than him. I'm seriously not even trying to be funny here, the guy honestly just seems like he doesn't give a shit half the time, and when that attitude starts bleeding through to his on-screen character and he seems like he doesn't even know what city he's in, it's just ridiculous. And to think, this was a guy that was instrumental in someone like Ken Kennedy being cut from the company who was a lot fresher than anything Orton has ever done. That's real talk. I'm not taking Kennedy's side in that matter because he certainly wasn't a saint in the matter, but hindsight is always 20/20 and I really think WWE could have gone further with him than they did with Orton.
The one and only redeeming quality I could have pitched for Orton would have been his potential in being a babyface rival in the event the WWE ever turned John Cena heel. The face-by-committee strategy could have been very effective with his contributions, but that's becoming more and more apparent that will never happen any time soon. And honestly, Randy Orton should have headlined a Wrestlemania as a heel against John Cena 1-on-1 a long time ago, but the closest we got to that was Wrestlemania 24 in a triple threat clusterfuck where Triple H was forced into the match for practically no reason only to go on and headline Wrestlemania 25 the next year with Orton in probably the worst Wrestlemania main event of all time that Sid Vicious wasn't affiliated with. Strangely enough, some wrestling fans still want to see that Orton/Cena match at Wrestlemania, but it would be almost bitter sweet now unless Cena was a full-fledged heel. And it's pretty sad when the only redeeming quality I can see in a wrestler is another wrestler's status with company. I just really don't see any more potential in Randy Orton and I think it might be time to move him out of the way so some of these other young guns can get the opportunity he did. Call me crazy all you want, but that's just my outlook on Randy Orton.
Conclusion
If there's one thing in common that all of these wrestlers on my list have it's the fact that they've all had their chances and moments with the company. The WWE has been in a state of rebuilding since 2005 and honestly none of these guys have really taken the company to the next level. These are all guys that pale in comparison to the likes of John Cena and CM Punk, 2 guys who have come closer to achieving the goal WWE set back in 2005 than anyone. It's a matter of whether or not you're content with mediocrity or whether or not you want to make wrestling cool again. None of these guys will get the WWE back to that level and they prevent more possibilities than they achieve just by being on the WWE roster with the little success they've had under their belt and their seniority over other talents who could be more successful carrying the ball.
So why didn't I pick on the likes of jobbers such as Heath Slater, Tyson Kidd, and Evan Bourne? Well the simple answer is that those wrestlers have yet to have a serious run. These are guys that for all we know could still have potential with the company down the road. However, we've seen what people like Big Show, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio bring to the table. We've been seeing it for years. Would the WWE be better or worse without them at this point? I honestly don't have an opinion either way on that, but I definitely think we'll never see the potential in many other younger stars on the WWE roster until they are no longer a factor. All of these guys, with the exception of Miz and McIntyre, have been milked for everything they're worth at this point. And I seriously doubt anyone who watches the WWE for any of these guys is suddenly going to stop watching because they don't wrestle with the company anymore.
Thanks for reading,
We Are Legion
Wrestlers who have overstayed their welcome in WWE
Now that Wrestlemania season is over and the 2012-13 calendar year for WWE is officially in the books, it's time to analyze WWE's current roster and decide who has a viable future with the company and who doesn't. This article will focus on the latter and some of the mentions may surprise you.
The Miz
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the undisputed headliner for this article.
There really hasn't been anyone in WWE in recent memory who has fallen from grace as quickly and painfully, yet still remained with the company as Wrestlemania 27's headliner and winner during the event's WWE Championship match. And when looking at what Miz has done lately, it's almost impossible to believe that was only 2 years ago. Yeah, I know. I actually just had to count back in my head twice just now to confirm that.
So what's my beef with the Miz, you say? Well, I honestly don't have any. In fact, after a couple years of complete and utter mediocrity and even flat out jobbing for most of that time, I was happy to hear he was finally going to be on the Wrestlemania 29 card in another title match, albeit for the Intercontinental Championship (an extraordinary demotion from the WWE Championship ranks). But perhaps this would be 1 step towards a remarkable comeback to his career, right? Wrong.
One the eve of Wrestlemania 29, his Intercontinental Championship bout against Wade Barrett was announced to be regulated to the Wrestlemania 29 pre-show, available only for live streaming on YouTube, WWE.com, Smart TV's, and a few other places on the internet. That immediately made me realize that even if he won, the victory would be bitter sweet... and WOW I had no idea just how much. Miz, in fact, did win the title from Barrett that night... er... I should say evening since it wasn't even dark outside yet, but nonetheless, Miz was once again a title-holder. But the very next night on Monday Night Raw, he lost the title back to Barrett after barely holding the under-card title for 24 hours (probably closer to 26, but what difference does it make?)
This is quite honestly a talent that seems to have hit a brick wall with WWE both creatively and politically. It's also worth noting that his "I'm Awesome" catchphrase was probably the loudest crowd-pleaser in WWE for a brief period before Daniel Bryan's "YES!" chants replaced it. Now we're lucky if he even gets mic time, forget about even hearing him say that catchphrase in particular, and it seems WWE has him doing the Figure 4 Leg Lock in homage to Ric Flair for reasons I'm not even sure of considering Miz wrestles absolutely nothing like Flair, stands for absolutely nothing even remotely similar to what Flair did in his prime, and seems to serve no other purpose but to make Miz look more important, which okay... LOL... he's not quite obviously.
Now before I go any further, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I don't dislike the Miz at all and I'm certainly not suggesting the WWE go right off and fire him because he's useless or anything like that. I very much still realize the potential in Miz and I think he could be a great asset to the company as he's already proven to be in the past. I honestly don't even think words like "potential" should even be used for him at this point of his career after everything he's done already. However, I don't think WWE sees that potential any longer and it's simply just sad to see a man of his talent go to complete waste the way he has been and not getting opportunities to be successful. If there's even one parallel I can actually draw to Ric Flair is the "Old Yeller" reference Shawn Michaels made to Flair during his Wrestlemania 24 retirement angle. I honestly just think Miz is a guy that should be put out of his misery at this point. It's going to be really hard for him to rebound from this complete joke that was his Wrestlemania 29 debacle. I've seriously never seen another wrestler rebound from a setback this severe unless they had WCW or another promotion to fall back on, which obviously isn't an option these days.
Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. The problem with him is though is that he's in the hospital more time than the ring these days. Over the course of the past decade, I've seen numerous wrestlers lose their spots and take years to rebound after being removed from television for an extended period of time. And honestly, it actually annoys me that Rey never has this problem. Why not? Because his merchandise, particularly the replica masks, are one of the most expensive and hottest-selling merchandise in the company. There really is no other reason. Could you imagine being a WWE wrestler and immediately getting bumped down the card when this guy shows back up after a year off just because he wears a cool-looking mask? That's what's happening here.
Now as many of you know, I have never cared about the money WWE makes off things like this. Some people use reasons like this to justify what they do, but I am a wrestling fan and I take no other side in the matter. I mean, that's great for Vince McMahon and all, but I'm not Vince McMahon, nor am I a member of his extended family. Nothing about my life changes one bit if Vince adds another zero in front of his bank account. I simply do not care. What I do care about, however, is the entertainment value of the company I've watched since I was a child. I want to see the current wrestlers evolve and get their chances at super-stardom. I want to witness the evolution of wrestling. This becomes difficult when you have situations like Rey Mysterio's holding some of the younger guys back, especially when he's rarely on television anymore yet somehow manages to halt someone's progress when he decides to come back.
Again, I seriously love Mysterio's work and even at his age the guy can still go. But unlike someone like Chris Jericho, Mysterio doesn't make it worth my while. Besides the odd match here and there, he's never been a guy that can hold my interest for an extended period of time. Not to mention Chris Jericho isn't getting injured within an average 3-4 months of every return he makes. It's simply not worth it anymore. I think it might be time for Mysterio to consider opening a wrestling school like was rumored recently and focus on bringing the fans a new crop of bad asses down the line. If he wanted to have one last Wrestlemania run, maybe go out with a match against someone like Sin Cara (something that has been rumored for at least 2 years and keeps getting put-off due to Mysterio's injuries), I would be perfectly fine with that. But for the sake of Mysterio's health, get it out of the way. The last thing I want to witness is one of my favorite wrestlers becoming the next Darren Drozdov quadriplegic and only because he didn't know when to hang it up.
Drew McIntyre
Yes, I realize that jobbers are somewhat needed in the wrestling product and are essential for filling the under-card at house shows and getting new wrestlers with vested interest over quickly, but McIntyre has a slightly different situation. This is a guy that was billed at one point to be hand-picked by Vince McMahon himself and supposedly destined to be a WWE Champion. That was his whole gig and it's practically a bad joke these days. He even had the entrance of a main-eventer and one of my favorite entrance themes of all time and I have no shame in admitting that because it was awesome.
That being said, it's hard to understand how McIntyre has just seemingly been content with the role he's had in the company for the past few years since his initial run. Not many people leave the WWE these days and actually find a better deal elsewhere, but I honestly think McIntyre could be one of those guys. I think he's someone that could go to TNA and actually have better success there. I can't imagine WWE paying him significantly more money at this point considering his non-existent role in the company and the travel schedule would be much lighter. He's actually the only guy I can possibly compare to the Miz in terms of his complete and utter fall from grace, only McIntyre was never as successful as Miz was at any point of his career.
In short, McIntyre is a guy that I always saw potential in despite the fact he was never one of the flashiest wrestlers on the roster, but he has the look and presence of a bonafide superstar and he's simply not going to get that opportunity again in WWE, barring a complete a total repacking similar to what Jack Swagger underwent and I really don't think McIntyre was a guy who ever needed one.
Tensai
The artist formerly known as A-Train seemed to be experiencing a career resurgence last year when he came back to the WWE under his new look and ring name "Lord Tensai". The guy was a legit monster when he first showed up and was strikingly intimidating despite the "Albert" chants he received nightly from the crowd. I always thought it was baffling how someone with a particular personality like D-Lo Brown could return to the WWE for a short period in 2008 and be seemingly forgotten by the WWE fans, yet someone like Tensai who had the blandest personality imaginable during his first run with the company was immediately recognizable. I swear to God that still doesn't make sense to me to this very day.
Tensai's run didn't last long and soon after debuting, he turned on his manager, disappeared from television shortly after that, and soon resurfaced as a babyface for whatever reason, and now he's just worthless in general. I swear this guy was supposed to be in a Wrestlemania 29 match with Brodus Clay and the Bella Twins... what happened with that? Was I just under the wrong impression of when that match was supposed to take place or did that match get completely scratched from the card at the last minute? Don't misunderstand me, I really don't care either way, but I was surprised when Rock/Cena II started so abruptly because I thought they would have the mixed tag match before the main event that night like they usually do with the matches involving the divas. Completely missed my piss break and I needed it because I was drinking hard that night.
Either way, Tensai has just become another bad joke in the WWE and what looked like a promising career at first has now become the role of "jobber-to-the-stars". There's other jobbers on the WWE roster that I didn't pick on (like the Usos, Heath Slater, and Epico) simply because the company does need some jobbers. But Tensai is a big dude, this is certainly not the type of guy you want jobbing because it makes him look ten times more pathetic than smaller wrestlers when they lose. This is a guy that should by all means throwing his weight around and probably even carrying the WWE Championship, but at the end of the day he just seems like a complete idiot who can't wrestle worth a fuck because he never wins and this is why I think he'd be better served heading back to Japan where his career was the most successful.
Big Show
I'll be real with you, nobody in the article makes me feel like more of a complete heel for picking on than Big Show. I really like the guy and always thought he seemed like a very good person outside the ring. He hardly ever wins at Wrestlemania and has always been vastly effective at putting over young talent.
But again, that being said... the guy has been with the company for a very long time and isn't nearly the "unbeatable monster" he once was. This was a guy that at one point posed a serious threat to Brock Lesnar's initial run, and in fact, he beat Lesnar for the championship. I know these giant-types aren't always popular among die hard wrestling fans due to their inability to put on the five-star classics they watch wrestling for, but that's not to say the giant characters aren't effective at what they do and actually necessary from time to time.
However, Big Show hasn't been that type of character in years and it's sad to say that his most memorable moment lately was winning the Intercontinental Championship off Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania 28, a relatively meaningless title these days, as if to say "Yeah thanks for all your hard work, ya big lug" right before he'd go on to lose it a month later. Can you give me a better definition of a "pity reign"? Probably not.
And it's not just his lack of accomplishments I'm picking on either, it's also the total and utter lack of consistent direction with him. Does anyone really care that he just recently turned heel for the 50,000,000th time? Does it really surprise anyone on planet Earth? No, it doesn't. In fact, it's become almost expected of him, as if Vince Russo is personally writing his career considering the swerve-whoring nature of it.
I'm definitely not saying Big Show adds absolutely nothing to the product, because that would be a total overstatement. He's good at what he does and arguably the greatest giant of all time. The problem is that he simply isn't fresh anymore and the company simply doesn't need so many giant wrestlers. Kane has been much more effective in that role in recent years, even though some wouldn't consider Kane a "giant" per say, but he is. The guy is nearly as tall as Big Show, much-more interesting, funnier, and just more diverse talent-wise in general. I honestly don't think a wrestling promotion ever needs more than one of these types of wrestlers because their physical size should be something that sets them apart from the rest of the roster. When Kane showed up in 1997 it was awe-inspiring simply because Undertaker was the only giant on the roster at the time, and it was surreal to know there were now 2 of them and they were very similar. But with the exception of the Great Khali who's rarely on television anymore these days, Big Show is the biggest guy and quite honestly he's just not the spectacle he once was. Less can be more sometimes, and I think Kane's character could be extended by doing away with his physical competition. The same could be said for Khali, but he's rarely on television these days and when he is, it's very brief, non-serious, and comedic in nature, never really posing a threat to anyone important.
Randy Orton
There goes the neighborhood. Yes, I'm totally going here.
Though this may come as a surprise to many, it really shouldn't. This is a guy that should have been made an example of a long time ago. As wrestling fans who frequent the IWC community, we've all learned at one point or another to take internet dirt sheets with a grain of salt as a lot of backstage reports are often not true. However, this is a guy that has popped up countless times over the years in those dirt sheets and one would have to believe that at least some of those reports are true.
Quite honestly, Randy Orton seems like one of the most unprofessional and immature people in all of wrestling. His frequent Wellness Policy violations which are irrefutable in terms of their credibility are just another reason this guy has been stuck in limbo for much of the past few years. He hasn't had a significant match at Wrestlemania since 2009 and one could only assume it's because of his unreliability. In fact, the only reason he has a job right now is probably because of his relationship with Triple H, despite the fact he can still be classified as a draw in the business.
But frankly, I'm done with Orton and have been for a long time. I honestly don't think Orton offers anything that a few other superstars don't and it seems like his presence on pay-per-view cards is flat out forced these days. He doesn't even remember his lines during promos apparently, as evidenced by his promo with Sheamus last Monday, so how could anyone actually believe this is a guy that takes his job seriously? He doesn't. I swear to God he doesn't and it's as clear as day to anyone who isn't a raving fan of his.
What are some other reasons Orton is still around? What about historical reasons? What about the fact he's still currently the youngest WWE Champion of all time? Maybe that's not something WWE wants him to leave the company with. Maybe they need a 20-year-old fresh out of high school to win the title before Orton's historical significance is void and they can finally part ways with him. I know I'm reaching here, but it's really hard for me to justify why someone like him can still be regarded as a priority.
Now I know what some people are going to say, "nobody's perfect" and all that jazz... but Jesus Christ, most people in the WWE are a whole hell of a lot closer to it than him. I'm seriously not even trying to be funny here, the guy honestly just seems like he doesn't give a shit half the time, and when that attitude starts bleeding through to his on-screen character and he seems like he doesn't even know what city he's in, it's just ridiculous. And to think, this was a guy that was instrumental in someone like Ken Kennedy being cut from the company who was a lot fresher than anything Orton has ever done. That's real talk. I'm not taking Kennedy's side in that matter because he certainly wasn't a saint in the matter, but hindsight is always 20/20 and I really think WWE could have gone further with him than they did with Orton.
The one and only redeeming quality I could have pitched for Orton would have been his potential in being a babyface rival in the event the WWE ever turned John Cena heel. The face-by-committee strategy could have been very effective with his contributions, but that's becoming more and more apparent that will never happen any time soon. And honestly, Randy Orton should have headlined a Wrestlemania as a heel against John Cena 1-on-1 a long time ago, but the closest we got to that was Wrestlemania 24 in a triple threat clusterfuck where Triple H was forced into the match for practically no reason only to go on and headline Wrestlemania 25 the next year with Orton in probably the worst Wrestlemania main event of all time that Sid Vicious wasn't affiliated with. Strangely enough, some wrestling fans still want to see that Orton/Cena match at Wrestlemania, but it would be almost bitter sweet now unless Cena was a full-fledged heel. And it's pretty sad when the only redeeming quality I can see in a wrestler is another wrestler's status with company. I just really don't see any more potential in Randy Orton and I think it might be time to move him out of the way so some of these other young guns can get the opportunity he did. Call me crazy all you want, but that's just my outlook on Randy Orton.
Conclusion
If there's one thing in common that all of these wrestlers on my list have it's the fact that they've all had their chances and moments with the company. The WWE has been in a state of rebuilding since 2005 and honestly none of these guys have really taken the company to the next level. These are all guys that pale in comparison to the likes of John Cena and CM Punk, 2 guys who have come closer to achieving the goal WWE set back in 2005 than anyone. It's a matter of whether or not you're content with mediocrity or whether or not you want to make wrestling cool again. None of these guys will get the WWE back to that level and they prevent more possibilities than they achieve just by being on the WWE roster with the little success they've had under their belt and their seniority over other talents who could be more successful carrying the ball.
So why didn't I pick on the likes of jobbers such as Heath Slater, Tyson Kidd, and Evan Bourne? Well the simple answer is that those wrestlers have yet to have a serious run. These are guys that for all we know could still have potential with the company down the road. However, we've seen what people like Big Show, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio bring to the table. We've been seeing it for years. Would the WWE be better or worse without them at this point? I honestly don't have an opinion either way on that, but I definitely think we'll never see the potential in many other younger stars on the WWE roster until they are no longer a factor. All of these guys, with the exception of Miz and McIntyre, have been milked for everything they're worth at this point. And I seriously doubt anyone who watches the WWE for any of these guys is suddenly going to stop watching because they don't wrestle with the company anymore.
Thanks for reading,
We Are Legion