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Post by karl100589 on Jul 26, 2020 1:03:01 GMT -5
Had he put on some f***ing pants, it’s possible. No thong wearing fatty was gonna main event 'Mania.Some colorful tights and a nice knit cap could have made the difference though.
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4real
Wade Wilson
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Post by 4real on Jul 26, 2020 5:14:25 GMT -5
He even said it was stupid for him to win the IC title, as he thought it lowered his worth. What a shitty attitude to have. Pretty much. Considering that some of the other people that held the IC title in 2000 were Jericho, Angle, Benoit & Guerrero clearly he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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Post by mikeoldmac on Jul 26, 2020 12:05:17 GMT -5
he could have done abit more during 2000 maybe...
when he was teaming with rock and foley 99/00 kinda time he was over as a face then and 2000 rumble he had a good display in that
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Jul 26, 2020 12:08:41 GMT -5
He could have been used in that period as a transitional champ to get from a heel to another heel, especially in the days of reigns that could literally go from a PPV to the Raw the next day.
But as a serious champ with a long reign and multiple PPV headlines? No.
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Johnny
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Post by Johnny on Jul 26, 2020 16:19:19 GMT -5
He had his chance, and it wasn't great compared to the rest of the talent they had. I'm not sure I remember any great rikishi matches, maybe the cage match with Venis. I think he found his right level for most of his run.
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the2ndevil
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Post by the2ndevil on Jul 26, 2020 18:03:29 GMT -5
Prior to him being revealed as the driver that ran over Stone Cold, absolutely.
He never recovered from that heel turn.
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on Jul 26, 2020 19:54:12 GMT -5
He didn't feel out of place in that six way for the title, but it's like when WWE has Cesaro challenge for something now. Not really a legit threat because you know there's no way they're actually putting the title on him.
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thecrusherwi
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Post by thecrusherwi on Jul 27, 2020 6:18:50 GMT -5
He was strongly pushed as an upper midcard babyface in 2000 and it’s not like he was treated as Brodus Clay or something. He was positioned as a badass who also like to dance and joke around with his buddies. He didn’t lose clean often if at all. They gave him an injury angle to lose the King of the Ring Final to Kurt Angle. As others have said, the reason he didn’t get the main event is because of the roster. You would really go with Rikishi over prime Rock or prime Jericho or Undertaker or Kane? Even the Dudleys were over as a semi-main event act. 2000 might have been the strongest WWE ever was on the babyface side. And that’s with Austin out with injury.
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Push R Truth
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Post by Push R Truth on Jul 27, 2020 6:24:56 GMT -5
Dude was massively over in a group, but I think his singles career "pinnacle" was "Monster of the Month"
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Post by Hit Girl on Jul 27, 2020 10:48:16 GMT -5
No.
His role was mid card comedy act.
He'll probably hit me with a car for saying that.
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Post by chronocross on Jul 27, 2020 11:12:37 GMT -5
Nah, he was good where he was with the occasional TV main event against the likes of Triple-H or Big Show. I remember one episode of Smackdown where he nearly won the title from Triple-H and the crowd went nuts for it.
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auph10imitated
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Post by auph10imitated on Jul 30, 2020 16:09:00 GMT -5
Absolutely. I feel if a Dude Love or even a goofy Olympic Kurt Angle could main event during the Attitude Era then Rikishi was over enough and competent in the ring enough to main event, the biggest mistake ever was turning him heel. After that there was no going back, he just slotted into a comedy low card role afterwards
I guess In late 2000 they were low on heels but I feel he was the wrong one to turn at that point. But that said who else was there? Undertaker? Kane? (He kind of did with coffee-gate) Jericho? (Too soon)
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Ben Wyatt
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Jul 31, 2020 14:35:14 GMT -5
While his heel turn could have been a success by fixing a few mistakes, his ceiling was always going to be a very strong upper midcarder. Considering what his career was until the Rikishi character and the strong as f*** roster they had during his height, that's nothing at all to scoff at
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rrg251
Don Corleone
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Post by rrg251 on Jul 31, 2020 21:19:45 GMT -5
I think the biggest detriment to Rikishi as a viable main event star was the other main event faces at the time. He was there at the time when Austin, Rock, Undertaker, and Foley were around. The time to push him was early 2000, while Austin and Undertaker were injured and Foley was constantly fired/retired/on his last chance.
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Glitch
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Post by Glitch on Aug 1, 2020 6:45:53 GMT -5
No. The Too Cool dancing probably extended his limited role as it was. His spot was always the midcard.
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Post by Viking Hall on Aug 1, 2020 7:32:12 GMT -5
Based on sheer overness, he absolutely could have been. The pops he was getting in amongst some of the biggest stars the industry has ever produced are no joke, it's insane how into him people were. As an in ring threat, he had believability. A guy that big, who moved the way he did is an instant threat to anyone on the roster. He wasn't fantastic on the mic, but he had enough charisma to make up for that and a look that made him instantly stand out too.
Anyone who doesn't think he had 'It' needs to watch the 2000 Royal Rumble where he just wrecks everybody.
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Post by timelimitdraw on Aug 1, 2020 17:25:03 GMT -5
If they hadn't done that lackluster "I did it for the Rock" angle? Absolutely, probably around 2002-2003 when the company had two brands and two World titles. That angle and lame follow-up pretty much killed any upward trajectory he had in that gimmick.
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