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Post by DiBiase is Good on Oct 31, 2021 17:55:09 GMT -5
His initial run in the WWF was weird. He debuts in a backstage segment at WM12, then at the next PPV he gets a DQ win on the free for all. He makes his proper PPV debut with a win over HHH at Beware of Dog and then jobs for the next four PPVs (one of which was a dark match). Then he wins the IC title. For a guy who was brought in for a lot of money and a decent amount of fanfare, he was booked like shit. WWE kills off momentum of a new potential star? That doesn't sound like them? Back then though they weren’t really like that and 96 has a couple of fine examples. Mankind debuted around this time and was booked like an absolute beast for the next six months. They also booked Austin well as they let the 3:16 stuff embed itself into the fans rather than over-book him. They also booked the Warrior strongly at the same time but he decided to be his usual unreliable self. |
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Oct 31, 2021 18:03:55 GMT -5
Despite the attitude WWE has taken on in the past few years... (and yes some of hte earlier attitudes of the IWC)
there is nothing wrong with being a midcarder... and I think that was Mero's ceiling.
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Oct 31, 2021 18:53:43 GMT -5
Hahahahaha
.... AAAAAAAAhahahahahaha
... Hehehehe
..hehe..
...he...
God no
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Oct 31, 2021 19:00:23 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels vs. Marc Mero could've easily headlined one of the PPVs in 1996.
Build up Mero as undefeated and maybe with the IC title too.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Oct 31, 2021 20:20:20 GMT -5
MARCO!
MERO!
MARCO!
MERO!
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Post by jason1980s on Oct 31, 2021 20:50:59 GMT -5
You're channeling your inner Gorilla when he introduced Art Donovan. Todd said "Marc. Ma-Ro!" I personally never got Sable. I know she was like 28 or 29 but she looked 45-50 years old even in 1996. I never understood why anyone thought she was so amazing. She looked older than her current husband is now, in 1996. But Marc himself has been able to move on and has embraced a lifestyle of kindness towards others and self actualization that I'm sure his ex and her husband are probably pretty desperate for. But because all they've ever known is money, money, money, money, money (like the Ted Dibiase song) they will never known what true happiness is like Marc Mero has felt for so long. |
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Oct 31, 2021 22:45:46 GMT -5
Nah, as Badd that character wasn't a main event guy. As Mero he didn't have a personality at all. Couple that with the fact that he was only ever pretty good in the ring and that's not a world champion.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Nov 1, 2021 5:58:26 GMT -5
WWE kills off momentum of a new potential star? That doesn't sound like them? Back then though they weren’t really like that and 96 has a couple of fine examples. Mankind debuted around this time and was booked like an absolute beast for the next six months. They also booked Austin well as they let the 3:16 stuff embed itself into the fans rather than over-book him. They also booked the Warrior strongly at the same time but he decided to be his usual unreliable self. I think the mentality was always there, just moreso prevalent now as there isn't a purpose (national expansion) or needing to adapt because the competition will gobble them up. Austin said McMahon wasn't overly impressed by him initially and neither was he by Foley, but was happy to sign Mark Henry on more money than Mero, Austin or anyone else. |
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Post by eJm on Nov 1, 2021 6:02:10 GMT -5
His initial run in the WWF was weird. He debuts in a backstage segment at WM12, then at the next PPV he gets a DQ win on the free for all. He makes his proper PPV debut with a win over HHH at Beware of Dog and then jobs for the next four PPVs (one of which was a dark match). Then he wins the IC title. For a guy who was brought in for a lot of money and a decent amount of fanfare, he was booked like shit. Not only that, he was the first guy they gave a guaranteed contract to, basically as a way to attract him from WCW. Like, it's part of their structure now to do that but to do all that and then screw around with him from the off? That's just weird. It'd be like if the moment PSG signed Lionel Messi, he became a bench player for most of the season. If that was your plan, why pay him so much? |
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Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Nov 1, 2021 6:25:27 GMT -5
World Champion? No. Upper midcarder who could challenge at a B PPV in 96-97 or a random Saturday Night/Nitro in WCW before that? Sure, why not.
I feel for the guy, because his in-ring work from early 94 until blowing out his knee was really good. But then Sable blew up and the guy never had a chance. The heel boxer thing could have worked but he was deader than dead the second he started taking f***ing powerbombs from her
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Post by Milkman Norm on Nov 1, 2021 8:45:04 GMT -5
Didn’t they really want Sable and it was just kind of a package deal? These days I wonder if they didn’t decide paying Karrion Kross was worth it to get Scarlett. I always thought they wanted Marc, then when Marc came in and then they saw his wife and started lusting over her. Vince wanted Johnny B Badd thinking it was a gimmick Mero developed independently. But it was a Turner IP so they were stuck with a guy who had gotten a gimmick over he couldn't use. |
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Magnus the Magnificent
King Koopa
didn't want one.
I could write a book about what you don't know!
Posts: 12,510 
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Post by Magnus the Magnificent on Nov 1, 2021 9:49:18 GMT -5
With some major tweaks, maybe?
1. Wrong time. 1993-1998 was stacked with better and more over talent in the main event, both in WCW and WWF. 15 years later, I can easily picture him as champ.
2. Gimmick doesn't gel. Johnny B Badd and "Wildman" Marc Mero are midcard gimmicks. Good ones, but not quite main event, IMO. "Marvelous" Marc Mero would fit better, but any credibility he had was long gone by then.
Combine JBB/Wildman's in-ring skills with the Marvelous gimmick and time travel him to 2010, then we're talking.
As it was, he had all the tools, but not at the same/correct time.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Nov 1, 2021 10:09:04 GMT -5
Johnny B Badd was amazingly, but I never saw the “main eventer killer instinct” in him. Before the injuries and the Marvelous “don’t buy Sable’s magazine which is on sale now” run, he had some awesome performances in WCW, him and DDP blew the roof off the joint.
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Post by celtics543 on Nov 1, 2021 10:12:03 GMT -5
I actually kind of dug the boxer gimmick when I was a kid. TKO robe, black bandana and the shorts I thought was a pretty cool look. He wasn't going to usurp Austin at that point and with guys like Rock, Kane, Undertaker, Mankind, HHH, etc there was just no spot for him. He could've been kind of the heel version of DX XPac. A midcard role where he can swing up to main event if they needed an extra heel.
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Post by jason1980s on Nov 1, 2021 10:17:20 GMT -5
I wonder what would become of his marriage if he stayed with WCW. He was trying to be a loyal husband and father by turning down the Kimberly angle and sadly his wife wound up leaving him anyway. I'm guessing he would stay with WCW until the end and then come over and be buried like DDP in 2001.
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Post by Tiger Millionaire on Nov 1, 2021 11:56:48 GMT -5
Marc Mero was done right before being a World Heavyweight Champion lost all it's meaning. Now, sure, why not. But in 99, he's not at that level.
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Post by Hit Girl on Nov 1, 2021 12:18:38 GMT -5
You're channeling your inner Gorilla when he introduced Art Donovan. Todd said "Marc. Ma-Ro!" I personally never got Sable. I know she was like 28 or 29 but she looked 45-50 years old even in 1996. I never understood why anyone thought she was so amazing. She looked older than her current husband is now, in 1996. But Marc himself has been able to move on and has embraced a lifestyle of kindness towards others and self actualization that I'm sure his ex and her husband are probably pretty desperate for. But because all they've ever known is money, money, money, money, money (like the Ted Dibiase song) they will never known what true happiness is like Marc Mero has felt for so long. Sable always looked like a rock star's third ex-wife. |
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Post by Aceorton on Nov 1, 2021 13:22:00 GMT -5
even when having good matches he looked sloppy. His psychology felt off, his athleticism rather uncontrolled. He had some great babyface fire and the crowds were mostly into him. This is a very accurate description of his work at the time. He always seemed disjointed. Much of his signature offense was spots with a high risk of botching or hurting the other guy (shooting star press, Merosault, somersaults to the floor, top-rope sunset flip, that reverse rollup with his feet that busted Austin open at KOTR). Against heels who were top-shelf technical workers (Austin, Owen, HHH), it felt a little more held-together, but you could tell he needed them for the match to be decent. |
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Post by koreycaskets on Nov 1, 2021 13:35:49 GMT -5
I personally think he would have made a great transitional World Champ in WWF. BUT a month long reign not win it at In Your House, lose it on a Raw sorta thing.
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tafkaga
Samurai Cop
the Dogfather
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Post by tafkaga on Nov 1, 2021 15:46:17 GMT -5
I wonder what would become of his marriage if he stayed with WCW. He was trying to be a loyal husband and father by turning down the Kimberly angle and sadly his wife wound up leaving him anyway. I'm guessing he would stay with WCW until the end and then come over and be buried like DDP in 2001. It's always sad when something like that happens but it was probably inevitable and for the best where Marc is concerned. People are who they are and I've always felt that if they're going to screw me over, do it asap. Don't wait 20 years when it's harder to start over. |
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