Watching RVD is sad.

[Bub (BLM)]

His match with Joe just ended, and man, he just doesn't have it anymore. I understand that he's 39 and can't fly around the ring like he used to, and that's fine. But he seemingly refuses to adapt his style to something that works better for his current physical condition, and it shows.

Keep the Frog Splash and Rolling Thunder obviously, but it's time to add some submissions and suplexes to the arsenal. The old shit isn't working anymore.

[Deleted]

Tell me about it. Samoa Joe carried him throughout the entire match. But then again, he is kind of like how X-Pac was back in 2001, a bunch of kicks and not much of actual wrestling.

[AriadosMan]

Meh, he still looks better than Sting did in the last match I saw him in, which has to count for something.

[Alex Shelley]

Yeah, that was terrible... It made me sad :/

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

The guy's been doing this for years, I can't see how people are surprised that RVD only does the exact same handful of moves.

[Bub (BLM)]

Jul 9, 2010 0:43:44 GMT -5 Spankymac is sick of the swiss said:

The guy's been doing this for years, I can't see how people are surprised that RVD only does the exact same handful of moves.

It's not just that, though. The handful he is doing now look like crap. At least he used to be good at the few moves he did. He doesn't even look athletic anymore.

[Dave at the Movies]

I'll have to reserve my judgment before I see the match. I know RVD doesn't work as hard as he did in ECW which probably makes him slow now but I've never seen him have a "bad match".

[wcw]

It was far from a bad match. It was good but not great. RVD 5 years ago would have had a great match with Joe. Joe carried him big time but RVD is far from shot however he can still put on a performance its just he lost a step and it shows. All in all its not sad but just a reminder that not everyone can be great forever.

[Ryushinku]

RVD In Lazy Effort Shocker.

On the other hand, spare tyre and all, encouraging that Joe can still go better than almost everyone in TNA. Be nice if he got that chance more often.

[mrsocko]

RVD is overrated as hell. He was great back in the ECW days when he was tagging/feuding with Sabu, but most of the stuff since then has just been a watered down rehash of the same old shit.
It is not just his moves which bother me: he doesn't sell, he has no ring psychology and he always does that thing with his arms to get people to say his name.
Five Star, Frog, Splash - RVD's most favourite things in the world.

[Roo]

RVD's been past it for years. I don't think I've enjoyed a single match of his in about four years,

[________ has left the building]

RVD just going through the motions in his matches for the last 4 years. And will he stop throwing punches because they look like crap. I really wish he would at least attempt to mix things up. Cut the skullet. Stop wearing the Buff Bagwell inspired tights. Add some MMA moves to his moveset. You can always count on Him for a good match but not for a great match.

[generationxero]

Not everyone can be a Japanese wrestler ya know?

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

I thoroughly enjoyed the match.

[Deleted]

I thought the match was decent, I do agree RVD looks beaten down and his moves are less impressive but I don't hate him for it. As a figurehead of the company he's meant to appease the fans there with his signature moves and I know that really he should be trying to work some more ground based moves due to his age but...well he is very laid back to put it politely.

Also in that match despite me ragging on Joe sometimes, he was carrying it, superbly. I usually get annoyed by Joe as I really enjoy his matches (he's spectacular as a wrestler) but his weight makes me think "he looks bad," when he's slighgtly husky he looks like a killer, but he does look a bit, y'know, unthreateningly fat the last year and a half.

[joeiscool]

uhhh rvd has always looked beaten down during matches. It's the way he sells....


I think it's really less of rvd becoming older as much as it's aj, kaz, and others having a more crisp high flying style.

[cabbageboy]

Matches like the RVD/Sting PPV match are sad. Matches like RVD/Joe from last night are encouraging. I've said it on here in the past that RVD has lost a step, but he IS nearly 40 and that's fairly old for a high flying wrestler.

RVD isn't that bad at psychology in some respects. He's not great at selling long term leg work, but too much of his style involves using his legs. In a way I wonder if RVD will look back 20 years from now and regret being largely absent from mainstream wrestling from 2007-10. Those could have been some solid years for him.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2010 8:39:23 GMT -5 generationxero said:

Not everyone can be a Japanese wrestler ya know?

You see that in a lot of puroresu guys, though. Just so much wear and tear on them, they can't do much besides a few signature moves after a while.

I dunno, he looked alright to me but he's been phoning it in for a while now, at least in the sense of varying what he does in a match. He's very paint by the numbers now.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Jul 9, 2010 6:34:53 GMT -5 Roo said:

RVD's been past it for years. I don't think I've enjoyed a single match of his in about four years,

Well that doesn't say much he was away from wrestling for two of the last four years. Also yeah he is near 40 years old. Which I agree most high flyers loss a step at that age. Also keep in mind he had reconstractive knee surgery in his history that kept him out a year there too.

[nerdinitupagain]

Jul 9, 2010 11:20:04 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

Jul 9, 2010 6:34:53 GMT -5 Roo said:

RVD's been past it for years. I don't think I've enjoyed a single match of his in about four years,

Well that doesn't say much he was away from wrestling for two of the last four years. Also yeah he is near 40 years old. Which I agree most high flyers loss a step at that age. Also keep in mind he had reconstractive knee surgery in his history that kept him out a year there too.

This exactly.