Chris Sabin and the TNA World title

[________ has left the building]

This thread is meant to recognized the glorious 28 day reign of Sabin and his future.


Who can forget the time he faced Manik in a champion vs champion match?

Or the time he pinned Bully Ray in a tag team match? Or the time he said Bully was full of crap and his breath smelled like feces? He started from the bottom and got treated like one by Bully Ray. Sure he won some house show matches during that time but no one talks about TNA house shows. So where does Lex Luger Chris Sabin goes from here? Back to the X Division? Rematch against Ray? Short term hiatus? So what is next for him?

[StuntGranny®]

I would think they'd put him back in the X-Division. I'm not sure how they expect anyone to take him seriously when it comes to the TNA title.

Also, it's like the ref in the first picture somehow knew how embarrassing his reign as champion would be. His facial expression says it all.

[Bram wants to 'urt you]

A big part of the problem with Sabin's run to me was down to his selling. The guy is great in the ring and has also come on leaps and bounds on the mic imo, however he still sells like a tag wrestler. Watch any of his matches with Bully and picture Alex Shelley standing on the apron, waiting to make the hot tag, and you instantly see what's wrong with the picture.

A wrestler of his size and moves should only ever be briefly winded by an opponent, so that when they get their second (third, fourth, whatever) wind they can come back with a flurry of offense. Prime example - watch an Aries match and compare it to Sabin - If both wrestlers are trains, Aries is temporarily stopped while Sabin is completely knocked off the rails.

When you're of that size, your character's strengths are threefold - speed, agility and resiliency. Sabin's selling simply doesn't make him FEEL resilient, it makes it feel as if he needs to tag out, take a breather and then tag back in for the finish.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

My problem with Sabin's run is he was made to look pathetic in the match he won the title. Bully beat the crap out of him, jawed with Rampage in the middle of the match, and Sabin only won thanks to a hammer. The booking made it look like Sabin wasn't even close to Bully's level. It should have been a lot closer match with Sabin using his speed, agility and Bully's overconfidence against Bully.

Aug 16, 2013 7:41:55 GMT -5 Bram wants to 'urt you said:

When you're of that size, your character's strengths are threefold - speed, agility and resiliency. Sabin's selling simply doesn't make him FEEL resilient, it makes it feel as if he needs to tag out, take a breather and then tag back in for the finish.

I loved in the tag match against Bully and Devon where he got his leg worked on the entire match, and then hits a missile dropkick and does a kip up.

[Emmet Russell]

I do have to give credit for giving a company-man like Sabin, who worked through numerous injuries, a run with their top title. I can't imagine WWE all of a sudden giving a guy like Kofi Kingston a WWE Title run (World Title doesn't count.)

I thought he looked really good with the title & had some good matches during it. His Champion vs. Champion match with Manik being a highlight for me - although too be fair, there wasn't a hugeeeee heap of matches to choose from.

Problem with Sabin was he doesn't have the charisma of a guy like Aries to pull off a long-term, believable title-reign like Aries did back when he won it from Bobby Roode. I'm sure he's happy that the company rewarded him for his hard work - both over the years and his two leg injuries back to back - & didn't keep him stagnant & just wrestling in a tag-team or random X-Division matches. They thought outside the box & it was nice to see.

[JTG Fan]

[Deleted]

damn, that "breath smells like shit" promo was terrible. Whoever wrote and/or suggested that should be fired post haste.

[lovingway]

I feel his reign was sort of like the Swagger reign in that it was too early in the Destination X concept to have the X Champ lose to the World champ to keep up the novelty and Sabin was not that defined in a role since coming back from injury that the loss would have a purpose

[Young Game]

Where does Chris Sabin go from here?
He goes home with Velvet Sky, they get "Kite Mode", and play some X-Box Live.

Good work, if you can get it.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

the fact that Sabin got a longer reign than James Storm is just sad.

[thelonewolf527]

Simon Dean Ambrose doesn't come off as a World Champion at all

Then again "World Champion"...

[Talent Name]

So 28 Days Later the Rage has died down from Sabin winning?

[ratetankmark]

The promo picture they used for Sabin in the tag team match promo looks like his reaction when he found out he was losing the title.

[SOR]

I think the Sabin World Title run is proof that guys like Daniels or other skinny guys can't really be successful World Champions in TNA.

Unless you are amazing on the mic you really do need a body. It wasn't realistic for Sabin to be beating Bully and even a guy like AJ Styles dwarfs him.

I am surprised at how quickly FAN turned on the guy though.

[________ has left the building]

No, Sabin is proof if you toss a guy to the main event level without building them up and treating them as such; it's going to fall flat. Sabin's size got nothing to do with it. Aries was over as champion and he's 3 apples tall. Sabin's matches with Bully were way too one sided with Sabin's strengths being neutralized. And a number of people are down on Sabin's run because of those things. He won the title by cheating after being snuffed for over 15 minutes. TNA made you aware it was going to be a short reign by adding that stip last week to that match. Even if Sabin got on the Juice and got treated the same, the results would not change.

[cahuette]

Aug 16, 2013 21:42:12 GMT -5 SOR said:

I think the Sabin World Title run is proof that guys like Daniels or other skinny guys can't really be successful World Champions in TNA.

Unless you are amazing on the mic you really do need a body. It wasn't realistic for Sabin to be beating Bully and even a guy like AJ Styles dwarfs him.

I am surprised at how quickly FAN turned on the guy though.

Is Swagger a proof that guys like Cena or Batista or other big guys can't really be successful world champions? Because it was basically the same thing.

[kidglov3s]

Aug 16, 2013 21:51:43 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

No, Sabin is proof if you toss a guy to the main event level without building them up and treating them as such; it's going to fall flat. Sabin's size got nothing to do with it. Aries was over as champion and he's 3 apples tall. Sabin's matches with Bully were way too one sided with Sabin's strengths being neutralized. And a number of people are down on Sabin's run because of those things. He won the title by cheating after being snuffed for over 15 minutes. TNA made you aware it was going to be a short reign by adding that stip last week to that match. Even if Sabin got on the Juice and got treated the same, the results would not change.

I would second all of this. Not for one moment could anyone see Sabin as legitimate. He was the secondary guy in a tag team, out with injury for over a year, comes back and randomly within a month wins the X Title twice and the World title. He has a bad look but it's much more to do with his hair and his facial expressions than his height, imo. The entire project was botched but it's no referendum against short guys or 'internet' guys. And as far as turning on him, find a thread where there was ever a consensus that Sabin should return in June 2013, begin a singles career, become world champion in July 2013 is the direction TNA should have taken.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

Aug 16, 2013 21:42:12 GMT -5 SOR said:

I think the Sabin World Title run is proof that guys like Daniels or other skinny guys can't really be successful World Champions in TNA.

Unless you are amazing on the mic you really do need a body. It wasn't realistic for Sabin to be beating Bully and even a guy like AJ Styles dwarfs him.

I am surprised at how quickly FAN turned on the guy though.

Bullshit. He was booked as a fluke champion and looked weak when he lost the title as he got marginally more offense in then when he won the title.

[SOR]

Aug 16, 2013 21:51:43 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

No, Sabin is proof if you toss a guy to the main event level without building them up and treating them as such; it's going to fall flat. Sabin's size got nothing to do with it. Aries was over as champion and he's 3 apples tall. Sabin's matches with Bully were way too one sided with Sabin's strengths being neutralized. And a number of people are down on Sabin's run because of those things. He won the title by cheating after being snuffed for over 15 minutes. TNA made you aware it was going to be a short reign by adding that stip last week to that match. Even if Sabin got on the Juice and got treated the same, the results would not change.

Aries has a body, he's short but he looks like an athlete. Chris Sabin looks like an every day guy.

They also did build Sabin up. He came back won the X-Division Title then they did that mini Aries story line and Sabin beat him. People just don't care about the 205 pound 5'9 guy who can wrestle good.

Aug 16, 2013 21:58:29 GMT -5 cahuette said:

Aug 16, 2013 21:42:12 GMT -5 SOR said:

I think the Sabin World Title run is proof that guys like Daniels or other skinny guys can't really be successful World Champions in TNA.

Unless you are amazing on the mic you really do need a body. It wasn't realistic for Sabin to be beating Bully and even a guy like AJ Styles dwarfs him.

I am surprised at how quickly FAN turned on the guy though.

Is Swagger a proof that guys like Cena or Batista or other big guys can't really be successful world champions? Because it was basically the same thing.

Not really. If you look back into wrestling there's been maybe 1 successful World Champion who was small and didn't have a great body and that's CM Punk.

Big guys have dominated for years and are proven draws. You say Jack Swagger I say Hulk Ho gan.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

Aug 16, 2013 22:12:45 GMT -5 SOR said:

Aug 16, 2013 21:51:43 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

No, Sabin is proof if you toss a guy to the main event level without building them up and treating them as such; it's going to fall flat. Sabin's size got nothing to do with it. Aries was over as champion and he's 3 apples tall. Sabin's matches with Bully were way too one sided with Sabin's strengths being neutralized. And a number of people are down on Sabin's run because of those things. He won the title by cheating after being snuffed for over 15 minutes. TNA made you aware it was going to be a short reign by adding that stip last week to that match. Even if Sabin got on the Juice and got treated the same, the results would not change.

Aries has a body, he's short but he looks like an athlete. Chris Sabin looks like an every day guy.

They also did build Sabin up. He came back won the X-Division Title then they did that mini Aries story line and Sabin beat him. People just don't care about the 205 pound 5'9 guy who can wrestle good.

Oh yes, what a story.

"Oh wow, this guy is coming back from a knee injury. Don't tell anyone about his knee injury because we don't want them to hurt his knee anymore during a match."

"Oh wow, the guy with the injured knee beat up a fat man that isn't fat anymore by being beaten up for 15 minutes before having to cheat to win. Hasn't he been booked so strong?"

"Oh wow, injured knee guy is going to defend his title in a cage match against the big mean not fat man who won't be able to get title shots anymore if he loses. I wonder if the not-fat man will actually lose this match and not in any way dominate the match"

"Oh wow, the injured knee guy had his title cost by the MMA guy who has never wrestled before and was hanging around Sting for five minutes before betraying him. Who could have expected this to happen?"