Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2013 17:03:57 GMT -5
I get the feeling that Essa Rios was meant to be a transition champ so they could get the belt off gillberg (a gimmick that was incredibly dated by 2000), and get the belt onto someone else (that someone else was malenko, who also appeared less and less on the main shows by the summer ironically, what was with the WWF treating cruiserweights like that?). Gillberg was actually released not long after WM15 in '99 (much of the mid/low card was let go then - Oddities, Public Enemy, LOD, etc) and the belt just forgotten/retired. Then in early '00, when I guess someone realized that they could use a cruiserweight/lt. heavyweight division, he was brought in for a one-off appearance not long before WM16 to drop the belt to the newly renamed Essa Rios.
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Injustice45
Fry's dog Seymour
Consider me the Athena/Yoshimitsu of Avatars and Signatures.
Posts: 23,917
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Post by Injustice45 on Sept 22, 2013 13:53:51 GMT -5
I remember playing Essa Rios a lot on one of the older WWE video games. Essa Rios was f***ing unstoppable on SmackDown! 2's Season Mode. I only found out about Essa Rios in SmackDown! 2. Gangrel was also in the game, but he wasn't in No Mercy by default.
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MolotovMocktail
Grimlock
Home of the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time 5-time Super Bowl Champion 49ers-and Wrestlemania 31
Posts: 14,055
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Post by MolotovMocktail on Sept 23, 2013 2:29:51 GMT -5
I get the feeling that Essa Rios was meant to be a transition champ so they could get the belt off gillberg (a gimmick that was incredibly dated by 2000), and get the belt onto someone else (that someone else was malenko, who also appeared less and less on the main shows by the summer ironically, what was with the WWF treating cruiserweights like that?). Gillberg was actually released not long after WM15 in '99 (much of the mid/low card was let go then - Oddities, Public Enemy, LOD, etc) and the belt just forgotten/retired. Then in early '00, when I guess someone realized that they could use a cruiserweight/lt. heavyweight division, he was brought in for a one-off appearance not long before WM16 to drop the belt to the newly renamed Essa Rios. He did have a handful of matches in between that. One was during one of the WWF's UK ppv's, and a squash appearance on Raw where HHH challenged one of the champions, and hand-selected Gillberg. As for Gangrel and Essa, while they were not only relegated to Jakked/Heat, they both seemed to waffle between face and heel week to week.
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Post by crowwreak was WRONG on Sept 26, 2013 12:25:30 GMT -5
I miss both guys. WWE needs another vampire gimmick, they're always fun. In fact, given the popularity of vampires since Twilight, I'm actually shocked WWE hasn't jumped on the bandwagon and given a good looking guy like Gabriel a vampire gimmick. That's why Kevin Thorn was pissed about his gimmick being cancelled.
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Post by chronocross on Sept 26, 2013 13:15:33 GMT -5
I remember seeing Essa Rios on quite a few Raw/SD shows, even having a brief feud with Eddie Guerrero that got him a PPV match at (I think) Backlash.
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TGM
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,073
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Post by TGM on Sept 26, 2013 15:51:20 GMT -5
Two of my favourites as a kid, but god were they dull looking back.
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