schma
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,739
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Post by schma on Dec 27, 2013 2:55:42 GMT -5
His gimmick had kinda been done, hadn't it? You had Rey Mysterio and maybe the whole point of 'unique flying masked little guy' was that there was only one. That was probably one of the biggest problems with the WWE cruiserweight scene. Don't get me wrong it had some great years but WCW never shied away from making great use of the luchadores (they were honestly my favourite part of Nitro for the last few years). WWE rarely had more than two luchadores. When they brought in Juventud and Psycosis they were unmasked. Really, Ultimo could have been much bigger. The thing is, he'd been around for quite some time at that point. Hell most of the big time luchadores at that point had been mentored by him. So it's entirely possible that he was getting close to retirement. Also, he wasn't just high flying moves, he had a number of traditional technical maneuvers too. WWE would have benefited greatly from picking up the cruiserweight division and transferring the best members over to WWE. They brought some but not enough.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2013 6:55:54 GMT -5
Dude was 37 when he was hired and worked a more technical style than the high flying he had done in WCW, I think. He was the opposite of what Vince was expecting.
Random note, he recently won the All Japan Junior Heavyweight Championship.
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543Y2J
Patti Mayonnaise
Seventh level .gif Master
Posts: 38,794
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Post by 543Y2J on Dec 27, 2013 9:08:56 GMT -5
I enjoyed his work in WWE, even though there is little of it. I am glad you clarified in the OP that he specifically failed in getting a conection with the audience, instead of how I orignally read it in your thread title as his entire run could be viewed as a failure.
He had good matches with Rey, Noble, Tajiri among others and he was/is incredibly crisp in the ring (especially when you consider the age he was at when he signed). Good for him knowing specifically what he wanted to do which was the perform in MSG/Mania and he did that, while still being able to retain his original gimmick/mask/name something very few people can say they have been able to do in WWE at the start of the new century.
I have always liked the guy, yes although he failed to connect to the audience within the short amount of time he was in the company in the grand scheme of things I don't think his overall run should be viewed as a failure due, to his fun/crisp/technical and high flying hybrid style all being presented. Outside of his couple of slips he had at XX in his entrance I can't think of any other time when he had a major spill or botch, which is a compliment to him when he came over to WWE (which can be classed as a totally different style in itself in America).
On the other hand failure of a well known international star coming over to WWE is a word a phrase I associate with original Sin Cara, and I think that both on the company and the man himself slipping up during his run in the past few years.
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Post by AnActualBear on Dec 27, 2013 10:57:14 GMT -5
Vince thought he was still the high flyer he was in WWE, but didn't realise he was much older than Rey. He'd gone to a more technical style based around stiff strikes and quick takedowns as opposed to doing springboard whatever's every 30 seconds. Besides, he had 3 goals: work for WWE, wrestle in MSG and work at a Wrestlemania and he achieved them, so good for him.
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Gummydavidson
Dennis Stamp
Johnny Davidson for Prime Minister!
Posts: 3,933
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Post by Gummydavidson on Dec 27, 2013 11:41:26 GMT -5
It didn't help that WWE decided to job him out to Eddie Guerrero in his 2nd match.
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Sephiroth
Wade Wilson
Surviving
Posts: 28,916
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Post by Sephiroth on Dec 27, 2013 11:47:06 GMT -5
I always figured that WWE brought him in for the specific purpose of feuding with Rey over the CW title-a dream match for many. But they were expecting him to be a high flyer like his WCW days and instead he was using a more ground based, martial arts kind of style; his injuries really left him no choice but to adapt that way. When they realized he wasn't going to be a high flyer they immediately de-pushed him. But Dragon got what he had been angling for: he got to appear at Wrestlemania in Madison Square Garden.
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