|
Post by Feyrhausen on Aug 16, 2023 12:11:57 GMT -5
Kind of weird example, but the Matrix esque vignettes hyped up Gail Kim as a female Rey Mysterio type in terms of being a high flyer which as it turned wasn't really her strength. She had a really solid career and Impact demonstrated how good she was as a more mat based worker, but those initial 2003 videos are just weird in hindsight. Yeah they had an article on her in WWE magazine before her debut. She talked about doing Lucha. I guess since she was asian and had worked in Mexico they figured she had to be a woman Rey Mysterio. Kind of like they figured Ultimo Dragon had to wrestle like Rey because he was a cruiserweight in a mask.
|
|
|
Post by kingoftheindies on Aug 16, 2023 12:19:46 GMT -5
Nathan Jones is the first one I thought of. Guy was given some of the coolest hype WWE ever came up with but he was nowhere near ready to wrestle on that stage.
Boogeyman is one I always thought wrestlers would be resentful towards due to the lying about his age and getting signed, but he seems universally loved by his peers with most saying the only reason he didn't make it was because he was made of glass (they talk about how literally he would tear muscles just by walking)
|
|
|
Post by yokohamacpfc on Aug 16, 2023 13:09:57 GMT -5
Brakkus, his hype videos lasted for the best part of a year and he made about three televised appearances. Another Brawl for All victim as he was a bodybuilder who signed up for a fight against Savio Vega (a legit tough guy it is said) thinking it would be a worked match.
Vince was looking for someone for the large and loyal German market so I'm surprised he didn't sign Alex Wright when WCW folded. The son-in-law could have gotten his win back as well.
|
|
|
Post by Aceorton on Aug 16, 2023 13:12:20 GMT -5
How about Outback Jack? Same months of hype, then just a midcarder/jobber to the stars. 100%, yes. The moment the bell rang on Outback Jack's first match, the wheels came right off. The WWF was great at bringing in other promotions' talents with new gimmicks or at least a fresh paint job. New stars? Not so much. See: Kirchner, Corporal. Ken Patera's return in 1987 should be on this list, too. Trying to pin what he did on Heenan was ridiculous. He's a real-life heel who threw a tantrum over hamburgers and crippled a woman. If the internet had existed back then, not a single person would have cheered the guy ever again.
|
|
|
Post by Milkman Norm on Aug 16, 2023 13:21:46 GMT -5
How about Outback Jack? Same months of hype, then just a midcarder/jobber to the stars. 100%, yes. The moment the bell rang on Outback Jack's first match, the wheels came right off. The WWF was great at bringing in other promotions' talents with new gimmicks or at least a fresh paint job. New stars? Not so much. See: Kirchner, Corporal. Ken Patera's return in 1987 should be on this list, too. Trying to pin what he did on Heenan was ridiculous. He's a real-life heel who threw a tantrum over hamburgers and crippled a woman. If the internet had existed back then, not a single person would have cheered the guy ever again. Also he had stopped dying and perming his hair, he looked like he'd aged 20 years between the winter of 85 and the summer of 87 and his babyface promos were terrible.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2023 13:24:10 GMT -5
What about Sean o’ Hare? Then again, I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know. Winner. Million dollar idea, great vignettes but then he had to be given a live mic and the bell ran.
The vignettes were cool, but to this day I have no idea how that character was supposed to translate over to being a wrestler, either.
|
|
|
Post by buckethead on Aug 16, 2023 13:54:08 GMT -5
Winner winner chicken dinner! While it didn't last long, the way the Russian Assassin was hyped as some indestructible monster and then is shown to have zero skills at anything was pretty cringe and embarrassing.
|
|
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?
Posts: 41,582
|
Post by Ben Wyatt on Aug 16, 2023 13:56:22 GMT -5
Winner. Million dollar idea, great vignettes but then he had to be given a live mic and the bell ran.
The vignettes were cool, but to this day I have no idea how that character was supposed to translate over to being a wrestler, either.
They had him going around backstage and talking people into doing things. (I think he had Kendrick/Spanky "streak" once) that had *some* legs to it. You could build feuds off that
|
|
|
Post by buckethead on Aug 16, 2023 13:57:58 GMT -5
Glacier has to be *the* answer. Months of hype, and it basically Shockmastered. On the topic, how about Outback Jack? Same months of hype, then just a midcarder/jobber to the stars. Holy hell..I had completely forgotten about this. Yeah that was bad. Next time I do a rewatch of 80s WWF I gotta check this out for shits and giggles.
|
|
|
Post by wildojinx on Aug 16, 2023 14:00:42 GMT -5
Cpl. Kirchner had potential to be a good Slaughter replacement as he had a pretty good look and was passable to decent in the ring, but his mic skills were too clunky with lines like "the military was tough, but not as tough as the WWF".
|
|
J. Hova
Don Corleone
Emotionally exhausted and morally bankrupt
Posts: 2,019
|
Post by J. Hova on Aug 16, 2023 14:02:49 GMT -5
Hirohito?
|
|
|
Post by WoodStoner1 on Aug 16, 2023 17:17:44 GMT -5
On the topic, how about Outback Jack? Same months of hype, then just a midcarder/jobber to the stars. EDIT: I got an unsung, mostly forgotten, definitive answer. THE DESPERADOES. They got the same months of vignettes, yet I don't think they had one televised match under the gimmick. Only match I remember was a WCW house show in the Meadowlands, where they lost to the Freebirds (who got a total face reaction against the cowboys). Black Bart jumped to Global, I forget if Mantell and Colley were just given different gimmicks. Weren’t the Desperados heels anyway? Who knows? They'd probably be face when Hansen inevitably beat the crap out of them.
|
|
|
Post by Tiger Millionaire on Aug 16, 2023 17:26:37 GMT -5
Not a debut, but Erik Rowan's cage.
|
|
fg
Unicron
Gaming
Posts: 3,084
|
Post by fg on Aug 16, 2023 17:54:57 GMT -5
Weren’t the Desperados heels anyway? Who knows? They'd probably be face when Hansen inevitably beat the crap out of them. I remember reading about that feud and I thought that Hansen was the face especially since it wouldn’t look right if the roles were reversed. The Desperados being the faces and Hansen the heel. Especially since the Desperados were portrayed as being dumb.
|
|
|
Post by carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army) on Aug 16, 2023 18:44:30 GMT -5
Glacier has to be *the* answer. Months of hype, and it basically Shockmastered. I was watching old Nitros a while ago, and noticed something that really surprised me: Glacier was over. He wasn't a huge flop. The problem was, he existed in a pocket dimension where he and Miller fought their own specially designed heels in Wrath and Mortis, and they had no plan for anything beyond that, and all three of the other guys involved captured the interest of the bookers more than Glacier himself did. (Sure, in Wrath's case, it was just to cut him off at the knees so he didn't threaten Nash's spot, but that's notice.) I mean, he kinda still even counts for this topic, despite his lack of a belly flop, because those promos went on for SO LONG they were a joke months before he actually debuted.
|
|
|
Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Aug 16, 2023 19:25:02 GMT -5
100%, yes. The moment the bell rang on Outback Jack's first match, the wheels came right off. The WWF was great at bringing in other promotions' talents with new gimmicks or at least a fresh paint job. New stars? Not so much. See: Kirchner, Corporal. Ken Patera's return in 1987 should be on this list, too. Trying to pin what he did on Heenan was ridiculous. He's a real-life heel who threw a tantrum over hamburgers and crippled a woman. If the internet had existed back then, not a single person would have cheered the guy ever again. Also he had stopped dying and perming his hair, he looked like he'd aged 20 years between the winter of 85 and the summer of 87 and his babyface promos were terrible. Heenan said Patera was a natural heel due to basically a lifelong status as a pampered jock. He gave the example that if you were pulled over for speeding, you might take responsibility when the cop got to your window or at least speak politely. He said Patera was the type to impatiently snap, “Come on, Barney, give me the ticket, asshole!” As Bobby pointed out, “They’re not going to let you off with a warning after that.”
|
|
|
Post by Citizen Snips on Aug 16, 2023 19:35:29 GMT -5
Well, he's got a good career in movies as being a giant henchman type so it's not all bad for him. Nathan Jones was in goddamn FURY ROAD. Any WWE Hall of Famers in FURY ROAD? No?? Just Nathan Jones?? Point for the Colossus of Boggo Road.
|
|
MolotovMocktail
Grimlock
Home of the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time 5-time Super Bowl Champion 49ers-and Wrestlemania 31
Posts: 14,006
|
Post by MolotovMocktail on Aug 16, 2023 19:56:14 GMT -5
Fandango. All the false starts of his debut culminating with him finally beating Chris Jericho…at Wrestlemania. The very next night, he was turned into a novelty act, known for fans singing along to his theme.
Before this, he was Johnny Curtis, who did weeks of visual puns backstage, before being annihilated by Mark Henry.
|
|
|
Post by Hit Girl on Aug 16, 2023 22:24:30 GMT -5
Winner. Million dollar idea, great vignettes but then he had to be given a live mic and the bell ran. The vignettes were cool, but to this day I have no idea how that character was supposed to translate over to being a wrestler, either.
Should have been a cult leader.
|
|
|
Post by wildojinx on Aug 16, 2023 22:29:17 GMT -5
Weren’t the Desperados heels anyway? Who knows? They'd probably be face when Hansen inevitably beat the crap out of them. Hadnt Hansen gone back to Japan by the time they came in?
|
|