Paid Members tom Posted January 2, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2012 After seeing Jeff Hardy in someone's sig, it got me thinking about various talents down the years who have somehow managed to pull the rug out from underneath their own pushes due to silly mistakes or screw-ups. I think Jeff is a good example of this; he was on red hot form with the IC title and apparently on course to win MITB at the upcoming 'Mania and cash it in to win the belt on the same night. But then, before you know it he's dropping the IC title to Jericho and taking a wellness holiday sans his big WrestleMania pay off. Of course, he served his time, came back and managed to get the rocket strapped back on to him on course to finally becoming champion and, for a time, one of the most over guys in the entire industry; but it does serve as a good example of someone messing up a particular push, even if there are better examples in which the person involved never got any sort of push after a screw-up. Â The best example of the latter I can think of is Regal failing a wellness test in the midst of a brilliant run as RAW General Manager in a real resurrection for him in terms of playing a prominent part on the show once again. The end result of course was Regal losing his position and never getting near those dizzy heights ever again upon serving his suspension. And one more example is Kennedy returning as a surprise competitor in a tag match on RAW in yet another attempt at pushing him in a prominent position, only to mess up a move on Orton and get his marching orders soon after. Â Your turn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlingmad Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 This thread has actually made me sad. Regal was on such a gold streak being the RAW GM, I was gutted upon hearing the news. But then again WWE would had only fucked it up I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 2, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hardy's a good example for someone who was so over, they always restarted his push. I remember when he was suspended before WrestleMania of all things, and everyone with a brain thought "thats him fucked". But we were all wrong on that one. Randy Orton in 2005/06 was a livewire as well. It took him a while to mature, but if he had the attitude he has now, he could have been an established headliner from 2004 onwards. Bet he lost a few quid on fines and suspensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameIs... Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Matt Hardy. Â From this: Â He did it with the Edge by giving one of the worst promos i've ever witnessed, it was unbelievable to watch someone with that amount of good will turn it around so quickly! He was back to mid card on smackdown pronto! He screwed it up again when they made him jeffs attacker by getting out of shape and being a tool on youtube and twitter!his promos still sucked and eventually he got his release. Same pattern with TNA. He was saying he'd be back in shape and be able to do the things he wanted to but all we got was the same old Matt Hardy, with even stupider hair. So now he is out of both companies and considered by almost everyone to be an absolute waste of space! Â To This: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moofasa Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Van Dam finally getting the world title then getting caught with drugs. Steamboat winning intercontinental titile then asking to work a lighter schedule. Sid stabbing Anderson in Blackburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEWM Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 CM Punk. Â Yeah, he's done okay for himself the rest of this year, but he hugely underperformed in the role for the first couple of months after he came back just after MITB. Everybody said he was taking control over the promos (as a way, presumably to discredit the writers for coming up with ace material for him), and if that was indeed true, he is fully to blame for not becoming the biggest face in the universe around the time. I remember some utterly horrible promos he did with Nash & HHH, and in-ring, he didn't make anywhere near enough effort to become a proper main event storyteller, in place of loads of his midcard offence. Â I think he's okay and everything, I don't hate him, but he isn't Cena, or Orton, or Triple H, or anybody else you'd consider at that level. You put him face-to-face with somebody in the Main Event of Wrestlemania and that will prove it. He should have known when to hold off on some of those clever cunt "pipe bombs" and actually dedicated himself to becoming a more rounded babyface in a subtle manner. See Steve Austin quietly stopping bashing the crowd in early 97 or The Rock using his snidey remarks on Team Corporate members in 99 before he turned. Â The initial promo and incredible MITB match created a buzz for a reason, they were *star*-making moments. Punk didn't run with that, and he should take a massive chunk of responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gadge Posted January 2, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2012 CM Punk. Yeah, he's done okay for himself the rest of this year, but he hugely underperformed in the role for the first couple of months after he came back just after MITB. Everybody said he was taking control over the promos (as a way, presumably to discredit the writers for coming up with ace material for him), and if that was indeed true, he is fully to blame for not becoming the biggest face in the universe around the time. I remember some utterly horrible promos he did with Nash & HHH, and in-ring, he didn't make anywhere near enough effort to become a proper main event storyteller, in place of loads of his midcard offence.  I think he's okay and everything, I don't hate him, but he isn't Cena, or Orton, or Triple H, or anybody else you'd consider at that level. You put him face-to-face with somebody in the Main Event of Wrestlemania and that will prove it. He should have known when to hold off on some of those clever cunt "pipe bombs" and actually dedicated himself to becoming a more rounded babyface in a subtle manner. See Steve Austin quietly stopping bashing the crowd in early 97 or The Rock using his snidey remarks on Team Corporate members in 99 before he turned.  The initial promo and incredible MITB match created a buzz for a reason, they were *star*-making moments. Punk didn't run with that, and he should take a massive chunk of responsibility. I would agree with you if Punk hadn't won the title again at Survivor Series at MSG, on a show they had to assume would draw buys due to The Rock. That to me meant there was renewed faith in Punk's push, and as WWE Champion he can't go much higher and hasn't exactly fucked the push up since, so he doesn't really fit the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingo Warrior Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Darren Drozdov could have made it to the top as well if D'lo Brown hadn't been such a clutz. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 2, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2012 They tried restarting his push at Survivor Series, by having him win it in a famous arena. It was more of WWE trying to make the win mean something special. Since then I cant see that they've had much faith in his push. I wouldnt be surprised if he lost it tonight. He's been in the lowest rated segments WWE have had since 1997 since he won the belt. Its been a massive flop unfortunately and the blames lays firming on his head because the demos that are switching him off are the ones that tune in to see the likes of Cena. Its one thing losing viewers week per week, but when its only CM Punk's segments that are losing viewers consistantly, something is very wrong there. You could see this coming months ago, though. He doesnt have a star aura about him to be a stand out drawing card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 NEWM got in there before me, CM Punk definatly. He was given the rare responsibility of writing his own promo's, got an immense amount of screen time and has just bottled it really. Looking at the ratings, it seems the folks at home agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEWM Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 CM Punk. Yeah, he's done okay for himself the rest of this year, but he hugely underperformed in the role for the first couple of months after he came back just after MITB. Everybody said he was taking control over the promos (as a way, presumably to discredit the writers for coming up with ace material for him), and if that was indeed true, he is fully to blame for not becoming the biggest face in the universe around the time. I remember some utterly horrible promos he did with Nash & HHH, and in-ring, he didn't make anywhere near enough effort to become a proper main event storyteller, in place of loads of his midcard offence.  I think he's okay and everything, I don't hate him, but he isn't Cena, or Orton, or Triple H, or anybody else you'd consider at that level. You put him face-to-face with somebody in the Main Event of Wrestlemania and that will prove it. He should have known when to hold off on some of those clever cunt "pipe bombs" and actually dedicated himself to becoming a more rounded babyface in a subtle manner. See Steve Austin quietly stopping bashing the crowd in early 97 or The Rock using his snidey remarks on Team Corporate members in 99 before he turned.  The initial promo and incredible MITB match created a buzz for a reason, they were *star*-making moments. Punk didn't run with that, and he should take a massive chunk of responsibility. I would agree with you if Punk hadn't won the title again at Survivor Series at MSG, on a show they had to assume would draw buys due to The Rock. That to me meant there was renewed faith in Punk's push, and as WWE Champion he can't go much higher and hasn't exactly fucked the push up since, so he doesn't really fit the thread.  Being the champion or getting visibility due a show with another guy on top has nothing to do with my original point though. Like I said initially, he's done okay for himself, but measure the sort of creative freedom he was given against others and he has to have fallen way below expectations. They opened hundreds of doors for him and his inability to connect with the public on a larger scale (and by that I mean, as a genuine, marquee name headliner) has always looked to me like a blown opportunity. Lex Luger 93 is much the same, he got the monster push but by then just didn't seem to be able to reach an audience like he could back in the late 80s/early 90s, or to the standard Vince expected.  I suppose it's a little bit subjective in the sense that other viewers could percieve Punk as being on the level of a Rock or a Cena, but I certainly don't, and on at least 2 occasions this year, he was given the ammo to make that so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingo Warrior Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 CM Punk is just a victim of the WWE corporate machine, yes he has had success in the WWE however because his image does not fit in with the goody goody John Cena look then he is stuffed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Ron Simmons Posted January 2, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2012 It's early days for Punk as a top star. Randy Orton and Chris Jericho both had records on RAW of shedding viewers when they were champion, I believe, and this is after they were established as stars. I think it's a bit harsh to put so much blame on Punk at this point. Â One that stands out for me is "The" Brian Kendrick. They showed a clear desire to push him, and the announcers were really talking him up as something special. But he refused to give up the dope, kept failing drugs tests and happily paying the fine for the privelage, and ended up on the WWE scrapheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Jericho nor Orton were an integral part of WWE's lowest ratings since 1997, Ron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Darren Drozdov could have made it to the top as well if D'lo Brown hadn't been such a clutz.   CM Punk is just a victim of the WWE corporate machine, yes he has had success in the WWE however because his image does not fit in with the goody goody John Cena look then he is stuffed.  Oh please could someone ban ar at least suspend this waste of space?  Back on topic didn't Lex Luger famously fuck up his planned Title win by bragging about being the next champion leading up to SummerSlam? or is that another myth?  If true that has to be near the top when it comes to screwing up a push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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