DiBiase / Runnels

[PunkStep]

I think if they had went the other way show wise last year (ted to sd! & vice versa) it could have gone the other way and ted would be more over.

I don't agree. I think Dibiase has had plenty of opportunities to shine, and has failed to do so. He had a feud where 20+ year veteran, a diva, an Eastern European female novice and his Dad's belt completely outshone him. He has been put in a few feuds since last Mania, and he has done nothing for me. Bland as Bland McFuckingbland. Decent in-ring, but not decent enough to carry his lack of personality.

[TheBigBoot]

Rhodes made what looked like the shittest of gimmicks into something quite decent and now he's going through some character redevelopment and he's got some solid work to back himself up. Dibiase has been nothing but bland, not sure whether its the storylines, his mic skills or in ring work or just a combination of all three which has put him in his current spot, I don't know what there is for him.

 

Not his in ring work, IMO. In addition to the DX and John Cena feuds where he was part of numerous decent to good tag team and six mans as part of Legacy, he's had good one on one matches against Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Christian, Goldust and Daniel Bryan where it didn't look like they were having to carry him. Plus decent ones against lesser talents like Shane McMahon, Cryme Tyme, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. That on-again-off again 'Best of 799' series he seems to have had going with Mark Henry since the 2009 Draft has been pretty good as well.

 

Someone whose in ring work was the problem wouldn't be that consistent, IMO. There have been far worse workers (in ring) who have done well in that company. It's his lack of personality that has killed him.

 

I've always been a fan of Cody, I could never understand why everybody would go on about how great Dibiase is when he was/is/will always be as bland as a piece of toast and it was obvious Rhodes was the more likely to be a star. I wouldn't lose any sleep if Dibiase was released. Cody should move on to the Intercontinentl title in the summer. He's a decent midcard hand who puts on good enough matches and has an interesting character.

 

I think the reason he was praised is because of how quickly he 'adapted' to the WWE style, being on the main roster and looking like a 'WWE Superstar'. A lot of wrestlers who have been brought up straight from OVW or Florida have looked green, nervous or just out of place. Hell, I'd go even further and say that a lot of the higher regarded names on the Indy circuit would struggle and look out of place if you stuck them straight on Raw opposite someone like JBL, John Cena or Batista yet he was rubbing shoulders with those guys right off the bat and looked more like someone who had been in the midcard for a few years than a total newbie.

 

I remember some of his first matches as soon as he was brought up were against company 'Ace' John Cena (in tag and six mans) and what struck me was how he didn't look out of place working opposite legitimate main event talent. Considering he didn't have that much pre-WWE experience (he only debuted in 2006) that's pretty impressive. IIRC most of the compliments he got back then were based around that?

 

People (myself included) were thinking "if he's this good with less that two years experience and this is his first real national TV exposure then imagine how good he'll be in three years". The problem is that he never really built on it.

 

Am I the only person who likes the no kneepad thing? I admit I didn't always, but that was before Cody had any discernible character and he was ultra-bland. Back then no kneepads just seemed like another thing he was missing. But now he has shown his other qualities - he's not spectacular but solid in the ring, I loved the Dashing stuff and I'm enjoying the disturbed twist - I think it's cool that there's something else about him that stands out. So often people complain about wrestler's attire in WWE all looking the same, and this is something genuinely unique and everyone hates it. I mean, true, he has skinny legs, but it's not like I see his legs and think, "a guy could never climb the ladder with legs like that". I don't see the big deal. I think it's cool that he looks like an old-timey wrestler.

 

I like that he's got an old-school look, but as I've said in other threads, he needs to make a choice: either give up the moonsault, or start wearing kneepads, because carrying on the way he's been will mean he'll have tranny-op testicles for knees later in his career. Mutoh can't walk for more than a hundred metres before needing to sit down, and he actually wore kneepads, so lord knows what'd happen to Cody.

 

As to the actual look, my problem with it isn't the lack of kneepads in itself, it's that the boots he wears emphasises how thin his legs are. Taz had legs thick enough to get away with no kneepads and short boots. If Cody won't wear kneepads, he should wear longer boots, like Ronnie Garvin did.

 

That's true about the moonsaults. Garvin is who he reminded me of when he first showed up with that look - an old school throwback babyface.

 

Actually, I think that's what the "no kneepads" thing is supposed to represent since one thing Garvin, Taz, and Rhodes have in common is they all work(ed) old school 'throwback' type gimmicks.

 

The other thing they have in common is that they are all much shorter than the rest of the roster.

 

I would never have guessed 18 months ago that Rhodes would be a bigger star than Dibiase but the fued with Rey has been fantastic.

 

However I have real issues with the lack of kneepads - just think it looks awful , I'm surprised than WWE let him do it as normally they seem so concerned by the looks of there stars.

 

They used to be - that was one of the things that made McMahon so successful in the Hogan days, the fact that they paid so much attention to how everyone looked from their hairstyles to their outfits to the way they moved. In recent years it has seemed more like they are concerned with making sure noone stands out which gives the impression they are less bothered: "Ah, might as well stick him in pair of black trunks".

 

 

I think if they had went the other way show wise last year (ted to sd! & vice versa) it could have gone the other way and ted would be more over.

 

Can't say as I agree - Cody's a better worker than Ted. When Ted debuted, Cody had already been on TV some time, and had a feud with Orton, and a feud-leading-to-team with Holly, so he was already quite a bit more polished. Also, they've both been given characters and gimmicks since the break-up of Legacy, and clearly Cody's done a lot more with his, despite having very little in the way of feuds until Rey.

 

i loved them as a tag team. Thought the whole division could be rebuilt around them. I like neither of them as singles. I believe Ted should be placed back in tag competition when his brother Brett gets called up from developmental. Can be called something like a concept theyve already explored 'Fortunate sons'!

 

Thats a point, until Teds brother got injured he was meant to lead a faction consisting of Brett Dibiase, Joe Henning, Husky Harris, Richie Steamboat, amy henning and some others that i cant recall. I remember reading a planned angle where they would beat on their legendary dads saying that they were no longer going to be in the shadows. I think this would have been pretty awesome

 

That sounds exactly like Legacy which was an idea that was rumoured as far back as late 2006 because of the number of second generation guys/girls coming through but really, really picked up when Rhodes was brought up to the main roster to the extent people were expecting him to turn on his dad and side with Orton way back in summer 2007.

 

Later on after D.H. Smith debuted there was a really good thread on it in late 2007 when Orton and Carlito were supposedly pushing for the idea which your post reminds me of your post since people were suggesting different combinations (more recently the rumour for the storyline came up again as soon as Orton lost the strap at Backlash. It almost came as a surprise when they finally did start to move towards it actually happening because it had been discussed to death more than any other possible scenario in recent memory other than someone ending the Streak or Eric Bischoff/Paul Heyman joining TNA). IIRC the main stumbling block (both on here and for WWE) in 2007 was they were worried it would drag Orton (who was Champion) down to have him associated with a bunch of unknowns.

 

DiBiase doesn't have that problem so I think it could work better for him. He's got just enough experience and isn't established as an act in his own right so him as the slightly more experienced young guy leading the other youngsters could have paid off. I suppose having Nexus around is what killed it which is a shame since it would have been as good a way as any for Husky, Hennig and Steamer to debut. If they do it now I think it would have to be all new talent.

 

I think it could work though since Legacy ended up being more about Orton than it did the third generation aspect after a while.