Paid Members Jazzy G Posted January 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2017 I don't quite know whether this counts, but I'd have to say John Cena. I started as kind of warm on him, because I thought the really early doors Doctor Of Thugonomics stuff was hilarious when he was a heel. That period after he dressed as Vanilla Ice at the Smackdown Hallowe'en party when they gave him that gimmick was very entertaining, or at least his freestyle rap promos were but I never really enjoyed his matches very much, unless they were against Angle. When he became the pandering "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" 5 moves o' doom "no pressure" STF white meat Super Cena babyface I got even more turned off by him and became one of those Cena detractors, especially when all he seemed to be doing was wrestling Orton, Then I reached a point or an age where it suddenly all clicked into place. I think it was when Cena started to play along with the fans that booed him and baiting them, teasing the heel turn to huge pops then throwing it back in their faces. They'd chant "You can't wrestle", he'd respond by giving them a cheesy grin and slapping on the worst, sloppiest chinlock or rest hold you ever saw to draw even more boos out of them. That awful springboard stunner he hits now and again. It was like he didn't care anymore and was only in it for his own shits and giggles while he worked the internet smarks. It may also have been because of that war he had with Lesnar at Extreme Rules as well. I started enjoying his matches more, not just to see how he'd bait the fans this time, but because I realised he's a brilliant worker. Yes, you can see daylight with his terrible punches and all of the stuff people hate him for are still there, but you realise it's all part of the act now. The US title open challenge was fantastic, Super Cena appeared to be a thing of the past as he would look to be having a tougher and tougher time beating some of his opponents, and his feud with AJ Styles/The Club was superb stuff. Since he went to Smackdown (and has been on the show) he's gone from strength to strength. I think he's reached that point in his career where he knows people are going to boo him regardless, and he doesn't care. He leaves it all in the ring, cuts promos that feel much more like they're from the heart and and he doesn't have to pander so much to try and win the whole crowd over. It's almost as if he's free. He's not (intentionally) the centre of the show now as he's on something of a reduced schedule, so he can do what he wants and I'm loving it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted January 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hulk Hogan The Wood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members bbabba Posted January 24, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 24, 2017 Samoa Joe. Hadn't seen any of his ROH stuff before he came into TNA but had heard of him via Powerslam. I was already down on him as he came into TNA absolutely hated his look - fat bastard with an annoying gap year necklace on. His matches then annoyed me even more as he was crushing the X division wrestlers I loved, and doing it working a non X-division style which I considered just stiff and not much else. Couldn't understand why he was in the then red hot division given his size. Turned the corner for me in that famous Unbreakable main event triple threat with AJ and Daniels. Such an incredible performance by all, and when Joe did his turning suicide dive I lost my shit. He then had a great run in the X-division working with matches with Joe and AJ, and then his series with Angle was incredible. Who couldn't like him at this point? Of course his motivation and performances in TNA subsequently went down as his weight went up, but his 2005-2007 work was enough for me to permanently be in favour with me. It was an unexpected bonus to see him not only enter NXT, but have the second best run of his career as a monster heel with legitimate heat (how many WWE heels can say that?). Ironically the style he is doing now isn't too far away from his initial TNA style which made me hate him in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_gordo Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Braun Strowman for me. I was fairly nonplussed when he first turned up, despite being impressed with how massive he was (ooh err missus). He was fast forward material along with the rest of the Wyatt's, partly due to how green he was and partly down to his weird face that looks like a 7 year old has glued a couple of wigs to his chin. The turning point for me was his podcast with Austin. He comes across as incredibly down to Earth and suddenly I was keen for him to succeed and started telling anybody who would listen that this is a fella who will go far and should be in the main event picture in 12 months time. The brand split and his open challenge solidified how big of a fan of his I am. Watching huge blokes beat the shit out of jobbers has always been one of my favourite aspects of wrestling and Braun does it really well. It did a good job of hiding his weaknesses whilst giving him time to learn how to work on his own infront of a big crowd. After a couple of weeks Brauns squash match was compulsive viewing for me and I would fast-forward Raw to get to it. Changing his look has cemented him as a total badass and he's come on leaps and bounds whilst working with Sami Zayn and his segments are generally amongst the better things on Raw. WWE have obviously now got major plans for him and more fans seem to be getting on board with him now. Fair play to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinc Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Then I reached a point or an age where it suddenly all clicked into place. I think it was when Cena started to play along with the fans that booed him and baiting them, teasing the heel turn to huge pops then throwing it back in their faces. They'd chant "You can't wrestle", he'd respond by giving them a cheesy grin and slapping on the worst, sloppiest chinlock or rest hold you ever saw to draw even more boos out of them. That awful springboard stunner he hits now and again. It was like he didn't care anymore and was only in it for his own shits and giggles while he worked the internet smarks. It may also have been because of that war he had with Lesnar at Extreme Rules as well. Unbelievably it was the fucking springboard stunner that won the smarks over. That standing ovation they gave him against Owens for doing the most unrealistic, awkward Canadian Destroyer-ish thing showed that section of the audience up for the subhuman scum that they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapnut Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Then I reached a point or an age where it suddenly all clicked into place. I think it was when Cena started to play along with the fans that booed him and baiting them, teasing the heel turn to huge pops then throwing it back in their faces. They'd chant "You can't wrestle", he'd respond by giving them a cheesy grin and slapping on the worst, sloppiest chinlock or rest hold you ever saw to draw even more boos out of them. That awful springboard stunner he hits now and again. It was like he didn't care anymore and was only in it for his own shits and giggles while he worked the internet smarks. It may also have been because of that war he had with Lesnar at Extreme Rules as well. Unbelievably it was the fucking springboard stunner that won the smarks over. That standing ovation they gave him against Owens for doing the most unrealistic, awkward Canadian Destroyer-ish thing showed that section of the audience up for the subhuman scum that they are. That's an ever so slight overreaction, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinc Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted January 26, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 26, 2017 It's an impressive feat for a chap of Cena's build to be doing them, but it just looks so awkward, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Didn't mind Cena's code red so much, saw footage of him botching it on a house show match with Owens a while back though and it looked grotesque When did he start doing the springboard stunner? Mania v Rusev? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 Just wanted to thank everybody for the contributions - the show discussing Guys You Turned The Corner On is now available at the following link: https://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/download/zkps4n/SCG_Radio_110_-_Wrestlers_You_Turned_A_Corner_On.mp3 Join us as we talk about the wrestlers or acts you once loathed but managed to win you over. We discuss how these individuals finally earned your affinity, and break down the career arcs of individuals such as Mark Henry, The Miz, Ronnie Garvin, Chris Masters, Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Rusev, Samoa Joe, Umaga, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens and yes, John Cena. And to round out the show, we give our predictions on this year's Royal Rumble this coming Sunday - check it out and enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted January 29, 2017 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 29, 2017 Kieran and I are finally on the same page! Not only do we agree on Kevin Owens but we also have the same pick for the Rumble winner! Good show, though I hope Karl wasn't being sarcastic about his Mark Henry love at the start. He's a member of this forum now, we'll split his wig if he's not on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted January 31, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2017 Good show, although I respectfully disagree with your assessment of Baron Corbin, who I believe has been steadily improving for a good while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Same. Good matches, including a fun as hell chairs match(!) with Kalisto that surpassed all reasonable expectations, guy can definitely talk as proven in Talking Smack, and he's got the coolest finisher in the game right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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