Hello, Ladies...

[Gay as FOOK 1,412]

You were as good as your entrance back then, so Val was definitely good. And he was never too exposed. His stuff looked strong and clean, money shot, 1-2-3. He was in that Dory Funk Jr training class circa 97-98, right? Edge, Test, Albert etc. They all had pretty sound fundamentals and were brought up to do the 'Attitude' style.

You could have gotten far more mid card mileage out of his face run. As mad as it is that the likes of Kofi and Dolph have been around forever, it's even crazier when you consider that extremely well remembered acts like Godfather, Venis and Gangrel's initial big runs only really lasted a year or so. It goes to show (insert lengthy, oft-repeated argument about how memorable that era was and how that's what really matters).

The fans really were not ready for him turning heel and assaulting lovely Mankind in the fall of 99. It was way too soon. 

Then they put him with Trish and he made that vague transition from lovable pornster to nightclub sleazeball in an action movie, complete with that banger of a theme:

 

 

[Statto 718]

As well as that cracking theme, that version of Val had all white gear, which is always a winner in my book. Everyone looks swish as fuck in all white.

[BomberPat 7,489]

21 minutes ago, Gay as FOOK said:

He was in that Dory Funk Jr training class circa 97-98, right? Edge, Test, Albert etc.

If he was, it was maybe only as a bit of a "finishing school" - he'd worked Japan and Puerto Rico before WWF, and had a decent run in CMLL.

[Nostalgia Nonce 1,433]

7 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

If he was, it was maybe only as a bit of a "finishing school" - he'd worked Japan and Puerto Rico before WWF, and had a decent run in CMLL.

As well as Germany and a stint for All Star in England.

49 minutes ago, garynysmon said:

Despite him being a mad old cunt, I'll defend him to the extent there was nothing at all wrong with being an average worker back then.

Val was Attitude era mid-card gold. Great physique, good moveset, cracking intro and bags of charisma. Fun, but not too funny that you couldn't take him seriously.

[garynysmon 1,762]

2 minutes ago, Nostalgia Nonce said:

As well as Germany and a stint for All Star in England.

Explains the Leeds Rhinos connection?

[tiger_rick 11,628]

Val as the porn star in the midcard in 98-99 was very good. Looked great, did his little promo well, worked a decent 3 minute match and was presented brilliantly. Nothing wrong with that at all. Because he wasn't a bad worker for that pre-2000 WWF roster, lots of people thought there was more to him. The office definitely did, hence his numerous wins over Foley. I'll be honest, I did too. When the real workers turned up in 2000, he looked average by comparison. When he reverted to his real name and got super serious, it was obvious he was unbelievably boring too.

He had a time and a place. When it was done, he was done. Shame. Not.

[Nostalgia Nonce 1,433]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

 When he reverted to his real name and got super serious, it was obvious he was unbelievably boring too.

That was down to the injury from the gym equipment collapsing, wasn't it?

[Carbomb 5,229]

I really liked his run as Chief Morley - was never going to be setting the world alight, but was great for a few months as a bullying lackey. Kept things simple, didn't over-reach himself, and it made for an entertaining little arc.

[bAzTNM#1 371]

His "Porn Star" gimmick only really lasted a few months. Amazing to think, he was nearly there ten years.

[air_raid 3,366]

If we’re dissecting Vals run rather than his politics, he was great. He got good reactions and his matches were enjoyable at a time where there was some right rubbish on the show. His match with D’Lo at MSG was one of my favourite midcard matches of the time. They screwed up with the feud with Dustin/Goldust because the heel/face dynamic depended what day it was, then the three way rivalry with Shamrock and Billy Gunn was all over the shop, he lost the I title to Road Dog after having it no time at all, and he was done until his next heel turn which was also handled badly.