I guess the grass WASN'T greener....

[TheScarlettChad]

2 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

I wasn’t - for want of a better term - much of an ‘internet fan’ back then, so you may be in a better position to comment on the general consensus, but it certainly seemed to me that TNA wanted to push him, and he was presented as being a real threat to Jeff Jarrett when he was NWA Champion. During the tail end of his TNA career, he struggled with injury, didn’t he? I may be misremembering but I think circumstances outwith his control affected him somewhat. 

On the subject of TNA, Monty Brown and Awesome Kong are also worth mentioning here. Who knows what would have happened had it not been for Kong’s pregnancy, but there wasn’t anything stopping them from using her upon her return. 

I can’t really remember what happened with Brown, but his decline and disappearance felt incredibly sudden.

Monty's sister died suddenly and he retired to look after her kids, Which is a top move. 

[Chili]

Always really appreciated Monty Brown for just getting out and looking after whatever family issues occured. Top bloke, one of Jarrett's biggest fuck-ups not giving Monty a run when it felt right.

[RedRooster]

5 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Monty's sister died suddenly and he retired to look after her kids, Which is a top move. 

Wow, that’s incredible. Fair play to him for that. Given the potential he appeared to have, it was no small sacrifice to make.

[TheScarlettChad]

1 minute ago, RedRooster said:

Wow, that’s incredible. Fair play to him for that. Given the potential he appeared to have, it was no small sacrifice to make.

Its been almost 17 years, I wonder if Monty will ever show up for a one off? I've always wanted to see THE POUNCE again.

[Infinity Land]

15 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

I wasn’t - for want of a better term - much of an ‘internet fan’ back then, so you may be in a better position to comment on the general consensus, but it certainly seemed to me that TNA wanted to push him, and he was presented as being a real threat to Jeff Jarrett when he was NWA Champion. During the tail end of his TNA career, he struggled with injury, didn’t he? I may be misremembering but I think circumstances outwith his control affected him somewhat.

Chris Harris was very much an internet darling at points as a potential breakout singles star. The problem was from my mind was that when AMW broke up the 'cooler' parts of the act were kept with James Storm. Beer swilling cowboy, breaking bottles over people's heads and was still a heel that could act up. 'Wildcat' Chris Harris was stripped of everything that had made him popular, couldn't cut a promo or match up to the wrestling standard of the main event scene. Ultimately being exposed.

There was goodwill, but time ran out before he had the chance to change it up. If he'd hung around maybe he would have found his John Cena at Halloween or Rocky Maivia joining the Nation sliding doors moment.

[RedRooster]

37 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

It’s been almost 17 years, I wonder if Monty will ever show up for a one off? I've always wanted to see THE POUNCE again.

According to this Cultaholic article, he almost did.

[unfitfinlay]

Davey Boy going to WCW after the screwjob was the first one to come to mind.

He actually bought out his WWF contract and went from being in a solid position just under the top guys, to part of a opening card tag team with Neidhart that no one cared about and then got fired after breaking his back on the Warrior's trap door. Granted, he was out of his face for much of it, so probably had a good time.

Also Stevie Richards pretending he was going to retire to get out of his ECW deal and jump to WCW, only to hate WCW so much that he quit after a few months. Heyman was supposedly planning to make him a focal point of ECW but, because of the way he left, he wouldn't let him come back for more than a handful of appearances. He was good too. It's a shame he never actually got the kind of push that Heyman had planned for him.

[Jonny Vegas]

Sabu, Mikey Whipwreck and Sandman's stints in WCW spring to mind.

As does Taz who was THE man in ECW when he left, had a fantastic debut at the Rumble then was wrestling for the hardcore title in a boiler suit within a year. 

A lot of ECW guys went to WWF/WCW money wise it was well worth it but other than The Dudley's and Lance Storm I really cant think of many if any that were taken seriously and elevated from the positions they had in ECW.

[westlondonmist]

2 minutes ago, Jonny Vegas said:

Sabu, Mikey Whipwreck and Sandman's stints in WCW spring to mind.

As does Taz who was THE man in ECW when he left, had a fantastic debut at the Rumble then was wrestling for the hardcore title in a boiler suit within a year. 

A lot of ECW guys went to WWF/WCW money wise it was well worth it but other than The Dudley's and Lance Storm I really cant think of many if any that were taken seriously and elevated from the positions they had in ECW.

 

 

Raven had a decent run in WCW, he should have been higher up the card but for a couple of years he was getting regular feuds.

 

[Infinity Land]

15 minutes ago, westlondonmist said:

 

 

Raven had a decent run in WCW, he should have been higher up the card but for a couple of years he was getting regular feuds.

 

Thats a good one. One of the few? Only one to take Bischoff's offer of a release. Except he couldn't go directly to WWF and had the second stint in ECW to bide his time. 

If he waited a little longer Bischoff would be out, Russo would be in. Considering what some people got upto from late 99 until the end. He may have been better off. 

After that it'd probably be a similar story with ending up as a spare part in the Invasion. 

 

[RedRooster]

EC3 is another one. He left TNA looking, to me, like someone who was guaranteed at least an upper midcard slot in WWE. He seemed like the hottest of hot prospects that that company had produced in some time; yet for some reason it just didn’t work out for him. Not only that, but these days, he feels like the punchline to a joke. His credibility has been utterly destroyed, and it’s hard to remember why he seemed to have the potential that he did.

You could probably add Kazarian to the list too, for the weird, short stint he had in WWE in 2003; which allegedly ended because he refused to cut his hair - something he would do shortly after that anyway. I’m dubious of the supposed reason for his departure being anything other than a miss, but clearly his time in WWE was an absolute bust.

[Nick James]

6 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Miro, Malakai Black and Andrade didn't jump ship. They were all sacked! They don't count!

Black maybe not, but Andrade and Miro were both pestering for their release upon the sudden rise of AEW. I would say those two definitely count. 

Jeff Hardy getting himself fired to join his brother in AEW, followed by legal issues and now moaning about his position on a podcast is definitely up there.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Nick James

[IronSheik]

Steiner Brothers going to New York in late 92 was definitely not greener for them at the time. Vince's core business was majorly down and he had the steroid trial and WBF draining cash from the business. Scott and Rick have both said they got paid shit with the WWF and everyone was miserable due to the poor pay and the fact the WBF guys were on guaranteed contracts. 

As a fan in the UK I fucking loved the Steiners in the WWF, but I don't think it compared creatively or commercially to their previous WCW run. 

[simonworden]

Mentioning Chris Harris, I think you could add James Storm as a brief odd one. Showed up in NXT and could have been part of the early group to come through in the WWE does Indy days but after two appearances went back for some brief Impact stints and faffing around in the indys since which has really made his stock fall in my opinion. I know his wife was pregnant and he went for what would work for him but always seemed like he missed his last opportunity to be on a bigger stage. 

 

 

[air_raid]

5 hours ago, RedRooster said:

You could probably add Kazarian to the list too, for the weird, short stint he had in WWE in 2003; which allegedly ended because he refused to cut his hair - something he would do shortly after that anyway. I’m dubious of the supposed reason for his departure being anything other than a miss, but clearly his time in WWE was an absolute bust.

2005. The hair thing was only a symptom of the underlying illness.

On 5/24/2023 at 4:28 PM, air_raid said:

Frankie Kazarian announces on his website this month that he’s been granted his release. Among his reasons that WWE and him weren’t a good fit for each other were his signing in February but sitting at home/training but not wrestling any matches until July, Vince wanting him to cut his hair and when he expressed reluctance to management they took that to mean he thought he knew the business better than they did, a general feeling of having to walk on eggshells all the time, and most of all that their words about “revamping” the CWT division to try and get it back to what Nitro had at the peak, ring rather hollow when he realizes everyone seems to be made to work the same style - sound familiar? Imagine finding that many reasons to not find happiness in your workplace in such a short time. And I think it’s WWE, not Kazarian.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by air_raid