Mr. Nerfect
06-10-2013, 08:05 PM
I often think about the possibility of a wrestler doing this, but I can't think of too many guys that I think the company could trust being thrust into this position of importance. It would require a Superstar that is fairly well developed, competent on the mic, solid enough in the ring and probably well-liked and mature enough to handle the position of being a top star almost instantly.
Basically, I wish to start a discussion about whether or not Kassius Ohno winning the World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match would be a terrible decision for the company to make. Keep in mind that I am talking about the World Heavyweight Championship, which has seemingly settled into the status of being a World Championship only in name, and that in stature, is more like the Intercontinental Championship of old.
I like Ohno as a talent. Something is missing from the guy, however. He's so comfortable that it's hard to imagine him climbing the ranks. He seems like the sort of talent that if you put into a mid-card role, you'll have yourself a good mid-card wrestler. If you put him into a tag team role, you'll have yourself a good tag team wrestler. If the WWE wants to make the most out of Kassius Ohno, should they instantly insert him into the main event and make him a good main event wrestler?
The WWE is getting better at introducing new talent from NXT. The Shield have been dominant and have all established themselves as being stars of the show, despite being saddled with mid-card titles. The Wyatt Family seem to be coming in with a bit of fanfare. Curtis Axel has been repacked and seems to be sticking. Fandango has worked far better than most thought he would. The WWE has seemingly worked out the formula to making acts they want to succeed do so.
What would winning a World Title in their first match do for a talent? It'd give them a constant accomplishment to brag about. Chris Jericho still talks about how he beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night. As long as Ohno was wrestling, he'd be the guy who won the World Heavyweight Championship in his first match on the main roster. If they ever wanted to insert Ohno into a main event program after that, they have plenty of fuel for it. If he doesn't catch on, it could be labelled a "fluke" and then Ohno could be settled into a firm mid-card role with the added bonus of being a "former World Champion."
Some talent would not be ready for such a thing. Even guys that have crafted their act on the indies often aren't "heavy" enough to pull it off. Giving it to a younger guy may cause resentment. Ohno has been wrestling since 1998. That's longer than John Cena. Ohno has received training by Les Thatcher (whose HWA was once a WWE developmental territory), Dory Funk, Jr. (who has helped trained some of the WWE's biggest stars), Tracy Smothers (who wrestled a fucking bear), The British Blue Bloods (two of whom work for the WWE and help develop talent in different ways) and even has some experience with lucha libre and faster-paced matches. Ohno is also 34 years old this year, which means that we're not talking about a young man. We're talking about an adult and someone who, if they are going to mean something in the industry, probably has a smaller window than, say, a Dean Ambrose in which to achieve it (Ohno is seven years Ambrose's senior).
Ohno is a unique talent for the WWE, in that he has years and years of experience, maturity and an understanding of the business under his belt. If anyone were to be trusted to win a World Title in their very first match with the WWE, it would almost have to be someone like Kassius Ohno. With other talent, you run the risk of them being too green, or turning out to have attitude problems.
If the title change happened on SmackDown, it also creates a "moment." Professional wrestling is built on moments, and a wrestler winning the World Title in their first main roster matches would create quite a stir, I imagine. Fans would be asking "Who the fuck is that?" and if they had watched NXT would say "I've seen him wrestle!" WWE.com could report the story ahead of time and the WWE could see if they could cause a boost in the rating.
From a merchandising standpoint, Ohno stands to make the WWE more money than he otherwise would by popularizing a catchphrase like "Seize the moment" or "One shot. Took it." and just slapping it on a t-shirt. These themes could become associated with Ohno for years to come.
It would also be surreal for fans who only watch RAW to see this guy they have never seen before come out with the World Heavyweight Championship. That would create a stir and get people clinging onto Ohno's every word and action -- a pressure under which I think he could thrive. And, as I said, if he doesn't -- you just take the title off him and have him move on to other things whilst always being the guy who had that moment.
How does this all go down? Maybe an arrogant Dolph Ziggler has beaten Alberto Del Rio at Payback and has had Big E. Langston take him out before he's scheduled to challenge for the title again. Ziggler gets in the ring and the referee does the old ten count spot and Del Rio forfeits the match. Ziggler runs his mouth a bit about how Del Rio is afraid of him and he asks if there is anybody in the back who isn't afraid of him. Ohno's music then hits and Kassius makes his WWE debut. Ziggler asks who the hell he is and Ohno introduces himself and says that he'll regret it if he doesn't take this opportunity to make an immediate impact. He's not scared of Dolph, or Big E. Langston, or...well, he's a little scared of AJ Lee. But the point is he's not scared of Dolph Ziggler, and in fact, he thinks he can beat Ziggler. Dolph asks Kassius if he is insane and Ohno says "Maybe. How about you find out?" Dolph says he's going to take Ohno to wrestling school tonight and that he looks like a hobo. Ohno asks Ziggler that if he's do confident, how about he puts the World Heavyweight Title on the line. Dolph says "Fine. I can defend it twice because I'm that good."
Ohno and Ziggler have the match you'd expect them to have, with Ohno surprisingly everybody with his wrestling ability. Ziggler manages to heel the advantage away from Ohno and then beats on him. He can't beat Ohno away, however, and Kassius even makes a bit of a comeback. JBL and Cole talk about how impressive this debut has been, but they don't really put much stock in Ohno's chances of actually sealing the deal. Langston trips Ohno at one point so Ohno leaves the ring and knocks Langston out with whatever they want to call one of his elbow variants. Langston sells it like a gun shot. AJ Lee shrieks in terror as Ziggler is also shocked. Ohno gets back in the ring and he looks good for a bit, but Ziggler manages to turn things around. Ohno kicks out of the Fame Asser to Ziggler's frustration. A Sleeper Hold is applied by Dolph, and Ohno is fading fast, but with one last move he manages to run Ziggler into the turnbuckle, breaking the hold and sending Ziggler back. Ohno then unloads a second elbow on Dolph, and knocks the champ out cold. 1-2-3. Ohno has beaten the champion!
Kassius celebrates with the World Heavyweight Championship as AJ is distraught since both Ziggler and Langston have been knocked out cold. JBL and Cole point out of the historical significance as SmackDown goes off the air.
On RAW, Ohno comes out in a suit with the World Title all polished. He introduces himself and tells us all how he made history. Ziggler then comes out and calls it a fluke and a disgrace and no officiating body actually sanctioned the match. Ohno tells Ziggler to stop making excuses and just accept that he got played, put the title on the line and lost. Ohno then adds "You might steal the show, but I took your title."
There are obviously matches with Dolph Ziggler to be had, but also with Langston. You can have Alberto Del Rio re-enter the mix as well, since he lost his shot because of a Langston attack. Ohno & Del Rio vs. Ziggler & Langston would make a decent SmackDown main event. You can have Ohno team up with John Cena to face whoever Cena is feuding with and Ziggler. You have the battle of elbows against Wade Barrett, which would be a fun television title match. Big Show could come back and it's the man who won the WCW Title in his first match vs. the man who won the World Heavyweight Championship in his first match; KO Punch vs. KO Elbow. You can have Orton vs. Ohno; youngest World Heavyweight Champion vs. only man to win it in his first match; RKO vs. KO.
And if Ohno doesn't work as a babyface, you just have him become a slimy heel champion and master manipulator. Maybe even have the gold lure AJ Lee away from Ziggler's corner, and you turn Dolph face to chase to Ohno -- the man who stole his title and his girlfriend.
Basically, I wish to start a discussion about whether or not Kassius Ohno winning the World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match would be a terrible decision for the company to make. Keep in mind that I am talking about the World Heavyweight Championship, which has seemingly settled into the status of being a World Championship only in name, and that in stature, is more like the Intercontinental Championship of old.
I like Ohno as a talent. Something is missing from the guy, however. He's so comfortable that it's hard to imagine him climbing the ranks. He seems like the sort of talent that if you put into a mid-card role, you'll have yourself a good mid-card wrestler. If you put him into a tag team role, you'll have yourself a good tag team wrestler. If the WWE wants to make the most out of Kassius Ohno, should they instantly insert him into the main event and make him a good main event wrestler?
The WWE is getting better at introducing new talent from NXT. The Shield have been dominant and have all established themselves as being stars of the show, despite being saddled with mid-card titles. The Wyatt Family seem to be coming in with a bit of fanfare. Curtis Axel has been repacked and seems to be sticking. Fandango has worked far better than most thought he would. The WWE has seemingly worked out the formula to making acts they want to succeed do so.
What would winning a World Title in their first match do for a talent? It'd give them a constant accomplishment to brag about. Chris Jericho still talks about how he beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night. As long as Ohno was wrestling, he'd be the guy who won the World Heavyweight Championship in his first match on the main roster. If they ever wanted to insert Ohno into a main event program after that, they have plenty of fuel for it. If he doesn't catch on, it could be labelled a "fluke" and then Ohno could be settled into a firm mid-card role with the added bonus of being a "former World Champion."
Some talent would not be ready for such a thing. Even guys that have crafted their act on the indies often aren't "heavy" enough to pull it off. Giving it to a younger guy may cause resentment. Ohno has been wrestling since 1998. That's longer than John Cena. Ohno has received training by Les Thatcher (whose HWA was once a WWE developmental territory), Dory Funk, Jr. (who has helped trained some of the WWE's biggest stars), Tracy Smothers (who wrestled a fucking bear), The British Blue Bloods (two of whom work for the WWE and help develop talent in different ways) and even has some experience with lucha libre and faster-paced matches. Ohno is also 34 years old this year, which means that we're not talking about a young man. We're talking about an adult and someone who, if they are going to mean something in the industry, probably has a smaller window than, say, a Dean Ambrose in which to achieve it (Ohno is seven years Ambrose's senior).
Ohno is a unique talent for the WWE, in that he has years and years of experience, maturity and an understanding of the business under his belt. If anyone were to be trusted to win a World Title in their very first match with the WWE, it would almost have to be someone like Kassius Ohno. With other talent, you run the risk of them being too green, or turning out to have attitude problems.
If the title change happened on SmackDown, it also creates a "moment." Professional wrestling is built on moments, and a wrestler winning the World Title in their first main roster matches would create quite a stir, I imagine. Fans would be asking "Who the fuck is that?" and if they had watched NXT would say "I've seen him wrestle!" WWE.com could report the story ahead of time and the WWE could see if they could cause a boost in the rating.
From a merchandising standpoint, Ohno stands to make the WWE more money than he otherwise would by popularizing a catchphrase like "Seize the moment" or "One shot. Took it." and just slapping it on a t-shirt. These themes could become associated with Ohno for years to come.
It would also be surreal for fans who only watch RAW to see this guy they have never seen before come out with the World Heavyweight Championship. That would create a stir and get people clinging onto Ohno's every word and action -- a pressure under which I think he could thrive. And, as I said, if he doesn't -- you just take the title off him and have him move on to other things whilst always being the guy who had that moment.
How does this all go down? Maybe an arrogant Dolph Ziggler has beaten Alberto Del Rio at Payback and has had Big E. Langston take him out before he's scheduled to challenge for the title again. Ziggler gets in the ring and the referee does the old ten count spot and Del Rio forfeits the match. Ziggler runs his mouth a bit about how Del Rio is afraid of him and he asks if there is anybody in the back who isn't afraid of him. Ohno's music then hits and Kassius makes his WWE debut. Ziggler asks who the hell he is and Ohno introduces himself and says that he'll regret it if he doesn't take this opportunity to make an immediate impact. He's not scared of Dolph, or Big E. Langston, or...well, he's a little scared of AJ Lee. But the point is he's not scared of Dolph Ziggler, and in fact, he thinks he can beat Ziggler. Dolph asks Kassius if he is insane and Ohno says "Maybe. How about you find out?" Dolph says he's going to take Ohno to wrestling school tonight and that he looks like a hobo. Ohno asks Ziggler that if he's do confident, how about he puts the World Heavyweight Title on the line. Dolph says "Fine. I can defend it twice because I'm that good."
Ohno and Ziggler have the match you'd expect them to have, with Ohno surprisingly everybody with his wrestling ability. Ziggler manages to heel the advantage away from Ohno and then beats on him. He can't beat Ohno away, however, and Kassius even makes a bit of a comeback. JBL and Cole talk about how impressive this debut has been, but they don't really put much stock in Ohno's chances of actually sealing the deal. Langston trips Ohno at one point so Ohno leaves the ring and knocks Langston out with whatever they want to call one of his elbow variants. Langston sells it like a gun shot. AJ Lee shrieks in terror as Ziggler is also shocked. Ohno gets back in the ring and he looks good for a bit, but Ziggler manages to turn things around. Ohno kicks out of the Fame Asser to Ziggler's frustration. A Sleeper Hold is applied by Dolph, and Ohno is fading fast, but with one last move he manages to run Ziggler into the turnbuckle, breaking the hold and sending Ziggler back. Ohno then unloads a second elbow on Dolph, and knocks the champ out cold. 1-2-3. Ohno has beaten the champion!
Kassius celebrates with the World Heavyweight Championship as AJ is distraught since both Ziggler and Langston have been knocked out cold. JBL and Cole point out of the historical significance as SmackDown goes off the air.
On RAW, Ohno comes out in a suit with the World Title all polished. He introduces himself and tells us all how he made history. Ziggler then comes out and calls it a fluke and a disgrace and no officiating body actually sanctioned the match. Ohno tells Ziggler to stop making excuses and just accept that he got played, put the title on the line and lost. Ohno then adds "You might steal the show, but I took your title."
There are obviously matches with Dolph Ziggler to be had, but also with Langston. You can have Alberto Del Rio re-enter the mix as well, since he lost his shot because of a Langston attack. Ohno & Del Rio vs. Ziggler & Langston would make a decent SmackDown main event. You can have Ohno team up with John Cena to face whoever Cena is feuding with and Ziggler. You have the battle of elbows against Wade Barrett, which would be a fun television title match. Big Show could come back and it's the man who won the WCW Title in his first match vs. the man who won the World Heavyweight Championship in his first match; KO Punch vs. KO Elbow. You can have Orton vs. Ohno; youngest World Heavyweight Champion vs. only man to win it in his first match; RKO vs. KO.
And if Ohno doesn't work as a babyface, you just have him become a slimy heel champion and master manipulator. Maybe even have the gold lure AJ Lee away from Ziggler's corner, and you turn Dolph face to chase to Ohno -- the man who stole his title and his girlfriend.