Can you still enjoy a Sheamus v. Alberto Del Rio match?

[Anybody Thrilla]

I can, personally. I think they do fantastic work together. I really dug the hard-hitting, smashmouth style. Very entertaining.

Reading the Raw thread, though, it appears that some people just refuse to enjoy a match between two guys that aren't their favorites for whatever reason.

I'm going to leave this pretty open-ended as we try and gauge the general feelings of the TPWW populace.

[screech]

Absolutely. Love their chemistry together and I have been a big Del Rio fan pretty much his whole WWE run.

Sheamus has been "meh" character-wise (so has Del Rio for a time, honestly), but he's a great worker.

[Lock Jaw]

Yes. Yes, I can.

[XL]

As two "mechanics" in the ring their stuff is great.

Unfortunately, I'm not into either of their characters. Add that to the fact that all of their recent matches have basically been meaningless and it's not a great recipe. It's hard enough to keep people engaged when there's some kind of story/feud necessitating the matches (see Orton/Cena, Orton/Bryan), without that it's just a bunch of repetitive, meaningless - albeit solid - matches.

[road doggy dogg]

I agree with the "technically the matches are good but character-wise they are boring" sentiment. They both just seem to be in a pretty stale place right now. Have one of them join Evolution dammit

[Anybody Thrilla]

This is a little off-topic, but has anyone else noticed the solid crop of non-American workers in the upper midcard right now? Sheamus, Del Rio, Cesaro, and Barrett is a solid core. Kinda neat.

Anyway, I don't mind just taking in a match as an athletic contest in kayfabe terms. I don't feel that EVERY match has to have a huge story behind it. One of my favorite matches in somewhat recent history is John Morrison v. Evan Bourne from Morrison's last night in ECW. No build up or anything, but it turned out fantastic. While a story is nice, it's not always necessary for me.

[road doggy dogg]

That's why I love the WWE Network. Can just flip on a random old PPV and have no idea what the story/context of any of the matches are and just watch. WCW ppvs are good for that

[Anybody Thrilla]

Most of WCW was easier to watch if you just forgot about the stories all together, I found.

[drave]

Their matches are always great mechanically. The character development is bland, but that is no fault of their own really. I think Sheamus could be a somewhat decent face, as long as they steer away from the Irish stereotyping comedy, but he will be a much MUCH better heel. His in-ring style is so hard hitting, I always enjoy watching him against whoever. I recall one of my favorite matches being him against Ziggles on RAW, when Ziggles threw him into the announce table and his back was left looking pretty nasty afterwards.

ADR is pretty good in ring too, but he bores the bejeebus out of me (both in-ring and character wise) and I couldn't care less if he is wrestling anyone, really. I believe someone like Sandow could take his place and get people to "care more" or whatever. He is just better at pissing people off than ADR, in my opinion.

[screech]

I agree with the "technically the matches are good but character-wise they are boring" sentiment. They both just seem to be in a pretty stale place right now. Have one of them join Evolution dammit

Either of them would be tits in Evolution

[whiteyford]

I just can't be bothered with either of them, both solid in the ring and they work well together but I just find myself going meh when their music hits.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Their matches are always great mechanically. The character development is bland, but that is no fault of their own really. I think Sheamus could be a somewhat decent face, as long as they steer away from the Irish stereotyping comedy, but he will be a much MUCH better heel. His in-ring style is so hard hitting, I always enjoy watching him against whoever. I recall one of my favorite matches being him against Ziggles on RAW, when Ziggles threw him into the announce table and his back was left looking pretty nasty afterwards.

ADR is pretty good in ring too, but he bores the bejeebus out of me (both in-ring and character wise) and I couldn't care less if he is wrestling anyone, really. I believe someone like Sandow could take his place and get people to "care more" or whatever. He is just better at pissing people off than ADR, in my opinion.

See, I like Sandow's character work, but the only match of his that I can recall enjoying (outside of MitB) was that one with Cena. That might just be because he hardly ever gets the opportunity to "go" like that, but I'd like to see some more in-ring from him before I get behind him.

[XL]

This is a little off-topic, but has anyone else noticed the solid crop of non-American workers in the upper midcard right now? Sheamus, Del Rio, Cesaro, and Barrett is a solid core. Kinda neat.

Anyway, I don't mind just taking in a match as an athletic contest in kayfabe terms. I don't feel that EVERY match has to have a huge story behind it. One of my favorite matches in somewhat recent history is John Morrison v. Evan Bourne from Morrison's last night in ECW. No build up or anything, but it turned out fantastic. While a story is nice, it's not always necessary for me.

Your opinion might change if they did Morrison vs. Bourne a million times.

Also, Barrett, Cesaro, Del Rio and Sheamus should band together as the United Nations and try to take over the main event scene.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Good point.

Also, I could get behind that stable.

[Emperor Smeat]

Agree with a few others in they can pull of some good matches together but not interested in either one's character.

[drave]

See, I like Sandow's character work, but the only match of his that I can recall enjoying (outside of MitB) was that one with Cena. That might just be because he hardly ever gets the opportunity to "go" like that, but I'd like to see some more in-ring from him before I get behind him.


Fair point. Honestly, a Sandow v Cesaro match where both would be allowed to go all out would be fuckin money.

[Razzamajazz]

the last house show i went to had a last man standing match between the two. it was a basic "take turns beating each other up with a kendo stick" match, but very entertaining, plus the crowd was into it

[Heisenberg]

I feel like they fight at every show I attend. They do have chemistry, you'd hope they would after x amount of matches.

I wish they would move on and if they are facing someone else, the other one should come out on the ramp and stare jealously.

[Bad News Gertner]

Sheamus and Del Rio are the two most under-rated workers in the company. I can't remember the last time either had a bad match.

[Lock Jaw]

http://www.wrestlestars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Sheamus-c-vs.-Alberto-Del-Rio.jpg
http://www.wrestleenigma.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/20120824_LIGHT_NOC_sheamus_delrio_C_homepage1.jpg
http://www.am2pmnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/sheamus-vs-alberto-del-rio.jpg
http://www.wrestleenigma.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Sheamus-vs-Del-Rio.jpg
http://www.wrestlestars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Sheamus-vs-Alberto-Del-Rio-in-no-way-out.jpg
http://www.wwe.com/f/wysiwyg/image/2012/07/20120730_ARTICLE_SS_sheamus_delrio.jpg

[DrCrawford]

They face eachother too often. Remember when Ryder jobbed to Del Rio like 3 weeks in a row? They have so many people on the roster, I don't know why they don't switch it up more instead of these almost weekly rematches and PPV rematches at the next PPV.

[Razzamajazz]

Remember when Ryder jobbed to Del Rio like 3 weeks in a row?

no

[Dark One]

I think Sheamus is given a lot of undeserved shit for his matches, and that he's actually pretty capable and can put on solid to great matches pretty reliably when given time and a decent hand as an opponent.

While he can also have good to great matches, I'm less keen on Del Rio as his matches as of late just seem pretty uninspired and paint-by-numbers, and I think that's a big part of what bores me with their matches. They've wrestled so many times in recent memory that I feel like I'm just watching the same match I've already seen so many times. It can still be a good match, but it's the same good match I saw last month, and the month before that, and two weeks before that, and a week before that.

That in and of itself isn't so bad; I mean, it's good to have inoffensive and decent, if repetitive, filler from time to time. The real problem was that 95% of last week's show was atrocious, which tends to change the perception of a relatively inoffensive, vanilla segment into "Oh, great. More shit that doesn't matter."

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Yeah, but probably enjoy the match more if there's a smark crowd that shits on it for being the same match we've seen from them.

[road doggy dogg]

How would that make you enjoy the match more

Smark crowds are awful

You are terrible

Eat feces

[BigCrippyZ]

No. They may have great in ring chemistry but they've worked singles matches together way too many times in a small amount of time. To me, they both have the characters/personalities/charisma of potatoes. That combined with the constant (almost weekly it seems) rematches has taken any interest away I have from seeing them in the ring, either together or separately.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Damn, so you don't want to see Sheamus or Del Rio at all then? Sheamus has been in beast mode as of late. He just had a banger with BNB on Smackdown that was all kinds of fun.

[teamXtremist]

I agree Seamus always brings it and Delrio is talented as fuck

[KaosDarksol]

Del Rio needs a refresh. He is so bland personality and character wise.

[XL]

Just something I was considering...

Rock vs Austin, arguably the best rivalry ever seen in pro-wrestling, featured 10 one-on-one matches (with 7 conclusive finishes) between December '97 and March '03.

ADR and Sheamus have had 10 matches (with 8 conclusive finishes) in the last 11 months.

[#1-norm-fan]

I watch wrestling for the characters. The most technically sound match can be awful if I don't give a flying fuck about the characters. I find Sheamus and ADR to both be really good performers if they are booked in a remotely decent way. But I just care too little about them right now to invest any interest in a match.

[dronepool]

Maybe in a celebrity death match, but not the modern incarnation of any WWE match.