JBL's rise to the top

[The Answer]

In my opinion JBL being the champion on Smackdown has really hurt the credibility of the brand.Here is a guy who was a mid carder for nearly ten years and not a very good one at that.So what does WWE do they re-invent him as a self made millionaire(one of the worst gimmicks ever).His mic skills are decent but no one is buying this guy as a main eventer.Just another one of Vince Mcmahon's bigger=better schemes it happened with Rikishi and that Austin angle and it will happen to JBL as well.With Smackdown having good wrestlers like Booker T,Rob Van Dam,John Cena.Cena and Van Dam have the popularity to be main eventers and Booker T has been a main eventer before and is a heel which is a bonus.So hopefully the Dead Man puts this push to sleep at Summerslam :y:

[Quick1]

I liked Rikishi in that angle.

[The Answer]

I liked Rikishi in that angle.

Yes but how long did it last Rikishi didn't have the skills to be a Main eventer and became a mid card whipping boy again quick

[Quick1]

Still he should have stayed with that gimmick.

[The Answer]

Still he should have stayed with that gimmick.

The whole gimmick was based on him hitting on austin with the car as soon as that feud ended the gimmick was pretty much over

[Kane Knight]

I'm actually liking JBL as the slimeball heel champion.

Trust me, i hate myself for saying that, but it's true. Just as long as I don't see him and taker suck up the ring tomorrow, I'll prolly maintain that illusion.

[James Steele]

Indeed, if you look at JBL as a entertainer, then he is good.

If you look at him as a professional wrestler, then he sucks.

JBL is no Rock on the mic, nor is he a Benoit on the mat. He is doing better than I ever imagined. So look at JBL as a "at least it isn't a complete piece of shit" rather than focusing on what would be better. A shitload of stuff would be better, but I think JBL is going to stay in the main event until the end of this year. Then, he will slowly slide down to the U.S. Title division where he would be a perfect fit.

[Volchok]

o and Deadmanwalkin... Taker held the title 4 times...

WWF Federation Title on November 27, 1991 from Hulk Hogan

WWF Federation Title on March 23, 1997 from Sycho Sid

WWF Federation Title on May 23, 1999 from Steve Austin

WWE Undisputed Title on May 19, 2002 from Hulk Hogan

[Loose Cannon]

Yeah, tomorrow will be a huge test for JBL. Like KK said, JBL has been a pretty good Champion. GAB got a decent buy, better then the last Smackdown PPV and he's not killing business by any means. He top quality on the mic and if he's protected, he can be god in the ring. But see, it's going to be hard to work with Taker. They will probably go 20-25 tomorrow, so it shouldn't be that bad. Like I said in the other thread, Heidenreich will probably interfere and cost Taker the match.

[Kane Knight]

Indeed, if you look at JBL as a entertainer, then he is good.

If you look at him as a professional wrestler, then he sucks.

JBL is no Rock on the mic, nor is he a Benoit on the mat. He is doing better than I ever imagined. So look at JBL as a "at least it isn't a complete piece of shit" rather than focusing on what would be better. A shitload of stuff would be better, but I think JBL is going to stay in the main event until the end of this year. Then, he will slowly slide down to the U.S. Title division where he would be a perfect fit.
Yeah, he's great until he gets in the ring and wrestles. Then he's pretty lame.

He's no rock, but he's (sadly) probably one of the top talents on the mic on Smackdown. Not that there's a HUGE amount of competition. I mean, Eddie's gold, Angle's gold, and Cena's gold when he's not doing "poop" jokes. Who else? Not a lot.

I mean, I DO think about how it could be better, but I'm also a realist. He's not killing the business. He's not hurting Smackdown! in any MAJOR sense. His segments on the last couple of Smackdowns! have been great. He's really got that shit eating grin noveau riche thing down. He makes me want to hate him, and does a good job at it.

[Impact!]

Yeah i admit JBL has had some alright segments but comeon how on earth can someone who at one minute be tagging with farooq and losing to the bashams come out one month later and be the wwe champion, and also dont forget the only singles titles he's held are the now defunct european and hardcore titles. wassup withthat???????????????????????////// :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

[James Steele]

*insert old catchphrase here* :shifty:

Well, if you are going to use logic like that then complain about a shitload of former wwe/world champions.

Its called a push. Vince shoves a magic rocket up the wrestler's ass and then he goes on a trip down our throats. Do you understand?

[Kane Knight]

Yeah i admit JBL has had some alright segments but comeon how on earth can someone who at one minute be tagging with farooq and losing to the bashams come out one month later and be the wwe champion, and also dont forget the only singles titles he's held are the now defunct european and hardcore titles. wassup withthat???????????????????????////// :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:
PLease, buy yourself a clue.

[LK]

Originally posted by Kane Knight
Yeah, he's great until he gets in the ring and wrestles. Then he's pretty lame.

He's no rock, but he's (sadly) probably one of the top talents on the mic on Smackdown. Not that there's a HUGE amount of competition. I mean, Eddie's gold, Angle's gold, and Cena's gold when he's not doing "poop" jokes. Who else? Not a lot.

I mean, I DO think about how it could be better, but I'm also a realist. He's not killing the business. He's not hurting Smackdown! in any MAJOR sense. His segments on the last couple of Smackdowns! have been great. He's really got that shit eating grin noveau riche thing down. He makes me want to hate him, and does a good job at it.
:y:

[Fox]

No matter how good he's doing now, JBL doesn't deserve the position he's in.

[Batsu]

Yeah... I'm seeing a Heidenreich run-in on this.

While JBL is on a slightly more entertaining "Diesel"-esque run as champ, he isn't really hurting the business as much as HHH did with his lackluster year-long title reign (that might have been an experiment with WWE). That actually hurt HHH more than it helped him, really. With JBL, it's a question of ....what's next after he eventually drops the belt (if not to Taker, to some other WWE superstar...Cena perhaps)?

It's a worse situation than Brock Lesnar post WWE-title loss because he's gonna really have to work to put on entertaining matches and feuds after this.

As for Rikishi, the two situations are definitely comparable, but they should have gone with the obvious choice (Billy Gunn or HHH). Rikishi was slowly becoming a routine act, and I liked him as a heel.... just Rikishi's "rationale" for turning heel sucked big time.

They were going for "shock" instead of sense, and that wasn't the only time it burned WWE. At least with Bradshaw, while the change was definitely sudden, JBL made it believable. The character was closer to home than expected. I don't think Rikishi really "felt" the heel turn, and when that happens, crap is bound to ensue (see Goldberg as a heel).

[Dorkchop]

The only problem that I have with his new JBL gimmick is that it happened so fast. He's actually doing a pretty good job as a heel champ, but it happened too fast. He made a few good promos, had one good PPV match, then BAM he's the champ.

If his character had at least six months to build up his character, people probably wouldn't be calling him a joke as champion. Yes, I'd rather see Eddie still as the champion, but JBL isn't doing a bad job. He must be doing something right if pretty much everyone hates him. I mean, it's not like it's David Arquette here.

[Aussie Skier]

Yeah i admit JBL has had some alright segments but comeon how on earth can someone who at one minute be tagging with farooq and losing to the bashams come out one month later and be the wwe champion, and also dont forget the only singles titles he's held are the now defunct european and hardcore titles. wassup withthat???????????????????????////// :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

ooooook.

well, I'm assuming ur an Eddie fan.
hate to tell you, but, JBL losing to the Bashams....

Eddie and Chavo alos lost to the basham's too, and 2 or 3 months later, he was world champ.

and anyway, it wasnt a month later that JBL won the title

[KaliKot]

Hey, at least Eddie actually earned his way to the top with a legit push. His feud with Chavo and Classic and the crowd reaction he was having put him in the limelight. Remember the ratings increased one man named EDDIE made possible? And he did win the Smackdown Royal Rumble by legitimately dumping Angle during a very exciting finish.

JBL jobbed for 3 straight times, 3 weeks in a row, was given a new gimmick, attacked eddie, was awarded a #1 contendership because of kicking mexicans out of the border, and @(*#&(@*&#(*!!!! He's now the champion

[Kane Knight]

If you think any one person was responsible for ratings, you need to recheck your thought process.

Meanwhile, JBL didn't "prove" himself. That's a trick for faces. JBL's not a face. He's a heel, and heels often get the quick route to the top. Be it by cheating in a title shot, or kicking mexicans out from the border region.

[Corkscrewed]

This is nothing that hasn't been discussed already for a few months.

The point is this: I dont mind him being pushed, but he's yet to look like a champ. He has no credible wins against anyone not a Cruiserweight, and he doesn't look like he's winning anything through at least a bit of skills. Yeah, he's a heel, but even heels need a couple of pinfalls over good midcarders to show they can cut it in the main event.

He's great on promos, though, so at least he's entertaining. However, at this point, Cena and Orton are more credible than JBL.

[Kane Knight]

He's great on promos, though, so at least he's entertaining. However, at this point, Cena and Orton are more credible than <s>JBL</s> 90% of the Roster .
Fixed.

:)

But yeah. Doesn't take much. You notice most of the roster either sucks, or is booked like a total joke.

[Head]

It's taken me a while to get used to it, but I gotta agree, JBL is an entertaining champ.

[Wildcat789]

I think for smarks, the fact that we KNOW he sucks makes him a great heel to us. To the casual fan or mark, he is a good heel because of his character and mic skills. He isn't that bad of a champion. It'd still be cool to watch him lose it to Angle or Eddie though.

[Kane Knight]

He'd be better if he could wrestle. But fortunately, he hasn't had many matches of late, most of them in PPV situations. The good news there is that, since I'm not buying the PPVs, I can stick with the notion that his promos are good.

[Loose Cannon]

Well I'm hearing Angle and Taker are pushing to work a program with each other over the Title, so JBL's days are going to be finished soon.

[Aussie Skier]

For me, JBL is great.

i would like him wrestling some other guys other than el gran luchador and the rocky challenge guy, to me it seem more credible however.

still...that man is a promo genius!

[Chavo Classic]

For me, JBL is great.

i would like him wrestling some other guys other than el gran luchador and the rocky challenge guy, to me it seem more credible however.

still...that man is a promo genius!


True. I loved his rant on SD after the whole Germany thing and being sacked from CNBC.

And anyone who can pull off wearing hats that bad....