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#1 |
Posts: 61,523
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I have an honest question...
What was so horrible about Rikishi being revealed as the driver that ran down Stone Cold Steve Austin? When I started watching, Rikishi was already a bit into his heel run (sometime between Armageddon 2000 and Royal Rumble 2001), so I didn't actually see "the big reveal," or whatever. But it's something that is generally looked on as universally horrible.
What exactly was it that sucked the life out of any (unforced) upwards momentum Rikishi had going for him in 2000? Was it because he was so over and accepted as a face character? Was it that he couldn't cut a good heel promo? Was it that he couldn't play a heel in the ring? Was it that he wasn't the best option out there? Was it just revealed it an anti-climatic way? I'm curious, because when I started watching, people knew Rikishi, and he was considered one of the WWE's "top guys" to casuals over here. He was never great in the ring, I guess, but that hasn't stopped guys from finding success. I guess my question boils down to: Was it the angle or the performer that made Rikishi's heel turn in 2000 so shitty? I'll also throw in this bonus: Who would you have had revealed as the driver behind Stone Cold's hit and run? Pfft |
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#2 |
Shelly Martinez = Ratings
Posts: 23,610
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To me, it was that Rikishi couldn't play a heel at all. And he was pretty much plucked from the sky. He went from shaking his fat ass around the ring to running down the number one guy in no time at all. After the shock (not the good kind) of the reveal, fans realized that he couldn't cut a heel promo (I'd argue no promo at all, but that's another story) to save his life. Vince also realized this (and that fans were upset with the decision), hence Triple H coming in to salvage the angle.
As for who I would have picked, I'll get back to you since I have a test in 20 minutes. |
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#3 |
Spliff & A Brew
Posts: 6,754
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He was just obviously packaged as a heel for Austin and Rocky. He was over in his gimmick before, I think dancy fun-loving fat guy to murder intending heel is a big switch, and without much in the way of set up, is a bit much to swallow.
Plus he is a decent worker, but given the 2 years of main events that preceeded it, the matches weren't going to have much to make them stand out. I thought it was a shit angle anyway, but if I had to pick someone to do it, it would have been Hogan. Not a viable option at the time, but meh. |
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#4 |
MVP Mark
Posts: 16,451
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Billy Gunn. Not a joke eithier.
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#5 |
TPWW's #3 Peep
Posts: 20,903
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For me it was just the fact that it was Rikishi. Nothing against the guy, he was pretty good for his size, but that was a perfect oppotunity to reveal it to be someone "big", or someone old star returning. Obviously it could have been revealed to be anyone of The Rock, Undertaker, Mick Foley, Triple H, maybe Kurt Angle before his debut. Also it could have been to announce the return of an old legend. Shawn Michaels returning to get revenege for "ending his career", maybe someone like British Bulldog or Mr. Perfect returning to WWE and taking out their top guy. Or just someone like Ken Shamrock or who was returning.
I guess it was just after everything it all came down to... "It was Rikishi". And it just kinda felt like a waste. |
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#6 |
Get a poke on
Posts: 35,234
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Probably has to do with the fact that you didn't start watching until after that. Things were great when you started watching, but not the same. Up until that point, they were on such a roll. It was one of the first major dissapointments with an angle after an impressive run. It was too a point where expectations were understandably high, and most felt let down bigtime
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#7 |
*Oh Sh*t*
Posts: 19,302
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The main problem I had with Rikishi being chosen as the guy to do it is that... NOTHING changed about him. Yeah he had a new theme and he would wear different threads to the ring but in the ring he still wore the thong and really nothing much changed about him at all. He was still the same fat guy that used to dance with Too Cool. It's like they expected him to become this super monster heel after running Austin down and not having to do anything to the character and it would automatically transfer over... and it flopped.
That coupled with the fact that the man couldn't cut a promo, let alone a heel promo. He could dance... that's it. Rikishi was just an awful choice although I'm not really sure who could have used such a push that huge. That's the thing I don't know is who could have been used for that super heel push but Rikishi was just an awful choice. |
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#8 |
You can't teach that
Posts: 19,337
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It didnt work because he wasnt a top guy, and he was a happy fun face. The Storyline had been built up for so long on the number one guy in history, only to have the revelation come to be that a bit player was behind it, and then kind of faded out for the big names to go at it again.
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#9 |
You can't teach that
Posts: 19,337
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This event was the same as the Vince's son angle.
Built up for a major story, and the culmination was a huge let down. |
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#10 |
Shelly Martinez = Ratings
Posts: 23,610
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#11 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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There is really no point in explaining stuff like this to noid, he really doesn't get what makes wrestling good or bad. He proves it again and again by asking questions like why did the Rikishi angle fail, what is the point of promoting Christian's return and that he constantly wants to put over bland workhorses in the show horse spots.
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#12 |
Get a poke on
Posts: 35,234
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I feel like this is a dishonest question
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#13 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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#14 |
VG + Q&A FORUM REPRESENT
Posts: 38,940
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'I did it...for...the Rock...'
That one promo and you knew it was doomed. If that had went better maybe it could have worked. He was in the ring with Foley and The Rock, his mic skills were not strong enough. Plus the whole race aspect to it confused everyone - is this a heel you are supposed to boo or some kind of equality fighter that you are supposed to cheer. I don't remember there being much of a reaction at all when it was revealed. |
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#15 | |
Spliff & A Brew
Posts: 6,754
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#16 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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#17 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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I don't completely blame WWE for this because at the time Rikishi was over, but starting to loss momentum, so a heel turn could have saved it. And they were trying to make a new star, so Rikishi wasn't a horrible choice for it. But still there were better choices for this angle, and Rikishi pretty pretty much dropped the ball and WWE should have seen that coming.
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#18 |
You know that’s right
Posts: 52,757
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Rikishi himself said he didn't like the angle because he was too much of a face character. Also, they made him look like a joke at No Mercy. You don't push someone as a monster heel by having Austin beat the shit out of him to the point Austin gets arrested and then have Rikishi fuck up his interference in the title match later that night. He had zero credibility. He lost every single PPV match he had as a heel.
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#19 | |
Stupid Sexy Flanders
Posts: 1,728
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You could almost get a sense that the crowd wanted it to be The Rock, and when Foley pointed his finger at Rikishi, there was barely a response. I'll agree with Mackem in that the crowd had no idea how to respond to his promo. They popped for all the big names (on a side note, kind of sad how most of today's fans seem to be clueless about Superfly Snuka, but he got a pretty big pop in that promo from 2000), and he at least did a decent job of convincing us that some kind of wrong had been committed against his people, but he failed to do it in a heelish manner. |
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#20 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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Yeah, I recalled being miffed by that.
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#21 |
Voices in my Head
Posts: 742
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It should have been Kurt Angle or even The Rock, WM 17 would have been even better had it been The Rock.
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#22 | |
Total Non-Stop Apologist
Posts: 4,430
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"I did it... for The Rock." Talk about completely destroying the story line with one line. So instead of Rikishi being a total bad ass, or bastard or heel, he's a flunky? A fucking flunky ran over the most over wrestler in the WWF? Rikishi saying that he did it for The Rock doesn't elevate him in people's eyes because he wasn't being his own man. He wasn't attacking Steve Austin to become a better wrestler or gain noterity, he was doing it for The Rock. Who cares? People can't get behind a heel or a face in a main event copacity if their whole gimmick is based on them doing what they do for someone else (unless its because of blackmail and even that barley works). If Rikishi came out and said "Yeah it's true I was the one that ran over Steve Austin, because he is a symbol of everything that I hate in this buisness. He is a symbol of the fans. The fans are the people that took me from a proud Samoan Warrior and turned be into a laughing stock dancing like and idiot, with a bunch of idiots. And I'm sick of it. I'm sick of doing what the fans want. I'm sick of being who the fans want me to be. "So I got bitter and angry and decided I wanted to strike at them where it hurts most Stone Cold Steve Austin so that's what I did. I took him out. I put him out of action. I did what neither you (pointing to Foley), you (pointing to The Rock), or Vince McMahon could do, I put the rattle snake one the shelf. And now he wants to come back? Well, when he comes back he's going to find the WWF a less friendly place because I'm on a mission to destroy everything the fans love starting with Austin. And when I'm done with him and Austin is out of your lives for good. (he steps up to The Rock) Than perhaps its time to clear out all their favorites." Then Rikishi leaves the ring and preceeds to attack Steve Austin upon his return and blah blah blah. That could have worked rather than... "I did it... for The Rock because I'm too much of a pussy to be my own man because everyone thinks I'm a joke and I should be." That and Rikishi wasn't all that good on the mic to begin with. |
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#23 |
Ron Paul 4 EVA
Posts: 152,467
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Seems I've been talking a lot about good swerve/bad swerve lately.
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#24 |
A Property of Matter
Posts: 25,543
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Everything everyone has already said: doing it for the Rock zero mic skills, not being a threat to Austin...to these I will add...
...the angle failed so badly that HHH needed to be the mastermind behind the whole thing. That may have been planned from the get go, but I seem to remember that once HHH's involvement was revealed, Rikishi pretty much dropped off Austin's radar, even though he was still the guy who physically ran him down. They didn't get rid of the thong. No heel could be taken seriously with that much ass showing. |
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#25 |
Shelly Martinez = Ratings
Posts: 23,610
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It was good on them to change his theme (which I actually enjoyed), but nothing else about him really changed. It could have been a little better if they would have done away with the face aspects of his character, as others have said. (I know changing the character when transitioning between face and heel is generally frowned upon, but I think it was necessary in this case.)
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#26 |
Shelly Martinez = Ratings
Posts: 23,610
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I have to do it now:
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#27 |
Get a poke on
Posts: 35,234
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Shane Douglas.
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#28 |
Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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It would like if the Red Rooster attacked Hulk Hogan with a chainsaw in the '80s. No one would buy it.
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#29 |
Voices in my Head
Posts: 742
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#30 |
Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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It's a line based off of what Pat Patterson said to Ricky Steamboat, who wanted to turn heel at the time.
"You could run in with a chainsaw and cut Hogan's arms off and you still couldn't be a heel. The fans wouldn't buy it." |
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#31 |
Posts: 61,523
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I remember being a Billy Gunn mark back in the day. Jim Ross used to put him over so well. "Arguably pound-for-pound the toughest man in the WWE."
The way he used to move in the ring, his general look, and even his theme music just made me like the guy, and want to see him succeed. Thinking about it, given that in 1999, Billy Gunn was King of the Ring, and looking to edge himself towards the WWE Championship; him being revealed as the driver wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world. 2001 Royal Rumble: Kane being the runner-up and doing so well, and Billy Gunn making the Final Four made me so happy as a budding wrestling fan. It sort of kept me latched onto the business, instead of just ditching it when I found something better to watch. |
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#32 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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#33 |
Posts: 61,523
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After watching that video, I have a few thoughts:
It's sad how much it reminds me of current times. For that era, that is sad, but compared to something on WWE television today? I don't know, it just reminds me of the angles the WWE has been running that people have been creaming themselves over. Watching Rikishi cut a promo, I couldn't help but think of Randy Orton. Say what you want, but if Orton were born a little earlier, I don't think he would have cut it as a main eventer. The "I did it for The Rock" bit didn't sink it for me. To me, it seemed like Rikishi was deflecting responsibility for his actions. Well, that was until he "accepted" it. I think this promo could have used a boost by either making Rikishi more selfish ("I did it so that I could get a spot"), or by having Rikishi do exactly what he did, only for The Rock to get on the mic all flustered and say "You did it for your damn self" and point out that Rikishi is just trying to justify what he did, and there's no justification for it. Or they just could have made it The Rock. But in retrospect, compared to the shit we get today, this isolated reveal doesn't seem that bad. Hornswoggle as Vince's son was about a million times worse. Anyway, I'm just thinking of other guys they could have made it, and two names popped into my head: Would Chris Jericho or Chris Benoit have made a good driver in the storyline? Jericho came into the WWE around 1999 to try and make an impact, and his ambition boots on. Would Austin vs. Jericho have worked, or was Jericho too "mid-card" as a face to make the jump to being a main event heel? Also, was he too over and moving too much merchandise to do it? Chris Benoit is the more "serious" choice. He came into the WWE in early 2000, I believe, and taking out Stone Cold could have been preparation for that. And the man was "The Crippler." ![]() |
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#34 |
Posts: 61,523
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#35 | |||||
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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Beniot on the other hand is even worse on the mic than Rikishi (which is why he has mostly be kept off it or given a limited role on the mic when they had to) plus it would have made no sense. It should have been the Rock, end of story. |
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#36 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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#37 |
Pelvic Sorcerer
Posts: 64,762
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Anyhow, I'm done with this. It is clear you, Noid, do not understand the nuance....hell you don't really understand booking 101, forget nuance.
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#38 |
EATER OF HOT POCKETS
Posts: 14,340
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#39 |
TPWW's HHH Mark Since '04
Posts: 29,886
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I wish it would have been Ken Shamrock. That would have been badass.
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#40 | ||||||
Posts: 61,523
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I will accept that answer from other people, but because it is from you, I cannot trust it. |
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