Biggest Surprise

[littleguns]

As a folow up to my "it factor" thread, who surprised you when a certain push was given??

For me, New Age Outlaws......2 mediocre mid carders put together....I thought they were going no where and surprised the heck out of me.

I would also say Batista, he had the look but really shocked me...

[Montague]

I never expected Cena and Orton to become main event guys - especially given the way they started.

I suspect part of it was the lame characters both men portrayed at the time, but consider also the other talent that was still with the company then.
I knew those two guys would go over better with the new edge they were each given, but I never in my wildest imagination thought that Cena would become the WWE poster-boy.

I still stand by my earlier assessment of today’s WWE climate: being the top dog in the Fed today is like being valedictorian of summer school.

Rock, Austin, and Foley also come to mind as surprises.
It seems that most of Vince’s biggest stars over the years were “accidents.”
With the exception of Hogan, guys Vince tried to mega-push, like Sid, Lex, UW, etc., fell flat, while the accidents took the company to greater & greater heights.

[GraniteCityDon]

The fact they pushed The Mountie to an IC title win over Bret Hart shocked the hell out of me. The biggest has to be Sgt. Slaughter beating Warrior and being a credible champ for his reign, i NEVER saw that coming.

[Montague]

The fact they pushed The Mountie to an IC title win over Bret Hart shocked the hell out of me. The biggest has to be Sgt. Slaughter beating Warrior and being a credible champ for his reign, i NEVER saw that coming.

I suspect they did that to give Hogan someone big to win the belt from.
They were already in a feud, and UW wasn't panning out as champion for a number of reasons.

I think Vince was hoping to recreate the same type of climate in which Hulkster won the belt from the Iron Sheik 5 years earlier.
Hogan was "Mr. Patriotism" while Slaughter had alligned himself with the evil Arab militants.
It turned out to be a decent angle, anyway.

[OLE BIG]

Greenburg.  He went from losing dark matches to WCW champion in no time.  He blew up for no apparent reason.

[chaos]

I never expected Cena and Orton to become main event guys - especially given the way they started.

Now I've always seen something in Orton that told me he was gonna be big, Cena on the other hand........I figured that rapper gimmick and CD would have been his first step out the door....

Right now I'd say the Miz and the way he started out, never thought he'd be up there for the title.

[littleguns]

Greenburg.  He went from losing dark matches to WCW champion in no time.  He blew up for no apparent reason.

Best point. I remember Goldberg jobibng to a few people early in his career..

[Montague]

Now I've always seen something in Orton that told me he was gonna be big, Cena on the other hand........I figured that rapper gimmick and CD would have been his first step out the door....

Right now I'd say the Miz and the way he started out, never thought he'd be up there for the title.

I saw a glimmer of hope for Cena when he switched to the wigger gimmick.
It was before that I was very skeptical.
Lame.

I honestly didn't pay much of any attention to Miz prior to his US title reign.
Good call.

[Captain Equipoise]

The way he started out, def. Cena when he was doing that cheesy rap gimmick and trying to rap while walking down the ramp, for sure I thought he'd last a few weeks and they'd scrap him

[Playboy]

As a folow up to my "it factor" thread, who surprised you when a certain push was given??

For me, New Age Outlaws......2 mediocre mid carders put together....I thought they were going no where and surprised the heck out of me.

I would also say Batista, he had the look but really shocked me...

Batista and only because of his short time in the WWE. He arrived in late 2002 and by 2003-2005 he was a main eventer making large coin.

[GraniteCityDon]

Dare i say Nash? Until he landed the Diesel gimmick he was a journeyman wrestler IMO - Vinnie Vegas?! lol

[funk51]

how about the undertaker when he was mean mark callas?

[Captain Equipoise]

how about the undertaker when he was mean mark callas?

That's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind, imo Vince turning him into the undertaker was utterly fucking brilliant, he literally made himself the next hulk hogan, able to carry the company into the 2000's!!! that was one bet that paid off well for VKM

[Montague]

That's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind, imo Vince turning him into the undertaker was utterly fucking brilliant, he literally made himself the next hulk hogan, able to carry the company into the 2000's!!! that was one bet that paid off well for VKM

I actually never expected the "Undertaker" gimmick to go anywhere.
When he came out in that cape with the black & purple boots, gloves, and hat, I immediately thought of this:




I thought, "no way."
Boy, was I wrong!

[Captain Equipoise]

I actually never expected the "Undertaker" gimmick to go anywhere.
When he came out in that cape with the black & purple boots, gloves, and hat, I immediately thought of this:




I thought, "no way."
Boy, was I wrong!

LOL, seriously  I don't know where the hell they got the purple from..I've never seen a mortician/undertaker in purple, lol

[Montague]

LOL, seriously  I don't know where the hell they got the purple from..I've never seen a mortician/undertaker in purple, lol

Oh, don’t get me wrong…
Everything else was immaculate as far as the way Vince built him up with instructions like, “he’s not to leave his feet,” given to the other guys before his Taker‘s first Battle Royal.

But that attire… and then the Paul Bearer gimmick with the Silly Putty face and voice that sounded like his nuts were in a vice.
I just remembered thinking how can such an invincible monster be so cheesy?

[Captain Equipoise]

Oh, don’t get me wrong…
Everything else was immaculate as far as the way Vince built him up with instructions like, “he’s not to leave his feet,” given to the other guys before his Taker‘s first Battle Royal.

But that attire… and then the Paul Bearer gimmick with the Silly Putty face and voice that sounded like his nuts were in a vice.
I just remembered thinking how can such an invincible monster be so cheesy?

I remember buying the first issue of the undertaker coming book when it came out, lol

that's when the cheese hit the fan!

[leonp1981]

I remember buying the first issue of the undertaker comic book when it came out, lol

Geez, that's going back a few years, I had that as well!

[Playboy]

Oh, don’t get me wrong…
Everything else was immaculate as far as the way Vince built him up with instructions like, “he’s not to leave his feet,” given to the other guys before his Taker‘s first Battle Royal.

But that attire… and then the Paul Bearer gimmick with the Silly Putty face and voice that sounded like his nuts were in a vice.
I just remembered thinking how can such an invincible monster be so cheesy?

I enjoyed his biker gimmick. I thought it was a fresh change. But the deadman "old West" gimmick is still gold.

[funk51]

Oh, don’t get me wrong…
Everything else was immaculate as far as the way Vince built him up with instructions like, “he’s not to leave his feet,” given to the other guys before his Taker‘s first Battle Royal.

But that attire… and then the Paul Bearer gimmick with the Silly Putty face and voice that sounded like his nuts were in a vice.
I just remembered thinking how can such an invincible monster be so cheesy?

the undertaker was really scary to young kids, one of my kids freinds was so scared of the undertaker he would literaly run out of the room covering his face when the undertaker would come on.

[Montague]

the undertaker was really scary to young kids, one of my kids freinds was so scared of the undertaker he would literaly run out of the room covering his face when the undertaker would come on.

I was about 12 when Calaway debuted as "The Dead Man."
Maybe I was a little out of range of the scare factor.
My buddies & I used to laugh at how hokey it was.

[Playboy]

I was about 12 when Calaway debuted as "The Dead Man."
Maybe I was a little out of range of the scare factor.
My buddies & I used to laugh at how hokey it was.

I enjoyed his early heel work. Especially when he beat the piss outta Warrior and put him in a casket. Then a very dramtic Earl and Dave Hebner with sledge hammers banging the casket with half assed attempted swings to get Warrior out...lol..good stuff though.

[GraniteCityDon]

I remember seeing Snuka wrestle him at WM(7?) and being over the moon that Snuka managed to hit him a few times before being dismantled. Genuine kayfabe for me back then (i was a little kid) and i thought 'Taker was unstoppable. But then i watched an old silvervision video - something about the history of the titles which features Savage, Hart Foundation etc - and saw Hogan pin 'Taker with a reverse roll and thought it was pathetic.

[Montague]

I enjoyed his early heel work. Especially when he beat the piss outta Warrior and put him in a casket. Then a very dramtic Earl and Dave Hebner with sledge hammers banging the casket with half assed attempted swings to get Warrior out...lol..good stuff though.

You know they had to have gimmicked that casket; given UW's (un)popularity with the locker room, they had to have known that the guys who were supposed to make the save would have been mighty slow "rescuing" him from the air-tight container.

Dave: "Hey Earl, relax...we've got plenty of time to get out there!"
Earl: "Yeah, but what about Jim?"
Dave: "I don't know about him. But WE'VE got plenty of time."
 

[Captain Equipoise]

You know they had to have gimmicked that casket; given UW's (un)popularity with the locker room, they had to have known that the guys who were supposed to make the save would have been mighty slow "rescuing" him from the air-tight container.

Dave: "Hey Earl, relax...we've got plenty of time to get out there!"
Earl: "Yeah, but what about Jim?"
Dave: "I don't know about him. But WE'VE got plenty of time."
 

Hahahahah!!!!