Atlas Ortiz is now "Ricky". That rolls off the tongue nicer, but he's still nothing special so far.
Chris Harris as a singles wrestler is boring no matter where he is or what his name is. The trouble with both this week's Estrada match and last week's is that Estrada is more entertaining than the guy that's supposed to be impressively beating him in his debut.
That was Cowboy Chris Harris?! Was he always that fat and boring? He looked like a sack of crap coming off that top rope for that flying bodypress. And those are my compliments about his debut.
Ricky Ortiz can't be Atlas when Tony Atlas is suddenly around. What an amazing swerve of Henry insulting him backstage all show only to have Atlas align himself with Henry. I was hoping Atlas would come out to the old Sabba Simba music.
Evan Bourne is potentially the new Kofi Kingston. Drafted to RAW in 6 months.
The fact that a prime time cable WWE show in the year 2008 (or any year, actually), is being built around a Mark Henry vs. Tommy Dreamer feud is so awesome.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaThat was Cowboy Chris Harris?! Was he always that fat and boring? He looked like a sack of crap coming off that top rope for that flying bodypress. And those are my compliments about his debut.
That was the first thing I thought too; man did he look fat. The outfit may have been partly to blame.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaThat was Cowboy Chris Harris?! Was he always that fat and boring? He looked like a sack of crap coming off that top rope for that flying bodypress. And those are my compliments about his debut.
That was the first thing I thought too; man did he look fat. The outfit may have been partly to blame.
Honestly, how are any of these guys supposed to look good when they're dropped on tv and put in a match with Estrada? He's shown absolutely nothing in the ring since they switched him over to wrestler, and now he's being but in a position to get another guy over? Makes no sense.
I get a strange joy from the idea of a Mark Henry/Tony Atlas team up.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaThat was Cowboy Chris Harris?!
No, it was Wildcat Chris Harris. B^)
One of the recappers for F4W went all-out and said it was James Storm. Several years as a major tag team, and they developed so little personality that even when they're in different feds, no one can tell them apart!
Originally posted by CxMorgadoHonestly, how are any of these guys supposed to look good when they're dropped on tv and put in a match with Estrada? He's shown absolutely nothing in the ring since they switched him over to wrestler, and now he's being but in a position to get another guy over? Makes no sense.
I view it completely the other way: They put Harris out there with a guy who sold the hell out of absolutely everything. I'm not at all a fan of Estrada, but it's nowhere near like Estrada was sandbagging him. Harris is supposed to be at least a competent worker; maybe even a middle-card guy. If he can't do one single damn thing to get himself over, even with the fact that he's a recognisable TNA guy, I have zero sympathy.
Estrada did a perfectly fine job here. Harris is at a level where he should have been able to make some semblance of magic happen, almost regardless of who he was working with. I'm thinking back to dark matches that I've seen ... Spanky :-) & Carlito come to mind ... where the crowd was all over them from the moment they walked out. Not because the crowd knew them, but because, as seriously experienced workers, they knew how to sell themselves.
IMO, Harris did jackshit, which for somebody with his background, is totally inexcusable.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaThat was Cowboy Chris Harris?!
No, it was Wildcat Chris Harris. B^)
One of the recappers for F4W went all-out and said it was James Storm. Several years as a major tag team, and they developed so little personality that even when they're in different feds, no one can tell them apart!
That's slightly harsh on James Storm. After being dismissed as the weak link of the team during their early days he proved everyone wrong and has excelled in his singles role. Not to pat myself on the back too much but I remember always saying Storm would be the real breakout star when Harris was getting his huge singles push a few years ago.
The more I see of Harris post-AMW the more I think of John Kronus. Always tipped as the star of the team due to his size and look he went to pieces after splitting with Saturn. Harris looks to be going down the same path.
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Originally posted by John OrquiolaThat was Cowboy Chris Harris?!
No, it was Wildcat Chris Harris. B^)
One of the recappers for F4W went all-out and said it was James Storm. Several years as a major tag team, and they developed so little personality that even when they're in different feds, no one can tell them apart!
I thought that was the Naturals' gimmicks, being so bland you can't tell them apart from each other.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaThat was Cowboy Chris Harris?!
No, it was Wildcat Chris Harris. B^)
One of the recappers for F4W went all-out and said it was James Storm. Several years as a major tag team, and they developed so little personality that even when they're in different feds, no one can tell them apart!
I thought that was the Naturals' gimmicks, being so bland you can't tell them apart from each other.
And again, as CTX pointed out, WAY too harsh on Storm. He has the problem of being in TNA which doesn't know when to have storylines put emphasis on the stars rather than the other way around, but he's really come into his own the past couple years. He's put on some great performances, developed a tremendous presence and on-air persona, and has loads of untapped charisma.
Chris Harris, on the other hand, seems like he's completely given up. He was putting on weight in the last year in TNA, but the time off didn't do him any favors. He looked terrible. It was no wonder the crowd couldn't get into him, as he resembled one of those chubby jobbers you'd see getting destroyed by Dino Bravo on WWF Wrestling Challenge. Except he won, and the crowd had no idea what to make of it.
Speaking of the crowd, Emma hit the nail on the head - it all falls on Harris for his awful performance. Despite everything working against it, there were moments where the crowd tried to get into him - his jumping clothesline and the pop it got being a prime example. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to follow it up.
Another problem is that while Harris has shown at times that he's technically sound, that alone isn't what makes a good worker. He's always said he patterns himself after Hart and Michaels (a point that the announcers even brought up during the match), but what he and most other workers who idolize those two don't seem to get is that both men - particularly Michaels - knew not only what to do but WHEN to do it in order to get the crowd interested and invested in the outcome of a match.
Honestly, I wish Chris Harris/Braden Walker all the best and I do think he has the tools to succeed. But there's certain areas (eg. ring psychology and the gym) where he has a long way to go in terms of applying himself before he can even get a sniff at stardom. I'm sure a lot of TNA fans won't want to hear that and instead they'll say that it's all WWE and their Creative team's fault for him not getting over, but them's the breaks.
Also, Ricky Ortiz is terrible. In terms of just the in-ring work, it's almost like watching a smaller Boogeyman that can do a dropkick.
Also, Mark Henry and Tony Atlas: please, God, make this permanent.
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Originally posted by Deputy MarshallI'm sure a lot of TNA fans won't want to hear that and instead they'll say that it's all WWE and their Creative team's fault for him not getting over, but them's the breaks.
As a TNA fan, allow me to say that I agree with your views on Harris. I really liked AMW a lot, but once they broke up, it was all I could do to stay awake during Harris' matches. Good luck to Creative -- they'll need it. (I'd probably put him back in a tag team right away.)
--K
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Originally posted by Deputy MarshallI'm sure a lot of TNA fans won't want to hear that and instead they'll say that it's all WWE and their Creative team's fault for him not getting over, but them's the breaks.
As a TNA fan, allow me to say that I agree with your views on Harris. I really liked AMW a lot, but once they broke up, it was all I could do to stay awake during Harris' matches.
Same here. Whereas, as people have already said, Storm is really entertaining.
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