Mike Awesome post ECW

[Judy Bagwell]

was there any chance of him getting a run as a top guy in WCW or WWE? I know they booked him horribly but did he have enough to get a big push?

 

[Tim Cooke]

They had the chance to make him a star night 1 in WCW, but Russo completely blew that especially when he put him right next to Kevin Nash. He had a good match against Kanyon at Slamboree but after that was unmotivated due to a terrible gimmick and personal issues.

[Rocco]

If I remember right he wasn't well thought of by WWE. Undertaker wasn't a fan I think.

[Jingus]

Everywhere he ever went after ECW, they booked that guy as if they actively hated him. And poor Awesome never really figured out how to have good matches with most guys, he had a very particular formula that was unfortunately something that the majority of workers were either unable to keep up with or unwilling to subject themselves to. Can you imagine someone like Stone Cold letting Mike recklessly powerbomb them over and over again? Not everyone has Masato Tanaka's balls and/or total lack of common sense.

[goc]

Booking never did him any favors but I just don't think he was a guy who could have been a big star in WCW or WWE. Part of what made him special in ECW is that he was bigger than almost everyone else on the roster which wasn't the case in the Big Two. He also couldn't wrestle the same style of match he'd been doing in FMW & ECW. Add in that he wasn't all that great of a talker and it's tough to see how he could have really had a sustained run as a top guy.

[greenmistguy90]

He one of those guys I wonder what would have happened if wcw lasted

 

I wonder if wwe originally had bigger plans for him considering how he debuted

[Sidebottom]

If I remember right he wasn't well thought of by WWE. Undertaker wasn't a fan I think.

 

The story goes (take it with a pinch) is that they worked a match, Undertaker said he couldn't work after the match. I've heard people say Tanaka carried Awesome in their series of matches also, again, take it with a pinch. I loved those Tanaka matches at the time. A lot of people dump on them now (and some of the chair shots are nasty) but I watched their Heat Wave 98 one not so long ago and thought it was great.

 

Awesome in WCW could have been great, I remember at the time thinking they should put a veteran wrestler turned manager with him, a la Vader / Harley, but alas we got the Fat Chick Thriller. I don't know if it was his motivation or what, but can anybody think of a great Mike Awesome WCW match? Maybe without the stunts which top guys would never go for, he just wasn't very good in the cold light of day. But for the most part I have fond memories of him in FMW and ECW. More importantly than anything I'm saddened he didn't get the help he needed in life.

[topropepodcast]

I don't know if it was his motivation or what, but can anybody think of a great Mike Awesome WCW match?

I don't know if any of these are great, but here's the Awesome that El-P had worth watching in his WCW thread. All from 2000.

 

05/07 : Mike Awesome vs Kanyon

05/08 : Mike Awesome vs DDP (Nitro)

06/11 : DDP vs Mike Awesome

06/22 : Jeff Jarrett & Mike Awesome vs Scott Steiner & Kevin Nash. (Thunder)

07/10 : Booker T vs Mike Awesome (Nitro)

07/18 : Mike Awesome vs Lance Storm (Nitro)

09/17 : Jeff Jarrett vs Mike Awesome

09/18 : Mike Awesome vs Vampiro (Nitro)

10/23 : Scott Steiner vs Mike Awesome (Nitro)

[Al]

Mike Awesome powerbombing one of the ICP off a bus is worth at least four stars by itself.

[joeg]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but after WWE he had 2 or 3 more good Tanaka matches, a couple good matches with Corino, a good run in AJ, and an ok run in NOAH.