Matt D Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 The Dominick angle may have been silly but it drew ratings, if I recall. So did Torrie and Al Wilson and Dawn Marie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 The Dominic feud was gold, made for some brilliantly absurd/humorous segments and I will always take outlandish, ridiculous WWE storylines over the repetitive dull dross they have been serving up in the last few years. If nothing else it gave a reason for a spectacular feud to continue right through the summer and gave us a lot more material. Plus Eddie Guerrero was brilliant and charismatic enough to carry it off. For years I have been advocating that WWE develops their storylines in a less linear, predictable way, and becomes a soap as much as a wrestling show. The ratings that angle drew is proof that the audience wants to get invested in an emotional, real angle that has elements of real life. Nothing ever feels at stake in most matches the company runs. They would be far better served using the endless television time to start scripting some proper storylines which turn the workers into more rounded characters. What do you know about Titus O'Neill or Damien Sandow or Jack Swagger? Isn't it better that these guys are presented as actual people with actual lives and hopes and dreams that go beyond the ring. If you think of a WWE feud today at the top of the card it consists of nothing more than the two workers exchanging beat downs every week, handicap matches to 'get sympathy' for the face, corny overly scripted promos that end up saying nothing etc. Give them something real to fight about, a relationship, a custody battle, a weird obsession, a neurotic crutch, an affair, an attack in a bar, a pay dispute. The angles I remember best are the little ones like Dean Malenko spying on Lita, Austin storming round Pillman's house after old friends fell out dramatically, Raven converting Sandman's son to the dark arts, Jimmy Jacobs going goth and his obsession with Lacey. WWE has shown consistently they can't so subtlety or humor or write to any vaguely competent level, so knowing that I would much rather the show ends with Paul Bearer getting encased in concrete than another screwjob finish or The Authority putting in a beat down on the faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 And on topic, I said in the Current WWE thread that they are ridiculously stupid for letting his run just peter out. A heel decimating and retiring pure babyface and ultimate underdog Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania would give them a huge rub - it was tailer made for Seth Rollins to end Rey's career, especially since he has nothing else on at the show. Rey gets the big send off from the fans that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Yeah he missed a ton of time, but what a great run. Outside of Cena I can't think of too many guys I'd put up against Rey in that span. Jericho, Bryan, and Punk are the only names that come to mind. Rollins has a match with Orton, and was just on the Daly Show doing an angle with Stewart. That may be the biggest main stream angle they have this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parties Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 The superlatives could go on all day, but I will say: Most underrated worker in WWE history from a value-to-respect ratio. (Moreso than Regal, Finlay, Valentine, etc. Rey was a huge draw and the company's best talent, yet Vince has always denied it.) Best overall worker of the last 20 years, which is saying something given that I can't recall him having a great match since 2010, or early 2011 if you count his last Elimination Chamber performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 How does Rey's run stack up against guys like Michaels and Hart? Rey was definitely way more consistent than either of them. He shined through the cesspool of late 90s WCW booking in a way Bret never did. He also got to work the same pool of guys that Michaels did from 2002-2010 and had better matches with most of them. He was also rarely put in a position to have "epic" matches like Bret and Shawn were, and both of them were guilty of phoning in some of their TV matches; meanwhile, Rey was arguably the best TV match worker for a lot of his run and was throwing out classics on ppv without HBK or Bret's advantages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I only really know Rey from his AAA and WCW runs as I wasnt watching when he was with WWE - some stuff I really need to check out it would appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 What classics did Rey throw out on PPV in WWE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Without checking for dates, and the caveat that these might be classics only to me: Rey vs Punk - Over the Limit Rey vs Eddie - Wrestlemania Rey vs Jericho - The Bash Rey vs Angle - Summerslam Rey vs Chavo - No Mercy Rey/Kidman vs Haas/Benjamin - No Mercy Considering multi-mans and gimmicks, I'd add his Rumble win and pretty much every Elimination Chamber he was in. Again, totally subjective list, but he wasn't given 20-40 minutes every month. He also didn't have the WWE machine touting his matches as classics. Does he have an HBK/Mankind Mind Games on there, or a Bret/Owen Summerslam? No, but as a body of work I think he was consistently better show in and show out. I'm a huge Shawn mark and I like Bret a lot too, so it's not a knock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerpride Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Rey v. Eddie was a classic? It was a classic case of how not to put on your mask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 It doesn't have the rep for it, but I'd put Rey vs. JBL up there as a pretty great match. Judgment Day PPV, I believe 06. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 How does Rey's run stack up against guys like Michaels and Hart? Rey was definitely way more consistent than either of them. He shined through the cesspool of late 90s WCW booking in a way Bret never did. That's a hard argument to make because it's so apples and oranges. Rey was being featured on mainstream American TV for the first time, VERY young and hungry. He was often working with close friends with a similar mindset. Bret was in his 40's, ego bruised and booked poorly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 That's a fair point. They were certainly at very different points in their career. I'll also say, work notwithstanding, that Rey couldn't be an effective heel like Shawn and Bret. They were great at being absolutely repugnant, and I don't think Rey could pull that off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I thought Rey was very good on PPV. Whether you want to attribute it to placement or time allotment limitations or other factors, I'm not sure I'd call any of his PPV outings classics. Enjoyed Jericho & Punk, and thought the Undertaker match at Rumble one year was very fun and interesting. But not sure anything was an all timer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Bennett Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 The comparisons to Bret/HBK remind me that Rey vs. heel Bret in 1998 would have been off the chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parties Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Just watched Rey vs. Cody Rhodes, Falls Count Anywhere from Extreme Rules 2011. A match with zero historical relevance. I knew they did a feud off of Cody’s orbital bone Dr. Doom mask, but never saw this follow up to their Mania match before. Turns out it’s a fun, wild brawl for the PG era: stiff headbutts and strikes, around-the-arena, cut from the same cloth as the Evolution-Shield stuff from last year. Cody works as hard as ever, and Rey is fantastic, hitting crazy dives off the stage and concession stands, selling well, and pulling off a surprising finish. Could have be match of the night anywhere in the world right now, yet completely forgotten by the Youtubed annals of time. That’s the story of Rey on PPV. He has dozens of good-to-great-to-classic performances in matches that were either midcard filler or main events meant to make everyone but him look good. He’s not only the best WWE worker post-Attitude, he’s also the most selfless.Also watched Rey-Kane for the World Title at Summerslam 2010 and Elimination Chamber 2011. Gets as good a singles match out of Kane as I can recall, especially in the midst of that heatless five month title run Kane got by beating Rey in 50 seconds at MITB that year. EC has Rey making Edge look better than anyone else ever did, and they’d been working together for nine years by this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Very possibly Cody's best singles match. That's how good Rey was - he could even get a good match out of Cody Rhodes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted March 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 I haven't rewatched it in a while but Rey Mysterio vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. at GAB 2004 is probably my favorite PPV outing from him. Also his work in a couple of Elimination Chambers was awesome, and he had an excellent match with Chris Jericho at The Bash 2009, although I think they had a better match on SD! after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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