2016 WWE Royal Rumble - Winners Bolded

[zrinkill]

Hogan is the only one who has come close to the rewards that HHH has received. And even he, with all of his political maneuvering , never married into the family business.

You must have missed that. Just off the top of my head.

HHH started dating Stephanie McMahon around Dec 2000

He was already a 3 time World Champ by then.

 

[Stash]

HHH started dating Stephanie McMahon around Dec 2000

He was already a 3 time World Champ by then.

And?

He was also a world champ when WWE was at its weakest point. With a depleted roster and WCW kicking it's tail every week. This guy was the ultimate opportunist, making the right friends, and associating himself with the best storylines.

In terms of his own actual ability, he's a below average performer who put himself in the right place at the right time. Take a look at the Kliq. Each and every one of those guys brought more to the table than HHH did, even a worse worker in Kevin Nash had more appeal in size, look, speaking ability, and creativity.

His in-ring work is among the most boring you will ever see and consider yourself lucky if you see him perform 4 actual moves during any match over the past decade.

I see this storyline for what it's is, another attempt to push Roman Reigns on everyone and to try once again to get him over at Wrestlemania. It bothers me more than they continue to force that on everyone than it does that a part-timer has the title. They gave it to the Rock just a few years ago and he was even more of a part-timer.

That said, I see HHH for the midcard in-ring talent that he's always been and give him credit for what he's doing in his executive role. He's doing a better job of that right now than Vince McMahon is.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

He's the greatest mid carder of all-time. No other wrestler has gotten so far with so little true talent. All of his reported 'great matches' were the result of superior workers bumping their brains out for him (Mick Foley) or vastly more talented performers carrying the match (TheRock, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker). But put him in a match with a worse worker (Kevin Nash, Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner), and the thing looks like a train wreck.

But I give the guy credit for developmental and NXT. He's doing an awesome job there.

Agreed.

The guy has the "look" but stiff, stiff, stiff.

But yeah, he's a much better developmental guy than Vince Jr.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

You must have missed Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Lex Luger, Batista, and Kevin Nash

Just off the top of my head

The WWF/WWE has been the "home" of the stiff champion.

In the era of territories you didn't have the vast quantity of stiff champions. The Funks, Race, Bockwinkle, Gagne, Flair, Jerry Brisco... all those guys could wrestle.

 

[zrinkill]

And?

He was also a world champ when WWE was at its weakest point. With a depleted roster and WCW kicking it's tail every week. This guy was the ultimate opportunist, making the right friends, and associating himself with the best storylines.

In terms of his own actual ability, he's a below average performer who put himself in the right place at the right time. Take a look at the Kliq. Each and every one of those guys brought more to the table than HHH did, even a worse worker in Kevin Nash had more appeal in size, look, speaking ability, and creativity.

His in-ring work is among the most boring you will ever see and consider yourself lucky if you see him perform 4 actual moves during any match over the past decade.

I see this storyline for what it's is, another attempt to push Roman Reigns on everyone and to try once again to get him over at Wrestlemania. It bothers me more than they continue to force that on everyone than it does that a part-timer has the title. They gave it to the Rock just a few years ago and he was even more of a part-timer.

That said, I see HHH for the midcard in-ring talent that he's always been and give him credit for what he's doing in his executive role. He's doing a better job of that right now than Vince McMahon is.

I don't agree ...... I think HHH is an above average worker who understands the business better than most.

 

[zrinkill]

The WWF/WWE has been the "home" of the stiff champion.

In the era of territories you didn't have the vast quantity of stiff champions. The Funks, Race, Bockwinkle, Gagne, Flair, Jerry Brisco... all those guys could wrestle.

I don't agree ....... HHH in ring work reminds me of Arn Anderson ...... they are good hands but never the top guy.

 

[Stash]

Agreed.

The guy has the "look" but stiff, stiff, stiff.

But yeah, he's a much better developmental guy than Vince Jr.

After a few hiccups in Kharma and Sin Cara, I think he's been doing a phenomenal job with NXT and I find it to be the best place for wrestling going today.

 

[Stash]

I don't agree ...... I think HHH is an above average worker who understands the business better than most.

Please don't think that because I'm criticizing his in-ring work that I hate the guy. I see his pluses too. He has a great understanding of the business overall and he was instrumental in patching things up with Bruno Sammartino and the Warrior and he deserves a ton of credit for that among many other things. His work with NXT has been phenomenal and gets better all the time.

Ive long been a critic of his in-ring work and his positioning of himself above where I feel that work deserves, but him putting over Daniel Bryan a few years back impressed me a great deal and he earned back a lot of my respect with that move. Ultimately, I see this farce of a championship run going much the same way before he ultimately puts over Roman Reigns, which is an entirely different issue for me.

 

[Stash]

I don't agree ....... HHH in ring work reminds me of Arn Anderson ...... they are good hands but never the top guy.

This sure looks like a huge contradiction to me.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

This sure looks like a huge contradiction to me.

I agree. I think Arn was a wonderful worker... but he still wasn't singles-championship material.

 

[Stash]

I agree. I think Arn was a wonderful worker... but he still wasn't singles-championship material.

Right. That's why the guy was never a world champion. But I would say that he was a better worker than HHH ever was. Arn was one of the greatest tag guys in the business and you couldn't ask for a steadier, more dependable employee. Consummate professional. And that's why he still has a job today.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Right. That's why the guy was never a world champion. But I would say that he was a better worker than HHH ever was. Arn was one of the greatest tag guys in the business and you couldn't ask for a steadier, more dependable employee. Consummate professional. And that's why he still has a job today.

Agreed.

I did not mean to besmirch Arn.

HHH reminds me of Lex Lugar-- who shouldn't have been a world champ either.

 

[Stash]

Agreed.

I did not mean to besmirch Arn.

HHH reminds me of Lex Lugar-- who shouldn't have been a world champ either.

I can see a comparison in size, but even I think HHH was a better worker than Lex. I put Luger in the same category as the Ultimate Warrior as a guy who could hardly work at all who got pushed because he had a chiseled physique.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I can see a comparison in size, but even I think HHH was a better worker than Lex. I put Luger in the same category as the Ultimate Warrior as a guy who could hardly work at all who got pushed because he had a chiseled physique.

Yep. I miss the days of actual wrestlers winning titles.

Big guys don't all have to be stiff. Ladd wasn't stiff. Brody wasn't stiff. Mulligan wasn't stiff. John Studd was as stiff as a board! LOL!

 

[Manwiththeplan]

And?

He was also a world champ when WWE was at its weakest point. With a depleted roster and WCW kicking it's tail every week. This guy was the ultimate opportunist, making the right friends, and associating himself with the best storylines.

not true at all, the Finger poke of doom occurred in January of 1999 and that was the end more or less of WCW. Triple H won the title in August of that year.

 

[Stash]

Yep. I miss the days of actual wrestlers winning titles.

I've always been the guy who complained about what a talentless bum Hogan was while he was Heavyweight champ while praising the matches of Savage and Steamboat. I'm all about the in-ring work. And, given the talents there and those coming in, I'm excited for the future.

Big guys don't all have to be stiff. Ladd wasn't stiff. Brody wasn't stiff. Mulligan wasn't stiff. John Studd was as stiff as a board! LOL!

And yet, even today, a guy like Braun Strowman gets fast-tracked to the main roster despite having no idea what he's doing. Never shared Vince McMahon's size infatuation.

 

[Stash]

not true at all, the Finger poke of doom occurred in January of 1999 and that was the end more or less of WCW. Triple H won the title in August of that year.

You're right, my dates were off on that. I stand corrected.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I've always been the guy who complained about what a talentless bum Hogan was while he was Heavyweight champ while praising the matches of Savage and Steamboat. I'm all about the in-ring work. And, given the talents there and those coming in, I'm excited for the future.



And yet, even today, a guy like Braun Strowman gets fast-tracked to the main roster despite having no idea what he's doing. Never shared Vince McMahon's size infatuation.

I don't disagree about Hogan. I cringed when Vince put him in matches with guys that could move like Orndorff and Savage. He needed guys he could look more "nimble" with like Bundy and Studd.

I think Vince got infatuated with size with "Superstar" Billy Graham. And once his father turned over the company Vince went wild with size.

 

[Stash]

I don't disagree about Hogan. I cringed when Vince put him in matches with guys that could move like Orndorff and Savage. He needed guys he could look more "nimble" with like Bundy and Studd.

I think Vince got infatuated with size with "Superstar" Billy Graham. And once his father turned over the company Vince went wild with size.

Wrestling has always had an element of carnival to it. And Giants or freaks always had their place.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Wrestling has always had an element of carnival to it. And Giants or freaks always had their place.

Oh no question, but the muscle-bound thing went way overboard. Don't get me wrong, I thought "Superstar" Billy Graham was terrific... horrible wrestler but a truly Hall-of-Fame persona.