Scott:
Not to put you in a bad mood but I was wondering where all the hate for Paul Roma originated in your writing? The only 2 negatives on Roma's resume that I can see are a) being a Horseman, and b) not making Alex Wright look good in 1995. Can you please enlighten me (and possibly my fellow blog readers in case they're in the dark on this as well)?
Thanks,
Rock Star Gary
It mostly stems from his business manager being a major nuisance in the early 2000s. Basically anytime someone would write something negative about Roma on the newsgroups or elsewhere, the guy would write a pissy e-mail to the author about how great Roma was and how well his boxing career was doing and a lot of other bullshit. For a while I started overcompensating and talking shit about Roma just to egg the guy on, but then once Roma buried himself with his deluded interview on the Horsemen DVD it was pretty much open season on him. Really, he's a guy with a wholly undeserved sense of entitlement who was gifted one of the best spots in the business and completely tanked it. And then he tried to bring Alex Wright down with him out of spite.
Not defending Roma for his delusional interview on the Horseman DVD but knowing what we now know about Flair I can understand the dislike he has for the Nature Boy.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't the Young Stallions take off? Two good-looking muscleheads who could move...I never could figure out why they never got above JTTS level...
ReplyDeleteWhat do we know? That he parties too hard and gets married too often? I'm not sure what one thing has to do with the other.
ReplyDeleteI know so little about that period in wrestling that I just know Roma as a running joke in 411 comment sections.
ReplyDeleteYoung Stallions? Why didn't Power & Glory take off? Hercules was even a pet project they spent a while trying to turn into something.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't like each other, apparently. May be as simple as that.
ReplyDeleteLex Luger's career might have a few things to say about that.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but Lex had some charisma and was decent to good in the ring for a big muscle dude. Paul Roma? Not so much.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Roma was a guy to come along in the wrong decade. If he was around today, he'd probably be trading wins in the mid to upper midcard. He's from that mold of identikit gym rats they seem to love now since they have great bodies but don't look bloated like the juicers of years past. He was also athletic enough that he could be carried by the better workers around him. And bland enough that he'd get over, but only to the level they wanted him to be at.
ReplyDeleteBasically, he'd be The Miz. Which means he probably would've won a World Title by now. Think about that for a second.
I honesty don't think Paul Roma said anything too bad on the Horsemen DVD, he was just defending himself and saying some over-bloated silly comment, besides he was goaded by the WWE to say something negative apparently after giving a positive interview, you know how Vince spins these things. I never thought he was awful or anything, who knows maybe if one of his gimmicks/tag teams took off we may look at him in a very different manner (always thought Power and Glory could of gone somewhere), because frankly he was a far more solid worker than most the guys from the late 80's early 90's. I'm not necessarily a fan but I'm not a hater either, and as far as a human being goes I respect him a hell of a lot more than Flair.
ReplyDeleteYeah, people often mention Roma as being the worst Horseman ever but I don't see it. At least the guy LOOKED like a Horseman, and he wasn't entirely useless in the ring.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be surprised if Flair owes him money. Hell, at this point I think I'm the only person he doesn't owe.
ReplyDelete...those people also conveniently forget about Mongo.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jarrett.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sting.
ReplyDeleteUh oh, I'm trolling!
Actually I really do consider Sting to be the absolute WORST Horseman. The guy just didn't fit, with the face paint and flashly outfits (as in tassels and shoulder pads, not swanky suits). He was a great opponent for them, but a lousy member.
Was there a logical reason WHY he joined them or was it just a "we're all faces so why the hell not?".
ReplyDeleteThe Miz improved leaps and bounds since his debut by the time he won the title. To me he was a refreshing change of pace from the usual guys who won the title.
ReplyDeleteOf course I wasn't able to see most of his reign due to me being a guest of the USAF in San Antonio.
Pretty much. I think Tully was supposed to come back but failed a drug test so they stuck Sting. I know it was just to setup the Flair/Sting angle but technically he WAS a Horseman, so he gets my vote as the worst.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your AFSC? I'm USAF, stationed in bumblefuck New Mexico.
ReplyDeleteMongo actually got not terrible for a while there. Roma never did anything worthwhile as a Horsemen.
ReplyDeleteAlso the Rockers came in, too, and they were much better. Vince wasnt going push two pretty boy teams like that, so goodbye Stallions.
ReplyDeleteI'm stationed in bumblefuck Mississippi. At least I got to see Miz girl before I left.
ReplyDeleteI just watched his Horseman DVD interview for the first time - I'd believe he was told or asked things to get a reaction out of him. Unless he walks around annoyed and angry by nature, he had to have been baited into saying what he said. And at the same time the other guys are burying him, so I don't see why he can't defend himself. Plus a lot of what he says is true, he was just mocking Flair for being a child years before it was cool.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he was that bad. I was a kid when he was on Power & Glory but they seemed like a strong team to me at the time. Again, I was a kid, but they seemed tough to beat. Even them losing to LOD in seconds at WM7 I thought was more LOD getting the jump on them. Aw, to be a mark again. I was only 11 when he became a Horseman, so, again, still a mark who thinks it's real, and my thoughts were that he'd be a good Horseman because he was good in WWE. At this point I thought anyone who beat jobbers and wrestled on pay per view was good. He didn't do a lot with the Horseman, but what did the Horseman do at that point? Anything noteworthy? I'm just realizing now I thought this was real until I was at least 12, because I hated him because he was really good and cocky about it when him and Mr. Wonderful were together to. I don't know, I thought he was fine, and I bought into him being whatever he was portrayed as being to me as a kid.
Yeah, I too have heard the rumours that Roma was baited into saying shit on the Horseman DVD set, and it's made him look like an almighty ass.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with him was that he was hilariously bland and a borderline worker at-best during his PEAK, and was given some pretty sweet positions despite his lack of ability. The fact that he seemed to have an ego for being an absolute NOBODY in the business was just too much for some fans, and so they turned him into a joke. Imagine if Erik Watts still walked around acting like he was King Shit, or if Sam Houston was telling everyone how great he was. Roma's a nobody who didn't know he was a nobody, and THAT, to many fans, is uacceptable.
Watching him on the LOW roundtables was an eye opener. He comes off petty, dismissive, stubborn, and insecure. He pretty much ruined the ones he was on with his rambling and cutting people off.
ReplyDeleteYou may need to check again.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I emptied my wallet earlier, and there was a note in there that said "IOU $20 - RF".
Powers was great at making it look like he was getting legitimately killed out there, much in the vein of Tito Santana, but unlike Santana he had no useful offense of note.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Powers, dude sure got huge towards the end of his career.
Sure, the guy was a jerk 'in real life' but I have to say, I enjoyed his 1990-1991 WWF run with Power and Glory quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteHe made a good self-absorbed pretty boy heel, threw a mean dropkick, and I laughed a lot at the more than slightly homoerotic tone of the Power and Glory interviews, especially the one of their "workout video" where they trade complements, mutual admiration for each others physiques, and words of encouragements... all while wearing half shirts.
For some reason, that's exactly what I'd picture for a #CrankyVince workout session.
That's the little town just up Shit Creek, right?
ReplyDelete"Ric Flair wishes he was Paul Roma."
ReplyDelete-Paul Roma, Horseman DVD
For that line alone, I hope one day Flair gets to punch him in the dick. He was the less talented member of the Young Stallions, the less talented member of Power and Glory (YES, I'm calling Hercules a better in-ring guy than Roma), Flair may wish he had Roma's money considering how broke Flair is, but NO ONE wishes they were Paul Roma. Paul DIAMOND doesn't wish he was Roma, and no one's heard that name in forever.
/rant
"Y'mean the job guy ... from the WWE? Like, whaaaat? That doesn't fit at all! Plus, he's like *this* tall."
ReplyDeleteI loved Power and Glory, perfect name, matching tights, Slick. They had good tag team moves and had chemistry. Even though neither of them were great in the ring they jelled well.
ReplyDeleteI love quoting WWE DVD interviews. Mainly Christian reciting the Ultimate Warrior's interview from WM VI. Hulk Ho. . . gan.
ReplyDelete"Assuuuuuume the contROLLLLS....Hulk...ho gan"
ReplyDeleteI liked Paul Roma a LOT better in 2005 when he called himself Chris Masters
ReplyDeleteOle as a Horseman during the Roma reboot was probably worse, because he wasn't even a wrestler at that point.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Horseman lineup was Flair/Anderson/Benoit/Pillman, if only because I'm too young to remember Flair/Anderson/Blanchard/Windham.
"Hey Carol Alt there talking about you on the Family Man"
ReplyDelete"Is that the one with the fish?"
"No thats the American boy"
Sorry that Family Guy scene just flashed through my head just now.
I haven't seen the interview but what does Roma say?
ReplyDeletePlus Flair will turn on pretty much anyone to better himself. The bottom line is that Ric Flair loves no one more than himself. He's a narcissist, and I don't mean the Lex Luger character.
ReplyDeleteEven before that, they were in the same tag division as Can Ams/Strike Force, Killer Bees and the Rougeaus (pre-heel-turn), all plucky dropkick-loving tag teams.
ReplyDeleteHe pretty much said how Flair was jealous of Roma's good looks and youth plus makes fun of Arn's body type. Even if he was gouded into saying some of that it doesn't change the fact that Roma still thinks he's somehow better than those two guys.
ReplyDeleteMuch like every state having a Springfield, apparently every state has a Bumblefuck as well.
ReplyDeleteRambling and cutting people off? Are you sure you're not talking about Hayes?
ReplyDelete