Skip to main content

New Age Outlaws

Do you think they have one more big run in them?

Christ, I hope not.  Haven't we been subjected to enough of Billy Gunn?  

Comments

  1. Oh yeah, their time as a team ended the night they lost the WWF tag team titles to the Dudley Boyz at No Way Out 2000. They should NOT be repackaged at this point.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just edited (fixed) their movesets in WWE '13 and it kind of has me wanting to see them have another run. Sue me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't see why not. Their ring-work always stank, so it's not like age could make them much worse. And they'll elevate any team they work with, based on name value alone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think they have much rub to give, I don't see them having good matches with anyone and I can't see how they could get back over without the catch phrase.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm a mark for the Outlaws so I'm up for it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, you didn't know?
    Your ass betta call somebody!

    I miss those guys. I would like to see them back again on RAW. The New Age Outlaws and The Hardy Boyz were my two favorite tag teams from back in the days of the attitude era.

    I will always have a soft spot for those guys.

    ReplyDelete
  7. After you hear their entrance catchphrase, you'll be immediately bored with them. That's all they have at this point.


    Memory makes the heart grow fonder and I think some of you are suffering from that if you want to see these guys back in regular rotation.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't understand what kind of actual rub an old returning star is supposed to give anyway. If the returning star wins, the new act couldn't even beat someone past their prime. If the new act does win, they beat up an old star who should have already hung up the boots.


    Neither scenario really "helps" the new guy. Even something with Punk vs Austin or Cena vs Rock...I can see some "passing of the torch" there, but purely due to how huge of a name Austin and Rock were during their runs.


    The only way I really feel a big name can pass something on to a new name is when the big name is winding down his career and loses on his way out to the new guy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A lot of time "the rub" is just appearing in a high profile match/feud in a higher spot on the card than those guys would be normally. DX vs. Legacy was a good example of this as it was the first time anyone had ever cared about Cody/Ted and the matches were pretty decent also. I don't think NAO have anything to offer a team like Rhodes Scholars simply because NAO aren't a top of the card act and people are already reacting to Rhodes Scholars.



    There's a difference between this kind of feud and something like Punk/Austin which is as much a dream match/cash grab as any kind of "passing of the torch" given that Austin's torch has been blown out, sprayed out and hung up many years ago. But hey, it'll sell 1 million+ PPVs so that's all the reason you need to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rock, Lesnar, etc. can give a rub because they still look look credible. The thing about the Outlaws is, so do they. Because they always looked bad, even in their prime, AND they were winners. Maybe Road Dogg's clumsy and paunchy now, but he always was. Maybe Gunn's only got one good move now, instead of two good moves. How much worse could it be?

    ReplyDelete
  11. You can tell Keith has always had major heat against Billy Gunn. Didn't he claim that the WWE had Billy face Benoit to see if he was capable for a singles run? I actually think Gunn is kinda underrated. He certainly didn't suck and sadly, he and Christian had the best match of the night at a TNA Houseshow I went to. I was always a fan at least.

    ReplyDelete
  12. If they were a mid-level tag team then no problem.

    ReplyDelete
  13. IT's Billy Guns portion that bored me...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Billy Gunn literally added NOTHING to the New Age Outlaws. Him and XPac were two guys who brought nothing to DX. The only reason the Outlaws got over was because Road Dogg had the catch phrase. Without Road Dogg, Billy floundered.

    ReplyDelete
  15. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 27, 2012 at 9:11 PM

    Always thought Billy was solid... Fast, athletic, strong... He just oversold everything and was clumsy way too often. A nostalgia PG outlaws run could add to the tag division. I don't see there being harm in it. With that said.... Highly doubtful it would happen.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I think I'm the only person who didn't think Billy Gunn was THAT bad. It's not like they gave him the super-push and it failed. He won the KOTR in June, jobbed to The Rock in August and was back in a tag team by September. The Mr.Ass character just didn't work for an upper card heel that was supposed to be taken seriously. They really didn't change anything about him from his tag team character - same look, same tights, same finisher, same name. Ironically when they did change his character/look they tried to push him as a face. By that point the ship sailed on any serious singles run for him.

    ReplyDelete
  17. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 27, 2012 at 9:37 PM

    Just to add.... Injuries prevented this scenario but I always thought Billy would of been a good foil to Austin even if it was for a month or two. He would of bumped around like crazy for Austin... Worst case a Billy face turn back to DX would of popped the crowd big.

    ReplyDelete
  18. They seemed to know they wanted to push him as a singles guy but had no idea how or when to do it. They would tease it quite often. I think the best bet would have been to just give him the IC title without turning him heel at WM15. Establish him as a face since the Mr.Ass character worked as a face, then you can turn him heel.

    ReplyDelete
  19. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 27, 2012 at 9:45 PM

    I truly believe (just a hunch) that at some point he was supposed to be the guy who hit Austin. I remember them teasing it, when they brought billy back from injury. He was promptly stunned and cast off. But I think it would of been cool and Rikishi could of just kept doing what he was doing. That was a perfect role for him. Midcard face who could always be believable if facing a heel champ like HHH

    ReplyDelete
  20. It's funny watching them in hindsight before they joined DX and were just the new obnoxious team in the tag division that were practically given the belts after two weeks. First off, thank God for Road Dogg's mic skills, because neither guy looked like a star with their awful (especially Dogg's) ring attire. And second, their attire REALLY dates the show, ironically enough, when they wore South Park shirts. For some reason, THAT screams 90's to me, despite the fact the show is still on the air.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Saying X-Pac brought nothing is just not true whatsoever.

    Billy Gunn? Yeah, any number of people could have filled his role. Agree on that.

    ReplyDelete
  22. That nostalgia is enough to have some value if used correctly in a short-term run (see: putting Rhodes Scholars over huge).

    ReplyDelete
  23. What did XPac bring that made him special. In the entire time he was in DX from 1998-2000 he never cut one money promo. Never cut one good promo. He just stood there and would yell into the mic once every few months. And he had one of the stupidest moves ever used inside a wrestling ring. Really what did X-Pac bring to the DX table?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I just got back from the card at MSG tonight, the opening match was Rhodes Scholars vs. The New Age Outlaws. It may have been the worst match I've ever seen Sandow and Rhodes in, although it wasn't absolutely horrible. Almost the whole match was heat segments on Billy then Road Dogg until Gunn hit the Fame-Ass-er on Cody pinned him. Yes, the NAO went over Rhodes Scholars...


    The NAO got one hell of a reaction, though, as soon as their music hit. Given the location, it was probably a good move.


    Good card, overall, too. Had a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  25. People remember his promo the night he came back pretty well. And before they got the entire WCW midcard, he was one of the better workers on the roster. That may be damning with faint praise, but still.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Waltman cut the post wrestlemania 14 promo that the new dx and HHH desperatley needed--nwo star power and an edge with Shawn gone.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Ok I'll concede that one. That was a good promo. But after that he was lost in DX imo. It was Triple H, Chyna, and Road Dogg. Him and Billy were the Godfather and Mark Henry of DX.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Not to rag on peoples ideas...but holy fuck balls is that idea terrible. Hell, that would've been terrible six years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  29. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 27, 2012 at 11:06 PM

    Agreed. Waltman could work. He did get lost in the shuffle however

    ReplyDelete
  30. The rumors online at the time were that Stone Cold refused to work a program with Billy Gunn.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I agree. I always thought the Outlaws sucked.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Looking back at the original attack, wasn't Gunn the only guy not involved in the pre-hit and run assault?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Yup, I was gonna chime in with that if someone else didn't.

    ReplyDelete
  34. You have got to be fucking kidding me. WHY?!?!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Stick Road Dogg in the booth. He can talk and is very entertaining, which is more than can be said for some announcers. He'd be great on a show like NXT where he could snark away.

    ReplyDelete
  36. because it's a house show and results mean less then Jack shit so you may as well let the crowd go home happy with everything

    ReplyDelete
  37. This was how it always used to be in the late 90's/early 00's: Billy Gunn would be gone for a while, everyone would think back and go "You know, Billy Gunn wasn't that bad", then he'd get the uber pop upon his return, and in his first match, he'd remind everyone of how much he sucked. Lather, rinse, repeat for the better part of five years.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hmmm... (from the Torch, regarding tomorrow's Raw taping)

    "Raw (Long Island, N.Y.): Raw continues to Zack Ryder's homebase with an advertised main event of John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/A.J. Lee and Big E. Langston). Plus, the New Age Outlaws are scheduled."



    I think we've found The Shield's next targets.

    ReplyDelete
  39. The crazy thing about Billy Gunn is his nickname was Badd Ass yet everything about the character focused way too much on the "Ass" part. Never understood that part.

    ReplyDelete
  40. So Dolph Ziggler, then? ;)

    (NB: Yes, Ziggler grew into the role... but he got a longer sustained push. Gunn never got a long-term singles push. Besides, what's wrong with overselling?)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Yeah, the WWF was really quick to jump on the South Park bandwagon during the first couple seasons- I think it looks dated now because while the show has been on for forever, and it's often very good still, it was only REALLY popular when it first came out, and certainly most of the merch was sold back then.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I thought it was generally accepted that he had the "Benoit Test" to see if he was capable of having a good match, and when he fucked it up, they finally axed his push. Similar to how they had the "Waltman Test" with X-Pac: if you can't have a good match with 90s X-Pac, you couldn't have a good match PERIOD.

    ReplyDelete
  43. WWE has a lot of tag teams, however they don't have an over jobber team, like Kaientai, Killer Bees, etc. Putting NAO out there in short matches against guys like PTP & 3MB then having them lose to them, would do a lot of good.

    ReplyDelete
  44. x-pac brought workrate and a second wave of cool after hbk left.


    cuz hhh wasnt cool yet and still in zany sidekick mode

    ReplyDelete
  45. you beat me by 6 hours... dammit

    ReplyDelete
  46. It was also pretty huge at that time that a WCW wrestler was actually jumping ship to the WWF.. which at the time felt like a sinking ship. That promo he cut on the WCW was one of the turning points in the Monday Night Wars and was a crack in the ice of WCW's dominance. X-Pac had that Brian Pillman "loose cannon" vibe and fans wanted to see what he'd do next. The best days of DX were right after he joined and they started to make fun of the other wrestlers and the "Invasion" scenes...

    ReplyDelete
  47. I don't like that. I believe that NAO can get over again with the crowd. So why have them lose to lesser known teams?

    ReplyDelete
  48. Why do people care about wins and losses on a house show?

    ReplyDelete
  49. I am in the same camp with you.


    ReplyDelete
  50. I wont shit on your opinion but i dont think the best DX was then because it wasnt edgy by then.


    The edgy stuff was the HBK 97 stuff. By 98 the HHH led stuff was all used to get HHH over to the main event.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Why the dislike for Billy Gunn? Was he a bad person outside the ring? Honest questions on my part.

    ReplyDelete
  52. thought he brought more to the table than he did... tore hhh/hbk a new ass on the shoot but then once tna dried up started recanting how they were on drugs and shit but other than that no.

    ReplyDelete
  53. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 28, 2012 at 7:20 AM

    Nothing really wrong.... It was more Billy being sloppy that killed his pushes plus injuries. His match with Benoit at Armageddon 2000 was billy in a nutshell

    ReplyDelete
  54. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 28, 2012 at 7:24 AM

    That makes sense... Looking back at Austin's run there were missed opportunities to make stars. He really didnt have that many foes and he put the kabosh on a few programs that would of been fresh (not to mention walking about prior to his match with Eddie)

    ReplyDelete
  55. That wouldn't be bad at all. He's great on Are You Serious

    ReplyDelete
  56. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 28, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    I think that is correct

    ReplyDelete
  57. I'm a fan of the Pre-Waltman DX as well, but I know for me, their (Waltman era DX) antics made me flip the channel to WCW less than before. Less edgy.. but I'll be damned if them showing up at WCW headquarters wasn't great TV!! For a company that rarely acknowledged their competition, it was ballsy and made the WWF seem the place where anything could legitimately happen. That's all I'm sayin'..

    ReplyDelete
  58. You obviously never saw his post-WM14 promo, which was a crucial moment in the reshaping of DX and by extension, the Attitude Era to a fairly decent extent. He was a notable name who defected (yeah, he was fired) from WCW/nWo. And in 98-99, he was the best worker in the group until HHH made the leap. He got a legit *** match out of Shane, for fuck's sake. And at that time he was very over. Saying X-Pac brought nothing sounds like the words of someone who isn't old enough to remember the late 90's and thinks that's the correct smarky thing to say because they've heard people use the term "X-Pac heat," which wasn't a thing until 2001 or so. In 1998 and 1999, Pac was very over, still a borderline great worker and a vital part of DX.

    ReplyDelete
  59. There are very few, if any, wrestlers that made me want to turn the channel as much as Billy Gunn. Even moreso in his The One phase.

    ReplyDelete
  60. But unlike Rock and Brock, they're not revelant anymore. NAO's last big run in WWE was 12 years ago...that pretty much makes them forgotten by anyone still in high school.

    Bringing them back now would require reintroducing them...just to job them out? Not worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Good point, I can understand Punk/Austin etc, just not NAO.

    ReplyDelete
  62. He brought the bronco buster, which was then usurped by any number of Divas, and everyone here has at least one person who they want to hit them with that move.

    ReplyDelete
  63. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighDecember 28, 2012 at 9:04 AM

    I am a fellow Moveset adjuster... What did you alter for the outlaws?

    ReplyDelete
  64. I will give you that. I thought The One was lame as well.

    ReplyDelete
  65. I thought Gunn was pretty athletic. But he was never given that BIG push. Aside from that one big match up with The Rock at a summerslam ppv, he was never fairly given a push to the main event.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I remember the first reveal being "He had blond hair!" and I thought WWE was going to drag it out into a game of Guess Who? where they revealed a physical characteristic every week. Which would have been great.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Out of sheer habit, the writers will split the Outlaws up after 2 weeks and have them blow off their feud at WrestleMania.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Seriously, in what world did somebody think, "Mr. Ass would be a great name for a main event wrestler!"

    ReplyDelete
  69. And then out of sheer nostalgia, the writers will put them in a separate singles matches for the US and IC titles a week before WM.

    ReplyDelete
  70. In hindsight, Austin was alot smarter than people realized, didn't he also refuse to work with Jarrett?

    ReplyDelete
  71. Yeah, after that money promo, all he seemed to do was yell things like "Let's get jiggy with it" and "Let's make some noise".

    ReplyDelete
  72. Agreed. I actually like him now.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment