Just to expand on something in the comments from RAW thread:
What's amazing is like you said, why haven't they done ANYTHING with the "face of the company" gimmick? Instead of being HHH/Steph's chew toy, Orton could have actually been an interesting heel character. Show videos of him being the "face of the company" at public events and being hated--- photo ops with kids who can't stand him, being obnoxious on local TV appearances, stuff like that. Have him come out and review his latest Randy Orton merchandise, or berate interns because his locker room didn't have enough fresh cut flowers,. Give him a lackey to carry a mirror so Orton can look at himself as he comes down the ring. Bring a fan in the ring because Randy wants to let the commoner worship the face of the company.
There's a million ways you could go with Orton as the pompous champion who prides himself as being the most popular person in WWE when obviously he's not.
I don’t know if you watch NXT or not, but this is an exact description of the Bo Dallas character and his Honky Tonk Man 2014 deal. And although it’s fun for the most part, it does NOT work for the guy who is supposed to be the champion, and it’s not going to work for Bo when he gets called up. They’ve really booked themselves into a corner with Bo and this deal, because once he loses that belt the character is dead in the water and really Bo is LONG past the point where the joke has been beaten into the ground as it is. Orton might be able to make it work, but it’s not translating to Dallas as a top guy, I’ll say that.
This might have worked for Randy when he was a lot younger but not now.
ReplyDeleteBo Dallas is garbage. I don't see this guy ever going anywhere in WWE.
I'm far from Orton's biggest fan but he has 10x the charisma of Bo Dallas. It wouldn't light the world on fire but Orton could probably pull it off.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what gimmick, if any, would work for Dallas. It's almost to the point where he's going to need to be hidden in a stable or a tag team since he can work a little bit. I don't think either of those are an option in this era though.
Bo Dallas? Seriously, who thinks up these names?
ReplyDeleteHis real name is Bo Rotundo, he's a cowboy sorta, I can see where it came from.
ReplyDeleteHe could be Bo Wyatt, I guess. But yeah, he's been in NXT forever and he's really not any better than he was when they called him up last year, in-ring wise.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Scott: "the face of the company" sounds more like a midcard, comedy heel gimmick. I could see it working for an IC champ (e.g. the Miz) while the heavyweight title was held by someone the authority figure couldn't control.
ReplyDeleteWho would you say is worst - Bo Dallas or Leo Kruger?
ReplyDeleteFair enough if it's his real name, but still, a lot of the names they give people these days just do nothing for me....
ReplyDeleteIs he related to Mike Rotundo? I recall reading his son had a developmental deal or something.
I think if he was still Legend Killer Randy Orton, where he could easily switch into RNN mode, it probably would've worked, but he's a long way from that persona-wise.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Bo is Rotunda's son and also the brother of Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda). At the correct angle, you can tell that Bo and Bray have similar faces.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the apathy Orton is getting is linked to hhh and Steph. They should either get behind him or let him do his own thing. It was a good start at Summerslam but from there it should have been the three of them on top keeping everyone down.
ReplyDeleteInstead we get the authority backing Orton one week and then they're going against him the next. Their wishy washy not quite face not quite heel what the hell are they this week persona has just neutered any heat Randy had.
Whoever wrote this email should be booking WWE just for the first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteBray Wyatt is Bo Dallas' brother? Huh, never knew that. I forget, which of the Wyatts used to be Brodie Lee?
ReplyDeleteThe thing I never understood from the get go was why he still had a scrubby looking beard and wore teeshirts. He should have had the clean cut, rocked the 3 piece suits, and played a pompous, totally full of himself character, kind of like what he was doing in the mid-2000s.
ReplyDeleteI'm not an NXT expert, but I believe Eli Cottonwood was with Wyatt.
ReplyDelete"Big Hands" Bo Dallas.
ReplyDeleteDiscuss.
Harper.
ReplyDeleteYup, he was the first Wyatt family member. Then the buzzards ate him.
ReplyDeleteTJ, sort of, because this thread IS about selling: I watched the AJ Styles/Roddy Strong match from ROH with a bunch of my co-workers on Sunday (ROH TV is on Fox here, and I lured them in by saying that Strong nearly breaks his neck at the end). So, a random collection of thoughts from a few total non-wrestling fans about ROH. For the purposes of good taste I'll omit all the gay jokes, none of which were particularly funny anyway.
ReplyDelete"Is this a title match or something? They seem to be hitting each other really hard."
"(AJ's) tats look stupid." (I inform her it's his kids birthdays) "But why would you do it there, and not on your arm?"
(My favorite:) "The fuck is that? He gets dropped right on his head and pops right up, but they crash into each other" (the old double crossbody KO spot) "and act like they've both been shot?"
(The ending) "HOLY FUCK! And he ended up being OK? How?"
Ah, OK. He used to be in my local indy. Nice guy, but surprisingly quiet and shy for a wrestler.
ReplyDeleteI dissigree with Scott.
ReplyDeleteI think the above gimmick could have worked fine for Main event Orton. Better then whatever the fuck his current gimmick is supposed to be. Orton's monotone demeaner would actually play into the gimmick
Yeah, I think it's a great gimmick. Hell, if they don't want it then Adam Cole should be doing it in ROH.
ReplyDeleteI love how in his book, he jokes that guys ripped off all of his regular spots, "except the ones that really hurt". NOBODY rips off that one. It probably hurts like FUCK.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I never understood the praise Adam Cole was getting until I began watching PWG again. He is awesome in PWG, meh in ROH.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I thought their match was meh
ReplyDeleteAJ was trying too hard and Strong is the picture of *** consistancy.
He needs his oppoment on his game to hit **** and AJ just seemed...off
Well D'Lo had the chest protector for that very purpose!
ReplyDeleteHave you seen any of the heel work in ROH.
ReplyDeleteHis promos improved 1000%
Cole could do it, but I like cigar smoking, brandy drinking, suit wearing Adam Cole
ReplyDeleteNah, I haven't watched ROH all that much since 2009. I'll take your word, though. The dude is talented.
ReplyDeleteIf that suicide dive at Wrestlemania 25 didn't kill Undertaker, then nothing will. I was absolutely sure they were calling an audible to give HBK the win by countout.
ReplyDeleteHow to go from working WM to working against the Great Power Uti in one easy step.
ReplyDelete