wrestlingmarks poll

From SRHking on 4/20/08 12:23 PM

not even close

From JamesP on 4/20/08 1:17 PM

Austin 3:16, definitely.

From SnoHo24 on 4/20/08 1:43 PM

Austin 3:16, followed by Lesnar challenging for the title and the Hart cage match

From DaneBramage on 4/20/08 6:05 PM

For historical purpose, it has to be Austin 3:16. But for entertainment, I went for King Booker.

From theone86 on 4/20/08 6:48 PM

I figured everyone would go for Austin 3:16, so I went for the first singles push of two of my favortie wrestlers, Edge and Christian.

From bpapa on 4/20/08 10:22 PM

First off, some may be wondering why there isn't a choice related to 1998 King of the Ring Ken Shamrock. The main reason for that is because there are only 10 possible options for each poll. :P But also, Ken's win was the least impactful. I recall the night after on RAW he had a "King of Kings" triple threat match with Owen and HHH, and then a week later Mabel returned to the WWE for a one-night shot at Shamrock. Shamrock then went into a feud with Owen Hart and his crown barely played a role in it.

For this poll, obviously Austin 3:16 was huge, but to me that had very little to do with the King of the Ring. It could have been a promo cut on any edition of RAW or other PPV. So, I voted for the King Booker gimmick instead.

From theone86 on 4/20/08 11:14 PM

Why are you guys voting for Booker? That was the most ridiculous turn ever. Not to mention the fact that he's like the sixth person in history to don a King gimmick, meaning he wasn't even treading new water. The all hail King Booker's were enough to make me stop watching entire segments of the show, and the fact that this guy spent years in WWE with a ton of fan support and one of the best track records around and still didn't get pushed until they stuck a ridiculous gimmick on him? GAAAH!

For the record, I was trying to keep my mouth shut on this one but it just wasn't meant to be.

From willierko on 4/21/08 12:32 AM

I voted for Owen/Bret's rivalry

From DaneBramage on 4/21/08 8:10 AM

"and the fact that this guy spent years in WWE with a ton of fan support and one of the best track records around and ***still didn't get pushed*** until they stuck a ****ridiculous**** gimmick on him?"

*** That's the main point. He deserved a push for years without getting one. As a result of this meandering in the mid to upper card, his gimmick was getting stale. From the time his solo run in WCW had started he'd been doing the same thing for pretty much 6-7 years.

**** Ridiculous it may be, but to many, myself included, it was entertaining.

From bpapa on 4/21/08 1:37 PM

King Booker was a frikkin hilariously awesome gimmick. Booker himself even loved it and wanted to keep using it. Did Booker tread new water with the King gimmick? Well, yeah, he actually did to a point. None of the Kings that came before him started suddenly using an accent or change up the way they talk. Who wouldn't laugh their ass off when King Booker would get mad in mid-thought and suddenly switch back to Ebonics? It was killer stuff.

From theone86 on 4/21/08 2:29 PM

"Who wouldn't laugh their ass off when King Booker would get mad in mid-thought and suddenly switch back to Ebonics? It was killer stuff."

*raises hand slowly*

I really don't think his gimmick was stale, he just never got pushed. People were always on board with him, whether they were cheering or booing him. Being someone who believes wrestling should overshadow the gimmicks and not the other way around, it really disappointed me when someone who always relied more on his ring skills and some really short, energetic promos went to such an over the top gimmick that took so much attention away from his wrestling. I'm really glad to see him going back to his roots.

As for if he liked it or not, that's pretty much speculation. He made those comments when he was still employed by WWE, I'm sure bashing the gimmick they gave him probably as a mandatory stipulation of his main event push wouldn't have been the smartest idea, whether he was leaving soon or not.

The King Nick Bockwinkel, The King Harley Race, Jerry The King Lawler, King Haku, King Mabel, The King of Harts, King Angle, The King of Kings Triple H, to name a few. That's hardly treading new water.

By the way, you guys are no longer allowed to take shots at Shark Boy, Curry Man, Rellik, Super Eric, or Black Reign. The King Booker gimmick is just as ridiculous and you know it.

From DaneBramage on 4/21/08 4:27 PM

I bow down to you theone86. You are clearly the smartest, most important person in the world. From now on, I will not allow myself to ever have differing opinions from you.

From JamesP on 4/21/08 5:35 PM

I agree with bpapa. Seeing King Booker talking with a British accent and switching toe Ebonics when he got pissed was hilarious.

From JamesP on 4/21/08 5:38 PM

But at the same time, I agree with theone86. If you can trash Curry Man, Shark Boy, and Super Eric, then you might as well trash King Booker because their characters are just as ridiculous.

From DaneBramage on 4/21/08 6:18 PM

By that token, you can also trash The Undertaker and Kane for having ridiculous characters.

The difference is Booker, Taker and Kane are played as serious characters, whereas the likes of Super Eric and Shark Boy are played for laughs.

From JamesP on 4/21/08 6:39 PM

I don't remember a single moment where King Booker was serious. From walking around with his pinky sticiking up, saying "INDEED" and so much other stuff. Just like Shark Boy and Super Ric, he was a comedy character. UT and Kane were treated as serious despite the ridiculous nature of their characters.

From DaneBramage on 4/21/08 6:50 PM

I guess it depends how you look at it. To me, King Booker was a serious character with some comedic characteristerics. Humourous, but not to the extent that it overshadowed the serious side, which would take precedent when it came to the matches.

Likewise, Kane and Taker have a lot of ridiculous backstory and stupid shit like lightning bolts and suddenly appearing in the ring, but for the most part it doesn't interfere with the matches. (Other than the zombie sit-up. I hate that).

Whereas for the likes of Super Eric and Shark Boy, they're running around with capes on and interfering in their own matches, biting asses and entirely ripping off other wrestlers. (Yes, the King is a bit of a common gimmick to use, but entirely stealing the gimmick of another is worse, especially when it's seemingly so kiddiefied).

From theone86 on 4/21/08 8:49 PM

I'm not trashing you for having differing opinions, I'm stating that it seems to me that you are lacking objectivity. I'm actually having some trouble recalling your opinions on the matter, Dane, but I know bpapa has extensively criticized TNA for giving airtime to Shark Boy and Super Eric, while at the same time defending Hornswoggle and King Booker as being "entertaining". First off, how can you make any solid argument when you use such ambiguous terms? By this logic I can just go around calling everything TNA does entertaining and call everything WWE does gratouitous. I didn't define either of my terms, so there's no way you can effectively argue against my position without denegrating the argument to who has more supporters.

My argument is that the King gimmick, if it ever was entertaining, got old. There's only so many times you can use the same gag and still get a reaction. As for it taking away from wrestling, he spent a lot more time playing up the gimmick than he did actually wrestling. In WWE you see him in the ring maybe twice a month, then he jumps to TNA and gets a feature mid-card fued. Tell me TNA isn't focusing more on his ring skills.

And I really don't believe you when you say that you took his gimmick seriously. It made him look like a fool. Maybe a fool who could wrestle and win, but still a fool. Do I really have to go into the themes behind the gimmick? Someone who used a high-class gimmick but reverted to eubonics when frustrated? How is that not making him look like a moron who's trying to act smart? It's humiliating, and I'm sorry if I can't find the humor in that.

I'm also not going to defend TNA's gimmicks. Super Eric especially has SO many holes in logic that it's not even funny. As for Shark Boy, ass-biting has always been a part of his gimmick, but he was never anything more than a jobber before. I know I've been outspokenly against similar displays in characters such as Eugene, but Shark Boy pulls off some MUCH better spots in his matches. I'll agree he doesn't belong anywhere above the low card, but I don't think the ass-biting really takes anything away, whereas with the Booker gimmick it really did make him look ridiculous and tarnished his reputation he spent years building. I also won't defend the Stone Cold impersonations, but that's not really my point.

My point is that there seems to be a double-standard. I've been planning on making a blog about this, which is why I said I was trying to keep my mouth shut, but I'll give a little preview. There is not much of a difference when you look at the stupid crap WWE airs and the stupid crap TNA airs. One could argue that WWE is being more ridiculous seeing as how their gimmick matches are breaking down into squirt gun fights while TNA's are actually trying to keep some of the actual wrestling in tact. Still, I always see people come out here and say Shark Boy this and Super Eric that, yet when any discussion of Hornswoggle, King Booker, or any other stupid gimmick that WWE runs I always get the, "Oh, it's entertaining," excuse. It's bull, frankly. In the words of Jane Kaczmarek, "Don't spit on my cupcake and tell me it's frosting."

From JamesP on 4/21/08 9:37 PM

Well, we DID see a fish-market fight, but then again, that match was lower down the card of the PPV. Shark Boy and Curry Man are lower-card comedy acts and they won't even be on the next couple of shows, judging from the spoilers. Hornswoggle and King Booker were FEATURED IN THE UPPER-CARD. For the record, I also made a hypocrisy blog, but I didn't get into it as deep as you are.

From Petedaddydolla on 4/21/08 10:00 PM

You got your psalms and your John 3:16, well Austin 3:16 says I just KICKED your ass!