Posted in: Fact or Fiction FACT or FICTION: Kozlov's Credibility, Golden Age and More!
By SkittleZ
Oct 16, 2008 - 12:39:47 PM
Hello readers and welcome to the multi man effort known as LOP's Fact or Fiction! The column so sought after across the world that we bring it back every month. What an odd mixture of people we've concocted for October (guess it goes along with the whole Halloween theme). First off, we're bringing you THREE moderators. I know... not a popular choice among flamers within the forums but its done with so we might as well accept it and move on. Then we've got an individual who's written over 110 columns not to mention a kid that's made his name on DVD reviews and daily columns. A DaveyBoy/Tito follower? I'll leave that debate for another time and place. Now for those who have no clue what this is or what we're doing, let me fill you in. We create five wrestling based statements for five gentleman and they must decide whether those statements are 'FACT' or 'FICTION'. Each individual then supports their opinion with a detailed explanation. So that's how we operate basically. Not that all the confusion is cleared up, lets chug along before things grow stale and unsatisfying.
FACT or FICTION: Randy Orton will be World Heavyweight Champion before WrestleMania 25.
(RIPbossman) I'm going to say FICTION. In a few months, WWE is going to be heading into their "Road To WrestleMania" stage. Going as far back as 1999, WWE has often used this period of time to put the title on someone just to shake things up temporarily, and then that person is out of the title picture. Mankind had the title for a little in early 1999. Big Show in 2000, Angle in early 2001, Goldberg in late 2003, a title vacancy in 2005, Edge's legendary title win in 2006, and Randy Orton in 2007.
WWE uses this period of time to create a little bit of stir in the main event scene, and add a little bit of interest while not straying too far from the path intended for WrestleMania. Out of all the Transitional champions mentioned, every one of them, with the exception of Orton (and obviously the title vacancy) was a first time champion. For reasons that are clear, the wrestler's first title win is more inclined to add extra interest than someone's subsequent title win. And, Orton's first reign was only one month and was considered a bust so it still had the added value being Randy's first title reign when he was "ready for it".
I don't see Randy Orton being the Champion going into Mania again, as it may seem a little redundant (although I wouldn't rule it out), and the "shake up reign" that most likely will happen will probably go to someone who hasn't had the title for a few years, or ever.
(Sheepster) Randy Orton is someone that WWE wants to use for the future. It follows that they wouldn't really want to give the World title to him for a month just so that he can drop it to someone else. And since I don't see Orton main eventing WrestleMania as the champion next year, I don't see that there's enough time for him to finish with all those third-generation kids, come back from his injury, get the belt for a good few months, have the rematch feud once he loses it, AND get him out of the main event scene for the next two or three people to build their story heading out of the Rumble and into WrestleMania. That's what would have to happen. FICTION. Orton could very well main event as the challenger though. He might even win the Rumble. In fact, mark it down. Three and a half months before it happens, that's my prediction. Orton wins the Rumble.
(PEN15) That’s tough to say. Chris Jericho is doing well as the lead heel on Raw at the moment, and that’s still with stiff competition from JBL. Jericho is in a lucky position in which other than HBK and now Batista, he hasn’t exhausted many feuds with the top faces. He could still work a program with CM Punk if the WWE chooses to push the Straight Edge superstar. There’s the obvious Jericho vs Mysterio route that I think has escaped most fans. And that’s excluding the return of John Cena which seems only months away.
Right now Orton seems tied up with leading this new Second Generation stable, plus a feud with Punk looks quite possible. Definitely because of the stable, he could be held away from the main event until next SummerSlam without any problems. He could have non title feuds with Batista, Mysterio, and Punk, all of which are at least relatively fresh. HBK and Cena could also work with Orton without the title, though I’m doubting it.
But what it really all comes down to is the simple Orton appearances we’ve seen for the last month and a half. His constant quote is “I’m going for the World Title”. And for that reason I fear they will rush Jericho’s title reign, have him pass it over to a face within 2-3 months. And that face will drop it to Orton sometime between the Rumble and No Way Out, leading to Raw’s main event of Orton vs Batista for the World Championship. I would consider this a mistake as I see the money Raw main event being Batista vs Cena II. So I’ll say FACT.
(Terry)FICTION. Randy Orton will not be WWE champion until after WrestleMania, and even that is iffy. I think the WWE will be very cautious with Randy Orton in not putting him in a situation where he's not having to overly exert himself until they think he's ready to do that. Also because title matches sometimes have stipulations that call for wrestlers to beat their bodies up more so then a regular match that the WWE will steer Randy away from that. So, if they (WWE) wants to set up a cage match or any kind of gimmick match between now and when they think Randy is ready, they'll have someone else in that spot.
(Zombiekid)FICTION. I hate Randy Orton. Also, Chris Jericho is doing absolutely superb right now as Raw's world champion. We can also safely assume that Chris Jericho will not be main eventing WrestleMania. So where will that leave us? Well the way I see it, Raw's main event of WrestleMania has to be its two biggest draws (and I use the term lightly for man #2). Of course, I'm talking about John Cena and Batista. One of them is walking into WrestleMania as champion. That would mean that Randy Orton would hold the belt somewhere in between this title change. On the one hand, he could win it in a heel versus heel title match(not gonna happen), or WWE could stupidly pass around the belt like a hot potato (well...). Oh and on a side note, Randy Orton's reign from No Mercy to Backlash sucked.
FACT or FICTION: Vladimir Kozlov has the tools to be one of WWE's top monsters for years to come.
(Sheepster)FICTION. WWE used to be able to do this all the time. Bring some crazy foreign monster in and have him storm the ring for years. But in recent history, they've not been able to do it so effectively. Big Show and Kane are the two mainstay monsters at the moment. They both came in to the fold 10 years ago. How many monsters have they tried since? None that worked out too well. From memory, only Khali and Lesnar have won world titles. Lesnar is lone gone, and it's still debatable whether Khali will outlast Big Show and Kane. They tried Batista, but quickly turned him from a monster into a fan-favorite animal. I've seen nothing from Kozlov that has led me to believe he won't be this year's Snitsky.
(PEN15)FICTION. Honestly it is too tough to say yet as we’ve barely seen anything from Kozlov other than squash matches. He’s got some of the factors needed to be a main event heel. He’s got natural heel looking face, the way the “USA” chants were thrown his way at the end of Smackdown shows; he’ll always have that easy cheap heat if needed. And he seems like a decently talented in-ring worker. But other than his match with Khali, we’ve yet to see a solid back and forth match.
This isn’t to say Kozlov can’t ever become one of the WWE’s top monsters for years to come. But I fear that he will end up being the 2008 equivalent of Yokozuna: foreigner quickly pushed to main event, but after the initial quick run... There’s not much left for him to do.
(Terry)FICTION. I would've said fact except who knows how long mad Vlad wants to be involved in pro wrestling. It's not like he grew up wanting or dreaming of being in pro wrestling. Maybe I'm wrong, but Vlad reminds me of a Russian version of some of the wrestlers that were brought in because they had an athletic background but got out because they didn't enjoy the business.
Forget about asking if he's going to be a monster when we don't know if he's going to be around in a few years.
Also, let's not forget that unlike Lashley, Goldberg or Lesnar, Vlad didn't grow up in this culture. He doesn't speak the English language well and who knows how comfortable he is outside of the ring. He's not a young man that the WWE can build upon for years and years like they did with Brock. Hopefully, he'll give the WWE a few good years however the key to his success will be presentation and how the WWE protects his faults and promotes his strengths.
Maybe Vlad will prove me wrong and have a 10+ year career with the WWE or another promotions but I doubt that.
(Zombiekid) I must admit, I only catch Smackdown roughly once a month, so I haven't seen very much of this Vladtizmear Koleslaw fellow in action. But from what I have seen, this is a FACT. Vlad may be lacking in a real character/gimmick, and he seems to really have no direction but that's the same for pretty much everyone in WWE at the moment. Vlad is quite good in the ring especially considering his size and stature. And unlike Khali, he doesn't look like Frankenstein's monster when he walks. So as long as WWE don't ruin his undefeated streak and turn him into a schoolboy bitch (here's lookin' at you, Umaga), Koleslaw could be a great monster heel in WWE for years to come.
(RIPbossman) I have to say FACT. He has the size and the build, and in time he most likely will be able to make it as a solid, consistent part of WWE's main event scene and upper mid card. There most likely would have to be less of an emphasis on his Russian ethnicity, as it is something that will direct attention away from his actual persona. If he is given opportunity after opportunity, like Randy Orton was given for years, he should really become a ring general.
FACT or FICTION: MVP has been severely underused ever since dropping the United States Title in April.
(PEN15) I am one of MVP’s biggest fans. He truly has every tool necessary to succeed for a long time in the WWE. But I truly feel that the recent instant pushes that many stars have received in the last decade or so have negatively trained fans (especially in the IWC) to believe anyone who is worthy of the main event, but hasn’t done so is automatically ‘misused’. And that’s bullshit, so this is FICTION.
I think it becomes easy to forget that a guy who is on TV every week in high profile segments or matches is still much better off than a guy like Jamie Noble or Charlie Haas for example. Those guys are easily erased from an episode of Raw if they need extra time. MVP is not in that position. MVP may be losing often but he’s not losing to lower card wrestlers in curtain jerk matches. He’s losing competitively to Jeff Hardy and HHH. Brian Kendrick has done the same thing in the last month but because he’s fresh in that picture, no one thinks of it as “misused”.
The WWE are keeping MVP in our radar as a top guy while they set up the Smackdown main event for the next six months. Undertaker versus Triple H is inevitable. Edge will be back any day now and Big Show is doing well in his new heel main event role. To include MVP in that situation, no matter how many wins he could have had instead of losses, would not work out yet. A WWE title run for MVP would work out identically as CM Punk’s on Raw. Not credible by some, rushed by others, and boring to even more. The casual fan needs to get to know the main eventers for much longer these days thanks to longer and extended feuds.
(Terry)FICTION. I'm sorry, but no. Maybe he's not at the level he was in April but that was before the arrivals of Jeff Hardy, HHH, The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, Mr. Kennedy (before he got hurt), Umaga(see Kennedy) and Ron Killings. He was in a position of being a top Smackdown wrestler before the arrivals because the WWE needed him in that position. However since the Draft Lottery, they really haven't had many other options.
That changed in recent months.
I don't feel sorry for any wrestler that receives a big push at the start and then has to take a step back for a while. Shawn Michaels didn't get any big push until he was in the WWE for almost four years. So if MVP has to go through a stretch that calls for him to take a step back then so be it. As long as he has talent, heart and drive, he won't be "held down" for long and will eventually succeed.
(Zombiekid) You know, I'm not usually one to say guys have "potential" and are "future stars", because most of these guys end up getting wished well on their future endeavors. But this right here is a FACT. MVP had so much potential to be awesome. Actually he already is reeking in awesomeness. During his near year long US title reign, MVP became the second biggest reason to watch Smackdown. And unlike Funaki, MVP was there every single week to entertain us. Then after he lost the United States title to bland as toast Matt Hardy, MVP should have been thrust into the world title scene. But instead, MVP got ignored and began being bitched out to toast's crackhead brother. It's not even his own fault dammit! MVP should regain his US title. Or at least become the latest victim of Triple H's "Imma squash and destroy te creditibility of all the youngins" title reign.
(RIPbossman) I'll say FICTION. MVP is clearly a very talented performer. However, everything about him screams "over the top gimmick", which often times will act as a barrier from the main event scene for wrestlers. I've really enjoyed MVP's work over the last few years however it can clearly be seen that he isn't always as motivated when he comes out to lose a match or look bad. But most importantly, the gimmicky aspects to his character need to be toned down and with his wrestling ability, mic work and charisma, he should some day be a solid part of the main event scene.
(Sheepster)FACT. And that's not just one of those opinion-facts or semi-facts. It's a scientific fact. Like evolution and the laws of thermodynamics. Why such a superstar as Montel Vontavious Porter is being underused as much as he has been is a mystery to me. It's criminal. He could be bigger than The Rock if they'd let him. His feud with Matt Hardy was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I admit, Hardy did almost all of the work, but MVP gave it that something special. The man plays a lousy comedy
heel better than most of the wrestlers I see today.
Oh, wait. I meant to say FICTION.
FACT or FICTION: Bound for Glory's 'earth shattering surprise' will ultimately be labeled a failure.
(Terry) Can I skip this? I pay as much attention to TNA as a vegan does to a hot dog (also the event is over with). More than likely, this is FACT.
(Zombiekid)FACT. Yeah, Bound of Glory actually happened 4 days ago. But I knew TNA was going to screw it up anyway. And so did you. And this time, they not only didn't have a good surprise, there was actually no surprise at all! TNA really went the extra mile here.
(RIPbossman)FACT. I don't watch TNA, and I have no idea what this is about. But because it's TNA, probably yes.
(Sheepster) Umm... what's Bound For Glory? Sounds like an adult movie. I'll say frictio... I mean, FICTION.
(PEN15) I don’t watch any TNA, because I truly believe everything they do is a failure. So I have no choice but to say FACT. But, to be fair, I haven’t seen anything from TNA in years so I may not be in a position to judge unbiased.
FACT or FICTION: Santino will break Honky Tonk Man's record as the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion ever.
(Zombiekid)FICTION. Some people might think this Honky Meter angle proves that WWE plans to have Santino break the Honky Tonk's title record but I don't see it happening. Back in the Honky Tonk Man's day, titles weren't defended nearly as often. There weren't as many shows. If Santino plans on keeping his title for that long, he's going to have to defend it at least 30-ish times. Do you want to put up with 30 Santino Marella title matches? Yeah. Also, WWE currently seems to have no really planned directions so an angle like this could "swerve" us any day now. I doubt WWE even have concrete plans for this angle for next week. That is all.
(RIPbossman) I'll say FICTION. Honky Tonk Man was a wrestler with a very over the top gimmick, and in his time, characters had more longevity. There were four pay per views a year and storyline's were only really being advanced about once a month or so. The fans really didn't make a high number of emotional connections with the performers whereas in the age of RAW, they will see a wrestler go through 6 or 7, or more storylines a year. Given that over-the-top gimmicks have a tendency not to last too long, the "comedic relief" Santino will eventually start to wear thin and this will not continue until he break's Honky's record.
Or, I could reasonably see him losing the title one day shy of the record. I think that ultimately they don't want someone like Santino to be the one to hold that record.
(Sheepster) For some reason, WWE have been reluctant for anyone to break this record. With legends such as Orton and Jericho having long stints as IC champion, neither has been allowed to break the record. I really really hope that Santino breaks it. He's my second favorite wrestler at the moment. I have a soft spot for the Intercontinental title. I follow it more than the other belts. As such, I can tell when a wrestler has that perfect Intercontinental feel. Santino would certainly be in the top 10% of IC champions. I just can't see it happening though. So with a heavy heart, I must say FICTION.
(PEN15) Big Fat Fucking FICTION. I am thoroughly entertained by Santino these days but you’d be insane to believe the comedy will last for a year.
The truth is that the WWE could never afford to have Santino hold onto that title for too long. With so many new and fresh faces in the Raw midcard, there’s no way they can use guys like Noble, Regal, Kofi, Rhodes, DiBiase, Manu, Punk, and recently Haas in a significant way without involving the IC Championship.
(Terry)FACT. I think Santino will break Honky's record but I say that because I think the WWE wants to both promote the IC title again as well as have someone current as being the longest reigning IC title holder. I also think that Santino is such a good character that he can pull off keeping the fans entertained while going after Honky's record. Hopefully this elevates the Intercontinental title in the eyes of the fans. I hope he succeeds because the attention will do nothing but help the IC title to what it was back when Honky held it so many years ago.
That's a wrap folks. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this helping of Fact or Fiction. If the withdrawal symptoms are already taking effect, there's no need to do anything drastic. We'll be back this time next month because we really have that little to do in our spare time. I wanted to make a quick note regarding Fact or Fiction in general. It isn't always easy coming up with questions from scratch so I occasionally pull ideas from other resources such as the WWE Fact or Fiction Thread. If you're an avid fan of F or F and you have some intriguing statements, post them in there and I'll be sure to give them a quick glance. As for this column, don't leave these guys hanging. Drop them some food for thought and give them a reason to feel important for once in their lives.
Click Here to Email RIPbossman (Who's probably somewhere around column #459 by now)
Click Here to Email Sheepster (But don't expect a reply before Christmas)
Click Here to Email PEN15 (For fun facts pertaining to the overwhelming success that is TNA)
Click Here to Email Terry (Since Canada can be a cold lonely place)
Click Here to Email Zombiekid (Because he could use another activity besides porn and Halo)
