ATH3: The first verbal bitchslap of 08'

Charlie

Answer coming in 20 mins BH.

Just posted my answer, but saw that someone pipped me with HBK, so just to clarify, at the time that a made this actual post, I was already in the process of typing up my HBK answer. There was no cogging going on.

EdK

I would push MVP at first I wasn't sold on him because he didn't have the wrestling ability to back up his character but he's come on in leaps and bounds, he's learned from watching tapes and the people around him(Benoit etc), he pulls off his character well he is good in the ring and and he can talk (he is as close to a total package as you will get these days)

I dont think I'd push him in the title picture right now as things are progressing nicely into WM and he has a nice US title feud bubbling with Matt Hardy now

However I would push him through the summer in the world title picture as i think he could show well against any champion be it Edge or undertaker or Batista

He even got decent work out of batista this week on SD and that surely cant be a bad thing, So ithink MVP will be my man and would be a great heel champion maybe even more antagonising than the Edgester

Rjd2

Id love to see HBK get the World Heavyweight Championship so naturally he would have to move to Smackdown firstly. Edge is going to run out of faces to defeat soon, he has beaten Batista 23543454 times and Taker is to injury prone so who does that leave? Rey was a bit underwhelming the last time he got it ands Matt Hardy? The man cant draw unless he is facing a superstar like Edge.
HBK due to Cena and HHH being on RAW probably wont get the belt unless someone gets injured which is really unfair on a man who has being incredible in the ring in the last few years so Id love to see him with the Smackdown belt.
The scenario would be Edge in the ring bragging about how great he is and how he has beaten everyone in Smackdown and then the music kicks and out pops HBK. He declares that he like everyone in wrestling he is fed up with Edge and that he went to Teddy Long to be drafted to come over and kick Edges ass. The two would put on a great feud, both are brilliant in the ring and know how to work a crowd. Edge would initially brag that HBK is washed up and that’s he the future however after a few months feuding HBK would get the belt at say Summerslam and trust me the pop would be huge. Then you could set up feuds with MVP, Taker and Rey. All those three are good in the ring and would put on great matches with him. I mean if HBK can make Kennedy look strong imagine what he can do the career of the much superior MVP?

Charlie

Ok, so here is my answer. Sorry for the lateness, but typing up these badboys is sometimes a daunting process.

My Choice is Shawn 'The Heartbreak Kid' Michaels. I would have him push for the World heavyweight championship, and yes, I would have him win it.

So what's the reasoning behind the choice?

Whilst everyone has their favourite in the business, and such a choice is relatively subjective, Michaels is arguably the greatest performer the industry has today. He ticks all the boxes for me; charisma, mic skills, ring physcology, great in ring worker, performs always on the big time occasions, and finally, he has the x-factor.

However, HBK hasn't held a championship belt for over 5 years! Madness, I know .

As I already stated, Shawn is the complete package, and I think that everyone would agree that putting the belt on Shawn is money in the bank, his matches and promos would be of championship calibre, but most importantly, the fans would be all over it.

So there's the justification of Shawn being champion out of the way, here's the logic.

Personally, whilst Shawn has been one of my highlights of a mediocre wwe over the last 4 odd years, I feel that his stature has regressed somewhat. He has taken a backseat to HHH, the man that use to carry his championship belts for him, and other main eventers. I certainly wouldn't say Michaels is an upper mid-card worker, but its hard to say that the way in which he has been used in recent times qualifies him as a main event worker (with his Mania shot last year being the exception). This would be fine if Michaels was approaching Ric Flair age, or, like Flair, can't really perform like he used to in the ring. But this is not the case with HBK, he is still performing like it was 1997.

I certainly believe that Shawn has one last long title reign left in him, and I would hate to see it being given to him when he approaches Flairs age, and is not able to perform to the best of his abilities. I want Shawn to have this title when he deserves it, when he can give those 5 star matches, when he is a credible main eventer. Shawn isn't getting any younger, and his style is a very athletic one, one which he won't be able to keep up for too many years from now. Why the wwe isn't more aware of this, and the talents of his that have a proverbial expiration date over them, beggers belief.

If last years Rumble, and the build to mania told us anything, its that the fans are crying out for HBK to be given the title. There's no shame in using what has worked in the past (hell, thats what wrestling is built on) so why not replicate the excitement and tension of last years rumble by throwing Shawn in there (possibly as the no.1 entrant), but this time having him win it.

Finally, there is my choice of the World Heavyweight Championship. There logic behind this is relatively simple.

- Raw is pretty bloated with main eventers, and Smackdown has been crying out for an HBK for the last 2 or 3 years.

- There is also the fact that putting Shawn on Smackdown will disassociate him form HHH, which in my opinion is a good thing. Shawn needs to stand out as a champion in his own right, not with a lingering connection of DX, as Shawn and Hunter would be bound to cross paths on the Raw main event scene.

- Finally, I think that a HBK v Edge main event and program would be great viewing. The two have never really worked a singles program with each other (they crossed paths when Rated RKO and DX feuded) so it would be something fresh. Edge in many ways reminds me of a young HBK, he certainly has the arrogant cocky boy toy bit down to a tee, so that would certainly present an interesting angle to the feud (You'd have the veteran who's been there, bought the t-shirt, schooling the one guy that he sees an image of his former self in). To cap it all off, you have the main event money match at Mania. With these two guys in it, you know that the quality of the match would be up there with the best, neither would be carrying the other in it.

So there you have it. On a sidenote, I think a some props have to go out to BH for putting together the ATH debates, they've been great craic, and I think the involvement in them is a testament to how they have been run. To the likes of Vince and Fozzy, you certainly have made these posts extremely challenging, and have no doubt raised the bar, for the answers that people give.

Bounty Hunter

I will post the final standings at 5 today so there is a small bit of time to still post your answer or if people wish to counter any arguement, if you are not online to defend your arguement I wont count it against and youyour score will not be affected.

Vince135792003

I'd never argue with HBK getting the belt. He's just awesome.

However, the question was: Q.If your could pick any singles wrestler in the WWE, male or female to get a title push right now, who would you pick? which title would you have them competing for? would you give them the belt? and finally why would you make these choices?

My point is that I don't think HBK should really been entered into this debate. He was heavily involved with Orton for about 2 months up until late November so he'd hardly need to be pushed for the belt as he's been prominently involved only recently.

And to be fair, he's been prominently involved with the title as a main event guy (all be it not winning it) for the last 12 months.

In contrast, guys like Hardy, Flair and MVP would need to be legitimately pushed as they haven't in the title picture at all.


Thanks to BH for organising it too.

Charlie

The whole basis for my answer as to why he should get it right now is that, not only is he capable of another long title reign, but he deserves it for the calibre of his work over the last 18 months, and right now is the right time to give Shawn a long title run (I would hate to see him as an interim holder), as his (wrestling) biological clock is ticking.

He won't be able to go at the rate he presently is for much longer, and I can't imagine HBK wrestling any other style that isn't athletic, physical, and showstoppin (sorry, I had to) nor would I want to. Look how badly Flair has aged in a very short time.

The likes of Hardy and MVP have plenty left in them, they will be around long after HBK is in his twilight years.

Bottom line, if HBK is to hold the belt, I want it done right, I want it done when he can still put on those 5 star matches, and I fear (due to his injuries and reports of him considering retiring due to the pain he has to wrestle through) that window of opportunity is not very wide (he has already had to retire once), hence why I think now is the right time for him to get the push.

Fozzy

I'm doing my answer now, haven't had much time

Bounty Hunter

Im hanging on for you and will post the final standings almost (will need to check yours) imediatley after you post. Sorry to anyone who feels this is bending the rules for Fozzy but this is the final round and im sure even Vince and Charlie would prefer Fozzy get a chance to post so whichever one of them wins (looks like a 3way fight to win) will be able to legitimitley claim to be the undisputed winner.

Fozzy

I would pick Santino and I would have him compete for the ECW title. The man is a very entertaining part of Raw but he isn't taken seriously in the slightest. Getting beaten by guys like Jerry Lawler and Jim Duggan does nothing for him. Moving him to ECW makes him a bigger star on the show

Some might say that Santino doesn't have the wrestling ability to warrant a title push, but I believe that if you can push a guy based solely on their size, then you can push a guy based solely on how entertaining they are. I don't think that many would argue that Santino is not entertaining. I don't think that there are many who'd argue that he's less fun to watch in the ring than someone like Viscera either

CM Punk is the ECW champion at the moment and he's been stuck working with big guys like Mark Henry and Viscera recently. Having Santino challenge for that title would make for more interesting title matches. The build-up to them would be something worth watching, especially if they let Punk have a little more freedom on the mic. Punk is one of the best guys around at talking and that is Santino's strong point too, and I think that there's huge potential there. Both guys have made me laugh countless times because of things they've said, and I'd let them be funny. The ECW title isn't taken that seriously by the fans so I don't believe that it needs to be booked as seriously as the other two world titles. It's the perfect title for Santino to go for I think

I would give Santino the belt, but not straight away. I'd bring him in to feud with Punk at first, but Punk would get the upper hand a couple of times. Then finally Santino would get the belt and I would have him keep it for a good while. I think that he would be a very entertaining champ, as he's got that cockiness that would work great with a belt

Thanks for waiting, I found my first two or three choices already taken, which happened a few times!

Bounty Hunter

Final Leaderboard
Charlie McHugh (91)
Vince135792003 (90)
Fozzy (89)
Double C (84)
Edk (79)
Rjd2 (79)

4rds:Woooo232 67)
Cactus Col (64)
RichieLawlor (63)
2rds: KKV (30)
Machismo Fan (29)
1Rd:Bubs101 (16)
Gimmick (15)


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ATH:Champion Charlie McHugh

congratulations on becoming he third ATH champion Charlie, in a much tighter than usual competition this time special mention should also go to Fozzy and Vince135792003 who pushed him all the way. Thank you also to everyone who competed the whole way through as you all kept this interesting.

Vince135792003

Well done to Charlie. In your honour:

Fozzy

HOOOOOOOO! Well done Charlie and Bounty Hunter and everyone else

Double C

Well done Charlie! And cheers to BH too, these are great craic!

Bounty Hunter

Double C wrote: »

Well done Charlie! And cheers to BH too, these are great craic!

everyones welcome. I like these too hense my running it, although I really struggle refraining from getting involved and replying to points people make at times. It allows general discussion and gives people the opportunity to be creative in suggesting what could/should happen.

Congrats again Charlie you now join Rossie1977 and Vince135792003 as winners of ATH. hopefully you will all be back trying to become 2-time champs in ATH4 and remember people if you think of a good ATH style question give me a shout and your Question might just appear next time round.

Cactus Col

Well done Charlie! And cheers Bounty, great questions.

Could not for the life of me think of a wrestler I could make an argument for in the last question!

Fozzy

Cactus Col wrote: »

Could not for the life of me think of a wrestler I could make an argument for in the last question!

Yeah, a couple of the questions made me realise how small the WWE roster really is. When I was looking through the roster on Wikipedia I saw a lot of guys who just seem stuck where they are and don't look to have much hope of achieving much in the future

I was half-joking when I picked Khali to turn face, but by the time I'd written out my argument it was something I was dying to see! I really hope he becomes a comedy character (in a good way) before he eventually leaves

Charlie

Cheers lads. HOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Would definitely agree with you Fozzy about how ATH makes you realise how little depth there is to the roster, so few wrestlers that are well rounded and have that something special, way too many meh wrestlers on the roster at present.

Congrats Charlie, and cheers Bounty Hunter

Terry

Damn it.
Too late again.

I tend to avoid this forum because I don't like spoilers and generally only pop in on a Sunday or Monday.

I had a load of replies lined up after reading the entire ****ing thread.

Fozzy

Terry wrote: »

I tend to avoid this forum because I don't like spoilers and generally only pop in on a Sunday or Monday.

There's not usually any problem with spoilers, the threads with spoilers will be marked and any other posts with spoilers are tagged too. I think my sig has been very effective since it debuted!

Terry

I was stung a couple of times beofre.
Also, I'm too curious.

The Sparrow

Fozzy wrote: »

There's not usually any problem with spoilers, the threads with spoilers will be marked and any other posts with spoilers are tagged too. I think my sig has been very effective since it debuted!

Oooh your debuting signatures now? What next is your avatar going to do a run in?!!:):D

Oh and congrats Charlie.