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| What happened to you, man? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
CM Punk - A lot of bloom has come off the rose for Punk in the last year. While I still contend he's one of the best in-ring wrestlers WWE has on its roster, his character, ever since the Undertaker feud from WrestleMania, has stagnated. Real talk, he was boat-raced by Paul Heyman on the microphone during their feud (and I don't even think that was Heyman's best work on the stick), but as he started to degenerate, the cacophony of support around him got really loud. While I try not to let the Twitter stuff inform my opinion on characters, some of the things he posts are just so unlikable. He's 2013's Sheamus - excellent wrestler, gross character.
Los Matadores - They repackaged Epico and Primo for this gimmick?
Brooke Tessmacher - To me, she was the mascot of what the Knockouts Division had become before I stopped watching TNA for the most part. She certainly tries hard, and I'd have nothing against her if she were seconding the renaissance-level women division containing Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Gail Kim, Sarita, Alissa Flash, and Daffney. The problem is she's replaced those people along with Velvet Sky and a bunch of other wrestlers hired in order to mimic the WWE Divas. That reason alone is why I can't totally dislike her, but I still would rather have something resembling what the Knockouts used to be.
JT LaMotta - I hate to crap on a dude who just retired, but I never really got his oversexed misogynist shtick in ACW. He was a decent wrestler, and his antics more often than not got him some comeuppance, but I am not sad to see him retire.
Josh Mathews - Every booth he's ever been in has suffered from repeated bouts of random dead air. Not the sign of a good PBP guy.
Rob Terry - I've warmed up considerably to Terry (the cardigans helped a whole lot) but considering I used to hold him in the same esteem as Kurt Angle, I'm not sure saying that means much.
Jerry Lawler - The only reason Lawler is in this bin and not the HATEHATEHATE one is that I still can't let go of what he can do in a story or in the ring. Plus, if one can believe, he actually is a better option on RAW by himself with Michael Cole than he is in a three-man booth, mainly because he doesn't have to compete with JBL's constant "MAGGLE"-ing.
Aaron Epic - He one of the most boring wrestlers I've ever watched. However, he seems to try hard, and he actually had a spade of really neat matches at Tournament for Tomorrow.
The American Pitbulls - I have to give Davey Richards (John Cahill??) his props in that in all the times I've seen him wrestle in 2013 (which so far has been maybe twice or three times?), he hasn't pissed me off. I'm interested to see what the Wolves can do in WWE though.
The Bella Twins - I think a lot of their problems stem from WWE having no idea how to employ their skillsets as actors, and that is a non-starter for me whenever they're on camera. But they both seem to try hard, and the way Brie and Daniel Bryan interact with each other is way adorable.
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| If only he could reform by melting... Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Super Dragon - I love what he does with PWG, but the continued attitude towards women feels a bit off to me. Even when he looked to be pushing Candice LeRae to the moon, he had to go and take her match with Adam Cole away because Chris Hero showed up. I understand the logistics and wanting the best match possible, but still...
Hornswoggle - The JBL and Cole Show actually has gone a long way in normalizing him for me, and a lot of my malaise towards him is WWE Creative's fault, but regardless of context, he still makes me groan most of the time he's on camera.
Façade - I still can't get over how corny his "white boy dreadlock tagger" gimmick is, but I do admit he has some hops in the ring.
Kyle O'Reilly - He's okay, I guess, but he's no Reilly O'Kyle.
Seleziya Sparx - She's only playing the game, and I feel bad for her since she's obviously more talented than having quarters thrown at her by disgusting assholes in the crowd. But she feels like she's accepting of her role a bit too eagerly, which makes me sad.
Shane Matthews - The shame part of his ham-handed attempt at satire through blunt misogyny on Twitter is that I continue to love 3.0 as an act in the ring.
Mason Ryan - He actually got a little better down in Full Sail, but he still walks like he's stop-motion animated, which is hilariously sad.
Rickey Shane Page - Page represents a cluster of dudes in Cleveland who get rave reviews from the home crowd, but whom I just don't get. I don't dislike them per se, but I just feel nothing when they're in the ring most of the time.
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| Swagger forever in Zeb's awesome, moustachioed shadow Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Kenny King - As much as I want to blame TNA for not cultivating a character out of King more than "athletic black dude," he really has never done a good job of doing that himself before he got there.
Jay Briscoe - I so want to like him because his character is right in my wheelhouse, but man, I cannot reconcile someone who can't keep his hate to himself with anything they do in a wrestling ring.
Jack Swagger - Watching Jack Swagger regress over the last few years has been both sad and hilarious. He's found his groove again, mainly because all he has to do is wrestle and tag with one of the two or three best pure wrestlers in the world while Zeb Colter continues to be microphone Jesus, but I'm done investing too much in SWAGGAH.
Michael Cole - I am convinced a good announcer exists in Michael Cole, but I can't shake the feeling that a lot of his bad habits that can be blamed on direction or partnership. I think if he were separated from JBL and if he just concentrated on calling action and shilling and if Vince McMahon wasn't in his ear, he'd be great, but conversely, I just dropped a lot of "ifs" to try and justify how he could improve.
Stephanie McMahon - The fact that I consider Stephanie McMahon as one of the best characters on TV right now may not seem to reconcile with her placement in this bin. However, like her husband, she's left a lot of scars on my wrestling fan soul, and I still can't get over her when she makes her cameo appearances dressing down AJ Lee. Seriously, what is the point of her even attempting to do that, especially when WWE has shown no inkling of making Lee part of the resistance against the Authority?
And the rest...
Darin Childs
BxB Hulk
Shitty
Darin Childs
Brodus Clay
Jay Lethal
Jaykus Plisken
Cary Silkin
Chasyn Rance
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| Too many wounds, man, too many wounds Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Silas Young
Ricky Romida
D'Arcy Dixon
Velvet Sky
Shawn Vexx
Hunico and Camacho
Chest Flexor
Teddy Long
Marty Jannetty
Cheech Hernandez
Eva Marie and Jojo
Truth Martini
Alicia Fox
Christian Rose
Mike Mondo
Eric Ryan
Shelton Benjamin
Booker T
Vik Dalishus
Yoshi Tatsu
The Ascension
Gunner
Hernandez
Annie Social
Hale Collins
Bobby Beverly
Johnny Cockstrong
Jeremy Borash
The Rock
Killa Kash
AJ Styles
Ezavel Suena
Carson
Egotistico Fantastico
Shawn Michaels
Wink Vavasseur
Ezekiel Jackson
The Kentucky Buffet
JTG
Great Khali
Sin Cara
Taryn Terrell
SAT
Abyss
Dragon Kid