Should ROH consider trying a major Shelley push?
Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:17 pm
With so much talent uncertainty and limited fresh difference-makers even currently under contract, this question kept coming through my head.
I'm aware that Shelley doesn't have the buzz of his tenures in Generation Next, the Embassy, initial MCMG, and Time Splitters since officially signing an ROH contract and departing NJPW. I'm aware that his workrate hasn't been as impressive overall, he's been constantly injured, and there hasn't been a promo out of his mouth that has come close to his Manhattan Mayhem masterpiece.
However, one can look at Samoa Joe. His peak looked to be long gone as the 2000s came to a close, due to injuries, apparent ennui, and lousy bookers. But in the past 2 years, his stock has risen to previously unseen levels, becoming one of the cornerstones of a WWE brand, finally debuting on Raw, and being in a substantial position in the process.
Would Shelley be worthy of an attempt to revitalize his brand and finally capitalize on the potential he showed throughout the 2000s that drew comparisons to Chris Jericho? Can he still find the vicious mean streak and display it in his ring work, and even more importantly, at a top level on the microphone?
I'd imagine before Shelly would ever go into such a direction, that MCMG will first have a Tag Titles reign. They're the last name team remaining on the roster not to have their names in the lineage yet.
Simply put, can the man that once claimed to have talent on loan from God find it again, or has the loan forever been closed out? If he can find out, would he best positioned as the master heel that he once promised to be, or as a chippy babyface that he's been capable of in smaller doses in the past?
I'm aware that Shelley doesn't have the buzz of his tenures in Generation Next, the Embassy, initial MCMG, and Time Splitters since officially signing an ROH contract and departing NJPW. I'm aware that his workrate hasn't been as impressive overall, he's been constantly injured, and there hasn't been a promo out of his mouth that has come close to his Manhattan Mayhem masterpiece.
However, one can look at Samoa Joe. His peak looked to be long gone as the 2000s came to a close, due to injuries, apparent ennui, and lousy bookers. But in the past 2 years, his stock has risen to previously unseen levels, becoming one of the cornerstones of a WWE brand, finally debuting on Raw, and being in a substantial position in the process.
Would Shelley be worthy of an attempt to revitalize his brand and finally capitalize on the potential he showed throughout the 2000s that drew comparisons to Chris Jericho? Can he still find the vicious mean streak and display it in his ring work, and even more importantly, at a top level on the microphone?
I'd imagine before Shelly would ever go into such a direction, that MCMG will first have a Tag Titles reign. They're the last name team remaining on the roster not to have their names in the lineage yet.
Simply put, can the man that once claimed to have talent on loan from God find it again, or has the loan forever been closed out? If he can find out, would he best positioned as the master heel that he once promised to be, or as a chippy babyface that he's been capable of in smaller doses in the past?