Reversal of Fortunes: MVP & Kozlov
Looking back just a few months ago, Smackdown superstars Montell Vontavius Porter and Vladimir Kozlov were on opposite tracks in terms of records. Kozlov continued to build momentum with victory after victory, as the Moscow Mauler was undefeated in singles competition, a feat not accomplished quite so much in WWE these days. On the other hand, MVP was on a terrible losing streak, losing contract money as he couldn't manage to gain a victory no matter how hard he tried. What a difference a few weeks make, or a change in the storyline by WWE makes. One guy is now a 2 time United States Champion headed to Wrestlemania, while the other, as of right now, will be watching the Pay-Per-View from the sidelines.
Friday's 500th edition of Smackdown tells the reversal of fortunes best. Vladimir Kozlov went up against Triple H in the opening bout, as The Game was able to Pedigree his opponent for the convincing win. The problem with this is that WWE spent a good amount of time building up Kozlov's credibility just to make him a Wrestlemania 25 prep opponent. WWE could continue to build Kozlov by having Orton interfere with Legacy to attack Triple H at the Smackdown match. Instead, Kozlov gets manhandled, not that Triple H is a slouch, and now Kozlov appears to be just a big lug who other wrestlers get the easy victory over. In the two prior weeks he lost to two other Wrestlemania 25-bound competitors in Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. It reminds me of a match some time ago where the Undertaker was made to look weak as well on Saturday Night Main Event. This came after Undertaker had this mystique about him which made him look invincible, then gets into this one match and is knocked around the ring like a klutz. Tally things up for the Moscow Maulder, and Kozlov has 3 consecutive losses after an impressive singles record which saw him involved in the WWE title picture as well as in a fight against ECW Champion Matt Hardy. You've got to question what the WWE is doing with this talented superstar, or whether Kozlov somehow got himself in the doghouse with Vince McMahon. He's not exactly the best on the mic in terms of promos, but his story just seems strange right about now.
MVP on the other hand, was in a very interesting storyline that WWE had with him losing match after match. It made sense as he's been built up as the cocky, arrogant sports star demanding big money from the WWE for his talent. It's reminiscent of NFL stars like Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, or younger Randy Moss. MVP finally flipped things around and started back on a win streak several weeks ago, and began his feud with US Champion Shelton Benjamin. At one time, MVP was the longtime US Champ, holding that title for nearly a year. That year-long reign was of course ended by Matt Hardy, who then held the belt several months before Shelton Benjamin gained the title. On the special 500th edition of Smackdown, MVP was able to get the best of Shelton as he hit the Playmaker to recapture the title. It's a fitting win for a guy who has seen his ups and downs as a top heel, who still has some work to do to gain the fans approval. It will be interesting to see what goes down in the MITB match with both Shelton and MVP competing, but as of right now it appears they may be least likely to win it.
In defense of MVP as new US Champion, some may say that the United States title is meaningless, but which title means much these days? If you compare each of the singles titles, the US title seems to be the one held for the longest reigns recently, when you look at Shelton and MVP's runs as champ. Other individual titles seem to be traded amongst wrestlers between PPV's, forfeits, and Money in the Bank cash-ins. If anything the US Champions seem to have a consistency which adds to that title's value. That said, JBL and Mysterio might have been better off in the MITB match with MVP vs. Shelton for the US Title on the WM25 card, but WWE needs to spread its various brands across the event.
Back to the "Moscow Mishap", Kozlov just may be headed to ECW next with the upcoming 2009 WWE draft. He's definitely a top notch powerful heel, and if Christian or Tommy Dreamer gains the ECW title, they'll need someone besides Mark Henry to contend for the title. Kozlov makes the best sense as guys like Mike Knox, Snitsky and the aforementioned Mark Henry all have provided bigger wrestler foes for smaller, quicker champs to defend against or fight with. With that said, the ECW title wouldn't be so bad on a powerful, dominant heel like Kozlov either.
Friday's 500th edition of Smackdown tells the reversal of fortunes best. Vladimir Kozlov went up against Triple H in the opening bout, as The Game was able to Pedigree his opponent for the convincing win. The problem with this is that WWE spent a good amount of time building up Kozlov's credibility just to make him a Wrestlemania 25 prep opponent. WWE could continue to build Kozlov by having Orton interfere with Legacy to attack Triple H at the Smackdown match. Instead, Kozlov gets manhandled, not that Triple H is a slouch, and now Kozlov appears to be just a big lug who other wrestlers get the easy victory over. In the two prior weeks he lost to two other Wrestlemania 25-bound competitors in Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. It reminds me of a match some time ago where the Undertaker was made to look weak as well on Saturday Night Main Event. This came after Undertaker had this mystique about him which made him look invincible, then gets into this one match and is knocked around the ring like a klutz. Tally things up for the Moscow Maulder, and Kozlov has 3 consecutive losses after an impressive singles record which saw him involved in the WWE title picture as well as in a fight against ECW Champion Matt Hardy. You've got to question what the WWE is doing with this talented superstar, or whether Kozlov somehow got himself in the doghouse with Vince McMahon. He's not exactly the best on the mic in terms of promos, but his story just seems strange right about now.
MVP on the other hand, was in a very interesting storyline that WWE had with him losing match after match. It made sense as he's been built up as the cocky, arrogant sports star demanding big money from the WWE for his talent. It's reminiscent of NFL stars like Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, or younger Randy Moss. MVP finally flipped things around and started back on a win streak several weeks ago, and began his feud with US Champion Shelton Benjamin. At one time, MVP was the longtime US Champ, holding that title for nearly a year. That year-long reign was of course ended by Matt Hardy, who then held the belt several months before Shelton Benjamin gained the title. On the special 500th edition of Smackdown, MVP was able to get the best of Shelton as he hit the Playmaker to recapture the title. It's a fitting win for a guy who has seen his ups and downs as a top heel, who still has some work to do to gain the fans approval. It will be interesting to see what goes down in the MITB match with both Shelton and MVP competing, but as of right now it appears they may be least likely to win it.
In defense of MVP as new US Champion, some may say that the United States title is meaningless, but which title means much these days? If you compare each of the singles titles, the US title seems to be the one held for the longest reigns recently, when you look at Shelton and MVP's runs as champ. Other individual titles seem to be traded amongst wrestlers between PPV's, forfeits, and Money in the Bank cash-ins. If anything the US Champions seem to have a consistency which adds to that title's value. That said, JBL and Mysterio might have been better off in the MITB match with MVP vs. Shelton for the US Title on the WM25 card, but WWE needs to spread its various brands across the event.
Back to the "Moscow Mishap", Kozlov just may be headed to ECW next with the upcoming 2009 WWE draft. He's definitely a top notch powerful heel, and if Christian or Tommy Dreamer gains the ECW title, they'll need someone besides Mark Henry to contend for the title. Kozlov makes the best sense as guys like Mike Knox, Snitsky and the aforementioned Mark Henry all have provided bigger wrestler foes for smaller, quicker champs to defend against or fight with. With that said, the ECW title wouldn't be so bad on a powerful, dominant heel like Kozlov either.
Labels: Commentary, MVP, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker, United States Championship, Vladimir Kozlov, Wrestlemania 25, WWE Superstars
1 Comments:
i like this blog because it really does show how the storylines are changing. i personally believe that they should be better scripted. i believe that they're playing koslov down so they can make him a face against a big heel and to see where things collide.
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