|
|
You know, the more I watch Rhyno in the WWF these days, something becomes more and more obviously apparant; the guy isn't over AT ALL. Sure, in the last three or four months WWF fans have learn't what 'The Man Beast' is all about, and at first the reaction was "Wow, that guy is a monster! (extensive cheering)", but now the reaction has become more like "Hey, it's Rhyno......Gore". The WWF fan's just arn't into the guy at all, and here's why I think that is:
1. He's going in two directions. Rhyno is obviously supposed to be a heel, or villan if you will. He cheats, beats up good guys, and hangs around other bad guys. That all should make him a heel without question. However, as soon as Rhyno hits the ring, he's looking at the crowd throwing his fist in the air, doing his "I'm the Man" chest pounding routine, and all in all trying to connect with the fans. And while theres nothing wrong with a heel trying to get a strong reaction out the fans, attempting to get them to cheer and praise him isn't the best idea for someone who's supposed to be a monster-heel. Sure, there are wrestlers who can, and do pull off the whole "I'm hate the fans, but they still think I'm the shit" thing. Rob Van Dam, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H all have very arrogant, cocky attitudes (iow. They're assholes), but the fans really dig them. It's a tricky character to pull off, and Rhyno shouldn't try it.
2. He's Goldberg. Oh shut up, you know Rhyno is Goldberg, and I'm not just talking about the Spear they both use. Rhyno mow's down opponents at complete random, usually in typical squash fashon. Yes, I know he's jobbed to the likes of Chris Benoit, Test, and the Undertaker, but in all fairness Goldberg has jobbed to Nash, Bret Hart (three times), and even Buff Bagwell. Casual fans don't really want to see one guy on a never ending killing spree of mid carders. It's been done before, and no matter how many guys Rhyno decapitates, it's not going to get him over. They need to give him some direction. His potentially great feud with Spike Dudley was cut short when, you guessed it, he mowed down Spike. Rhyno vs. Test would be interesting, if Rhyno hasn't already killed him on multiple occasions. He's pinned Jericho at least three times, and absolutly annihalated Raven as well. What I'm saying is; like Goldberg, nobody can get a feud going with the guy because he wastes everyone.
3. He's a mute. Ever seen an ECW Rhyno interview? It's a pretty scary thing. If fact, during ECW's final lap, Rhyno was coming off as one of the scaryiest bastards on the planet next to Scott Steiner. Eventually, TNN was practically beeping 50% of the interviews, with Rhyno two inches from the screen screaming profanities at the Sandman, RVD, whoever. Now in the WWF, the only verbal thing said of any signifigance about Rhyno has been Heyman screaming "GORE GORE GORE" at any chance he gets. Giving the guy the micraphone would be a good idea because so far he's been doing all his talking in the ring, and lets not kid ourselves; Eddie Guerrero he ain't. You're not going to see any wrestling classics out of Rhyno, with the key word there being "wrestling".
4. He's being shoved down our throats. Paul Heyman is trying the same thing with Rhyno in the WWF as he did in ECW, but is failing to see that for the most part that they are two very different audiences. There's no reason for fans to care about a guy who's bound to be wrestling on every single show, doing the same old thing. He's in high profile matches, yet in the fan's eyes doesn't belong there. Wrestling fans, and especially casual WWF fans will reject any wrestler who is in the big matches, but doesn't belong there. Right now Rhyno is definatly suffering from 'Rocky Miavia' syndrome.
I don't hate Rhyno. I think he has shown us only the tip of the iceberg of what he can do, and would love to see him succeed in the WWF. However the problems he's having with the fans are fairly obvious, especially when you're supposed to be a monster heel and are getting absolutly zero reaction. I just thank God he didn't win King of the Ring.