Those that are skeptical of WWE giving Sheamus such a big push have been pointing towards Vladimir Kozlov and the sudden push that he was given in the fall of 2008.
An Example in Vladimir Kozlov
Back during the 1980s, very few people were able to generate heel heat like the villianous foreign wrestlers. Whether the character was Russian, Japanese, Iranian, or whatever, they were able to draw an emotional reaction from the audience.
When Ivan Koloff ended Bruno Sammartino's 7 year title reign, the silence in the arena was said to be quite eerie. The audience simply was stunned that such an evil man was now their world champion.
Ivan Koloff then took his evil heel foreigner act down south to the NWA. There, his heel heat helped turned his "nephew" Nikita Koloff into a main event player who feuded with the likes of Magnum TA, Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, and Sting.
The evil heel foreigner was a gimmick that worked.
WWE tried to replicate the success of the gimmick wit Vladimir Kozlov. They felt that he had the presence to get the audience to root for whoever it was that he was up against.
The company had too much faith in Vladimir Kozlov. Not once but twice did the company push him too fast too soon.
The first time the company tried to push him was on Raw, where he constantly kept showing up in the audience. Vince McMahon himself put a stop to that feud because he saw that the big man wasn't ready. Vladimir Kozlov was kept off of television for almost an entire year.
In 2008, Vladimir Kozlov was given a second chance. He tore through local wrestlers and the brand's undercard for months. Then, management decided to push him into programs involving Triple H, Undertaker, and Jeff Hardy. It wasn't long afterwards that they realized that he wasn't ready, so they sent him to ECW for further development.
It was too much too soon.
History Repeats...Maybe
Those that remember the rapid rise and fall of Vladimir Kozlov are concerned that history is going to repeat itself if WWE continues to push Sheamus at such a frenetic pace.
With wrestling fans, sometimes, you only get one chance at becoming a big star. If you don't click with the audience or if the audience turns on you, then chances are, you're going to have to do quite a bit to get management to give you that faith again.
It's a good thing that WWE wants to elevate Sheamus. They just have to keep reminding themselves that they can't force the issue. You can't force fans into bonding with a character.
Rebuilding the Russian
While the company has moved on to other wrestlers (namely Sheamus and Drew McIntyre), things aren't completely over for Vladimir Kozlov. In the words of the scientists that put together the Six Million Dollar Man, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology."
Vladimir Kozlov can be rebuilt.
He's already on the right brand for something like that to happen. WWE can slowly move him away from simply just being William Regal's lackey to being a contender for Christian's ECW Heavyweight Championship.
With Christian so gifted at making his opponents look good, it would be a perfect guy for Vladimir Kozlov to work with. Plus, Christian can do all of the talking in the program. William Regal can also be used to provide some mic work for Vladimir Kozlov as well.
Closing Thoughts
I know the company has been faced with widespread criticism from fans about not creating new stars, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to slam the pedal to the metal. There's an in between route that might work better. |
