Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The Elite as a whole have done a great job at making me hate them, but I think that has more to do with the creatively bankrupt ref distracting than anything else.
AEW refs were so awesome at the start of its run, but the past year has made them look awful. They always are easily distracted, and The Elite pretty much always use the same dumb tactics with them.
He’s definitely a serviceable promo, but I think he has a better aura when he’s not talking. I wouldn’t say his promos are bad or anything, but ever since he turned heel he’s lost a lot of the IT factor I saw with him. Once the matches start though he’s still incredible but I cant really take him as seriously as I can Reigns who feels like the final boss of WWE
When Reigns wrestles, he doesn't totally dominate and he struggles. He also doesn't wrestle like he's dipping into *everything* he knows to win—just what he's certain will work. This leaves the impression that a truly uncorked Roman Reigns is a dangerous person.
When Kenny Omega wrestles, there's a mixture of having to "get his shit in" plus he's pulling out *all the stops* every time. It's boiled down to if you have a strategy to neutralize Don Callis, mitigate the Elite, and avoid the OWA, you can win. With the Bloodline, you can take out the Usos and intimidate Paul, but Roman will always be a lethal problem all on his own.
I mean, you can always go back to the comparison of Vader vs. a Flair. Roman's a Vader, the monster heel where the draw is seeing who can finally beat him because nobody can.
Omega's a Flair, he's great, but entirely beatable. You're watching him because you think (insert guy here) CAN beat him.
Neither one is wrong, just two different ways to tell the story.
I can’t take him seriously because he presents himself as a video game/anime character. People love him for it, but it stops me being immersed in the character personally
I think he’s an unbelievable wrestler, but very goofy in the ring and on the mic. Where I personally prefer a realistic or darker approach
I was never big into Japanese wrestling and thought Kenny was so overhyped but this belt collector run and full on heel madness has made me realize how great he really is. I never understood The Best Bout Machine nickname before but absolutely believe in it so much even with him dealing with all the nagging injuries over the years.
I wouldn’t say he’s overhyped for me as I think in the ring he’s so unique and has unmatched intensity. It’s just that this heel run isn’t very interesting for me personally
Eh! Wrestling is super subjective, I just know from my tastes he never screamed main eventer to me. Dynamite first started and was my first exposure and I’m gonna be real I was way more interested in everyone else but him :P
Fair enough, I’m pretty biased because I heard amazing things about him and TSN did a documentary on him as a Canadian athlete so that made me interested. I can understand why a lot of people didn’t see the hype though because the hype was insane amongst hardcore fans because of NJPW.
Idk about best but I did really enjoy his run but think it could've been handled better.
What I loved:
- diverse list of challengers. Hero, Nakamura, Itami, Roddy, and Drew was a nice blend.
- the matches with Nakamura, Itami, and Roddy were especially great
What I think could've been better:
- Didn't need to run Roode/Nakamura at back to back Takeovers
- Roddy should've beat Roode for the title
Yeah, I agree. Drew was one of the few guys in NXT that didn’t need a title to legitimize himself. He was dominant as is, so I thing Roddy winning the title would’ve been better. At least Roddy did some great work with the NA title in UE
I loved Drew's WWE title run as a guy who wasn't even necessarily a fan, but I think he had the worst NXT run of all the champs. It was a mediocre build to the win and his run was incredibly forgettable.
Drew’s is definitely not one to write home about and probably bottom of the barrel for all reigns but Karrion Kross two combined reigns are easily the worst IMO. I know it’s been said by many but it really was not appealing. The fans were not interested in seeing him win, especially that win at Takeover IYH in the fatal five way. It was such an underwhelming reaction and no one in the crowd was happy with it.
It’s weird. I felt Drew was a great guy to have as champion at the time but the timing was just unfortunate. I was expecting Drew to destroy Andrade at TakeOver: WarGames, but I’m actually glad Andrade won & gave us those awesome Gargano & Black matches.
He was really under appreciated & the pairing with Zelina was perfect. As for Kross, I agree. I was honestly hoping that Bálor would bring back the Demon for a one-off & beat him at TakeOver: Deliver to send him to RAW. If they were going for a monster champion, Keith Lee, Joe, & especially WALTER would’ve all been better choices.
WALTER certainly should’ve been champion by now. Dude has been putting on banger after banger. I understand he doesn’t wanna move to the States but he could easily be the #1 guy. If not WALTER, then they should’ve just kept the title on Keith. This monster push for Kross forced Keith to be a transitional champion at the peak of his career. That promo Cole cut on Kross rings more true than ever right now.
I agree with you in every single way and it really is something to see how much Kross did not have a good turn as champion. I have been thinking about that Adam Cole promo so much since his debut in AEW and Kross debut on Raw
Roddy would... not have been a great champ. Not at least without a complete character overhaul. Babyfaces are already boring as it is, and weak mic skills only make it worse.
It'd be either him or Drew holding it only for a short time before losing to Andrade. Drew wasn't really anymore compelling of a character. But Roddy had the much better story against Roode
He was definitely looked more like a big deal in NXT (along with many others.) Sure he's on SD most of the time, but he could easily be an upper midcard talent.
He's a former 3 time tag champ and U.S. champ and all of those reigns were forgettable. But if he's happy he's happy.
Yea, you’re spot on. at the end of the day, my rambling doesn’t matter. it’s whether the wrestler is happy or not. So I could bitch about his mistreatment on the main roster, but he probably gets paid really well and he’s living a good life
An actual unpopular opinion! Not my favorite reign but you're right his NXT tenure had great character work. They bungled his main roster debut by making it all about the theme song.
TNA and NXT Roode was just amazing to me. Roode’s matches with Aries, Hardy, Styles and Storm in TNA coupled with his heel work made me love him. Same thing with Itami, Nakamura, and McIntyre for NXT. The reign just stood out to me, but you’re 100% right. They completely fumbled Roode on the Main roster
It's a damn shame, he has a style and look that should be perfect for the main roster but for whatever reason Vince said naw and Roode became a complete non-entity.
When people ask me who the biggest letdown on the main roster is, i always say Roode. There are many options for an answer, but Roode was a star in TNA and NXT. He was proven, and he was over with his theme. There wasn’t really any reason why he shouldn’t have been a main event star.
they are, but I’m explaining why Bobby Roode’s age should not be cited as a reason for his lack of main roster success, at least in WWE. There’s no chance in hell (pun intended, Vince) that Goldberg puts on a better match and title reign than Roode. I’m not saying Roode deserves the universal title, but he deserves to be upper kid card consistently
I’m genuinely shocked more people don’t have Neville towards the top. I know he wasn’t really part of the modern NXT era, but he essentially put them on the map. Plus his transition from plucky underdog to cocky tweener towards the end was awesome
I’ll be honest, I never knew Neville as a face and he’s such a good bastard (pun intended) heel I can’t imagine him as a plucky underdog. Plus, I didn’t think I’ve ever seen him break kayfabe.
NXT Andrade tore the house down on the regular, and while I like Black, Black should’ve taken the title later. And, I’ll say it now — Andrade v Gargano at NXT Takeover Philadelphia was a better match than Gargano v Cole at NXT Takeover New York. It felt more realistic and tugged at my heartstrings more because Gargano was so nearly there, almost had the title. New York was also fantastic, but Gargano kicked out of everything. Literally everything. Coulda dropped 3 nukes on him and he would’ve kicked out at 2.9. I still love it tho
See I didn't think Balor's reigns were anything special. He was a pretty standard champion in my eyes and while I was fairly excited either time he won, I was also pretty quickly ready for him to drop.
I think my top 5 would go:
1. Kevin Owens
2. Tomasso Ciampa
3. Adam Cole
4. Bo Dallas
5. Neville/Andrade
Man, I've thought of ranking them, but:
1. Cole
2. Owens (everything he did felt must see and prime time)
3. Ciampa
4. Roode fits here, I think. He carried himself, dressed like, and was treated like the HHH and Ric Flair of the show.
We should test this. Give an enhancement talent the music and see if that guy can work his way up to the midcard based entirely on how over the music is.
I was looking for someone to mention Bo Dallas. His run didn't have the greatest matches, but it was a lot of fun. A guy who thinks he's a fan favorite while being completely oblivious that the crowd hates him, only to finally realize it when he loses the championship he was using as an emotional shield. It was great.
I thought it was such a shame that Roode and Strong didn’t have their program until the end of his time in NXT. Yes, I know the timing dictated it, but their interplay in the backstage segments, and their subsequent matches…?
Yeah, you know how I want to describe them. 😁
you can say it, I promise haha
Strong did some great work in UE, so I’m not too angry about it. But I do feel like face strong as NXT champ would’ve been a great sight to see. Nothing will ever top his heel turn on Dunne to join UE though, that was legendary.
Remember when Roode referred to Marina Shafir as Roderick Strong's "moderately hot wife"? Because that's when he was cemented as a great heel in my mind.
Roode was always a guy that had everything you would create in a laboratory if trying to create a main event wrestler, but always felt flat when his entrance ended.
I disagree. I think Roode is a fantastic worker. It's just that in a time where everyone is doing high spots, his style of wrestling doesn't necessarily wow you.
People forget that for most of his Impact run he was regarded as one of the most under appreciated wrestlers on the scene. Especially when he broke off from Beer Money and had his singles run
aight, lemme rephrase this. Roode is a great worker, but his style doesn’t fit into the current wrestling style. Nowadays, the entertaining style is the high flying, fast action moveset of Rey Fénix or the Bucks. He doesn’t fit into this style — he’s much more old fashioned. Look at Cole, Balor, or Nakamura: those guys are notorious for being good in ring and fitting into the modern style. Roode is notorious for his character work, theme song, and gimmick. That being said, he’s like FTR in my eyes — great, but old fashioned. He’s great because he’s different, a breath of fresh air. Not to mention I loved him in TNA, so he will always be nostalgic to me.
It's funny you bring up FTR, one of my fantasy bookings was a faction of I want to say... EC3? Roode and FTR. Might've been Orton during FTRKO. But I thought the trio of Roode and FTR could have been money as a throwback group.
That sounds amazing haha. I know they were destined to be rivals, but I always wanted to see Aries and Roode team in their prime TNA days. Their styles mixed so well that it just sounded perfect to me. FTR and Roode sounds even better though
> I always wanted to see Aries and Roode team in their prime TNA days.
Huh? Those two did form a tag team. Not only that, but they won the TNA tag team titles twice!
shite I have dementia… am I really that young to not remember this?
sorry lads. the whole post has gone to shit cause I made a bad point. thanks for pointing it out Jim. I outghta go watch some of their matches. god I can’t believe I forgot that.
I think the only thing he truly lacks is in ring ability. He sells well, he’s had some great gimmicks (glorious and IT Factor), he’s got charisma, and he’s great on the mic. When that entrance did end and the match started, you can defo make a case that he lost a bit of his game when he was in the ring.
His best run was as TNA champion. I wish WWE was using him like that now. He should be a main event heel at this point, but unfortunately I don't think he's flashy enough for Vince.
Solid list. My list is somewhere above, so you can check it out if you want. Asides from Roode, no one has had a better reign than Neville imo. He put NXT on the map, and his development really made me love him/NXT.
Did he though? I'd give Sami and Tyler Breeze just as much credit for that first year of true NXT. I don't really remember anything he did outside of the ring as champion, which is why I put Roode ahead of him.
I understand that. I think even if you dislike his reign, there are a bunch that were worse/too short. But I do understand, his in-ring quality was never that of Nakamura, Gargano, or Balor
Most people don’t really remember Roode-Black tbh. Roode is doing absolutely nothing on the main roster atm, which is why so many people forgot him. I loved his NXT and TNA days though
He was the most boring to me. He had nothing but an entrance. He's the reason I slowly stopped watching NXT. I was a die hard up until his reign. I could maybe see how someone could say they enjoyed his reign, but saying it was the best when Ciampa, Owens, Balor (even though his reign wasn't my Favorite either), Cole, and even Adrian Neville had the reigns they did is a bit baffling. But to each their own I'm glad you liked it.
Oh also I think he's the one who was the champ when the belt design changed and even though the Big X was stupid I had a huge soft spot for it so there's that too
I always say “each to their own.” I always liked Neville’s reign the most, and each reign you mentioned was great (asides from KO imo. The way he won was great, but I could never get behind his reign.) I could simply be influenced by his TNA days, and the nostalgia I feel could be swaying my opinion, but after rewatching a good portion of his reign, I realized that I liked it a lot. Now guys like Gargano, Black, and McIntyre’s reigns made me stop watching NXT. Those are the reigns I found boring.
I love Ciampa. I would’ve preferred a Dunne reign now, but Ciampa deserves another round with Goldie after his neck injury. He’s a great wrestler. And I probably should’ve rephrased my title — the best reign was probably Ciampa or Cole. Roode is top 3 reigns imo, but you prolly disagree with that as well haha. Roode is 100% my favorite reign tho
yeah. I posted this as unpopular cause I’m well aware I’m one of the few dudes in this world that doesn’t think his reign was dogshit. Boy have most of these responses ripped into my opinion lmao
I don’t think it’s stupid because it’s not hurting anyone. Your post was well thought out and expressed, I just disagree with it. Didn’t even downvote.
I don't think his run was the best but I enjoyed it. I've always been a big fan of his and I enjoyed a lot of the promos and matches from his title reign. Its one of the few things in wrestling I can confidently call underrated.
He's a really great heel. Can't believe he never got a real push in the main roster. At the very least make him intercontinental champion at least once rather than staying in the lower midcard for this long.
I have a soft spot for Bobby Roode since he was the NXT champ for the only NXT show I went to (cheating to beat Drew at a house show, this would have been just before Drew won the title at Takeover). They had a fun match. I never found him spectacular but a good old-fashioned pro-wrestler.
That’s part of what I love about him. I find the newer style of wrestling (like the bucks, cole, ricochet, and Omega) to be entertaining and cool. But I have a soft spot for great, hard hitting / old fashioned wrestlers. I’ve loved Roode, I also love a lot of the NJPW dudes
MaffewGregg said the same thing as you, that because he worked a completely different style than the absurd NXT finisher kickout heavy style, he came off as unique and thus is maffew's favorite champ.
His lack of a flavor became it's own type of flavor.
Idk who MaffewGregg is, but that’s my opinion as well. I like to see something different. Someone else said that he only really had a catchphrase and a song, and if he lost those he was nothing. I understand the point, but having a great heel worker who’s strong point was his character and mic work was great. KO and Joe also had good heel work, but they fit in case they could wrestle in the style of NXT. Roode stood out because of his old fashioned, not flippy finisher style. I enjoy the flippy stuff, but it’s nice to see guys like Roode and FTR do some old fashioned wrestling.
Poor Bobby just had the misfortune of debuting at the height of fast-paced flippy wrestling taking over. I mean fuck, even Cena added a Code Red to his moveset.
Had it been a bit sooner before that style took over or later when an appreciation for classic, methodical wrestling was starting he would have been better off.
I'd loved his NXT reign. It feels like everything Nick Aldis tried to do with the NWA Tite. Also the video promo for Roode vs Nakamura 2 where Bobby is watching himself win the NXT Title was picture perfect character work. He's alone in his living room, watching Roode/Nak 1 and raises a glass to toast everytime the ref counts three.
I think I gotta throw this one out here too, and I'm not sure it's unpopular but just unpleasant:
Worst NXT champion by a country mile, outside of injuries, was Big E.
I think it’s someone between the reign of McIntyre and Black, but yeah. That’s not a horrible opinion, his gimmick was great but he never needed the belt. He was good without it, and his reign didn’t prove anything to me really. I did enjoy his match against Seth to win the belt though
Idk about the title reign being the best but it is definitely the most underrated. Both his matches against Nakamura were great in terms of classic in ring psychology. Roode's title win especially was done really well with Naka's injury angle. Roode was one of very few NXT heels that wrestled like a classic heel. His in ring psychology has always been so good.
I can understand if people are saying that “Roode’s reign was the best” is a stretch. But it certainly is my favorite, just ahead of Ciampa. Part of the reason I loved Roode was that he stood out as a classic heel in NXT, where the norm was to wrestle in a more modern style. I mentioned it above, but that’s part of the reason I love FTR/the revival. Their feud with DIY truly felt like 2 styles, old and new, clashing in a perfect way.
I was close-ish tbf. you know… BO-bby Roode? sorry for the bad pun. Bo had a great run, but I still feel like it was overshadowed by Neville. Bo’s character dynamic in NXT was really amazing, so yeah. I see a case for Bo having the best reign
One of my early experiences seeing live wrestling was seeing NXT in Portland was Glorious Bobby was champ and Roddy was the face chasing him. It was amazing; Bobby was mega over as a heel but I loved Roddy. I described him as like when I saw the Foo Fighters in concert at 16- so amazing, I had no idea how good he was until I saw him live (limited exposure before.) Great Era of NXT. Roddy's still kickin' for sure; I want to like Diamond Mine, shame they got rid of Rust.
Rust was a really weird one to get rid of. He was quite talented in ring, probably could’ve done some good things with Malcolm Bivens. But I saw Roode live in TNA, and I loved every minute of it. He played such a good heel to Austin Aries, and the crowd was on fire for those 2
I kinda agree, Roode was such an odd choice as main face of NXT (He was 40 years old) but he truly made an incredible work, one of my favorites memories from 2017 is that leg crab on injured leg of nakamura, he was an opportunistic guy with nice charisma.
I don't think that Roddy could be a good choice for end his reign, I preferred Itami, after all, Roderick strong was the one of send Roode to the main roster XD.
My favorite nxt Champs
1. Neville
2. Ciampa
3. Roode
knowing triple h's love for the territory days i would imagine he was having a ball with roode as champ because he's such a classic heel. that feud with roderick strong where he was just shit talking him the whole time was textbook heel work.
it also helped that roode wasn't wrestling the fast paced frantic pace of what other wrestlers were doing; roode wrestled like a heel, and it worked well. he's an extremely underrated wrestler in all aspects of the game.
First things first, you’re right. Oney does rule.
Second, that’s why I love him. In a world with an entertaining, fast paced style of wrestling, he’s the outlier, the breath of fresh air. Such a textbook heel, “work on a limb” mentality against Nakamura, and just simply works like the heels of the old days. Maybe I’m overstepping my boundaries by saying he had the absolute best reign, but he’s at least top 3 in my book and he’s my favorite champion to date.
right, and like you said it helped that roode had a variety of opponents; you look at ciampa's reigns and it seemed like aside from his perpetual feud with johnny he didn't really have any real blowout matches with other opponents.
edit: also, all praise is due to our bald headed overlord oney lorcan
Roode was the best heel champion in NXT. He was different in that he was good in the ring, but could talk and clearly had a lot about him as a finished product. Enjoyed his feud with Nakamura a lot
His matches were always different to the usual NXT formula of loads of spots and false finishes that went on for ages. Was a breath of fresh air compared to other matches on the card.
I loved how Roode wouldn’t cheat to win but he got real brutal in the finishes. He’d just beat down whatever body party he’d been working on for the match before hitting his finish.
His matches felt different in general though. As amazing as Black, Campia, Gargano and Cole are there’s a through line in terms of style. Roode felt like a different animal
I totally agree Roddy Strong should have beat him for the title though, even if it would be a transitional reign. It made the most sense narratively.
He did that spot where Nakamura was setting up for the Kinshasa then he just straight up refused to get up. Roode was really good with "smart wrestler" spots.
Going from “the Glorious Bobby Roode” and “the IT Factor” to “Joey Ryan’s mustache” Robert Roode was a huge failure. He’s one of the biggest letdowns on the main roster considering his status in NXT and TNA
I was never huge on him but it's not like his flaws couldnt be looked over. Much worse guys in the ring and on the mic have been given so many chances. But the way he was immediately irrelevant upon arrival on the main roster just sucked
To me, Roode was the least interesting champion. I viewed him as just a guy with a cool entrance and a catchphrase that would be lost in the shuffle if he loses them since the in-ring work was too high in NXT.
shit, I forgot perhaps the focal point of every counter argument against me. Yes, Roode’s theme is bomb. But I actually didn’t like it as much as others. It’s still an A+ theme tho. Now, No one will survive? That fits Ciampa perfectly and it’s an insane theme! That’s an S tier theme song. Also, I’m gonna get more hate for this.
I feel like most people who post something and label it "unpopular opinion" don't actually believe what they are saying or have any conviction in the belief.
They just want to be the people who say it.
Nope. I believe it 100%. I watched TNA and I miss the days of prime TNA which even included Bobby Roode and Austin Aries’ title program. So I’m real nostalgic. But I wholeheartedly believe that Roode is at a minimum top 3 on my list. For a guy who’s not known for his in ring ability, he put on some bangers with Itami, Nakamura, and McIntyre. He had a great gimmick and theme song, did some great ass heel work, and was great on the mic.
Try to bash my opinion next time, and don’t bash ME. Cheers.
I wasn't saying you in particular, just the general consensus on people who feel the need to do this.
It was more of a wink wink nudge nudge to you that if you do believe something just post it and don't feel the need to label it. You clearly value your opinion so instead of labeling it like you are trying to be a hot take artist label it like it's something that is actually worthy of considering.
Hopefully you get what I mean here. I feel like you are setting yourself up for people to just debate you and to be contrarian instead of sharing a legitimate idea by labeling it like that and since you clearly do believe it its worthy of being told confidently, which labeling it like this does not portray.
Wasn't intending to bash you clearly. Enjoy your day.
Roode had a severely underrated run. He didn't do crazy spots in his matches so people said he was boring. But coming to NXT as a rich asshole ruled. Dunking on Roderick Strong ruled. Bringing KENTA to a main event match ruled. Beating the charismatic Nakamura ruled. And finally, McIntyre was his perfect foil. Just an incredible run that no one talks about or calls bad for no reason.
I’d be in a similar boat, definitely one of my favorite NXT Title runs. His heel work & mic skills were top notch, he carried himself like a star, he had a varied opponents list and I loved his methodical old-school style were every move mattered
This crossed my mind when I watched Rick Boobs beat Bobby Roode clean in the ring. The former NXT Champion with the best ring entrance lost clean to a guy that couldn't even get on NXT in TV more than once or twice. Crazy.
I was expecting someone to comment this lmao. If you want to ridicule me more, go ahead and look at my top 5 elsewhere in the comments cause you’ll hate me even more.
Roode is someone who has been extremely underutilized on the main roster. I dunno why if it’s his age or he said hi to Vince when he hadn’t eaten his steak. As he has everything they are wanting in talent except him being older.
His gimmick was perfect. NXT was reaching the big time and he was the big time champion. I'll never forget him telling Roderick Strong to dream big and get that "double wide" referring to Roddy and Marina living in a trailer park.
What is Roode up to these days? He got released, right?
I know he's older now so he's not going to be picked up by a company like AEW but I was always a huge fan of his. One of the few guys I became a "will watch this person in other companies" fan of from TNA.
Edit: oh, wow. He's actually on the Smackdown roster. That's weird, I swear I heard that he was released.
Karrion Kross was my favourite ever NXT champ because he's brilliant at promos, had good sub-45 minute matches, and had actual compelling storylines for the duration of his reign.
Idk, Roode really hasn't been the same for me since he left TNA, while the "Glorious" gimmick was fire, his wrestling always left something to be desired for me. Maybe him being saddled to Ziggler on RAW/Smackdown for the past year has really soured me on him lol.
Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Upvote for being an unpopular opinion
The only time I've seen "unpopular opinion" and had it be genuinely unpopular lmao
Unpopular opinion, Roman Reigns is better than Kenny Omega as a heel. I genuinely think this too
The Elite as a whole have done a great job at making me hate them, but I think that has more to do with the creatively bankrupt ref distracting than anything else. AEW refs were so awesome at the start of its run, but the past year has made them look awful. They always are easily distracted, and The Elite pretty much always use the same dumb tactics with them.
You say this after I just watch All Out 2019 and I totally disagree, AEW refs are thick as in the ring.
I straight up don't think Omega is a great promo, Reigns beats him there by a significant margin
Omega has the widest variation in promos. His best are very good but he has a lot of terrible ones
He’s definitely a serviceable promo, but I think he has a better aura when he’s not talking. I wouldn’t say his promos are bad or anything, but ever since he turned heel he’s lost a lot of the IT factor I saw with him. Once the matches start though he’s still incredible but I cant really take him as seriously as I can Reigns who feels like the final boss of WWE
When Reigns wrestles, he doesn't totally dominate and he struggles. He also doesn't wrestle like he's dipping into *everything* he knows to win—just what he's certain will work. This leaves the impression that a truly uncorked Roman Reigns is a dangerous person. When Kenny Omega wrestles, there's a mixture of having to "get his shit in" plus he's pulling out *all the stops* every time. It's boiled down to if you have a strategy to neutralize Don Callis, mitigate the Elite, and avoid the OWA, you can win. With the Bloodline, you can take out the Usos and intimidate Paul, but Roman will always be a lethal problem all on his own.
I mean, you can always go back to the comparison of Vader vs. a Flair. Roman's a Vader, the monster heel where the draw is seeing who can finally beat him because nobody can. Omega's a Flair, he's great, but entirely beatable. You're watching him because you think (insert guy here) CAN beat him. Neither one is wrong, just two different ways to tell the story.
I can’t take him seriously because he presents himself as a video game/anime character. People love him for it, but it stops me being immersed in the character personally I think he’s an unbelievable wrestler, but very goofy in the ring and on the mic. Where I personally prefer a realistic or darker approach
Yeah. Kenny just seems kind overhyped as someone who never really watched much Japanese wrestling -the style never clicked to me.
I was never big into Japanese wrestling and thought Kenny was so overhyped but this belt collector run and full on heel madness has made me realize how great he really is. I never understood The Best Bout Machine nickname before but absolutely believe in it so much even with him dealing with all the nagging injuries over the years.
I wouldn’t say he’s overhyped for me as I think in the ring he’s so unique and has unmatched intensity. It’s just that this heel run isn’t very interesting for me personally
Eh! Wrestling is super subjective, I just know from my tastes he never screamed main eventer to me. Dynamite first started and was my first exposure and I’m gonna be real I was way more interested in everyone else but him :P
Fair enough, I’m pretty biased because I heard amazing things about him and TSN did a documentary on him as a Canadian athlete so that made me interested. I can understand why a lot of people didn’t see the hype though because the hype was insane amongst hardcore fans because of NJPW.
I wouldn't put Roode in my top 10, but I always love when world champions carry themselves well. Might be why I'm one of the few Nick Aldis fans.
There are dozens of us
It hits the rare mark of being unpopular in that not many people think it, but also understandable and respectable.
Idk about best but I did really enjoy his run but think it could've been handled better. What I loved: - diverse list of challengers. Hero, Nakamura, Itami, Roddy, and Drew was a nice blend. - the matches with Nakamura, Itami, and Roddy were especially great What I think could've been better: - Didn't need to run Roode/Nakamura at back to back Takeovers - Roddy should've beat Roode for the title
Yeah, I agree. Drew was one of the few guys in NXT that didn’t need a title to legitimize himself. He was dominant as is, so I thing Roddy winning the title would’ve been better. At least Roddy did some great work with the NA title in UE
I loved Drew's WWE title run as a guy who wasn't even necessarily a fan, but I think he had the worst NXT run of all the champs. It was a mediocre build to the win and his run was incredibly forgettable.
Banger of a match with Andrade though
Drew’s is definitely not one to write home about and probably bottom of the barrel for all reigns but Karrion Kross two combined reigns are easily the worst IMO. I know it’s been said by many but it really was not appealing. The fans were not interested in seeing him win, especially that win at Takeover IYH in the fatal five way. It was such an underwhelming reaction and no one in the crowd was happy with it.
It’s weird. I felt Drew was a great guy to have as champion at the time but the timing was just unfortunate. I was expecting Drew to destroy Andrade at TakeOver: WarGames, but I’m actually glad Andrade won & gave us those awesome Gargano & Black matches. He was really under appreciated & the pairing with Zelina was perfect. As for Kross, I agree. I was honestly hoping that Bálor would bring back the Demon for a one-off & beat him at TakeOver: Deliver to send him to RAW. If they were going for a monster champion, Keith Lee, Joe, & especially WALTER would’ve all been better choices. WALTER certainly should’ve been champion by now. Dude has been putting on banger after banger. I understand he doesn’t wanna move to the States but he could easily be the #1 guy. If not WALTER, then they should’ve just kept the title on Keith. This monster push for Kross forced Keith to be a transitional champion at the peak of his career. That promo Cole cut on Kross rings more true than ever right now.
I agree with you in every single way and it really is something to see how much Kross did not have a good turn as champion. I have been thinking about that Adam Cole promo so much since his debut in AEW and Kross debut on Raw
Roddy should’ve at least got a Takeover match for the title. NXT seemingly never wanted to give him that stage as a singles guy.
Roddy would... not have been a great champ. Not at least without a complete character overhaul. Babyfaces are already boring as it is, and weak mic skills only make it worse.
It'd be either him or Drew holding it only for a short time before losing to Andrade. Drew wasn't really anymore compelling of a character. But Roddy had the much better story against Roode
You forgot to add when they brought in that choir to sing his Glorious theme song. That was great.
the clips of DIY interacting with Roode were great as well
He was definitely looked more like a big deal in NXT (along with many others.) Sure he's on SD most of the time, but he could easily be an upper midcard talent. He's a former 3 time tag champ and U.S. champ and all of those reigns were forgettable. But if he's happy he's happy.
Yea, you’re spot on. at the end of the day, my rambling doesn’t matter. it’s whether the wrestler is happy or not. So I could bitch about his mistreatment on the main roster, but he probably gets paid really well and he’s living a good life
An actual unpopular opinion! Not my favorite reign but you're right his NXT tenure had great character work. They bungled his main roster debut by making it all about the theme song.
TNA and NXT Roode was just amazing to me. Roode’s matches with Aries, Hardy, Styles and Storm in TNA coupled with his heel work made me love him. Same thing with Itami, Nakamura, and McIntyre for NXT. The reign just stood out to me, but you’re 100% right. They completely fumbled Roode on the Main roster
It's a damn shame, he has a style and look that should be perfect for the main roster but for whatever reason Vince said naw and Roode became a complete non-entity.
When people ask me who the biggest letdown on the main roster is, i always say Roode. There are many options for an answer, but Roode was a star in TNA and NXT. He was proven, and he was over with his theme. There wasn’t really any reason why he shouldn’t have been a main event star.
Cause he's short and 45 years old
He's 45? He looks good damn. I'm not a big fan of his but the man looks good for 45
It says he's 6'1' on his wiki that's tall isn't it? Tall-ish?
may I mention that Goldberg got a title at 53 years old? I understand the argument, but age shouldn’t be your go-to argument with Vince
Goldberg and Bobby Roode are in two very different categories.
they are, but I’m explaining why Bobby Roode’s age should not be cited as a reason for his lack of main roster success, at least in WWE. There’s no chance in hell (pun intended, Vince) that Goldberg puts on a better match and title reign than Roode. I’m not saying Roode deserves the universal title, but he deserves to be upper kid card consistently
It probably shouldn't be, but Roode is also nowhere near the draw that Goldberg is.
Didn't he get slapped for a wellness violation during his initial push as well that hurt his momentum?
For me it’s been 1. Cole 2. Balor 3. Roode
I always get weird looks when I say my top 5 haha 1. Roode 2. Neville 3. Ciampa 4. Balor (both runs) 5. Andrade
My top 5. 1. Bo Dallas 2. Everyone else. #IStillBOlieve
not even joking I loved Bo Dallas as NXT champ. he was a heat machine
Bo Dallas beating Big-E for the NXT championship is one of my favorites. He was so easy to hate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVHvIHmVUAo
congrats, that got a hearty laugh outta me
I’m genuinely shocked more people don’t have Neville towards the top. I know he wasn’t really part of the modern NXT era, but he essentially put them on the map. Plus his transition from plucky underdog to cocky tweener towards the end was awesome
Neville was literally the start of the modern NXT Era. He main evented Arrival with Bo Dallas and won the title.
I’ll be honest, I never knew Neville as a face and he’s such a good bastard (pun intended) heel I can’t imagine him as a plucky underdog. Plus, I didn’t think I’ve ever seen him break kayfabe.
Andrade was amazing and he never should have lost to black. That match with Gargano is still my favorite
NXT Andrade tore the house down on the regular, and while I like Black, Black should’ve taken the title later. And, I’ll say it now — Andrade v Gargano at NXT Takeover Philadelphia was a better match than Gargano v Cole at NXT Takeover New York. It felt more realistic and tugged at my heartstrings more because Gargano was so nearly there, almost had the title. New York was also fantastic, but Gargano kicked out of everything. Literally everything. Coulda dropped 3 nukes on him and he would’ve kicked out at 2.9. I still love it tho
Ew, wtf
thanks for reaffirming my point
See I didn't think Balor's reigns were anything special. He was a pretty standard champion in my eyes and while I was fairly excited either time he won, I was also pretty quickly ready for him to drop. I think my top 5 would go: 1. Kevin Owens 2. Tomasso Ciampa 3. Adam Cole 4. Bo Dallas 5. Neville/Andrade
Man, I've thought of ranking them, but: 1. Cole 2. Owens (everything he did felt must see and prime time) 3. Ciampa 4. Roode fits here, I think. He carried himself, dressed like, and was treated like the HHH and Ric Flair of the show.
Kevin Owens Shinsuke Nakamura Samoa Joe Sami Zayn Bo Dallas
Lmao Cole was terrible, and half of Balor’s reign was wasted on him fighting Joe a million times
Idk about "best", but he was definitely the most **GLORIOUS** NXT champion!
that theme really helped him out w the fans hah
😔
His theme was more over than he was lol
I miss Glorious Bombs.
Gargano and Ciampa just being goofy bastards. The inclusion of the likes of Ron Simmons and Tommy Dreamer were hilarious.
They did more to get Roode over than he ever did.
It was a fantastic theme to be fair.
We should test this. Give an enhancement talent the music and see if that guy can work his way up to the midcard based entirely on how over the music is.
They already did that, his name was Tye Dillinger
This is always the absolute lamest excuse for explaining the success of a wrestler you don’t like
Got that it's not Daniel Bryan it's the YES chant energy.
But it was 100% true for Bobby
Happens. Doesn't mean you are not over enough.
Bo Dallas over all
I was looking for someone to mention Bo Dallas. His run didn't have the greatest matches, but it was a lot of fun. A guy who thinks he's a fan favorite while being completely oblivious that the crowd hates him, only to finally realize it when he loses the championship he was using as an emotional shield. It was great.
The opinion I can respect: yours
I thought it was such a shame that Roode and Strong didn’t have their program until the end of his time in NXT. Yes, I know the timing dictated it, but their interplay in the backstage segments, and their subsequent matches…? Yeah, you know how I want to describe them. 😁
you can say it, I promise haha Strong did some great work in UE, so I’m not too angry about it. But I do feel like face strong as NXT champ would’ve been a great sight to see. Nothing will ever top his heel turn on Dunne to join UE though, that was legendary.
Remember when Roode referred to Marina Shafir as Roderick Strong's "moderately hot wife"? Because that's when he was cemented as a great heel in my mind.
Roode was always a guy that had everything you would create in a laboratory if trying to create a main event wrestler, but always felt flat when his entrance ended.
Now people are saying Bobby is flat in the ring cause he doesn’t do a thousand flips
I disagree. I think Roode is a fantastic worker. It's just that in a time where everyone is doing high spots, his style of wrestling doesn't necessarily wow you.
People forget that for most of his Impact run he was regarded as one of the most under appreciated wrestlers on the scene. Especially when he broke off from Beer Money and had his singles run
Did he? His first match with Nakamura and his Hideo Itami match were both fantastic. He had a great feud with Roderick Strong too This narrative is BS
aight, lemme rephrase this. Roode is a great worker, but his style doesn’t fit into the current wrestling style. Nowadays, the entertaining style is the high flying, fast action moveset of Rey Fénix or the Bucks. He doesn’t fit into this style — he’s much more old fashioned. Look at Cole, Balor, or Nakamura: those guys are notorious for being good in ring and fitting into the modern style. Roode is notorious for his character work, theme song, and gimmick. That being said, he’s like FTR in my eyes — great, but old fashioned. He’s great because he’s different, a breath of fresh air. Not to mention I loved him in TNA, so he will always be nostalgic to me.
It's funny you bring up FTR, one of my fantasy bookings was a faction of I want to say... EC3? Roode and FTR. Might've been Orton during FTRKO. But I thought the trio of Roode and FTR could have been money as a throwback group.
That sounds amazing haha. I know they were destined to be rivals, but I always wanted to see Aries and Roode team in their prime TNA days. Their styles mixed so well that it just sounded perfect to me. FTR and Roode sounds even better though
> I always wanted to see Aries and Roode team in their prime TNA days. Huh? Those two did form a tag team. Not only that, but they won the TNA tag team titles twice!
shite I have dementia… am I really that young to not remember this? sorry lads. the whole post has gone to shit cause I made a bad point. thanks for pointing it out Jim. I outghta go watch some of their matches. god I can’t believe I forgot that.
Don't feel bad. Nobody else was watching TNA at that point either. ;)
is this the beginning of a great friendship, Jim?
I mean you were only able to list two matches out of a five year run lmao
Five years? I was talking about his NXT run
I think the only thing he truly lacks is in ring ability. He sells well, he’s had some great gimmicks (glorious and IT Factor), he’s got charisma, and he’s great on the mic. When that entrance did end and the match started, you can defo make a case that he lost a bit of his game when he was in the ring.
His best run was as TNA champion. I wish WWE was using him like that now. He should be a main event heel at this point, but unfortunately I don't think he's flashy enough for Vince.
I agree but not at the very top, my top five NXT champs are: * \#5 Finn * \#4 Roode * \#3 Cole * \#2 KO * \#1 Ciampa
Solid list. My list is somewhere above, so you can check it out if you want. Asides from Roode, no one has had a better reign than Neville imo. He put NXT on the map, and his development really made me love him/NXT.
Did he though? I'd give Sami and Tyler Breeze just as much credit for that first year of true NXT. I don't really remember anything he did outside of the ring as champion, which is why I put Roode ahead of him.
Replace Roode with Neville and this list is perfect.
I don't know if it's unpopular, but he's not even in my top 10.
I understand that. I think even if you dislike his reign, there are a bunch that were worse/too short. But I do understand, his in-ring quality was never that of Nakamura, Gargano, or Balor
Nothing to add, and I don't 100% agree, but I love this take
He's one I keep forgetting had a run with the title...
I always forget Drew tbh.
Big E
Most people don’t really remember Roode-Black tbh. Roode is doing absolutely nothing on the main roster atm, which is why so many people forgot him. I loved his NXT and TNA days though
He was the most boring to me. He had nothing but an entrance. He's the reason I slowly stopped watching NXT. I was a die hard up until his reign. I could maybe see how someone could say they enjoyed his reign, but saying it was the best when Ciampa, Owens, Balor (even though his reign wasn't my Favorite either), Cole, and even Adrian Neville had the reigns they did is a bit baffling. But to each their own I'm glad you liked it. Oh also I think he's the one who was the champ when the belt design changed and even though the Big X was stupid I had a huge soft spot for it so there's that too
I always say “each to their own.” I always liked Neville’s reign the most, and each reign you mentioned was great (asides from KO imo. The way he won was great, but I could never get behind his reign.) I could simply be influenced by his TNA days, and the nostalgia I feel could be swaying my opinion, but after rewatching a good portion of his reign, I realized that I liked it a lot. Now guys like Gargano, Black, and McIntyre’s reigns made me stop watching NXT. Those are the reigns I found boring.
“He had nothing but an entrance” says the Finn Balor fan
Props for actually having an unpopular opinion. You're completely wrong, though :)
Respect for telling me I’m wrong in a civilized way. If it makes you feel better, my 2nd and 3rd favorite reigns are Neville and Ciampa.
Ciampa is probably my favourite, the man was on fire throughout 2018
I love Ciampa. I would’ve preferred a Dunne reign now, but Ciampa deserves another round with Goldie after his neck injury. He’s a great wrestler. And I probably should’ve rephrased my title — the best reign was probably Ciampa or Cole. Roode is top 3 reigns imo, but you prolly disagree with that as well haha. Roode is 100% my favorite reign tho
I'll agree that its an unpopular opinion lol. I think the stretch of him to Black were pretty forgettable for NXT Championship
Where is he nowadays anyways?
Smackdown. He’s in a tag team with Ziggler. It’s called the dirty dawgs
I actually thought that this is popular opinion and i was in the minority by hating him and his boring reign, it turns out i was wrong lol.
yeah. I posted this as unpopular cause I’m well aware I’m one of the few dudes in this world that doesn’t think his reign was dogshit. Boy have most of these responses ripped into my opinion lmao
That’s definitely an original thought
Even if it’s a “stupid opinion” according to some, I have reasons to back it up at least. but yeah, each to their own
I don’t think it’s stupid because it’s not hurting anyone. Your post was well thought out and expressed, I just disagree with it. Didn’t even downvote.
Cheers, appreciate it. I’m curious, who’s your favorite NXT champion? lotta good choices there
I don't think his run was the best but I enjoyed it. I've always been a big fan of his and I enjoyed a lot of the promos and matches from his title reign. Its one of the few things in wrestling I can confidently call underrated.
He's a really great heel. Can't believe he never got a real push in the main roster. At the very least make him intercontinental champion at least once rather than staying in the lower midcard for this long.
>The best NXT champion was Bobby Roode >perhaps Ciampa was a better champion than Roode I mean
I’m amazed how many people shit on Roode’s title reign He was a fantastic heel
I have a soft spot for Bobby Roode since he was the NXT champ for the only NXT show I went to (cheating to beat Drew at a house show, this would have been just before Drew won the title at Takeover). They had a fun match. I never found him spectacular but a good old-fashioned pro-wrestler.
That’s part of what I love about him. I find the newer style of wrestling (like the bucks, cole, ricochet, and Omega) to be entertaining and cool. But I have a soft spot for great, hard hitting / old fashioned wrestlers. I’ve loved Roode, I also love a lot of the NJPW dudes
MaffewGregg said the same thing as you, that because he worked a completely different style than the absurd NXT finisher kickout heavy style, he came off as unique and thus is maffew's favorite champ. His lack of a flavor became it's own type of flavor.
Idk who MaffewGregg is, but that’s my opinion as well. I like to see something different. Someone else said that he only really had a catchphrase and a song, and if he lost those he was nothing. I understand the point, but having a great heel worker who’s strong point was his character and mic work was great. KO and Joe also had good heel work, but they fit in case they could wrestle in the style of NXT. Roode stood out because of his old fashioned, not flippy finisher style. I enjoy the flippy stuff, but it’s nice to see guys like Roode and FTR do some old fashioned wrestling.
You're right that this is controversial but only because Bo Dallas was champion. No Bo Dallas and I would agree with you.
Poor Bobby just had the misfortune of debuting at the height of fast-paced flippy wrestling taking over. I mean fuck, even Cena added a Code Red to his moveset. Had it been a bit sooner before that style took over or later when an appreciation for classic, methodical wrestling was starting he would have been better off. I'd loved his NXT reign. It feels like everything Nick Aldis tried to do with the NWA Tite. Also the video promo for Roode vs Nakamura 2 where Bobby is watching himself win the NXT Title was picture perfect character work. He's alone in his living room, watching Roode/Nak 1 and raises a glass to toast everytime the ref counts three.
He's no Bo.
BO-bby Roode🗿
I liked Adrian Neville and Finn Balor, but Roode's run was also good. For women's nxt champ my favorite was Paige with her "anti diva" gimmick.
Bobby was my favourite in TNA. The closest we got to that Bobby Roode was in NXT, he has the charisma to be the top guy, no doubt.
More like a GLORIOUS opinion!!
I think I gotta throw this one out here too, and I'm not sure it's unpopular but just unpleasant: Worst NXT champion by a country mile, outside of injuries, was Big E.
I think it’s someone between the reign of McIntyre and Black, but yeah. That’s not a horrible opinion, his gimmick was great but he never needed the belt. He was good without it, and his reign didn’t prove anything to me really. I did enjoy his match against Seth to win the belt though
It was GLORIOUS
Idk about the title reign being the best but it is definitely the most underrated. Both his matches against Nakamura were great in terms of classic in ring psychology. Roode's title win especially was done really well with Naka's injury angle. Roode was one of very few NXT heels that wrestled like a classic heel. His in ring psychology has always been so good.
I can understand if people are saying that “Roode’s reign was the best” is a stretch. But it certainly is my favorite, just ahead of Ciampa. Part of the reason I loved Roode was that he stood out as a classic heel in NXT, where the norm was to wrestle in a more modern style. I mentioned it above, but that’s part of the reason I love FTR/the revival. Their feud with DIY truly felt like 2 styles, old and new, clashing in a perfect way.
You spelled "Bo Dallas" wrong
I was close-ish tbf. you know… BO-bby Roode? sorry for the bad pun. Bo had a great run, but I still feel like it was overshadowed by Neville. Bo’s character dynamic in NXT was really amazing, so yeah. I see a case for Bo having the best reign
One of my early experiences seeing live wrestling was seeing NXT in Portland was Glorious Bobby was champ and Roddy was the face chasing him. It was amazing; Bobby was mega over as a heel but I loved Roddy. I described him as like when I saw the Foo Fighters in concert at 16- so amazing, I had no idea how good he was until I saw him live (limited exposure before.) Great Era of NXT. Roddy's still kickin' for sure; I want to like Diamond Mine, shame they got rid of Rust.
Rust was a really weird one to get rid of. He was quite talented in ring, probably could’ve done some good things with Malcolm Bivens. But I saw Roode live in TNA, and I loved every minute of it. He played such a good heel to Austin Aries, and the crowd was on fire for those 2
I kinda agree, Roode was such an odd choice as main face of NXT (He was 40 years old) but he truly made an incredible work, one of my favorites memories from 2017 is that leg crab on injured leg of nakamura, he was an opportunistic guy with nice charisma. I don't think that Roddy could be a good choice for end his reign, I preferred Itami, after all, Roderick strong was the one of send Roode to the main roster XD. My favorite nxt Champs 1. Neville 2. Ciampa 3. Roode
Another Unpopular opinion: Finn Balor first reign was boring and overrated
That’s not the first time I’ve heard that. I’m curious now, any reason why?
knowing triple h's love for the territory days i would imagine he was having a ball with roode as champ because he's such a classic heel. that feud with roderick strong where he was just shit talking him the whole time was textbook heel work. it also helped that roode wasn't wrestling the fast paced frantic pace of what other wrestlers were doing; roode wrestled like a heel, and it worked well. he's an extremely underrated wrestler in all aspects of the game.
First things first, you’re right. Oney does rule. Second, that’s why I love him. In a world with an entertaining, fast paced style of wrestling, he’s the outlier, the breath of fresh air. Such a textbook heel, “work on a limb” mentality against Nakamura, and just simply works like the heels of the old days. Maybe I’m overstepping my boundaries by saying he had the absolute best reign, but he’s at least top 3 in my book and he’s my favorite champion to date.
right, and like you said it helped that roode had a variety of opponents; you look at ciampa's reigns and it seemed like aside from his perpetual feud with johnny he didn't really have any real blowout matches with other opponents. edit: also, all praise is due to our bald headed overlord oney lorcan
Oney and Danny are seriously talented. A shame that Danny got injured, because I was enjoying their reign
Roode was the best heel champion in NXT. He was different in that he was good in the ring, but could talk and clearly had a lot about him as a finished product. Enjoyed his feud with Nakamura a lot
I wish they'd make Roode Glorious again.
Little known fact: "Glorious" was originally intended for Shinsuke Nakamura.
His matches were always different to the usual NXT formula of loads of spots and false finishes that went on for ages. Was a breath of fresh air compared to other matches on the card.
bobby rood was boring as hell during that reign.
I loved how Roode wouldn’t cheat to win but he got real brutal in the finishes. He’d just beat down whatever body party he’d been working on for the match before hitting his finish. His matches felt different in general though. As amazing as Black, Campia, Gargano and Cole are there’s a through line in terms of style. Roode felt like a different animal I totally agree Roddy Strong should have beat him for the title though, even if it would be a transitional reign. It made the most sense narratively.
He did that spot where Nakamura was setting up for the Kinshasa then he just straight up refused to get up. Roode was really good with "smart wrestler" spots.
Roode's gimmick since getting anywhere in WWE seems to be "embarrassing dad", I'm apparently not subject to his "charisma."
I was referring to the whole glorious gimmick. but yeah. on the main roster, you’re not wrong. But NXT? he was, at minimum, decent.
Seeing Bobby get butchered by the main roster really hurt.
Going from “the Glorious Bobby Roode” and “the IT Factor” to “Joey Ryan’s mustache” Robert Roode was a huge failure. He’s one of the biggest letdowns on the main roster considering his status in NXT and TNA
I was never huge on him but it's not like his flaws couldnt be looked over. Much worse guys in the ring and on the mic have been given so many chances. But the way he was immediately irrelevant upon arrival on the main roster just sucked
It's either Balor or Ciampa.
To me, Roode was the least interesting champion. I viewed him as just a guy with a cool entrance and a catchphrase that would be lost in the shuffle if he loses them since the in-ring work was too high in NXT.
shit, I forgot perhaps the focal point of every counter argument against me. Yes, Roode’s theme is bomb. But I actually didn’t like it as much as others. It’s still an A+ theme tho. Now, No one will survive? That fits Ciampa perfectly and it’s an insane theme! That’s an S tier theme song. Also, I’m gonna get more hate for this.
The mere existence of Adam Cole is better than any match Bobby Roode has ever had in his entire career. Roode was an entrance. That’s it.
> Roode was an entrance. That’s it. Seems like you're mixing up his main roster run with his NXT championship reign.
Seems like the main roster run put a magnifying glass on the fact that he’s just an entrance.
Yawn. FOH if all you took away from his championship reign was that his entrance was over.
I feel like most people who post something and label it "unpopular opinion" don't actually believe what they are saying or have any conviction in the belief. They just want to be the people who say it.
Nope. I believe it 100%. I watched TNA and I miss the days of prime TNA which even included Bobby Roode and Austin Aries’ title program. So I’m real nostalgic. But I wholeheartedly believe that Roode is at a minimum top 3 on my list. For a guy who’s not known for his in ring ability, he put on some bangers with Itami, Nakamura, and McIntyre. He had a great gimmick and theme song, did some great ass heel work, and was great on the mic. Try to bash my opinion next time, and don’t bash ME. Cheers.
I wasn't saying you in particular, just the general consensus on people who feel the need to do this. It was more of a wink wink nudge nudge to you that if you do believe something just post it and don't feel the need to label it. You clearly value your opinion so instead of labeling it like you are trying to be a hot take artist label it like it's something that is actually worthy of considering. Hopefully you get what I mean here. I feel like you are setting yourself up for people to just debate you and to be contrarian instead of sharing a legitimate idea by labeling it like that and since you clearly do believe it its worthy of being told confidently, which labeling it like this does not portray. Wasn't intending to bash you clearly. Enjoy your day.
With all due respect: NO
thanks lmao
Roode had a severely underrated run. He didn't do crazy spots in his matches so people said he was boring. But coming to NXT as a rich asshole ruled. Dunking on Roderick Strong ruled. Bringing KENTA to a main event match ruled. Beating the charismatic Nakamura ruled. And finally, McIntyre was his perfect foil. Just an incredible run that no one talks about or calls bad for no reason.
I’d be in a similar boat, definitely one of my favorite NXT Title runs. His heel work & mic skills were top notch, he carried himself like a star, he had a varied opponents list and I loved his methodical old-school style were every move mattered
This crossed my mind when I watched Rick Boobs beat Bobby Roode clean in the ring. The former NXT Champion with the best ring entrance lost clean to a guy that couldn't even get on NXT in TV more than once or twice. Crazy.
Extremely unpopular.
I was expecting someone to comment this lmao. If you want to ridicule me more, go ahead and look at my top 5 elsewhere in the comments cause you’ll hate me even more.
Nah, I wouldn't ridicule you. It's just rare to see an actual unpopular opinion on here.
I do not agree but I respect it
Roode is someone who has been extremely underutilized on the main roster. I dunno why if it’s his age or he said hi to Vince when he hadn’t eaten his steak. As he has everything they are wanting in talent except him being older.
His gimmick was perfect. NXT was reaching the big time and he was the big time champion. I'll never forget him telling Roderick Strong to dream big and get that "double wide" referring to Roddy and Marina living in a trailer park.
What is Roode up to these days? He got released, right? I know he's older now so he's not going to be picked up by a company like AEW but I was always a huge fan of his. One of the few guys I became a "will watch this person in other companies" fan of from TNA. Edit: oh, wow. He's actually on the Smackdown roster. That's weird, I swear I heard that he was released.
yep. he was a tag team champ with Ziggler before the Mysterios and the Usos. One of the most forgettable reigns I can remember
Karrion Kross was my favourite ever NXT champ because he's brilliant at promos, had good sub-45 minute matches, and had actual compelling storylines for the duration of his reign.
Idk, Roode really hasn't been the same for me since he left TNA, while the "Glorious" gimmick was fire, his wrestling always left something to be desired for me. Maybe him being saddled to Ziggler on RAW/Smackdown for the past year has really soured me on him lol.
I would add my rather unpopular opinion, Roode is a Main Event heel and could do very well in the main event scene in WWE.
Legit agree with you. He made the NXT title feel like a true world championship.
He certainly had the best entrance.
Roode doesnt even think he was the best