ows the basic psychology of a match. I am happy to say that during my first three days of the “Book Tour” the talent stuck to the basics and put on decent bouts. I also got the opportunity to witness some guys that I consider to be the “future” of our business. “Rockin” Randy took the RRO Most Improved Award this year. I see him as the “leader” of sorts of the next generation of these guys. They may never be “big” stars in the WWE or TNA, but they are the next “crop” of good workers coming behind the guys like the class of guys that included Jon Michael, Stan Lee, Greg Anthony, Jason Reed, Simon Reed, Christian Jacobs, Seth Knight and Dustin Starr.----Slim “Bulldog” Pickens is still just a kid and has some growing to do. He will probably have a spurt of growth and be a decent size man. He knows basic psychology and works hard every time I see him. His punches need work. He never needs to be a heel, because..well…he has a baby face. He had two [***] bouts during the weekend, which is something you expect out of the vets. Keep your eye on him – some real good booking and this kid is over.
----Dell “The Future” Tucker is a more than a solid worker and improves almost every time I see him. He knows all the basic psychology and works hard to have a good match. What I write here might make some of you laugh or smile and it is just a suggestion, but Tucker would benefit from changing his look. It would also set him aside from the other talent in this area. His heel gimmick should include the MVP suit look [covering all the tattoos], sunglasses and maybe a long robe. He has forever been called just “Tucker” by some, so I would have him change his name as part of the gimmick – Dell Future.
----Kid Nikels left a lasting impression on me. I will try to follow his career as the years go by, as he might be the ONE of this crew that actually gets a bigger break. He is a guy that from day one no one thought he would make it as a professional wrestler. That instills something inside of you – a desire to improve and achieve more than a normal person. Think about some of the most successful people in the world?? One of the things they always says is..”everyone told me I would never succeed..” He has good size along with some great facial expression and just pure knowledge of working hold for hold and wrestling.
----Eric Wayne has some of the same characteristics as Nikels in work ethic and learning. He has the most potential of this crew at being the best all around worker and wrestler. I see Wayne getting the chance to work ROH and possibly Japan in the future. Will he ever be a big star in the US?? He might at the level of say Bryan Danielson, which is not bad. He has a “leg up” than most of the guys – he is a third generation worker and that will sometimes have doors open that would not have opened. It might sometimes hinder him though – expect too much from him. Some of you reading this are too young to know this, but not only is Eric the son of a worker, but he is the son of a VERY GOOD worker.
----“The Baron” Malkanvain has one major advantage over this crew – he has a great gimmick. The vampire gimmick was MADE for this guy. He has very pale skin along with the blond hair and the contacts – he is scary. He has an amateur background and that is always a plus. I have been told one should be a good worker before worrying about a gimmick, but this kid has to do the opposite. I have actually not seen him have good matches up to par with anyone in this crew. This past weekend, he was just working the gimmick. Other times I seen him work, he was trying to do too much. He can only improve with weekly workouts with the TLCW crew.
----Your top tier of workers in this area is guys like Derrick King, Flash Flanagan, Alan Steele, Pokerface and Rude. The next class of guys to come along was Jon Michael, Stan Lee, Greg Anthony, Jason Reed, Simon Reed, Christian Jacobs, Seth Knight and Dustin Starr. I hope as time goes by, I look for the bottom tier of guys like “Rockin” Randy, Eric Wayne, Dell Tucker, “The Baron” Malkanvain, Kid Nikels and Slim Pickens to be in the same breath as the other good workers in this area.
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