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Post by Chip on Feb 19, 2015 21:13:13 GMT -5
Was just reminiscing about Evolution and how amazing that really was.
You had Flair, the ultimate Legend, Trips who was one of the hottest things going in the company...then two basically nobodies (at that point) who's careers were defined and made by being in that little group in the 2 year run they had.
So apparently, according to Triple H, they (WWE Creative) were originally going to run with Mark Jindrak in the "Batista" role...
Got me thinking....
WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE THEY THINKING?
What if they actually went through with that? What if Mark Jindrak was "Batista"?
Would Jindrak have won a Royal Rumble? Would he have left the company in 2010 to come back 4 years later and win another Royal Rumble main eventing Wrestlemania 30?
Or what if it was somebody else? What if they put Cena in there? or Chavo Guerrero? What if they brought up someone completely new that no one had heard of (Who was in OVW at that time?)
Would Evolution been a few months of nothing, then disbanded with no one really benefitting?
How many close calls have happened in wrestling over the years? Like a decision was made to do something only to have it switched at the last minute and the thing it switched too ended up being an amazing thing? Or how many things were supposed to be big but never happened because of a poor decision?
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Post by Chip on Feb 19, 2015 21:18:28 GMT -5
And on a side note/thought.... Anyone wish they had actually gone longer with the Evolution storyline. Like maybe a good 4-5 year run with those guys together? I mean the entire gimmick was  ing AWESOME. And each of those guys were perfect in their respective roles. I know giving Orton the WHC was a great move at the time (completely botched by creative BTW) so maybe that should have been delayed, but I sometimes feel like the trigger was pulled to end it too quick. Still I guess in the end it worked because they made enough of an impact that their reunion last year was one of the true highlights in wrestling. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 21:18:59 GMT -5
Was never a Jindrak guy. I'm glad it worked out the way it did. Batista and Orton both lived up to expectations in my opinion. I do wish Maven would have been added after Orton got the boot, but eh.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 21:40:00 GMT -5
I really hate that Ortons reign in 2004 was so short, he was great and everyone loved him, he should have had it for a good few months but nope. Triple H HAD to always be WHC
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 21:40:29 GMT -5
I understand its importance now, but jeeze I hated Evolution as a kid. HHH got me to quit watching for a while. I hated the long promos and how he always won lol
I was like...7 though.
Anyways, Jindrak? Yeah,he would have flopped hard.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 21:47:08 GMT -5
I really hate that Ortons reign in 2004 was so short, he was great and everyone loved him, he should have had it for a good few months but nope. Triple H HAD to always be WHC It's because Orton as a goody goody was a terrible idea. Fans were getting behind him before he won the title because he was the cool cocky heel that could back it up. He was over as a face but his character was so so. Besides, the pressure at that young an age got to him behind the scene too. |
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Post by marino13 on Feb 19, 2015 22:24:26 GMT -5
Jindrak would have been a horrible Drax the Destroyer! Jindrax?
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Post by Todd Pettengill on Feb 19, 2015 22:38:56 GMT -5
I really can't say Jindrak would have been a bad choice because we never got to see it. Batista wasn't much of anything when he joined so it really could have been anyone. If Jindrak had Flair and Triple H grooming him like they did Batista then I think Evolution still would have been amazing. Batista really did end up being completely awesome though.
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Post by The Yes Man on Feb 19, 2015 23:37:05 GMT -5
One thing I would have changed about Evolution would be that instead of winning the World Title at SummerSlam, Orton would have faced The Rock in his last match. Then Orton would win the Rumble, break away and win the Title from HHH at WrestleMania 21. Then have Batista somehow steal a title shot from HHH. HHH causes Batista to lose in his title match, and the main event of SummerSlam would be an Evolution triple threat.
One side effect would be that the World Championships don't switch brands in 2005, but if they want to switch them they could have a draft in later 2005 instead, or hold a draft in 2006.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Feb 20, 2015 0:43:12 GMT -5
It's kind of sad that we will never have an Evolution 3 disc DVD set in its full capacity because from the night after the Royal Rumble up until Evolution split, their main opponent was Chris Benoit.
Whether it be singles, tags, or 6 man tags, Benoit was always there wrestling Flair, Orton, Batista and Hunter.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2015 0:47:39 GMT -5
I remember Triple H saying as such in his latest bio DVD...I'm not sure, but I'm glad it played out how it did...Evolution were awesome...
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Post by Next Manufactured’s Sweater on Feb 20, 2015 1:12:56 GMT -5
It's impossible to think of Evolution being a different lineup. That transformation of Batista from generic meathead enforcer to cool, calm and collected bad-ass was superb. If it had been Jindrak, I think WWE would have been screwed for WrestleMania 21 after Orton's face turn flopped. Cena would probably have won the Rumble and challenged Triple H, and I don't know what would happen to Smackdown at WM21... JBL vs Rey vs Eddie, maybe.
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E-Noon
Main Eventer
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Post by E-Noon on Feb 20, 2015 1:47:32 GMT -5
In retrospect they were pretty cool, especially considering how big Orton and Batista got. While it was happening though it was dreadful. Triple H opening the show with 20+ minute promos, then him undoubtedly closing the show was BRUTAL. Batista was also green as grass, and Flair well past his prime. Orton was clearly the shining star in the group.
I can honestly say as a life long fan of wrestling this era of Raw almost turned me away from it. This is really when I turned to alternatives. Best decision ever.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2015 2:06:50 GMT -5
I like him better as that mirror reflection gimmick, but that obviously didn't get anywhere and stayed on the C show.
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Post by Red Dragon on Feb 20, 2015 8:03:47 GMT -5
I do wish Maven would have been added after Orton got the boot, but eh. Ding. I was pulling for Maven when they did that little angle. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2015 10:36:45 GMT -5
Jindrak sucked.
However, Orton completely made the group for me. I LOVED a the Legend Killer gimmick and he was so good as the young, cocky, golden child heel.
I was so much more of an Orton fan back then when he was allowed to have a personality.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2015 10:40:05 GMT -5
I enjoyed Jindrak's work for what he was, a mid carder. He wouldn't have really worked out in Evolution though, IMO.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 20, 2015 12:21:38 GMT -5
I really hate that Ortons reign in 2004 was so short, he was great and everyone loved him, he should have had it for a good few months but nope. Triple H HAD to always be WHC It's because Orton as a goody goody was a terrible idea. Fans were getting behind him before he won the title because he was the cool cocky heel that could back it up. He was over as a face but his character was so so. Besides, the pressure at that young an age got to him behind the scene too. Randy Orton is the perfect example of a heel getting cheered, but having the face turn flop because they changed him too much. Had he stayed brash and turned face it would have been better. Just look at the Shield last year. They turned face but didn't change anything about them. They were still badasses who used the group beatdown mentality. All they did was change their targets. It worked to perfection. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2015 12:24:02 GMT -5
It's because Orton as a goody goody was a terrible idea. Fans were getting behind him before he won the title because he was the cool cocky heel that could back it up. He was over as a face but his character was so so. Besides, the pressure at that young an age got to him behind the scene too. Randy Orton is the perfect example of a heel getting cheered, but having the face turn flop because they changed him too much. Had he stayed brash and turned face it would have been better. Just look at the Shield last year. They turned face but didn't change anything about them. They were still badasses who used the group beatdown mentality. All they did was change their targets. It worked to perfection. He should have won the belt, RKOd Triple H, and continued to target legends. |
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Post by Joe/Smurf on Feb 20, 2015 12:26:03 GMT -5
My memory is that Jindrak was going to be the new fourth member after they kicked out Orton.
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