Remember back during Chris Masters' first run with the WWE? When they built up the MasterLock, and he was on a fast track to the main event despite the lamentations of the smarks about his non-existent workrate? Yeah, it was a simpler time, back before the days of Twitter and... uh, Twitter. The Wellness Program ended up doing him in, and he was released. A few years later, a year ago, Masters came back with a second set of strikes, and the Internet groaned. A funny thing happened though. Masters proceeded not to suck in the ring, and he actually has become a serviceable and actively good wrestler in the time since he's been back. Noted troll and fellow blogger Dylan Hales swears he's been the second best wrestler in the WWE this year behind Rey Mysterio. Now, I wouldn't go that far, but he's been very good in the ring.
Now, I know what you're doing, and stop. Get that stupid look off your face. It's the truth. Masters has been a revelation since coming back. My first inkling as to his improved ringwork was in a tag match against DX last fall. I forget who his partner was, but he looked pretty good on offense, very crisp to the point where he looked like Shawn Michaels' equal. Each week on Superstars (since there wasn't a whole lot of time on RAW or Smackdown to have him on, you see), he's proven his mettle against opponents of all shapes and sizes. I think the big turnaround came after he turned face after the Ozzy Osbourne RAW last year. While his boob-shaking was a lone high point in that dismal segment, it gave Masters an opportunity to work face, which played to a surprising strength - his selling and bumping.
For example, take his Superstars match this week against Drew McIntyre, which was a nice cap on a surprisingly epic in-ring show this week that also included a shockingly good Dudebusters/Curt Hawkins and Vance Archer tag as well as a not-so-shockingly awesome opener from Goldust and William Regal. A lot of what made that match as good as it was was Masters selling his leg throughout the match. Scrooge McPoyle is still dry as a desert as a character, but in-ring, he's improved, especially with his offense, developing a nice meanstreak. It helps that he was in there with Masters, who really gets what it takes to be a WWE wrestler. It's the little things, like grabbing his leg after coming up off a powerslam or even the way he goes full-tilt on what might seem like a garden-variety clothesline to the outside, or even his facial expressions, which to me are a big part of how the story of a match unfolds. This match's story was that Drew McIntyre likes to injure people in addition to beating them, and Masters was game enough to make sure that came across.
Much in the same way that 2008 and most of 2009 were venues for Mark Henry to prove me wrong and to win me over in the ring, Chris Masters is doing the same right now. I doubt he'll ever get to the point where Henry was, pinning the WWE Champion cleanly in the main event of RAW or Smackdown, but if he's on Superstars each week, wrestling against guys like McIntyre or Trent Baretta or "Dashing" Cody Rhodes, then it's a reason to tune in.
Photo Credit: WWE.com
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