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You Hate Him, Because He's Good At It
August 17, 2005 by Rob Wilson

"The most outstanding work an individual can achieve has a name. Michelangelo chiseled granite with his bare hands to make it. Mozart labored in poverty to find it. Hemmingway took his own life when he could no longer write it. One man has gone beyond them all. One man has truly produced a work that humbles those who stand before it. His name is Chris Masters. And he is "The Masterpiece.""

From the very night he debuted, in general, I've read nothing but negative comments about this guy. That guy is Chris Masters. The very day he debuted he's been bashed by editors, talked down on by everyday fans simply because they didn't want to give him a chance, because he just looked like another hoss brought up from OVW only because of his impressive size and appearance.

Despite what I thought was a promising debut match against Steven Richards, the WWE took a long time to give Masters a chance to prove himself to fans. Almost two months after his debut, Masters was held back by the creative team by taking part in his own MasterLock Challenge. For weeks now, Masters had been doing the repeated segment of the Masterlock challenge by taking a planted member of the audience and crushing them with his ever-impressing submission move the MasterLock.

Up until then, the only thing the creative team had done right with Masters was push his submission move and make it seem like the most dominant move on RAW possibly the entire WWE. With a combination his impressive his strength; which is pushed by both King and JR every week; and his beat down intensity, Chris' MasterLock submission is a Full Nelson submission on a whole new high where Masters jerks his opponent around until his opponent is unable to respond. I say it suits Chris well, for someone his size, him being the largest built man on RAW (now that Batista is gone ) it would make sense that almost no one would be able to break out of his submission, the MasterLock, and I think that's what is making Chris to start be taken seriously, and that's why he has become a serious contender/ upper mid-carder on RAW.

Which brings me to today, in the past weeks, Masters has began to get into his first real feud EVER in the WWE (five months into his career on WWE RAW TV). Chris had began, what has been said by many, the best thing going for RAW right now with his slow building, pure wrestling non-over dramatic feud with both Big Show and Shelton Benjamin. While I would rather like to see a Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Masters feud over a Big Show vs. Chris Masters feud, I would be happy for either, simply because of the fact I think Chris's push is long over due.

Just 3 weeks ago, Chris had his first REAL match on RAW in a handicap match; Shelton Benjamin vs. Masters and Snitsky; which gave Chris the chance to shine, and also a steady and promising fair push. With the frequent double team antics between Masters and Snitsky on Benjamin, Masters was able to finish Benjamin with his dominating MasterLock. Upon not letting go and keeping his MasterLock applied, the Big Show was dragged out for the rescue.

One week later, Benjamin had his chance of revenge in a tag team match against Masters and Snitsky, but with Big Show on his side. With another display of a promising main-eventer in Chris (with of course still some room for improvement, but then again, id say he's a better wrestler than Cena) the tag team match had the crowd interested and they all performed a good match giving Benjamin and Big Show what they wanted when Snitsky was pinned, but still leaving Masters, un-pinned or submitted.

Just last week, Masters showed just what he could do by himself in a real match, against a respectable wrestler. Masters vs. Benjamin went of for a good while, and displayed good talent between both while the match was juggled well between the two. Eventually after what I thought I saw was a cheap shot by Masters, Masters was yet again to pull off the win and get the win over Benjamin after making his faint to the Masterlock, once again.

Masters is taking part of arguably the best feud on RAW right now, and one of the only feuds that is close to what the WWE should be about, more action/wrestling than drama/talking, it doesn't involve jealousy (HBK vs.Hogan), it doesn't involve battle of the bands (Jericho vs. Cena), it doesn't involve a love triangle (Edge vs. Hardy), it doesn't involve "who's your daddy" (Eddie vs. Rey), it doesn't involve a gold medal (Eugene vs. Angle), it doesn't involve bullying/ repetitive trash talking (Batista vs. JBL), it's just pure wrestling, and THAT'S what's right about Masters and his feud in the WWE right now.

So say what you must, but I think it's fair to say that Masters is a promising star in the months to come. In my eyes, which you all may find opposable, Masters is one of the only wrestlers in the WWE being used well, and he's showing talent, if his push continues to go as well is it is right now, I see Chris being IC champion or more by the next WrestleMania, and I see that being well deserved.

by Rob Wilson ..

mick86 wrote:
Judging from your article, you are a huge mark for Chris Masters. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that your whole view on him is a little over the top. People shat all over the guy straight away because he WAS brought up from OVW because of his looks and physique. Masters has never been held back by the writing staff, he has simply been protected. It is obvious that Chris Masters isn't fully ready to be called up to the main roster, so that is why the Masterlock challenge was created. He looked like a monster with an unbreakable submission (a full-frickin'-nelson, but still), as well as not being exposed as not ready to be under the spotlight.

As seen in his match against Shelton, Masters is still a little bit lost in the ring. Given time he will improve, however, to say his push is "long overdue" is a bit farfetched. Masters needs to be protected for a while longer as he hones his skills, and I see no problem in a harmless feud with Big Show. While I don't love the work of Chris Masters as much as you, I am not one of the people who hate him. I believe that Chris Masters is the best-booked thing on RAW at the moment: an undefeated wrestler with an unbreakable submission (who hasn't been too exposed as unready).

Anthony Mcmullen wrote:
we dont hate him cos hes good( if that was the case, than people would hate guys like angle, benoit, gurerro, etc), we hate him cos he's crap

Rick Spencer wrote:
I think you said it when you mentioned he's being "used" well once he gets over creative will find somthing to screw it up its just a matter of time realy. as for his future, well he does represent vinces bodybuilder fetish too a tee so its bright in wwe. personaly though I wish rick rude could come back from the dead and just kick the crap out of masters for stealing his gimick post mortom, hey while your at it how about mr perect (or Razor Ramone circa 96) takes out carlito. at this point I see a bunch of re--hashed gimicks with new names and faces walking around trying to make people forget that all this happened before.

"The Hydra" Matt Kopp wrote:
Well..... No. Chris Masters isn't as good as you say he is, and he's going to have to widen his very small array of moves to become as good as you say. First of all, right now his only 2 reliable moves are The Masterlock and the Polish Hammer. That will do you absolutely nothing against a mat wrestler like Kurt Angle or Chris Jericho. The Masterlock wont work if you are getting driven head-first into the mat over and over, because you haven't got too many moves. Here's what Chris needs. His finisher is a Full-Nelson, which focuses on the head and neck. So give him a German Suplex in his bag of tricks. If he practices the Masterlock, he's probably got air-tight grip. So, make a move that targets the head and neck and can be hit multiple times if you keep your grip in. Hence the German. He's got hits as many German Suplexes as possible in this match, so his opponent is so woozy that they just walk or fall into The Masterlock. He needs another power move (Gorilla Press), a move off the top rope (Flying Cross Body), and a good slamming move (Powerbomb or Powerslam). If he can expand his array of moves, he can be great. Just give him time.

Antonio The Great Muscleman of New Havens wrote:
In my opinion, Chris Masters is the kinda wrestler who could be the biggest heel in KOH history if he wrestled over there. Think about it, a generic wrestler, with an extremely generic finisher.

Ryan Ward wrote:
Alright, what is everybodys problem with Chris Masters. I think he is one of the most talented superstars on the roster. I like him a whole lot more then Muhammed Hassan. Everybody was bitching Hassan when he was on the roster and now that he was fired, people feel bad for him. His character worked for his first two months on RAW. But after awhile, it just got annoying lisning to him come out and bitch ,"I've never been pinned or submitted on RAW." Because everytime you were about to lose, you kicked them in the nuts. He was very talented and he was great at pissing off the fans, but to me, his gimmick didn't work. But Master's" Rich, kicks everybodys ass, has a powerful finishing move, makes fun of and tries to intimidate fans. Sounds like Triple H when he started, and look where he ended up. 10 Time World Heavyweight Champion (I disagree with the fact that hes won the title so many times) and one of the most respected wrestlers on the planet. So things are looking up for Masters in my opinion. But the WWE does know how to screw good wrestlers so Masters fans(the few Masters fans) can really only hope for the best. PEOPLE! LIKE A WRESTLER NOT FOR HIS FACE/HEEL STATUS BUT FOR HIS TALENT IN THE RING.

Lufia wrote:
Personally I'm shocked at all the negative feedback Masters is getting and mystified as well. Ok, granted he's not the best technical wrestler out there. And yes he was likely hired because of his pysique and size rather than his talent. But the fact is, they are using exactly as they should and it's entertaining to watch. From his enterance which imediatly gets everyones attention and use's his size and physique to great messure (to the amusing comments from the Coach and The King) As well as his in ring performance. Sure he doesn't do alot of great moves and holds. But he uses his size and power to great effect which genuinly looks impressive, compared to the wrestling of certain other wreslters who just punch and kick out after powerful and special moves all the time (JBL for instance)

I'm big fan of Chris Masters and is the main reason I continue to tune into Raw week after week. He's not the greatest wrestler ever, but he is entertaining. Great Article.

Kyle Pakeman wrote:
I don't understand how you can like this guy so much, he's indicative of the problem in the WWE at the moment: Too many bodybuilders, not enough wrestlers. Sure the likes of Batista and Chris Masters have unbelivable physiques but they just do not have the array of moves and combination of styles that make for entertaining matches. There are many wrestlers in the WWE with the right combination of power and technical ability, like Angle, Edge, Jericho etc. who have repeatedly put on great matches. The likes of Batista, JBL, Big Show etc. rely on their opponent to carry them. I want to see Wrestling, not bodybuilding, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, these guys are legends because they can wrestle, if you're not bored of these bodybuilders yet, just watch one of their matches.

Ditto Robertson wrote:
I agree with you (you're not alone. I feel for you, man.) I don't see anything wrong with Chris Masters. As a matter of fact, I like Chris Masters. See, everyone says 'oh, the Masterlock sucks. It's so dumb, it's so gay, it's so weak' and so on. Come on, people; that would hurt like an mf-er (and I don't mean Matt Hardy fan.) That would hurt if anyone did it, especially a friggen' huge guy like Masters. I say just stop bitching about him, because it's not going to make him any better or worse, and it's not going to make him go away.

Chris Olsen wrote:
I have watched Chris Masters for sometime now and only one name comes to mind when I see him, Lex Luger. It is pretty much the same gimmick. The juiced out of your mind body, the flexing and posing. Even Master's finisher, although not the Rack, is sum what that of Lex Luger.� Old Shooler will remember that nobody got out of The Rack. I truly believe that since Vince couldn't get Luger, mainly because Luger cannot stay out of trouble, he made his own version. It is not the first time Vince has done this. Vince is getting desperate for good gimmicks and good talent. Not to say Masters isn't good or bad. I haven't seen him in a decent match with decent talent and until I do, I can't really add my 2 cents. However, I wish these kids coming up would learn to shoot from the hip in their promo. Watch the HBK-Masters promo from 08/22/05. Masters sounded like he memorized, word for word, what he was going to say and HBK, although he has been doing this for sometime has always been a good promo, shot from the hip. It will be interesting to see what kind of push Masters gets in the up coming months.

Huthaifa Abdulhafeez wrote:
I didnt know Master's had so many family members who went to this site. The guy is no better in the ring than Snitsky,Tomko, or Reich. He is horrid.The moves that he has, are moves that anybody can do, they take no technique or skill. A third grader could do what he does. His mic skills are average at best.The WWE have let go of some talent recently,�that is far better. Its disappointing as a fan, to watch a company, reward your loyalty, with sub par entertainers.

Edrom41 wrote:
as soon as i saw who you were talking about i LMAO! man, good one. ok, seriously, i think time at OVW would do him good.

michael nader wrote:
I agree 100%...... WITH ANTHONY MCMULLEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Eric Simmons wrote:
ok, all you people that are saying master's character is bad obviously are fans that dont like good characters. first off, every wrestler now has taken there idea of there character and finisher frmo someone in the past. thats called respect. second, look at the raw roster and look who is on there, a bunch of crap characters such as matt hardy, Hurricane, and rosey. then you got wrestlers way past their prime to the point where you can predict every move they do in the ring because each time it is the same because they are worn out, such as shawn michaels and ric flair (dont get me wrong, i love ric flaid and michael back when they could do something). with additions of a wrestler like masters, you get a classic bad guy who every one is gonna hate, and he is good at making people hate him. i understand what you mean about how he really hasnt showed us a list of moves, but who in the wwe now actually uses them, and its sad to say that but its true. 85% of the wrestlers now are wrestlers who just go in and fight instead of wrestle, or cruiserweights who dont use moves, but all rediculous reverse's that look so fake it makes me sad (hint rey mysterio, terrible). give credit for wwe bringing guys like masters, carlito, kerwin white, and JBL, as those characters are attempts to bring back the classic heel, but actual wrestling is sadly becoming a thing of the past

Richard Powell wrote:
Chris Masters has potential. Right now, the WWE is using him correctly, for what he is currently able to do in the ring. I liked the idea of using the Master Lock Challenge to "introduce" him to the fans. That was one of the few things the WWE creative got right. It was a stroke of genius for Masters. As he gets better, for those of you who are fans, he can expect a big push for him. That is, if the WWE creative staff don't destroy what they have built up in him thus far. I think that if the "Masterpiece" can expand his repetoire of moves and also develop some speed in the ring, that would be an awesome combination. Give the Masterpiece time to develop his in-ring skills and pray the WWE doesn't destroy his character and if those two bricks fall into place, expect the Masterpiece to shine with distinction in the WWE.

Jose Camacho wrote:
The WWE is doing everything perfectly (atleast for buisness) look you have people talking on forums and stuff who sucks and who doesn't so they have interested and watching but if they pleased one type of people another type would not watch so they have to put all types of wrestlers in the shows so everyone will watch. I personally like Masters but JBL, Carlito, and Jericho piss me off. Thats my opinion like the saying goes "different strokes for different folks.

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