Zach Gowen - Does he deserve his spot in the WWE?

3D

Whilst watching Vengeance, and hearing Tazz harping on again about how amazing Gowen is, something hit me. Does Zach Gowen deserve his spot in WWE?

I admit that it's amazing he can get through a match for a bloke with one leg. I could never imagine doing a monsault like that, even with my two healthy legs. But.. Does he deserve his employment?

It seems he has been hired as a "sideshow", only hired because of his disability, which is far more insulting than him not being hired. As someone already pointed out, he can only ever have a limited potential and short term appeal, because it must be quite limited to what he can do. Repetition in the ring gets very boring very quickly, as many as said of RVD.

Plus, Zach is getting a job over talented stars like Raven and many others who have been chopped to slim down the roster. Why get rid of talented stars who with a good angle and gimmick can get over, and have a long term appeal? Not only that, but I find a match with other two-legged wrestlers far more entertaining than Zach's matches to date, and that's the reason I watch WW[b:post_uid0]E[/b:post_uid0] - to be entertained. He doesn't do it for me.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not discriminating against the guy, I would never deny him his right to work. But surely he should be treated the same as everyone else..? Why get preferential treatment? Surely people with disabilities want equality in the workplace?

I'm just curious as to what everyone else thinks.

3D. Wrestling Clique, Monksdiner, JimmyVan and KnowYourNews' Crafty Old Veteran.

Dr. Giganto

If it brings in money, Vince has to do whats best for the company. Vince saw it as an opportunity to boost a struggling product, and he took the chance. Does it suck for guys like Raven? yeah, it does, but thats business. WWE is a publicly traded company, and needs to cater to its shareholders. If that means employing a one-legged wrestler, so be it.

Maybe his popularity will die out (although i havent watched Smackdown lately or Vengeance, it seems like the novelty is wearng off already). And when that happens, Vince will cut his losses and drop the kid (and you know he'll do so without a moment's hesitation). but if the gimmick becomes a money-maker, then its worth it.

3D

That's true - but can Zack realistically make the show money over a long timespan?

So older fans who have since ditched WWE decide to tune in to see the "one legged superstar", and then they seem him, get impressed a bit, and then dont tune in again. This is what I see Zack as - a simple "sideshow" to almost grab attention.

Can he ever be expected to make money for the company except for perhaps his first few months? Could Zack sell t-shirts, compete in the main event, or hold the US title? It's near impossible he'll do 2 of these, and I doubt very much he would sell loads of t-shirts/merchandise. It seems extreme unfair that Vince will employ someone he almost knows is a short term thing and shaft the other guys, on both Zack and those he shafts. Zack will be one of those people, I'm sure.

3D. Wrestling Clique, Monksdiner, JimmyVan and KnowYourNews' Crafty Old Veteran.

Dr. Giganto

i agree...i dont see it as a long-term thing at all.

And although we can sit here and say "it sucks for Zach that hes going to getting shafted by Vince", the fact is that Zach has already accomplished more than he could have ever hoped for, and if he keeps his head on straight, he will realize that. If he knows his place, he knows that he's not a wrestler. he knows that he's a sideshow act. he knows that Vince is hoping people will tune in to see the "freakshow" and become interested in the "long-term" superstars, such as Brock, Cena, Guerrero, Angle, etc.

Of course, we dont know whats going through his head, but i liken it to the movie Rudy. Rudy's dream was to be on the Notre Dame football team. People his whole life told him he couldnt do it, and he kept pushing ahead, and finally, the last game of his last season, he suited up and played the final play of the game. Did he make a long-lasting impression on Notre Dame football? No, but he was able to say that for one Saturday in his life, he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. And if Zach is smart, he'll be thankful to Vince for giving him the chance to fulfill his dream of being a WWE superstar (although Vince surely has an alterior motive)

3D

Yes, sadly for both Zach and the guys Vince shafts, this is all too true.

But then why bother to hire him anyway? Can't Vince plan for the future, make his product stronger rather than weigh it down with short term alternatives.

Lame Vince.

3D. Wrestling Clique, Monksdiner, JimmyVan and KnowYourNews' Crafty Old Veteran.

Dr. Giganto

yeah, long-term planning definitely hasnt been Vince's forte lately

Drunksader

$50 that by the end of the year someone takes off Zach's prosthesis and beats him with it. $100 that it's Doink, or at least should be.

AudioSavior

I already called what was going to happen to Zack in a thread a while back when it first broke about him being signed. What I said back then is coming true. He will be a side show freak for a while and then they won't know what to do with him. Vince kicked his ass and he is not even a wrestler so the next person he faces and loses is going to look pretty weak and pretty much be ruined. Yes, he is new and has to pay his dues but what will they have to do? Bring in a one armed wrestler so he has someone to feud with?

Drunksader

[quote:post_uid0]Yes, he is new and has to pay his dues but what will they have to do? Bring in a one armed wrestler so he has someone to feud with?[/quote:post_uid0]

Banzai, the new show on FOX on Sundays, already beat WWE to it with the "One legged man v. One armed man Penalty Kick Showdown" ;)

BackLash

If he had a finishing move like Spike Dudley (if he could do a finishing move like that) the odds be more in his favor. Like in ECW Spike beat Bubba Ray and many bahemiths with the Acid Drop after easily getting his can kicked for sereval minutes. Yet in WWE, they never took advantage of Spike like that.

To me Zach is not a freak show he's the ultimate underdog, he has one leg and is only nine pounds heavier than Spike Dudley. Add in the fact that Vinne Mac didn't want him to be in his company, you have a great face mid-carder.

To me he wrestles better with one leg than Jamie Knoble did with two, he was better as a Jung Dragon anyway.

The Problem isn't Zack one leggedness it's he's using the moonsault, which is the most stupid and hypicritical move in wrestling today. When Zach, Bill DeMott and to some extent Lita do it, it connects most of the time, but everyone else misses because they can't see the opponent move, to me that sucks.

If he had a modified Tornado DDT and renameid it somthing like "the Twister" and made a dumb gimmicky trademark like the Worm and he'd be set.