Sure there was some cheap USA stuff. That's kind of like the "you suck" chant during Angles entrance, it is so ingrained people can't help it lol.
I just don't think the match or the feud itself was as great as people were expecting it to be. Nakamura also wasn't as captivating to people as a heel and I didn't think it was the right direction for him. in short, AJ vs. Jinder exceeded expectations while AJ vs. Nakamrua did not live up to the expectations people set. Whether that was because it was in a WWE ring and not in NJPW I suppose is something to consider as well but I personally think the Aj vs. Jinder was a better feud than vs. Nakamura.
I agree that JBL's character evolved and he was a great mic worker but his reign as champion turned lots of people away from the WWE at the time, just like people claim Jinder's did in 2017. JBL was not a draw as champion and could be described as a commercial failure. Lesnar vs. Taker at No Mercy in 2003 had an attendance of 275,000. The following year, JBL vs. Taker at No Mercy 2004 did 183,000 (this is according to WhatCulture's statistics). I do agree that JBL is an all around better performer and more experienced than Mahal.. I don't think he is as marketable and he suffered from the same meteoric rise Jinder did going from a low card wrestler to a main event talent almost overnight.
I'm with you, I enjoyed his run very much. He was definitely the odd man out but it was cool to see. I took him way more serious than say, the Miz..
It's just a move that should not be a finisher. Bobby Lashley made it look decent when he attacked McIntyre last Sunday, but still.
The main roster, mostly Vince McMahon, just didn't know how to book someone like Nakamura. The guy was over huge in NXT by just being himself and being charismatic and wrestling his strong style. He came to the main roster and his first feud was with Ziggler where Ziggler basically pointed out everything not cool about him. He called him a Michael Jackson rip-off, and the company started referring to him as "the artist" and they clearly limited his strong style in the ring. By the time he lost to Jinder, it was clear to Nakamura fans that they just weren't going to let him be what he was in NXT because Vince always feels the need to make things his own instead of letting talent be himself.
McIntyre marks trying to claim the worst fanbase accolade from the Rollins marks.
moves are not what make a match good, his match with AJ had good storytelling (something that is missing a lots of matches today).
I think they could have told a better story with him tbh but they chose the tried and true foreign heel route, which I know most people dislike but it was refreshing to me to see a modern day version of a classic 80's heel. I think he has the misfortune of being born in the wrong era of wrestling for him. Had he existed in the 80's or early 90's, he would be perfect as a rival for Hulk Hogan. that said, a jobber heel who still looks credible and weaseled his way into the main event to me was still a fun angle but they should have better prepared him for it instead of just thrusting him into the main event to sink or swim.
he did hold the title for six months ... and he did get a chance to win it back. can't remember the PPV but he did get a rematch with AJ. He also qualified for another world title match when he begged Vince McMahon backstage and they put him in a match with Ricochet to qualify (which he lost). can't remember exactly what that was about but I remember that on RAW
Yeah, I really liked his entrance. Not really a solid worker to me, though, and it was kinda fucked up the way he mocked Nakamura.
