Chris Masters, Chris Adonis

[4.0] "One of the more iconic midcarders of the Ruthless Aggression era. While pretty charismatic in his own right, he left a lot to be desired unfortunately once the bell rang, as he did not possess a particularly interesting moveset or was good at telling stories between the ropes. He had potential, but never came close to reaching it."

[7.0] "Deserves to be more fondly remembered. Started out really rough, but worked his butt off to become more than just a fantastic look. It's a shame WWE was never interested in rewarding that work, though. Should have been a consistent upper-midcard guy, rather than the forgettable career he ultimately had in the big leagues."

[5.0] "WWE clearly wanted him to be a star, but his matches often lacked energy and psychology, and his promo work came off as stiff or overly rehearsed. Even when he returned later with improved conditioning and a more polished style, the company never gave him a serious second look. He became a cautionary tale of how looks alone aren't enough in modern wrestling. While he wasn't a disaster by any means, and he did show some dedication to improving, Chris Masters' WWE career was ultimately flat, failing to deliver on the promise his presentation suggested."

[6.0] "I actually like Chris Masters in a way. He obviously wasn't the best wrestler ever and his only major push was purely only due to his look & Vince loving it. He had some solid matches during that run though in fairness. But as soon as Lashley broke the Master Lock in 07 to become the next "big guy" of the WWE, Masters was fucked. He became a big time jobber after that and did nothing really of note. When he started appearing again around 2010 he had slimmed down and looked better in the ring, albeit he still wasn't good but it was improvement and he was only 26 or 27 around that time iirc. But because he had slimmed down his gimmick died completely and I think at that point creative & Vince wanted nothing to do with him. Unfortunate because I do think he could've been more than he was. Do I think he would've been a main event guy or in the upper-card where they wanted him to be? Hell no. But I do think he could've been a solid mid-card guy for a handful of years. Maybe a short IC/US title run or two. I think the Superstars matches vs Drew, the Chamber match, the match against HBK, & one of the matches against Carlito showed that this guy COULD put on a solid match, even in his first run. Very unfortunate how his career turned out."

"Its easy to forget how young Masters was during his first WWE run. He was only 22 in 2005 and mixing it up with guys like Shawn Michaels and John Cena. The knock on him early was that he was still green, and he was, but he improved quickly, especially after he trimmed down. Ironically, it was him trimming down that perhaps led to him not being featured as much since he no longer fit the gimmick. The fall from grace happened quick after some wellness issues. He went from being a featured guy in main events in 05 to jobbing to Super Crazy a year later (no offence to Super Crazy but you get my point). He resurfaced in 2010 as a babyface but was rarely used and mainly an enhancement guy."

[6.0] "I was a fan of Masters during his Ruthless Aggression era run. He had a great entrance and the Masterlock challenges were always pretty fun. Masters did lack promo skills and charisma, which gave him a low ceiling. Despite this, he still had a good run in 2005-2006. He worked against the top babyfaces and had a few good matches against the likes of Shawn Michaels and Carlito. After Lashley broke the masterlock challenge in 2007, he was pretty much hopeless and the rest of his WWE career faded away in misery."

[7.0] "Plenty of talent and delivered in a number of ways. Another casualty of WWE's insane (and hypocritical) "wellness policy" which ensured the wellness of the corporation's insurance program at the cost of depriving talent of their livelihood. It would've been fun to see his run extended, but that wasn't possible"

"Good look and entrance, awesome finisher, average wrestling skills, average mic skills. Pretty good as a heel mid-carder. The masterlock challenge was awesome. I thought he had potential but sadly his career in the WWE didn't last long and he's easy to forget. I'd go with a 6/10."

[9.0] "I always enjoyed The Masterpiece in his initial run where he was pushed by WWE. He and Carlito were amongst the top heels on Raw for a time in 2005-2006. He looked phenomenal, his presentation was on point and I think he held up his end of the bargain in the ring and on the microphone more than people gave him credit for. Still, it's true that it felt like he was overpushed for his ability level at the time. Then he went away and actually got really good in-ring. He was having great little TV matches on WWE Superstars for ages. But WWE higher ups seemed to have moved on and didn't take any notice. Around this time he ripped a tree out of the ground to smash a window and save his own mother from her burning house. You'd have thought this incredible real life story might have prompted WWE to take another look at him but it wasn't to be. Since then he's forged out an okay indy career for himself with notable runs in TNA and NWA."

[7.0] "Masters was a decent wrestler who had a few good matches especially against Shawn Michaels & even Drew McIntyre and he was a good worker as well. However, he will definitely be remembered for his gimmick & somebody who got overly pushed too fast and he didn't work out. The WWE could have given this man at least a few runs at a mid card championship or team him up with someone for a tag team championship, but no. He never got a chance to be any sort of champion in WWE, that is a travesty."

"They tried so hard to make Chris Masters a thing. He would never prove himself to be more than a body with a handful of moves and a boring personality. His challenge wasn't original, but ran its course as entertaining enough. Pretty much the same problems that other guys hired for their looks would have (Lex and Warrior, etc) they could get into good matches but if paired with another lacking wrestler, their flaws get magnified. Didn't ever get better, just started meh and stayed mediocre for the entirety of his run."

"This is one reason why I hate internet wrestling fans. They are armchair wrestlers who think "workrate" and being a "good wrestler" is all you need to succeed. A 4 is way to low for the Masterpiece and this rating proves the BS of the IWC. To me, Masters it the definition of missed potential. Masters debuted in WWE in 2005 and was one of my favorite wrestlers of the RAE. One of the youngest wrestlers to debut at 22, this kid was built like the Adonis. 6'4, 275 lb he had one of the best bodies in the business. It was clear why McMahon loved the bodybuilder turned pro wrestler. He debuted on Raw against Stevie Richards after weeks of vignettes hyping the reveal of "The Masterpiece." Starting off with a close up shot of Michelangelo's "David" before showing Masters kneeling with a cloak on, he stands up revealing his godly physique and sparks go off behind him as an orchestral song rises. And so the Masterpiece was revealed. Masters in ring was mostly fine for a body guy and besides breaking Richard's nose was pretty safe. He was surprisingly good at selling too. Despite what people say he was alright on the mic and did have a natural presence and charisma. But what really got him over was his full nelson hold dubbed "The Masterlock." To cover up Masters being green, WWE had him declare a masterlock challenge where anyone who can break the hold would get a cash prize. He initially took out jobbers then worked his way up to retired legends like Slaughter, and then main eventers Shawn Michaels and John Cena, with none of them breaking the hold. It wouldn't be for 2 years until Bobby Lashley came in and broke the hold, and ironically a decade later he'd take the Master Lock rebranding it as the Hurt Lock. This lock was the ish growing up. It was obvious Masters was meant for big thing with the fact within 6 months of his debut he was feuding with HBK, Flair and even WWE champ John Cena. Unfortunately, despite the push this would be the peak for Masters. According to JR and Pritchard, creative was disappointed Masters grew complacent and hadn't improved his skilled. To make matters worse, Masters would fail a drug test and be released from WWE in 2007 to go to rehab and work on his skills on the indies. When Masters returned in 2009 against MVP on Raw, the Masterpiece was considerably smaller thought still shredded. If anyone embodied to adage "Don't make your body your gimmick" it was Masters and it didn't help Triple H would bury him in a segment pointing out his considerable weight lose (pot meets kettle). It is unfortunate he could never put the weight back on as his in ring skills were considerably better but by then McMahon lost interest in the Masterpiece and Masters became another face lost in the shuffle. He'd be released in 2011 and since then has stayed in the indies with a stop in TNA for a time and has had moderate success becoming NWA National Champion 2 times. I say he is the definition of missed potential because he really had it all. The look, entrance, charisma and decent enough in ring. But as I said, he became stagnant in his first run so WWE never pulled the trigger on him. The fact he never won a WWE title is crazy to think about. Had Masters put in more work sooner he could've easily become WWE champion. Even his time teaming with Carlito was fun too and should have won the title at WM instead of having Big Show and Kane drop them to the Spirit Squad. But unfortunately it was not meant to be. I would love to see Masters return to WWE to get one more shot with them, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Overall, Masters was a great talent who never really reached his full potential as a combination of laziness and bad decisions and when he did put the pieces together, it was too late. Still Masters seems like a nice guy and even saved his mother from a house fire by uprooting a tree to break down the door. The guy was the real deal. 7/10"

[7.0] "Rejected by the internet fanbase for being a body guy in the worst workrate years in the modern WWE. Was disregarded by creative after having a significantly better second run with the company. There's a universe where Masters winds up as a big deal. Kinda sucks we don't live in it."

[7.0] "Fantastic look, competent in the ring, and a great finisher, but unfortunately lacked the character needed to be above a good mid-carder, an overall very good performer."

[5.0] "I liked Chris Masters. Pretty solid mid card heel, but one reason or another, things didn't work out long term. Getting injured at one point and then getting caught with "illegal substances" didn't help his career."

[8.0] "very overhated not the best in ring but a very good at his role and a decent midcarder at best and the masterlock challenge was one of the best things on raw when i was a kid"

[5.0] "Chris Masters was really bad in the ring in his first run, when he was pushed hard in 2005-2006, but improved, and then was just bland with no character outside of doing a pec dance (typical 2009-2010 WWE) in his 2009-2011 run. Very average overall."

[7.0] "I think Chris has been underrated since his WWE days. He's not the best wrestler but certainly not the worst. I used to love watching the "Masterlock Challenge" as a kid."

[6.0] "I actually think he was a lot better than people make him out to be. Sure, his character was somewhat boring, but he was solid in the ring and had an impressive physique that made him look like a legitimate threat. He was a decent midcarder that put on some pretty good matches on occasion"

[5.0] "Gotten better over time but younger me was definitely a fan of the masterpiece. Still young enough that he could go to a bigger company for a solid run"

[6.0] "Solid in the ring, good heel and probably most remembered for his physique and finisher. Chris Masters was underutilized his second run in WWE. He gets too much hate."

[7.0] "He was young and green when he first came in to the business but he improved slowly over the years and thrived in the NWA, he still hasn't made that big accomplishment yet but I think he will."

[8.0] "Great look and entrance. The master lock challenge is still something that sticks with me today. He still looks good in the nwa today"

[3.0] "I'll give Chris Masters two things. He had a fantastic look and he had a really solid finisher. That's it, that's all he had."

[2.0] "Looked good, I guess. As a wrestler he was unremarkable at best. One of a litany of guys with perfect bodies who got pushed a lot, only to find that they couldn't wrestle and couldn't get the crowd to care about them."

[6.0] "With a face like Buzz Lightyear, a chiseled physique, and a willingness to go after a crowd on the microphone, Chris Masters was your typical 80s heel teleported straight to the mid 2000s. His Master Lock Challenge was a segment Vince wishes he had for people like the Ultimate Warrior or Lex Luger to beat in the golden era, I am sure of that. This finisher was protected and as a child it made me hate Chris Masters. Unfortunately, his affinity for chin locks didn't do much to endear him to me either. As his career progressed so did his in-ring talent, however Masters never did quite regain the ground lost from the time his Master Lock was finally broken. The leaner Chris Masters of today deserves another shot at relevancy,"

[6.0] "Masters definitely had the most potential out of the new mid 2000's guys. Great look, strongly booked finisher and was a relatively decent worker to boot. The main problem was that he lacked any effective mic skill beyond his gimmick, and while he did get pushes, he couldn't capitalise on them effectively enough to get himself anywhere. Masters did get better outside of the fed, which is why I've bumped him up a bit: he quit the extreme use of substances and balanced it out with more refined selling and technical work. Would still never be a top guy but I could have seen him be a low mid card act, maybe more. Just a shame that he never got to prove himself with a IC title run because I think he could have proved to the higher ups that he could have been on that level."

[5.0] "Chris masters had the look and the move to be one of the very best ever. I think that is why his rating is all over the place, sometimes you get penalized not for what you did but for what could have been, and He could have been a multiple time heavyweight champion."

[7.0] "Extremely underused by WWE in his second run with the company. He has so much potential and they just let it slip."

[7.0] "He is a great heel. The Masterlock was excellent. He went to main event status pretty quick. Never won any titles during his WWE run."

[2.0] "I hated everything amount Chris Masters when he showed up. His entrance was ridiculous and way too long. His muscles were gross & his in ring work was poor. His Masterlock challenge was stupid. I don't miss him one bit."

[4.0] "If Chris Masters had the ability to go with his physique, at least when he was heavy into the juice, he would have gone far."

[9.0] "Chris Masters or Adonis, if you like. He is an average worker in the ring. But his charisma and his character as an arrogant heel convinced me to give him such a high rating. In addition Masterlock is a very good finisher(for him) who certainly supported character building."

[1.0] "Adonis is such a boring wrestler, who has to get himself involved in Eli Drake's matches on IMPACT wrestling, but back in WWE he was a cool wrestler, who I really liked, overall the rating is 1. 0/10"

[7.0] "Chris Masters was honestly a favourite of mine in the Ruthless Aggression Era. He could work a mic fine, he was good in the ring and his finisher was just awesome. Also, him vs Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven 2005 was my personal MOTN. I don't know why the guy gets so much flak, but that's just my opinion"

[8.0] "Chris Masters is one of my all time favorites. He is a very good wrestler and his finisher the Masterlock is amazing. He was great in WWE from 2005-2007. When he returned in 2009 I feel they dropped the ball on this great talent who could have easily been IC Champ or Us Champ. Hopefully he gets somewhere in his career and returns to WWE."

[8.0] "He is a very good wrestler.... His Indie time shows that he now improves in every departments which he lacks in his time in WWE.... but now he was in GFW So I hope he will get more chances to prove himself."

[7.0] "This guy was just so cocky and so arrogant, you just had to boo him and he got over pretty quickly as a heel back in 2005. He was so red hot and the "Masterlock" submission move was admittedly unique back in 2005. Unfortunately after Bobby Lashley broke the "Masterlock" for the first time in 2006, his career was slowly put in a slump and didn't do anything of note afterwards. I'd liked his character though. Not to mention, Chris saved his mother's wife in a fire back in 2013. I've give him a 7."

[6.0] "Masters was kind of an interesting case. During his first run with WWE he seemed like a guy just getting a push because he had the bodybuilder look Vince goes for. On his second run, however, he steadily improved in terms of technical skill, agility and selling... and was rewarded for his improvement by being promptly shown the door. Since his release he's done pretty well on the indy scene with regular bookings in the US and abroad. I'm honestly surprised TNA hasn't picked him up by now (though he did work for their India project, Ring Ka King, a few years ago)."

[6.0] "He Has Held Alot Of Championships other than WWE. Now He I The PCW World Heavyweight Champion Again, but he was in the WWE for a long time he did not held a single WWE championship. He still has some success any way."