No. It is probably more than 50% his out of ring antics but a good bit of it is his in-ring performance as well - dominating the LW champ before landing a 4-punch combo that finished the fight and won him a second belt, obliterating the long-time FW champ who hadn't lost in 10 years, etc.
Fair point. But let's say he does all of that and talks as much as Fedor. You think he is where he is today? Heck if he were that vanilla he wouldn't have even gotten the shot against Eddie.
Definitely not. His talking is responsible for at least 60% of his popularity
I agree. And I'm not saying I hate it either. My bigger point was it's sucks for Stipe. He is by most all accounts a nice guy. It's almost like we, the fans, penalize him for that.
