EdgarTheSlouch Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I can understand why Cena wouldn't appeal to someone, he doesn't massively to me particilarly. I do however, find his evolution, the evolution of his character and how it's been handled quite fascinating. I actually think what Cena is and represents was the inevitable next top guy in WWE following the 80's and 90's booms.  I 100% agree on the first part of your statement. I enjoy the split opinion, crowd reactions and his evolution as a whole a lot more than anything he actually does. The second part I don't agree with.  Wrestling should reflect pop culture of the time. It should bounce off what is the general public enjoy. When we had the Attitude era the world was going nuts for Jerry Springer and South Park. Now we have programs that are a lot more intelligent, with complicated plots and serious characters. People don't want their intelligence insulted anymore  Sounds familiar  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendell Cooley Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 WWE will never be able to compete artistically with Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, though. Not with a live 3 hour show that has an ad break every 5 minutes. Wrestling fans don't want complex plotlines, anyway. They want large, charismatic men threatening each other in a theatrical manner before the goodie gets redemption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Eddie Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 TNA have made the incorporating of current TV trends far more tolerable than WWE has - at least for my entertainment. Â They've got their own version of the Sons Of Anarchy as the top heels and a lot of their backstage skits and angles are filmed just like reality TV segments. All the "Hogan has to choose a contender" bits are totally reality TV too, but it's all stuff that works fine for wrestling anyway. Jeff Hardy's Talking-Brain segments were a huge failure though. Â Fandango is about the best "hey.. so, I saw this TV show and had a great idea..." gimmick that WWE have done in ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) WWE will never be able to compete artistically with Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, though. Not with a live 3 hour show that has an ad break every 5 minutes. Wrestling fans don't want complex plotlines, anyway. They want large, charismatic men threatening each other in a theatrical manner before the goodie gets redemption.  Yeah I think its pretty obvious this is the type of TV I was talking about, but I suppose I did leave myself wide open for those.  WWE story lines could do with being a hell of a lot more complex than they are. Outside of the main stories, whatever feuds are going on a either boring by the books or non existent. The amount of times Ziggler and Kingston have faced each other (in good matches) we should be able to talk in depth about this great rivalry. Instead each match is just another for no reason. WWE should be creating an environment where if you miss the product for a week you don't have a clue whats going on, instead you could miss it for a month and it wouldn't really matter  Edit: I was going to mention TNA as an example of how more complex stuff would work. You hardly ever see anyone on TV that couldn't be given a mic and talk for five minutes about what is going on with them Edited May 11, 2013 by Tattoos are gay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendell Cooley Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 So few of the current WWE roster are capable on the mic I can see why they don't bother writing juicy material for them. It's a catch 22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) There are ways to work around that. Lesnar and Ryback both came across well in edited pre taped interviews a lot better than they ever could in the ring with a live mic. Not to mention the roster will never become good at promos unless they are made to work on it and given a chance to develop it  Edit: Was just about to add pretty much what Arch said Edited May 11, 2013 by Tattoos are gay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Arch Stanton Posted May 11, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 You don't have to give people hours of promo time to tell a story though, especially not when it comes to undercard feuds. Thirty seconds of mic time can go a long way and I think everyone on the undercard is just about up to that, even if it has to be scripted for them. If not they need to have a little think about their choice of career. Â NXT is a nice little example. Loads of little storylines going on, yet nobody is an experienced promo there. All the promos are kept brief and to the point, and it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Plus, if I'm watching Raw live and it's Gabriel vs Barrett or Miz vs Cesaro or some other such shite, I'm dying for a Twitter scrawl along the bottom of the screen. Whereas if that happened during a new match or something interesting, I'd find it distracting or annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Eddie Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) I really like how TNA are letting Kenny King grow his personality on the mic. He's getting a few minutes every week, either backstage or in-ring to get his character over and show some personality. He's throwing out all kinds of nicknames and shtick and just seeing what might stick and get over. It's good stuff. Â That's exactly how The Rock got so good back in the day. People often forget that he didn't just turn heel after the Die Rocky Die stuff and instantly become the best and most captivating talker on the show. He got progressively better over the course of a good few months where he was just throwing out lines, catchphrases and silly shit, and then dumping the stuff that didn't get over while keeping the bits that did. Road Dog was the same, and Austin, and... well... most people that got really good. Â I'd much rather watch wrestlers try out new stuff and possibly fail, than just having them come out and recite lines that suck. Who cares if they fumble a bit and screw the odd line up, at least they learn to think on their feet and show some real personality. Edited May 11, 2013 by Dirty Eddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ShortOrderCook Posted May 11, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 Wrestling can do subtle, complex, long, episodic, consistent, logically building stories/angles and television when it wants to and when it does its fucking great. It's just such a large chunk of the audience doesn't have much intelligence to insult, has short attention spans and needs things spelt out to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ShortOrderCook Posted May 11, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 I'd much rather watch wrestlers try out new stuff and possibly fail, than just having them come out and recite lines that suck. Who cares if they fumble a bit and screw the odd line up, at least they learn to think on their feet and show some real personality. Â Â On this and the guys being given just a few minutes mic time to speak, it's down to these guys to make the most of every opportunity, every moment you're on television. Everything counts, your movements, your facials, your body language, everything. Have no wasted motion. It will all play a part in getting you over. You should be completely on, in mode and the character/persona you become and want to portray when you are out there. So few seem to truly get this. This is what I love about Ryback and Menry, they get it. I love their little quirks. Menrys constant trash talking, he carries his character out so well. Ryback barely got mic time until recently but he does loads of stuff that become his signature, that fans will become familiar with, he's also always on, talking down to his opponents and carries himself with a great intensity. He's got a load of quirks the fans can associate with him and enjoy - WAKE UP, STOOPID!, FINISH IT! DONE! FEED ME MORE, RYBACK RULES! Ryback is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Arch Stanton Posted May 11, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 Absolutely agree. 'God is in the details', as they say. I love all those little things Ryback does too. It's so important for a character to establish traits that fans can associate with them, whether it be obvious things like catchphrases and signature taunts/mannerisms or more subtle things like the way they hold a microphone (see Damien Sandow) or the way they enter or leave the ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Eddie Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I agree, and your points about Ryback are great examples of someone totally getting their character. To be fair, they've tried a fair few things with him before (he was a corn-fed, meathead cowboy on NXT remember and did a few other gimmicks in FCW) and they've obviously found something he's comfortable with now and he's doing well. That makes a lot of difference too. I remember the days when new talents would sit around with Vince, Pat and whoever else, have a chat and see what their character should be. I hate the idea of writers "coming up with something" then just finding a body to wear the character. Â As for people making the most of every opportunity, I'm thinking more of the poor saps that get given one line to deliver in pointless backstage segments. I imagine they are told "say the line" and that's about as much input they get on the matter. Wrestlers don't have the luxury of mouthing off and kicking up a fuss any more as they have no leverage whatsoever. That's why NXT was great at times, as it was clear that no fucker of importance was watching and the writers seemed to let the talent just get on with it, so people like Johnny Curtis and Maxine actually developed characters organically. She was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Arch Stanton Posted May 11, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) That's why NXT was great at times, as it was clear that no fucker of importance was watching and the writers seemed to let the talent just get on with it, so people like Johnny Curtis and Maxine actually developed characters organically. She was great. Curtis was tremendous in NXT. Most fans that are getting wet for his current gimmick probably don't realise that he was already playing the sleazy, greasy heel to great effect in the WWE more than a year before the Fandango character was ever even dreamed up. Bateman was great back then too. He's a guy I saw potential in, but he seems to have vanished from TV completely. Edited May 11, 2013 by Arch Stanton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted May 11, 2013 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 (edited) I wonder with the WWE machine behind him if they could have made Alex Wright into a huge star? It was goofy as fuck, but that dance could have gotten over. Edited May 11, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts