UK Kat Von D Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Why are people on a wrestling forum so against the idea of reading about wrestling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) I’m not against reading about it, but if i decide to it should be off my own back rather than having to make up for poor writing/story telling. Edited December 23, 2019 by WyattSheepMask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 The time you spend complaining about not knowing backstories could be spent learning the backstories... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 The Kenny Omega build should have been so much better. I was so fascinated by Omega when I discovered his NJPW stuff, because he truly is one of the best in-ring storytellers. And for me, the build is obvious. A well polished video, quick snippets of his bigger moves (Terminator Dive, Snapdragon Suplex, V-Trigger, One Winged Angel), little flashes of text between clips ("PWI #1 in the World 2018", "7*! Best Match Ever! - Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer", "Three best rated matches ever!", "Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion"), ending with a flashy graphic (I dunno, "Kenny Omega arrives....NOW!" or something), and then his AEW Dynamite debut. By the time they started airing weekly TV, they already had a few shows worth of footage, plus All In footage. I assume they wouldn't be allowed to use NJPW stuff. Even if you don't explain what IWGP is, it still tells you he's a former world champion. He's big time. Explain whilst he's walking to the ring that he spent years in Japan, having arguably the best matches ever seen. Explain his alliance with Hangman Page and the Bucks. A little goes a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 minute ago, UK Kat Von D said: The time you spend complaining about not knowing backstories could be spent learning the backstories... Sorry for the double post, but the complaining is because the backstories should be explained. There shouldn't be any research necessary. Tell me who Kenny Omega is. Tell me why the Young Bucks are the best. Tell me why it's a big deal for Private Party to beat them. So easy, and yet for some reason, not done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 If AEW’s refusal/inability to tell stories properly or establish characters mattered to their audience, they’d have lost hundreds of thousands of viewers over the course of these last few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Episode 1 - 1.4m Episode 13 - 683,000. Point made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 minute ago, iPumaPants said: Episode 1 - 1.4m Episode 13 - 683,000. Point made? He was agreeing with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Just now, UK Kat Von D said: He was agreeing with you. I know. I'm just pointing out the decline because some people might not realise it was a comment made in agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Just now, iPumaPants said: I know. I'm just pointing out the decline because some people might not realise it was a comment made in agreement. Pretty sure it was extremely obvious to everyone except for you. My point is the only people who will actually complain that things haven’t been properly explained are the ones already spending a lot of time on the internet. Casual fans will be used to being told “this guy is the best” and just going with it. The drop off in ratings is down to a few things, but I don’t think lack of explaining what Omega and Young Bucks did on the indies or in Japan is one of them.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 9 minutes ago, UK Kat Von D said: My point is the only people who will actually complain that things haven’t been properly explained are the ones already spending a lot of time on the internet. Casual fans will be used to being told “this guy is the best” and just going with it. The drop off in ratings is down to a few things, but I don’t think lack of explaining what Omega and Young Bucks did on the indies or in Japan is one of them.  Yes, probably because the casual who has tuned in doesn't care enough to complain on the internet, but may have quietly said to themselves, "Who the fuck is this guy? I don't care" and switched off. More than possible, seeing as they've lost 100,000 viewers in the last few weeks. Not knowing enough about a wrestler, combined with a lack of intrigue, is definitely a reason for decline. Not the reason, but a reason. I haven't heard a lot be told about Mox's background, but he's intriguing enough with his debut, his entrance, and his showings so far. Kenny Omega is just another dude, and if I didn't know about him before, I wouldn't care. Just like I don't care about half the roster, and I'm really trying to like AEW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted December 23, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 23, 2019 I think the lack of storytelling is absolutely turning people away, and it's mad to suggest otherwise. Wrestling is about stories. If they're not giving us stories, why keep coming back? To take the Emi Sakura/Riho example - I'm invested in that because I know Emi, am a big fan of her work, and know the backstory. Most people watching AEW don't know who either of those women are - they didn't have any substantial prior experience in English language promotions. AEW did little, if anything, to tell us who they were, let alone what their history was. How many people might have got invested in that story and wanted to keep watching to see the outcome, if they'd bothered mentioning it on TV? Extrapolate that to every other "well, you could just read about it online" justification for matches that haven't been given a story on TV, and it adds up to not engaging a potentially huge number of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 I don’t think many casual fans are going to complain they don’t know who someone is, because they will be aware they don’t know who anyone is. Unless The Undertaker and Kane show up they will probably be clueless for most of the show. They’ll recognise Jericho and just say “oh, as if he is still about.”  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 45 minutes ago, UK Kat Von D said: Why are people on a wrestling forum so against the idea of reading about wrestling? C'mon Kat, you know it's not about 'reading about wrestling' its about hyping the matches/wrestlers and making it easy for the audience. Wrestling has ALWAYS spelled everything out for fans. Casuals don't tune in anymore but if they did it's about being able to see the show for the first time and understand why they are fighting and why you as a fan should care.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Just now, UK Kat Von D said: I don’t think many casual fans are going to complain they don’t know who someone is, because they will be aware they don’t know who anyone is. Unless The Undertaker and Kane show up they will probably be clueless for most of the show. They’ll recognise Jericho and just say “oh, as if he is still about.”  And how do you get to know who someone is? Through being told about them. Obviously, people couldn't Google 'The Undertaker' when he debuted, but he was made to look incredible, and the story told by commentary was that he was mysterious and huge, and his look was fascinating enough at the time to grab interest. Nothing interesting about just another guy in tights.Kane debuts. We're told he's The Undertaker's brother. He debuts in a way that makes sense, and creates an immediate buzz, with Paul Bearer, who we're already aware of, because of his Undertaker history. It's easy. We don't need more than that. When AJ Styles came to WWE, we were told he's the hottest free agent on the market, and a former IWGP Champion in Japan. And after that, he's telling us how he took his time to get to WWE, and it made sense. At the very least, we had some story. We have none of that with any of the AEW guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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