The Official UKFF RAW thread (part 2)...

[Callum1993]

Presented without comment. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

Is his head REALLY that big? I mean, big enough for it to be noticeable and worthy of ridicule?

I honestly don't see it yet people have been saying it about him for years.
 

[JLM]

It is a little bit square and can look slightly too large in proportion to his body. I agree it’s a bit overblown. I think his biggest issue in terms of appearance is that he’s always been directly compared to Finn Ballor, who is a rather beautifully proportioned specimen of a man. 

[Supremo]

JD McDonagh certainly has a big enough head to where it can be used for pro-wrestling heat. Babyfaces should be taking the piss out of it and as a heel he should be selling it.

The problem is that WWE is scripted by the least funny human beings alive, so everything is always the shittest, more rote comedy imaginable.

Backstage in WWE must be a fucking nightmare. Having to pretend it’s hilarious when Triple H leaves a fake dog poo on your chair, Michael Hayes offers you a chewing gum but then it snaps your finger, or Bruce Prichard leaves a bar of soap in the bathroom that actually makes your face dirtier.

Banter Central.

[RedTwoster]

15 hours ago, Supremo said:

JD McDonagh certainly has a big enough head to where it can be used for pro-wrestling heat. Babyfaces should be taking the piss out of it and as a heel he should be selling it.

 

I dunno, it's lowest common denominator stuff like Jericho's "bald" nonsense. Plus, since WWE targets kids as a key demographic, I don't really like it when they take a physical characteristic of another person (or lisp, or speech impediment) and have babyface characters make fun of it. Let's encourage bullying, why not. But it's OK to bully this particular person because they're a dick. Not a message I'd want a child to take on board, really. 

[WrestlingForFun]

1 hour ago, RedTwoster said:

I dunno, it's lowest common denominator stuff like Jericho's "bald" nonsense. Plus, since WWE targets kids as a key demographic, I don't really like it when they take a physical characteristic of another person (or lisp, or speech impediment) and have babyface characters make fun of it. Let's encourage bullying, why not. But it's OK to bully this particular person because they're a dick. Not a message I'd want a child to take on board, really. 

They’ve been doing it a long time - I remember Triple H’s nose taking a bashing, Chris Benoit teeth, rikishi’s whole character was basically built around his arse. 

Edited September 9 by WrestlingForFun

[Snitsky's back acne]

 

2 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I dunno, it's lowest common denominator stuff like Jericho's "bald" nonsense. Plus, since WWE targets kids as a key demographic, I don't really like it when they take a physical characteristic of another person (or lisp, or speech impediment) and have babyface characters make fun of it. Let's encourage bullying, why not. But it's OK to bully this particular person because they're a dick. Not a message I'd want a child to take on board, really. 

It could be argued that beating someone up to solve a dispute is not a message you would want a child to take on board either, to be fair, yet millions of parents have happily let their kids watch wrestling for many decades. I guess it depends on where you draw the line.

Apparently there are some conflicting reports about Bayley doing the rounds.

Meltzer has said she has signed a new contract. Apparently PWInsider are saying she hadn't, as she has a fair bit of time left on her existing contract.

 

[Chris B]

3 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I dunno, it's lowest common denominator stuff like Jericho's "bald" nonsense. Plus, since WWE targets kids as a key demographic, I don't really like it when they take a physical characteristic of another person (or lisp, or speech impediment) and have babyface characters make fun of it. Let's encourage bullying, why not. But it's OK to bully this particular person because they're a dick. Not a message I'd want a child to take on board, really. 

That's interesting, because I'm now thinking about how much humiliation has been a part of WWE humour over the years. It's one thing when it's an attempt by the heel to do something humiliating and it backfires - that feels entirely like fair game. But it's also tying into crowd and social media stuff - even I've seen the funko pop gags, and the Ricochet 'bald' stuff came out of a bit of crowd silliness which he then jumped on to turn into 'his' thing (and Mark Briscoe stopping shaving his head was hilarious).

It's a weird one, because in real life, it's either backstage humiliation brought onto TV or it's just someone doing the 'if people are going to make fun of me over this, I'll turn it into my thing'. I think it probably comes down to how well-regarded the person is amongst the people making the jokes. The bit with Toni Storm worrying about losing a hair match and becoming 'a hideous bald freak' was mainly funny because it's clear how fond they are of Luther. And then it's down to how much it's something the wrestler is taking and running with rather than being subjected to.

But that's then extra levels of backstage/writing stuff, rather than just how it comes across on-screen. Odd one to think about.

[BomberPat]

I think a good rule of thumb is to avoid making fun of something outside of their control if you can help it, but it's also about how the characters respond to it.

The "bald" chant wasn't initially directed at Ricochet alone - if I remember correctly, it happened during a match between Ricochet and Claudio with Rick Knox as referee, so it was just the crowd amusing themselves about all three. What made it Ricochet's thing was that he reacted to it, because his character would be insecure about people seeing his baldness as a bad thing, whereas Claudio (and any number of other bald wrestlers) just never rose to it. If there's a way to draw that line, that the point isn't that it's funny to bully someone for something like that but that it's the heels insecurity that's the target of the insult, that's probably the best approach, short of just limiting insults to things that a person has control over - dress sense, hair style, behaviour, etc., rather than physical qualities.

Chris has a good point about when the on-screen stuff is an extension of backstage stuff - a babyface woman being body-shamed by heels and fighting to prove her worth could work as a story, but when that's written by misogynistic male writers with very limited views of what a woman on wrestling TV "should" look like, you get "Piggy James".

[LaGoosh]

1 hour ago, BomberPat said:

What made it Ricochet's thing was that he reacted to it, because his character would be insecure about people seeing his baldness as a bad thing, whereas Claudio (and any number of other bald wrestlers) just never rose to it.

I liked when they tried it with Mox once and he gave the crowd a "don't be dumb" look and they immediately stopped. 

[tiger_rick]

If it means people can't say Triple H has a massive nose, I'm out.

[TheScarlettChad]

While I agree that it's bullying, JD is named in speaking out so I don't really have much sympathy. 

[WyattSheepMask]

Fucking Funko Pops. WWE with its finger firmly on the pulse once again

[AnotherCrapUsername]

8 hours ago, TheScarlettChad said:

While I agree that it's bullying, JD is named in speaking out so I don't really have much sympathy. 

just perfect 👌 

 

 

[HandsomeButchIII]

4 hours ago, WyattSheepMask said:

Fucking Funko Pops. WWE with its finger firmly on the pulse once again

I was hoping his dad would be Boris Zhukov. The biggest bonce in WWF history. At least it'd be old enough to be retro and funny, as opposed to Funko Pops. And it would have had no reaction. Although, that's why I don't work for WWE, mentioning a lower card worker who left in 1990. I'd have probably even bring up JD McDonagh losing more than Israel Matia. And it would rhyme, nearly.

 

I am starting to worry for Joe Hendry, though. He's in a shit position, and isn't given the mic time to get out of it. He could be a new Santino, or 2000-01 Ernest Miller, but he's not getting the time to be himself and get over.

Edited September 10 by HandsomeButchIII