Fans tired of gimmicks?

[Guest Risk]

With all the gimmick monsters the TCFKA WWF; do fans today want more pure wrestlers?  I'm not saying they want all gimmicks elimated, just a return to the times of Lou Thesz, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, and Killer Kowalski.  Can Old School wrestling be over today?

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

No not old school wrestling. Old School wrestling would bore fans to death. That era is passed just as the current era is passing.

 

The fans might not mind wrestlers that aren't so character driven but not to the point that they did in the 50's and 60's.

[Guest razazteca]

Today I believe that wrestlers need to at least know how to do an interview, and project a personality.  Now this does not mean that the wrestler has to do a 20 minute promo on how he is going to destroy the opponet, but show his personal traits, like chrisma, a mean streak or being a team player.  I the wrestler should use the given camera time, and use it as if he is the feature attraction of the show, give the people something to cheer or jeer at.

 

I believe the main reason that Jeff Hardy has not become the next Shawn Michaels, is because he has not been given enough interview/promo time to make a character that the average fan will like.  Do you remember any of his backstage skits, fights with his brother over a women, no, me either.

 

The use of the gimmick wrestler has been successful in the WWF, with Hogan, Austin, Rock, Angle but also been misable failure with overkill gimmick wrestlers like Beaver Cleavage.  I personally HATE it when WWF uses racial sterotype gimmicks such as Latino Heat, and all gimmicks involving forgein accents.  Which plays up the character of a mexican from one of the Cheech & Chong movies.  Eddie Guerrero is a wrestler that has been successful outside the WWF working as a Rudo, why can't he do the same in WWF?  Why must he be portrayed as a bad over acting low rider driving second rate Telemundo novela character?

 

Pure wrestlers can make it in WWF but they would need help from managers, that can be the mouth piece, to hype up people like Chris Beniot.  Paul E has been doing a good job in making Brock Lesner, the Next Big Thing, now if they could get him a competitive match against somebody in the midcard.

[Guest Risk]

Vince needs to do what he promised to get to the next era of wrestling: Kill heels and faces.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Well, I don't consider Stone Cold or the Rock gimmick wrestlers.  They have characters, but their gimmicks are that they are wrestlers.  They are not garbagemen, they are not clowns, they are not pig farmers, they are wrestlers and only that.  Their characteristics are 'badass' 'cocky' 'anarchist' etc.

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Rudo hit it right on the head. Rock and Austin aren't gimmick wrestlers. In fact, the only gimmick wrestlers in the WWF right now are Hurricane and D-Von. After those two, everyone else basically are characters.

[Guest Risk]

Bossman is a gimmick wrestler.  I think this deserves more discussion.

[Guest razazteca]

so a badass alcoholic and wearing $500 shirts are not gimmicks?

[Guest]

No, because people can find an identity to those characteristics. That's what a character is; someone you can relate to on a degree, finding someone from your everyday life and seeing an incarnaiton of them on the TV. Like seeing the rebel fighting the boss in Stone Cold, it's what got him soooo fucking popular, people could relat to him.

 

I <3 being smart =P

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

Only characters I've ever connected with were Raven (the entire bipolar thing), Tommy Dreamer (how he got fucked over by everybody and everything, but kept on fighting), and last-quarter 1999/first-half 2000 HHH (don't know why, but I did connect). Those weren't even really characters, but just those workers' true personalities shining through.

 

THAT makes a gimmick/character that gets over: the worker's own personality.

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

I believe the main reason that Jeff Hardy has not become the next Shawn Michaels, is because he has not been given enough interview/promo time to make a character that the average fan will like

That's because he doesn't *have* the mic skills that Shawn has/had.  Not to mention Jeff isn't as talented as Shawn.

[Guest converge241]

That's because he doesn't *have* the mic skills that Shawn has/had.  Not to mention Jeff isn't as talented as Shawn.

 

i agree. Jeff has raw talent but is not in the same breath as Shawn. As far as the mic skills, every time they give him a chance it sucks..shouldnt these wrestlers be working at it in their spare time? Im sure they could get help too if they wanted to practice at house shows..you have friggin Arn Anderson to help you with promos as an agent!

[Guest caboose]

Jeff sucks.

He's a crappy skinny version of Mick Foley

[Guest dreamer420]

I don't care to hear Jeff Hardy speak though.  He is a great talent in the ring and I love to watch him but cutting promos and playing gimmicks aren't his thing.  He got himself over by proving he could bust his ass in the ring and it was cool because we didn't have to hear him talk.