This is a point I am going to agree with you on, Sidious. FCW an ECW for that matter are minor league outlets where performers who are contracted to the WWE have a chance to learn "the WWE way". Moreso than any other wrestling outlet, this means to develop an ability to sell a feud verbally and non verbally before ever taking part in combat. Some guys get it pretty quickly and are out of FCW quicker than others. However, with some guys, it's kind of like bringing up a AAA baseball player who's simply not ready for the pros. He might have the ability to hit the home run or steal bases, but his understanding of the sport and IQ for it is quite low and he has more to learn. Most of those people are sent back to the minors for more training, but that doesn't mean everyone will get it. Sometimes, guys simply won't get the nuances and will simply be talented people with a low ceiling.
As for responses to my post, I'm glad it got people talking and I'm glad I was able to counterpoint to the original argument, but one thing I do want to point out is that none of us truly know what go on behind the scenes. Unless one of us personally knows a wrestler or creative member or something, I gotta think we're all drawing conclusions based on what we read or hear from the internet. I stand by my statement that I believe you have to go above and beyond to get noticed in any facet of life. Last week in reading the HHH interview where he mentioned Sheamus attending Raws when he was an ECW superstar on his own dime just to learn by watching is something that stands out to management. They see a guy, perhaps moreso than other young guys, who is going out of his way to learn how to get better. So this guy makes an impression and gets a shot on Raw quite early in his WWE career. Along with that, he's been given a little mic time. It isn't much, and his accent is hard to follow, but he's doing what he can. On top of what you say, you also have to excel at facial expressions, reactions, acting, emotions, and anything else to sell a match or angle. It's one thing to have a match or to cut a promo, but you can accomplish a lot from what you don't say as well. There's a lot more that goes into being an on screen performer than perhaps we realize usually. I can tell you from being on screen as a sketch comedy player that even with one line is a sketch, you can be the funniest one if your facial expressions, reactions, and non verbal actions are funny. The same applies to verbal confrontation and physical confrontation in wrestling. You have to be aware of everything you are doing out there because the camera picks it all up and the viewer does too.
In terms of whether the young talent has enough time, they've been getting it. I've been seeing a lot of Miz and Swagger and Kofi lately, as well as Sheamus over the last couple of weeks. That's just Raw. Again, you can't fault WWE for giving on screen time to the main eventers because they've earned that spot and they sell. PPV buys are down as it is. If you take away their time and try to sell a PPV on short segments of little significance and give that time to midcarders who may or may not be on the card, what are you accomplishing? I know the answer will be "you are accomplishing a solid future", and I agree that the future is always a concern, but it is balance. You can't push everyone, and you can't push no one. You can't eliminate the veterans and main eventers, and you also can't ignore your young talent. Moreso than the last couple of years, I feel that is the case right now, at least on Raw. Whether any of the upper midcarders ever main event PPVs is up to them and their development. You can disagree with me and tell me that if Vince don't like 'em, they wont' be main eventers, but I'm of the belief that if you work hard and are THAT good, and people want to see you, you will get what you want. Ultimately getting the fans to care about your character is on you when you are out there. If i was a wrestler (and i'm not because I'm a short, skinny Jewish dude), I would be working my tail off and forcing creative's hand to give me angles and storylines and matches. If they ignore me and "push who they wanna push regardless", then that's fine, but I couldnt' live with that unless I tried my hardest to get their attention. The guys who have gotten their attention have also gotten the attention of the crowd, which is why you see the guys you do on TV.
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11-05-2009, 04:54 PM
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