A New Anti American Stable

[sabataged]

So during the shows from England, and reading about the pops that the home town boys were all getting it got me thinking about the Hart Foundation and how they were heels in America and faces anywhere else. Do you think a stable like this could be successful now a days?

I wouldn't mind seeing something like this created. Anti America is a cheap heat heel gimmick that is effective. It has a proven track record. I would mind seeing something like William Regal as a mouth piece, Drew Mcintyre, Wade Barrett, Sheamus and maybe someone else like Justin Gabriel or something. I am not completely sure on the roster of this stable except i think With Regal as a mouth piece, he could really help get over guys like Drew and Justin Gabriel.

A fued with the hero John Cena could be perfect since it would keep him busy for 3-4 months and keep him out of the title scene.

 

[jellmoo]

I see a few problems with the idea:

1) Who's the main guy, Barrett or Sheamus? Both guys are at a relatively even place on the card, and a stable needs to have a strong go to guy for main event feuds.

2) I agree that Regal is great on the mic, but so are Sheamus and Barrett. Neither man needs a mouth piece and it would be detrimental to their growth to introduce one.

3) This stable loads an awful lot of young talent onto a single show. It would require some careful balancing and trades between the shows to make it viable.

4) You have an Irishman, a Scot, a South African and two Englishmen in a unified stable. While you could definitely work a common anti-American angle, these are not groups of people that traditionally see eye to eye.

I don't think it's a bad idea, per se, anti American is a nice and easy way to get quick heat. But I think to be effective you can have either Barrett or Sheamus in the group, and not both. I would actually consider having neither and using McIntyre as the main guy to see if he can be elevated this way. Maybe add the Welsh Mason Ryan to be the muscle.

 

[donfryeismyhero]

It could definatly work. Either it be a stable of Brits or Canadians like back in '97 or a mixture of both maybe. Add D.H. Smith to the mix if it's a Brit stable.

 

[poppycock]

I'm not too sure how I feel about this. I think the anti American thing has been overdone for a while not just in Pro wrestling but in general. I would like to think Barret, Mcyntire and Sheamus have enough ability to carry on growing and making a big impact without going down any stereotypical group of non American anti USA stable path. Saying that though it could work to really get them all across as main event heels and keep them relevant.. Drew especially needs something to grab hold of right now. I also would like to see Regal back as a top heel even if it's a position that sees him mainly staying out of the ring. I generally would rather them all stay solo (especially Barret who I think needs to not be in a stable) right now. Just my opinion.

 

[Morpheus101]

This has been done before and to be honest, Barrett and Sheamus have been successful without pushing the fact that they're foreign. Barrett is probably ready to go it alone after leading 2 stables and Sheamus simply doesn't belong in any kind of stable. It just wouldn't work as of now. WWE has a lot of foreign born wrestlers and for the first time, few of them have gimmicks based on their respective nationalities and are successful based on their actual skills and attributes.

So I say no (please no!).

 

[Slack]

In like the last 10 years between the WWE and TNA there have been quite a few anti American stables. There was LAX, Mexican America, La Resistance, that group Eric Young led. How about an anti foreign stable instead. The only one I can think of in recent memory is the Border Patrol in NWA Pro

 

[deforty]

I don't like the idea but it worked for years with the Iron Shiek and Nikoli Kolloff (sp?), hell they even turned Sgt. Slaughter into an Iraqi loving person for awhile. It does keep Cena away from the titles too, defending the US but it would have to be some people that need the push and the group. Most of the people mentioned are already over but I like the idea. Why not use the new Hart Foundation that way, or use the two guys in FCW that wear the masks that way so they will be hero's in mexico and heel's here in the US.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

I think it could work but there is a problem. The Problem is that TNA is doing the same thing (i.e Mexican America) wich in itself is a rehash of The World Elite faction. All i'm saying is, its been done already in WWE remember the Unamericans wich was a rehash of The Hart Foundation (1997 version).

 

[poppycock]

Like I said I am with the group of people who don't really care for such a stable because it has been done to death for the time being and also Barret needs to go solo but I may be more interested in the idea if it was part of a storyline to turn cena heel.. maybe have him fued with this anti American stable and then a some point join them and go all Sgt Slaughter and become anto American. Not original but I do feel a Cena heel turn would be a good thing.. The only trouble right now is there are not many main event heels to feel his place unless it would mean The Miz or Jack Swagger becoming the main face and fueding with Cena.

 

[leJobz]

This could be a great idea, but maybe instead of a stable you could have Sheamus and Barrett in a tag team. It'd be awesome if they formed on smackdown so that possibly Jack Swagger could have a feud with them and hopefully turn in to a top face.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I love the idea of using nationality in general. Most people who watch wrestling are passionate about their country and are very prideful. However, I'd like to see a modern twist. I'd like to see a stable of guys trying to get rid of all the mexicans/foreigners. It'd be interesting having an American stable be the heels. Think JBL 2004 only in the form of a stable.

 

[JohnnieGoodtimes]

While I'd like to see this happen, its been done to death.

And really, the times its really worked is during a time of national crisis/strife.

Sgt. Slaughter around the time of the first Iraq war

The Un-Americans- Build up to 1 year anniversary of Sept. 11th (same group known as Team Canada failed to draw major heat in wCw, but then again it was wCw)

La Resistance- Around Iraq War 2.

The best way to draw heat is to be opposite of the current turmoil. If WWE really wanted a heel stable of this nature they should make a millionaires club (yes, I know its been done before) but of course would have to bring back the Millon Dollar Man and/or JBL in some capacity.

Honestly, I think a bunch of rich people running around making fun of all the poor people they ripped off would gather more heat than foreigners hating America right now.

 

[wushady]

Not only has an Anti American faction been done over and over. It wouldn't work this day and age. I really doubt WWE would even think about doing it again anytime soon. They have sponsorships now that would frown upon this. Like their toy disturber Mattel which many believe is one of the main reasons they went PG.

Not to mention the National Guard. It hasn't even been a month since they released Dave "Fit" Finlay. For upsetting members of the National Guard by having the Miz interrupt the National Anthem at a house show. Imagine how pissed they'd be if they put down the Country on a weekly basis on National TV. Not only would WWE lose a major sponsor. It make Finlay's release be for not and he was very well liked.

The last time they did anything similar would be the Muhammad Hassan character. That didn't go to well they were threatened by my most of their sponsors. To take the character off the air or they would end their sponsorship. UPN the network that had Smackdown at the time also threatened to throw them off the air if the didn't pull the character.

Now both Raw and Smackdown are networks under NBC/Universal. A way bigger company with stricter rules. Then Spike and UPN the networks they were on back then. Even a toned down version of the Un Americans would not work today. I really don't think anyone believes Vince would try it when Linda may run for Senate again.

 

[IvanBarrera531]

This would make for compelling television if it was done correctly. It would start sometime in the summer and end decisively at Survivor Series in a traditional elimination match (no lame stipulations that force the foreigners to leave the U.S., though). Start the program on a special 3-hour Raw, maybe named "Patriot's Night." Start the show with Dusty Rhodes coming out with Cody to a good pop, then the All-American American Jack Swagger comes out to agree with them and praise the USA. Out comes Alberto Del Rio! Says "patriots" exist all over the world, not just "this filthly, uncultured mass of land you people call a country" (keep in mind I'm plugging his dialogue, I'm not talking down America). Words are exchanged, then Sheamus comes out to agree with Del Rio, followed by...McIntyre? They announce a 6-man tag match at the end of the night, and you get where it goes from there.

Eventually, the foreigners create a stable consisiting of Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Justin Gabriel, and Mason Ryan (you could substitute Big Zeke and Barrett for the last two, but they'd be better off as a two-man unit). The Americans would be Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Evan Bourne, and Skip Sheffield. Things get out of hand, words exchanged, stuff happens, matches take place, people get hurt, and it culminates in a match at Survivor Series. Let the Americans win.

Looking back, my American team is very lackluster...someone can fix that up but the foreign alliance seems very solid.

 

[PaulD]

An anti-America stable seems quite dated now. Hell, the Un-Americans seemed a bit old when that happened, and that was nearly ten years ago and since then we've had La Resistance and World Elite. I think if any kind of stable based on nationalities was to be formed, it needs to go away from the "anti-America" concept. Maybe perhaps sometime in the future Mason Ryan and William Regal could team up as heels as a pro British team with no indication of actively hating America, just a pride in their nationality but cheating to gain victories. They then align themselves with Drew McIntyre - he helps them win the tag titles, them help him win a singles title - IC or US. They could be packaged as "British Empire" with Drew as the leader. From there a face Wade Barrett could come out and feud with them on the basis of them being a poor example of British wrestlers, leading to a Barrett/Drew PPV match for the IC or US belt.

That's the only way I could see it working, and still think something like that would happen. At least not for a long time.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Eh, I'm not too sure. It sounds like an interesting idea on the surface but, the truth of the matter is that the Anti-American stable is extremely old fashioned and overdone in my opinion. It's been done so many times over the years by so many different wrestlers & factions that there's really nothing to see. It's true that it could be used as a way for wrestlers to earn some quick heat for themselves. However, none of those guys listed as being part of the group need an Anti-American faction gimmick to generate heat. Regal's always generates solid heat and McIntyre has since losing the IC title and improving himself. Wade Barrett & Sheamus generate great heat already. Gabriel....well he's gotten heat just by his involvement with Nexus & The Corre.

Besides that, the WWE would have to consider how an Anti-American stable would coincide with the fact that the National Guard is one of their biggest and long time sponsors. Remember what happened to Finlay a few months back? He booked a house show in which Miz came out and interrupted the playing or singing or whatever it was of the national anthem. There were some Guardsmen in the audience who probably made some calls to tell someone about it, that someone called someone else, etc. and some big wig in the National Guard probably got hold of Vince and raised holy hell over it. As a result, Finlay was fired.

People are awfully sensitive about the Anti-American stuff these days anyhow, overly sensitive if you think about it, and it'd probably be safer for the WWE financially to avoid an Anti-American stable altogether. They might book something relatively standard for said group, something that's common with Anti-American gimmicks, and someone else with a lot of pull in the National Guard could overreact and WWE could possibly lose a big sponsor. People overract to anything these days, even if it's part of a wrestling storyline without any legitimate intentions of offending someone being in the equation. Shit, the mainstream media has been covering R-Truth lighting up a cigarette in London for God's sake. Anti-smoking advocates are coming out of the woodwork blasting WWE & R-Truth like he commited murder.

 

[berlinbrawler]

Can't say I'm big on the idea. Aside from the fact that it has been done over and over I think it sets more limits than it creates opportunities.

A character that hates America because he is not American is quite one-dimensional. A character who is American and hates America is only marginally better. When it's a whole group it doesn't make it better. On the contrary.

One thing they haven't done is portraying the America critic in a positive light. They had a couple of chances to do so, with Mohammed Hassan, for example. He brought up some valid points, like how traveling conditions for Arabs in the U.S. are intolerable. But instead of acknowledging any of it, all that came across was that this guy is an evil jerk.

That said theWWE is no political organization and don't have to present fair and balanced viewpoints and if they want Hassan to be a bad guy they can and should portray him as such. Would it really be compelling programming if Hassan made good points and others acknowledged it? What kind of a whiny babyface character would he be then? There are talkshows and news programs for that sort of debate, but for a wrestling show that is just too deep.
But therein lies the problem: They can't take this gimmick all the way, and that's why it is limited and can only get so far. A gimmick like that generates some cheap heat for a little while then fizzles out. That's all you can get out of it.

 

[LFC till i die]

I think having an anti american stable would be a great idea. Have Wade (from England), Sheamus (from Ireland), Drew McIntyre (from Scotland) and the Batista lookalike whos in the new nexus (forgot his name) and you've got all parts of Britain covered.

 

[rge2010]

Christ, how many more times? Ireland is NOT part of Britain. LFC, you are from Liverpool? How do you NOT know this?

Barrett has been in Nexus (success) and The Corre (terrible). Can he really be taken seriously starting up ANOTHER stable? If you are going to have a British stable then yes, he needs to be in it but Wade Barrett, Mason Ryan and Drew McIntrye would be enough. Maybe with Layla seemingly about to leave leaving LayCool she could be added to it aswell.

Another alternative would be Del Rio and Rodriguez to drop Brodus Clay and have Chavo Guerrero join them in a Mexican faction. Hell, maybe turn Mysterio or Cara into a heel aswell - or is that illegal in Mexico?!

Like has already been said though, anti American factions been done to death. I wanna see Cole/Vicki start something up. Something similar to The Heenan Family. Ziggler, Swagger, The Miz, Alex Riley...be interesting.