Vignette or No Vignette?

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

This thread is rather simple actually. I just wanted to ask, is it better to have vignettes hyping up your debut, or even your return, or not?

In the past, we've had several superstars who've had vignettes hyping up their debut. Examples include Carlito, Finlay, and Kizarny. While, there are some wrestlers who have no vignette at all, and just debut out of the blue. Those include Bobby Lashley, John Cena, Santino Marella, Evan Bourne, and pretty much anyone else who came from the Superstar Initiative.

Sure, you have some superstars with vignettes, whom never got a chance to even debut (Hade Vansen, anyone?)

I'm not saying that you need vignettes to succeed in the WWE, and I'm not saying that you'll fail without them. I just want to know, is it better to have them or not? Does it give you an advantage over other superstars?

Do you have different opinions on superstars on who vignettes compared to others who don't? Please explain.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

It absolutely is better to have vignettes. No doubt about it.

I keep harping on the fact that Creative needs to give the fans better reasons to become emotionally vested into cheering or booing a wrestler. The best way to do this is to develop their characters and give them a degree of depth. That is not transpiring to any real degree in this day and age, and it results in rather quiet crowds across the country.

Giving wrestlers vignettes is a fantastic way to kick off establishing who they are, and why the audience should react to them positively if they are a Face, or negatively if they are a Heel.

This used to be done across the board for all debuting talents back in the day. There is absolutely zero reason it should not be done any longer. Wrestlers simply debuting by wrestling in a match does not give the crowd any reason to become emotionally attached to that talent.

 

[Gallops]

There have been quite a few big successes with vignettes in recent memory. Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho (to an extent), CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Ted Dibiase Jr (also to an extent), Edge, even Randy Orton had vignettes though they were after his debut and before return from injury.

Granted, some of them didn't have your typical taped vignettes (Jericho and Dibiase), they all had slight exposure before debuting so the fans could choose whether they liked them or not.

Now there are guys who don't need vignettes, especially guys who are known. It really all depends on the character and how the fans react during dark matches.

 

[Decarow]

I think you should do the vignette if you think the superstar will get over.

Kizarny- Fail.

They really only do vignettes for returning stars. Jericho's was amazing. Kennedy had a good one. It really built up the hype.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I think you should do the vignette if you think the superstar will get over.

Kizarny- Fail.

They really only do vignettes for returning stars. Jericho's was amazing. Kennedy had a good one. It really built up the hype.

They should do vignettes for everyone, regardless. Everyone should in theory start out with a level playing field to allow themselves the same opportunities to grow and develop, just like everyone else on the roster.

The audience should elicit some degree of concern over whoever is in the ring, that is part of the main roster, regardless of their status.

As far as Kizarny goes, let's not kid ourselves. The vignettes weren't what hurt Kizarny. If anything, they actually helped him (whether that was even possible or not). What killed Kizarny was that it was a simply a stupid gimmick that the audience did not get. However, the thing I most heard on why Vince was upset at him was because his wrestling abilities weren't up to Vince's standards.

 

[Yrrab]

For a guy getting ready to debut, I'd much rather have vignettes. But for a superstar who's been out of action, is returning after a hiatus, etc, I'd much rather have just an out of the blue return. I tend to lean on an out of the blue situation though when they're being injected into a storyline, much like Undertaker - Sara - mystery stalker. When the stalker came out and revealed himself to be DDP, that was one of the greatest pops in wrestling history. Stuff like that always makes me giddy.

 

[ccotreau1]

I would like them to do the vignette only because if you're a mark for a specific superstar that's injured and coming back, you can get all excited for it, and hopefully the ratings will come back up

 

[HypnotizedHero2010]

you cant go wrong with having vignettes. it helps the crowd know the superstar and have an interest in them. but if every wrestler debut with vignettes it would get old. some should and some shouldnt.

 

[foxhound101]

Yes and no, and let me explain. For a new wrestler that they are building, absolutely!!! This is the best way to get their names in the head of the audience. They should launch a whole series of vignettes. This way we know to either boo or cheer. Nothing worse than to have a bad guy perceived as a good guy or vice versa. I remember thinking in the past when i would see vignettes..either WOW this guy looks awesome, or this guy looks mean. It gave me something to look forward to.

...and no no no absolutely no vignettes should be done for established names coming to WWE or wherever. The element of surprise is one of the things thats made wrestling good over the years. For Example, say Samoa Joe or someone from TNA came to WWE, They should come in on a surprise. They should do something backstage, like attacking someone, or helping someone just out of the blue...then let the fans wonder for a week and talk about what he or she was doing there and why they did what they did. That kinda stuff glues me to the tv, and i'm sure it does other people too

 

[Ballistic83]

Yes and no, and let me explain. For a new wrestler that they are building, absolutely!!! This is the best way to get their names in the head of the audience. They should launch a whole series of vignettes. This way we know to either boo or cheer. Nothing worse than to have a bad guy perceived as a good guy or vice versa. I remember thinking in the past when i would see vignettes..either WOW this guy looks awesome, or this guy looks mean. It gave me something to look forward to.

...and no no no absolutely no vignettes should be done for established names coming to WWE or wherever. The element of surprise is one of the things thats made wrestling good over the years. For Example, say Samoa Joe or someone from TNA came to WWE, They should come in on a surprise. They should do something backstage, like attacking someone, or helping someone just out of the blue...then let the fans wonder for a week and talk about what he or she was doing there and why they did what they did. That kinda stuff glues me to the tv, and i'm sure it does other people too

They should bring back those vignettes back though!

If I was a pro wrestler, I would want to have vignette leading towards my debut. Real talk!

 

[Baller]

I think the vignettes allow you to get a feel for the character instead of just coming out of the blue ( i.e. Kofi, Carlito, Jericho in his return, etc.) but also I like when they come on tv for weeks giving promos live ( Ted Dibiase and MVP). The way MVP was brought in was perfectly booked. How he must have the best contract because he is the best and he doesnt care if he doesnt wrestle till he gets what he deserves. But coming in out of the blue is stupid as the crowd doesnt get a feel for it and it takes a few weeks for the crowd to actually give u a pop (yoshi tatsu)

 

[2TheMax]

I think there should be vignettes for both new and established wrestlers that can draw. Vignettes are mainly used to have the fans know who is this new person and what's that person's gimmick. As for an established name, it should be used to keep them in the fan's minds or to make them a draw for a show; example: Goldberg's vignette after WrestleMania 19. When I saw that vignette, I was stoked. And when it said Backlash, it gave people to order the PPV. The element of surprise is good too without vignettes. Those scenarios should be used for wrestlers who jump ship or come back from an injury; examples: Christian and Batista. It would seem unexpected and would bring
a big pop from the fans.

 

[Chill]

Vignettes can be helpful yes. One of the big advantages of these in my opinion is that they help build suspence and anticipation for the eventual debut of the wrestler. In addition, because vignettes are not normally live it allows the performer a certain 'safeguard' when attempting to get themselves over....they allow the wrestler to experiment on cutting promos without having to worry about messing it up, but more importantly it allows the wrestler to get comfortable with their character/gimmick before they actually debut it infront of a live audience. Overall, vignettes can help give the performer a purpose rather than just simply turning up at random....after all, if there is hype before the debut then there is a greater chance that wrestler will stick around.

 

[kbrill21]

Yes I believe 100 percent it is. I posted on this topic in the TNA Backwards thread earlier last week. I believe its easier to introduce a wrestler in a 20 second video than a first 5 minute match. Makes the anticipation a lot higher. It worked for Edge. I still remember the Smokin Gunns vignettes from years ago.

 

[TerryMagowan]

in my personal opinion i thin vignettes work best for mysterious characters who are about to debut (ie Mordicai...he wasnt much good but i was totally hyped to see him debut to be honest) Or if their being used for a returning superstar..it really depends how over they are (ie triple h's first quad injury) Nobody really thought he was gonna return then boom..outta the blue a vignette played and it got me totally hyped

Vignettes = very useful

 

[OIL]

It depends. When R-Truth returned, his vignettes were awesome. Seriously, they got people interested in his gimmick. So in that respect, they're good.

But, if it's for a returning superstar, you can kill the hype by blowing the surprise. Out of the blue returns like Chris Masters recently were awesome. At 2AM, I was out of my seat marking out. Love them. However, by playing vignettes people who didn't know him would have a chance to find out about him. I'm gonna say it depends on the circumstances.