Are European Wrestlers Stuck In A Gimmick

[Rated_R_Superstar2010]

Recently most English or Irish born wrestlers are basically stuck with having this heel persona with a bad acsent. William Regal, Dave Taylor, Finley, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and now Wade Barrett of NXT. well finley is a face but that was all because of hornswaggle, not an actual change in how finley acts.

honestly i hate this gimmick and its been done to death. now someone like sheamus may not really have a better option, considering he's so pale and the red hair. but other guys like McIntyre and Barrett dont have to have this gimmick. they could easily just act like a normal guy and possible be face.

my questionm is with the way the wwe is now do any European born wrestlers have a chance of having a different gimmick or are they going to be stuck with this "im english" or "im irish" so "im a heel" type persona??

 

[Ferbian]

I think there's a big part in their natural accents that will be stopping them from having some other kind of gimmick, unless you work it into the fact that their still "English born" like Paul Burchill and his captain gimmick, which I seem to remember also worked the accent.

So the only way I think they'll ever be able to work away from the nationality gimmick will be if the wrestler himself can hide his accent enough to preserve the realism that this guy could actually be something else than an Englishman etc.

 

[BaAM!87]

good question. simple answer:
although wwe is a "global phenomenon," obviously its main audience is in america because thats where they primarily perform. as long as the crowd chants "USA! USA!" then wwe will use this to their advantage and create heels. This probably will never change because its like a "home team" vs "away team" type thing. however, im sure you notice the difference of how the europeans get cheered in their own countries. so yes, as long as they're a heel, they will portray the cliche "my country is better than yours" gimmick. its too bad that muhammad hassan was so good at it they had to let him go. that man was awesome

 

[BigLuther]

Not only are Europeans natural heels, but it's also easier to debut ANYONE as a heel. All the guys you named off, aside from Regal and Finlay (Dave Taylor isn't even relevant), have been with the company for less than a year. Recall Regal and Finlay as faces? Regal just can't pull it off and Finlay's career has come to a screeching halt ever since he turned face. Europeans have a natural, cocky attitude when they're put in front of the camera, and it's so entertaining. Nothing pisses off Americans more than a European talking down to them.

 

[Undertaker the 5th]

No as long as they have an accent. Regal has been face before and he was teaming with Eugene, talk about letting your face persona go down the drain. Also I didn't like that Wade Barret had to speak in an English accent. They already have Shaemus and Drew speaking in some accent. They don't need another one. Maybe they drop it sometime like they did with Kofi Kingston, but no they are not destined to start out as heels. It's hard to see some European debut as a face, but it has been done before. I'm not sure I remember right now but they don't have to have that gimmick all the time and be heels.

 

[Razor]

It's merely lazy writing on the part of the WWE. British heels (or, for that matter, Foreign Heels) have been worked since the days of forever. And they always work, too. It's very rare when you can't get boos as a British heel by simply walking down the ring, saying in a British accent "You are all simpletons" and then proceeding to beat down Hacksaw Duggan.

Tada. You're instantly over as a bitchy British heel, and you spent 5 minutes in front of the crowd to do it.

It's not racist, it's not stupid. It's just unimaginative. But it works. Sure they seem to be stuck in one specific gimmick, but why change something that isn't broken?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's a common theme in Hollywood too... Brits/Europeans make great movie villains...Alan Rickman, Anthony Hopkins, Brian Cox, Ian McKellan... Americans will naturally work better as heroes against "invaders" its been part of wrestling since the 50's...

WWE has a lot of Euro talent at present and at some point they will arguably ramp up their presence there, when the business becomes truly hot again, I could easily see a WWE Europe brand, where you may see these guys work as you say.

WWE is right to capitalise on wrestlers unique national traits, but they sgenerally are smart enough not solely define them by them. Finlay was a great example of this, using his "Belfast Brawler" image... "I'm Finlay...and I love to fight" told you all you needed to know... he was from Ireland and a brawler... Drew is Mr. McMahons project first, who just happens to be Scottish... at least he aint wearing a kilt (anyone else seeing a Pipers Pit segment/match with him at Mania?), .. Sheamus is a Celtic Warrior (which he arguably is) and not a terrorist or priest... Kofi has managed to translate from Jamaica to Ghana without a problem... danger is when the gimmick is stereotypical like La Resistance was or the Highlanders or Bushwhackers, then someone can get labelled...

 

[Remix]

Recently most English or Irish born wrestlers are basically stuck with having this heel persona with a bad acsent. William Regal, Dave Taylor, Finley, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and now Wade Barrett of NXT. well finley is a face but that was all because of hornswaggle, not an actual change in how finley acts.

as was noted, Drew, Sheamus and Wade (especially Wade) haven't been in the company long enough to demonstrate that they can be faces too. If they have a failed face turn, then you'll have a point. Until then you don't. As for Regal and Finlay, they can pull off being faces. Maybe not well, but as it stands right now Finlay's gimmick (fighting Irish bastard) really shouldnt (and doesnt) work as a face, and Regal plays the cocky, arrogent, condicending guy so well. Finlay was a heel because he was a dick (albeit one with an accent), Regal is a heel because of his attitude. Their nationalities had nothing to do with it. Adding an accent makes it easier to hate them but their abilities took them the rest of the way.

honestly i hate this gimmick and its been done to death. now someone like sheamus may not really have a better option, considering he's so pale and the red hair. but other guys like McIntyre and Barrett dont have to have this gimmick. they could easily just act like a normal guy and possible be face.

Being 'normal' is a shit gimmick. This is pro wrestling where rediculous larger than life characters are commonplace. Just to prove my point, Who are you going to root for or give a crap about Bobby Average or 'the Prodigy' Drew McIntyre? Not to mention that those two havent even had a chance to show their abilities as faces yet.

my questionm is with the way the wwe is now do any European born wrestlers have a chance of having a different gimmick or are they going to be stuck with this "im english" or "im irish" so "im a heel" type persona??

If they debuted as something other than an 'I'm better than you' or 'I'm doing this for the money' gimmick then sure. However since Drew is convinced of his superiority over everyone in the locker room (McMahon's personal signing) and Wade being a cash hungry fistfighting dick it wont happend until they get a different debut gimmick.

Also I didn't like that Wade Barret had to speak in an English accent.

...they didnt make him speak like that. It's his natural accent. And unless they wanted to risk compromising his promo skills (working on faking his accent as well as cutting a badass promo) they had very little choice.

They already have Shaemus and Drew speaking in some accent.

The Irish accent is nothing like Barrett's northern one. Drew's is closer but still very different.

They don't need another one. Maybe they drop it sometime like they did with Kofi Kingston, but no they are not destined to start out as heels.

You're acting as if he's putting on the accent he's not that's how he speaks, on account of being from lancashire. ANd as I said you're right they can debut as faces. But not when they debut with a superiority complex or as a complete bastard.

 

[db82]

I like having foreign factions such as team canada, british invasion, bulldogs etc and think these work really well especially as heels. I think it helps put them over especially in tag matches where heel tactics are key to a good match. I dont see all the names u mentioned tho as typecast generic europeans as drew especially has developed his own heel character well and its not like hes packaged as the highlanders were in kilts and mad beards for scotsmen. For some like finlay tho what do u expect them to do with his character? its not like hed fit in DX or if they packaged him as an american a la jimmy wang yang then that wud simply be awful.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Wade Barratt is English... hence the accent...

Regal's natural accent is also Northern, similar to Barratts as he is from Blackpool, he is able to affect the "Recieved Pronunciation" accent through years of practice... Roddy Piper was canadian and claimed to be from scotland... that was putting it on... Regal was never a great face, except for his Simon Cowell turn a while back...

They don't always have to be part of factions or need a face run... if McIntyre is Mr. McMahons boy, then Vince would know he would work as a face... Drew just "chooses" to be cocky about it, and Vince is heel, hence he is heel...

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

I don't think it's the fact that they are european that affects their gimmick, its just that the individual person is better at playing that heel type persona. You said McIntyre could be a face, but he is doing an excellent job playing his current heel character, so it doesn't matter whether he is scottish, american or samoan.

The most important thing for a debuting wrestler is that they are playing a character that they are comfortable with. McIntyre, Sheamus and Regal all plays their heel personas very well so what is the point in doing otherwise, especially for people like McIntyre and Sheamus who haven't been around long and don't need a change. Finlay only turned face because of his alliance with Hornswaggle and he has completely fallen off the radar.

I'm sure that if there was a european wrestler who had played a likeable face throughout his indy and development days and was good at doing it, WWE would call him up as a likeable face character.

However, there is one possible reason why WWE may like to have european wrestlers as heels, and that is because of accents. McIntyre is an example of this. He has a strong scottish accent and his voice is also very quiet, which means its easier to come across as a heel compared to the likes of Cena, who gets a positive reaction whenever he intensifies and raises his voice. Also, la resisitance are an example. If you wrestle in WWE and have a strong french accent, you will get hounded with USA and WHAT chants.

However, generally I'd say that if european wrestlers are being cast as heels more often, thats because its best for the individual. It may get repetitive (although personally it hasn't bothered me), but there's no point in elevating a heelish european wrestler to the full roster and just making him a face because there are other european heels on the card.

I'd say that if WWE did have a chance to have a successful face european wrestler recently, it could have been Captain Paul Burchill if they had kept Burchill on Raw or Smackdown. It may just be me but I thought he and his C4 finisher were awesome.

 

[ultimate opportunist]

I remember when I first found out that Yokozuna actually spoke english, I was shocked. I personally think is just much easier to make them heels because most americans won't necessarily cheer for foreigners, is sad but true. Those guys can get cheap heat by putting their country above ours and although is HAS been done to death, it works every time.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Burchill is one for the future and they know it, he will go to TNA and build a persona there, then come back...

It is easier to work for newcomers as heel than face full stop... WWE learned this through Austin, Rock, Foley... it's tried and tested... cos McIntyre is "quiet now" doesn't mean there isn't that bombastic side to him, he just is learning the ropes... all great faces were good heels first... Sheaumus is more likely as a "franchise player" due to the look. He was a face for a long time in IWW...

The other reason UK wrestlers in particular are popular with WWE is they are generally very well trained and dedicated to the business... There is no full time business here as such, Burchill was a teacher and wrestled for FWA for example.. When they get the chance to go to developmental or the main roster they work harder as the ethic is ingrained... to get a visa to work for WWE or TNA you have to go through the most draconian process imaginable... be of exceptional talent as you are taking away a job from an american who could "act european" and this is just to go to developmental....

 

[D-Man]

The answer is simple. It's because Vince McMahon is such a patriot.

Vince cares about America. There is no denying this. So he feels that if an outsider to our country invades his roster, people are automatically going to think they are metaphorically going to wage war on the WWE.

Vince has always had this mentality. Aside from Kurt Angle, all of Vince's American-gimmick wrestlers have all been monster babyfaces during their entrance into the main event roster of the WWE.

This is just another example of Vince's one-dimensional, stubborn way of thinking. Unless he deviates from his "sure thing" in turning all USA outsiders into heels, people are going to complain about seeing the same old shit.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

That is wrong... The British Bulldogs were never heels or invaders.... neither were the Bushwhackers... Davey Boy Smith's singles run was as a monster face to begin with it was only much later he became the heel... even Regal was based off "The Brawny Man" as a face when he first came in in 98... More recently Yoshi Tatsu is certainly not a heel...

Where Vince IS smart is knowing who is going to sell Merch as a face and who isn't... all the above could sell shirts, toys off the gimmick at the time... those who can are face, those who suit heel, go that way...

Its nothing to do with Patriotism but money...

 

[Greenlight13]

Because whether anyone likes it or not being from another country is the quickest possible way to get over as a heel. Debuting someone with the company and making the audience care whether they win or lose isn't as easy as it appears at times, and if you have any kind of natural edge then you should exploit it. Audiences are going to side with their own and boo the "out of towners" unless something out of the ordinary happens.

It's just the way things are between Europeans and Americans, we think Yanks are fat and ignorant and couldn't find anything other than their own country on a map, Americans think all Europeans are snobbish cowards with ugly down-turned faces. It's an eternal relationship of teasing and it might be lazy for the WWE to lean on it time and time again instead of challenging themselves to get a European over as a face without going to national stereotypes, but hey, that's the business.

Wrestling is about larger than life characters, and the WWE has proven that audiences respond better to these clear-cut exaggerations than to just standard guys who are themselves. ROH begun to learn that too. A few years ago there was good wrestling but you just didn't care because there weren't any gimmicks, it was just averagely built pale guy with standard haircut A vs averagely built pale guy with standard haircut B. Wrestling works better if every guy fits into some kind of archetype, and unfortunately the archetype for a European wrestler is that he feels he's better than Americans, he wrestles a stiff, striking based style with lots of unique takedowns, and he runs away when the odds are even.

 

[D-Man]

That is wrong... The British Bulldogs were never heels or invaders.... neither were the Bushwhackers... Davey Boy Smith's singles run was as a monster face to begin with it was only much later he became the heel... even Regal was based off "The Brawny Man" as a face when he first came in in 98... More recently Yoshi Tatsu is certainly not a heel...

Where Vince IS smart is knowing who is going to sell Merch as a face and who isn't... all the above could sell shirts, toys off the gimmick at the time... those who can are face, those who suit heel, go that way...

Its nothing to do with Patriotism but money...

I never said all of the outsiders were heels when they first came into the WWE. The only absolute that I mentioned was all of the All-American wrestlers were brought in as babyfaces with the exception of Kurt Angle. Make sure you read the post before you're so quick to contradict.

Of course there are exceptions from the past and present. But the idealogy behind this thread was to discuss the majority of wrestlers that have been pigeonholed this way. And my answer is that Vince is such a patriot that he has a one-way train of thought.

But he's also a smart man and realizes that foreigners to our country are very easy to hate by the pro-wrestling audience. The majority of wrestling fans are patriots, as well. If someone comes into our country in the kayfabe sport that we all love and tries to take it over, we aren't too accepting of that.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Just for the record, Swagger, Shelton and Haas? All American Heels... Spirt Squad?

Go back to the movie example... Alan Rickman is known as the archetypal hammy villain and Regal has that role...and plays it to perfection... he has the unique style that old school british wrestling had back in the day ingrained and as such is a great villain..

Silas in the Da Vinci Code is kinda like Sheamus... if they were gimmicking that heavily, they would have made him an albino monk or priest... not what he is...

The reason the pirate thing didn't work was it was based off an American doing a bad impression of an American idea of a 17th Century English Pirate... had they made it more Orlando Bloom, it would have worked better... he was far from the strikign sterotype you suggest.

American fans are the patriots, they will always pay top dollar to see Americans on top... just like we will fill Wembley for a title match with one of our own... could you imagine a Cena/McIntyre match at Wembley next year or so? It'd be huge...

 

[johnnyblaze3:16]

i think that our english wrestlers are stuck with these roles thanks to the popularity of people like piper,british bulldogs and who could forget the first wwe heal with accents the iron shiek he was a huge draw for heat and could get the crowd chanting usa usa so do to the great work from these guys in wm1 and so on made an easy cookie cutter for new english/scotish/russian/iraq heels its an easy way to get the crowd to hate them and doesnt require any changes to there normal self having a natural accent. i also think they do it all the time cause it works all the guys mentioned on this topic were a huge asset and way over as new heels like drew and shamus

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

The gimmick is a blessing and a curse. It's easier to get over as a heel, but usually harder in this day and age to really get anywhere with it (Sheamus aside, I have no idea what motivated them to push him besides the fact he's buddies with HHH). William Regal for instance has had the gimmick since the dawn of time and despite being better on the mic and more capable in the ring than 90% of WCW/WWEs roster at any given point, it never really amounted to a whole lot for his career aside from a few secondary title runs and a KOTR win.

I honestly don't think Drew MacIntyre really counts, he's trying to be more like a generic cocky heel just with a Scottish accent; he doesn't generally throw his nationality out in our faces, doesn't wave a Scottish flag, speak multisyllabically about our ignorance, or any of that nonsense. Finlay, honestly, being an Irishman who loves to fight should really be a face here in America, because we effin love Boondock Saints and drinking irresponsibly (at least I do). Sheamus, besides his look, hasn't really attacked the essence of Americana; which is good, because he probably wouldn't want to draw too much attention to the fact that his Celtic pagan druid culture died off thousands of years ago (re: didn't work for Mordecai...or was he supposed to be Amish; never figured that one out).

That being said, I agree with the poster that non-native heels can be grouped together relatively easily, but I think it's a mistake to jump to conclusions and say it's all the same gimmick. Finlay is an Irish face who loves to fight, Sheamus is a Celtic warrior who loves hair gel, Drew MacIntyre is a Scot who desperately wants to be Randy Orton, and Wade Bennett is...well, you got me there, him (Stu) was pretty much interchangeable with Drew in FCW. Regal is really the only guy who adequately fits the posters initial "I hate you because your stupid Americans, you hate me because I'm intelligent" gimmick. But TNA is a different story...

 

[Ferbian]

If someone comes into our country in the kayfabe sport that we all love and tries to take it over, we aren't too accepting of that.

I don't know why, but somehow reading this part, I can't help but blame it on the gimmick of Hulk Hogan when he was the American Hero and everything, with the theme music "Real American" and everything, the older fans were hand fed with the fact that Hulk Hogan was the American Hero and that he was the top guy and everything, so ofcourse the fans hangs onto the fact that "Oh he's an outsiter, lets boo him"

But actually I also think its because Vince chooses to put them forth as heels rather than a face, because if Vince put forth a good babyface character in an Englishman I have my doubts that the patriotism will shine through on the WWE crowds.

 

[XgringolocoX]

Foreign Wrestlers always work well as heels bacause of the national pride thing. This is also why Regal gets popped outta the building across the pond.
Just looking at accents in general I'd say no, accents do not make you a heel automaticly. Nor does WWE pigeonhole wrestlers with accents.
Yoshi Tatsu is over a a face and hardly even speaks english.
Bushwackers, Highlanders, British Bulldogs, Kofi Kingston..noticable accents but it's the presentation which make them face or heel.
Though I will agree with you that it seems like the majority of europeans are used as heel. That being because of thier accent I'm not sure.
I don't have an issue with it per se. If the gimmick sucks, it sucks. Accents don't steer me one way or the other. In order to cheer or boo you have to invest in that character somewhat. If the performer can't get the character across it's not cause he has an accent. Side note: a horrible fake accent (or studdddddeerrr) can kill one.

 

[mreastbay]

You could ask this question about any wrestler from any country. Will we always assume that mexican wrestlers can wrestle the lucha libre style like Super Crazy? Do all Japanese wrestlers end up coming accross like Tajiri? Is every Canadian wrestler technically gifted like the Harts and Jericho??

There are Euro wreslters who arent packaged as European wrestlers...Kane being the most notable off the top of my head. But when your accent stands out as a major factor in your presence, then you are really left with no other choice than to incorporated somehow. I think it will work best with Wade Barrett cuz its thick it could do nothing but make him seem as tough as he comes accross.

But as far as stuck being a heel type persona's, I dont think so. The British Bulldogs pulled off being face. As has Finlay, Regal for a time....I guess it just comes down to how lazy the writers are to think of something creative. my own opinion.

 

[CraigThe13th]

As a part Irish Englishman I take offence to the bad acsent (lol) comment. We invented your language but I digress, the reason is that when Vince see's a foreign wrestler, he takes the easy way of creating a gimmick based on nationality hence the stereotypes we get treated to down the years.

Vince likes his wrestler's accents to be understood which pretty much limits a lot of overseas wrestler's potential. WWE is mostly U.S based so it's to be expected. I personally am a fan of the silly foreign stereotype's like Regal's blueblood gimmick and the FBI in ECW

 

[Roark77]

There are Euro wreslters who arent packaged as European wrestlers...Kane being the most notable off the top of my head.

Kane is a bad example to use since he's an American. He might have been born abroad but his parents were military, which makes him an American by law.

If they packaged Kane as a Euro wrestler then it truly would have been a gimmick. Probably a better one than a wrestling dentist.