Are Wrestlers becoming cheerleaders to get over?

[Fansince1992]

I read an article on here yesterday. I think it was Mark Madden who wrote it. The Article was about his views of the Main-Event at Sunday's Hell in a Cell. It was stated that Ryback is over because he has become a Cheerleader to the fans in the Audience. In other words the article was saying that Ryback is dull apart from getting the fans involved with his "Feed me more" Chants.


The same could be said for other Wrestlers, such as Daniel Bryan, did he only get over by constantly chanting "YES" when he made his ring entrance?


Another thing that got me thinking about Cheerleading = Being Over is John Cena's "Lets go Cena, Cena Sucks" Chants. It is pretty clear to me that Cena didn't invent that Chant and never tries to get the fans to chant it. Cena is over because of other things.


Steve Austin could make the crowd say "what?" without even saying the word "What" people would chant it because they loved Austin for his rebellious style and his bad ass attitude.


The Rock is another example of fans chanting to him. "Rocky, Rocky" If i remember The Rock never forced the fans into chanting this, they chanted it because of other things, like his electrifying pace in matches and his awesome Mic Skills.


To summarise what i have said :


Cena , Austin , and The Rock have the talent to make the fans Chant things to them without forcing them to do so. They are Over without the need for Cheerleading to the Fans.


Ryback and Daniel Bryan are sort of forcing the fans into it to chant for them. Which i guess is Cheerleading, to get them over.


I think Daniel Bryan has a lot more talent than just Cheerleading the fans with his "Yes" or "No" chants. He is pretty decent on the mic, and he can certainly pull off a quality match.


Not so sure about Ryback. The "Feed me More" Chants are certainly helping him get over, but does he have anything else to offer? I think so. When he did that modified Powerbomb on Punk, the crowd did "Gasp" at the strength. What i like about Ryback, he reminds me so much of no not Goldberg or The Ultimate Warrior but British Bulldog! with his look, and the moves he does. I think Ryback could still be over without the need of "Feed me More"


So what is your own opinion about Cheerleading? are some wrestlers (such as Ryback and DBry) relying on it too much to stay as fan faves?

 

[dman1373]

I read an article on here yesterday. I think it was Mark Madden who wrote it. The Article was about his views of the Main-Event at Sunday's Hell in a Cell. It was stated that Ryback is over because he has become a Cheerleader to the fans in the Audience. In other words the article was saying that Ryback is dull apart from getting the fans involved with his "Feed me more" Chants.


The same could be said for other Wrestlers, such as Daniel Bryan, did he only get over by constantly chanting "YES" when he made his ring entrance?


Another thing that got me thinking about Cheerleading = Being Over is John Cena's "Lets go Cena, Cena Sucks" Chants. It is pretty clear to me that Cena didn't invent that Chant and never tries to get the fans to chant it. Cena is over because of other things.


Steve Austin could make the crowd say "what?" without even saying the word "What" people would chant it because they loved Austin for his rebellious style and his bad ass attitude.


The Rock is another example of fans chanting to him. "Rocky, Rocky" If i remember The Rock never forced the fans into chanting this, they chanted it because of other things, like his electrifying pace in matches and his awesome Mic Skills.


To summarise what i have said :


Cena , Austin , and The Rock have the talent to make the fans Chant things to them without forcing them to do so. They are Over without the need for Cheerleading to the Fans.


Ryback and Daniel Bryan are sort of forcing the fans into it to chant for them. Which i guess is Cheerleading, to get them over.


I think Daniel Bryan has a lot more talent than just Cheerleading the fans with his "Yes" or "No" chants. He is pretty decent on the mic, and he can certainly pull off a quality match.


Not so sure about Ryback. The "Feed me More" Chants are certainly helping him get over, but does he have anything else to offer? I think so. When he did that modified Powerbomb on Punk, the crowd did "Gasp" at the strength. What i like about Ryback, he reminds me so much of no not Goldberg or The Ultimate Warrior but British Bulldog! with his look, and the moves he does. I think Ryback could still be over without the need of "Feed me More"


So what is your own opinion about Cheerleading? are some wrestlers (such as Ryback and DBry) relying on it too much to stay as fan faves?

Dont compare rybacks feed me more to daniel bryans yes. Yes was never meant to be chanted. He just said it to annoy people. Almost the same way what started. But because he was getting way over, they started chanting it. He didn't even start using it as a catchphrase untill after it was the most over chant at wrestlemania, and has been since.

 

[Y2JBL]

While it's true that a good chant shouldn't have to be started by the talent themselves, I think you're trying to stretch the point a little too far here. Austin basically did start "What?" by himself and then eventually the fans took over and knew when to say it. The Rock left gaps in his catch phrases and pretty much led the fans into shouting something, millions __and millions__ of Rock's fans, one on one with the great one, etc. I can't recall a time that Cena specifically started his own chant but he certainly plays into it by pausing during his promos as soon as he hears the slightest start of a chant and points the mic to the crowd until the chant gets louder. So they may have been more subtle with the way they drew a response from the crowd, but they were still doing it.

I get the point, fans should and will react on their own if you are doing your job right. But "cheerleading" alone wouldn't overcome a total lack of charisma and talent. Obviously people like what Ryback is doing if they've started joining in on the chant. People liked Daniel Bryan and like using the chant to get a response out of him, and as someone mentioned above, I don't think Bryan ever intended to start a chant out of it, it was just something he did. I don't think Jinder Mahal could come out and cheerlead his own chant. People would just boo. So although some of these more recent guys seem to be leading their own crowd response, they still must have some sort of following for the crowd to play along.

 

[heartbreakking]

No. Daniel Bryan actually has great mic skills. The reason he is so over right now is not only the yes chants, but because he is comedy gold and has become really charasmatic on the mic as of late. The chants are just an extra thing that help. For example Stone cold's 'what' chants, you can't say he was a cheerleader just because he had chants like those.

As for Ryback, his whole gimmick is that he barely talks, he likes to kick ass, then ask for more by saying 'feed me more'. Cheerleader is the wrong way to describe it.

Chants have always been a way to connect to the crowd, it is not a recent thing, but not everyone can simply get over because of a chant. Like for example if Justin gabriel started chanting some wierd shit, i don't think it would catch on. They have to be charismatic enough.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Not really seeing it. Having a catchphrase might be cool and all but it's a gross misrepresentation to suggest that's the reason that someone is over with fans.

To me, it's a theory that fits in with the whole "he only gets pushed because Vince likes him" rants. If a wrestler doesn't have the ability to get over with fans to one degree or another, then they're not going to rally behind him in the long run. Just like if a guy doesn't have the ability, they're not going to rally behind a guy getting a push. Look at Tensai for the latest proof of that one.

One reason why fans are behind Ryback now is because if his feud with CM Punk. Punk is the best heel in wrestling right now whether some want to admit it or not. It's only been during his program with Punk that Ryback has started to get over. Maybe it'll last afterward, maybe it won't. Punk's an asshole and goes out of his way to be an asshole every week on Raw and people want to see someone kick his ass. Ryback has the look, the presence, the strength and the intensity to deliver on that, so fans are rallying behind him right now.

Most of the time, I don't put much stock into anything Mark Madden writes. He has a lot of knowledge but, to me, it's outweighed by the fact that he almost never writes anything positive in his articles. I can't remember the last time I read something Madden wrote in which he had positive things to say or to contribute rather than running everything, including pro wrestling as a whole, down. For every positive comment he puts in his articles, a rarity in and of itself, he'll have half a dozen criticisms or general put downs. It sounds like this is just another attempt at Madden to ultimately gripe about, even if he has to pull it out of his ass.

 

[Fansince1992]

Dont compare rybacks feed me more to daniel bryans yes. Yes was never meant to be chanted. He just said it to annoy people. Almost the same way what started.

The idea of the thread wasn't to compare Ryback and Daniel Bryan's catchphases. It's more about if they are relying on the chants to help them reach the top.

You could say Ryback didn't intend for the crowd to start chanting "Feed me more" like a couple of others have mentioned, Ryback and Bryan are both well liked Wrestlers so the crowd will react to them.

Thanks for the replies. It does seem that Mark Madden's idea of Cheerleaders is just a gripe at the current product.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Cena , Austin , and The Rock have the talent to make the fans Chant things to them without forcing them to do so. They are Over without the need for Cheerleading to the Fans.

It's an interesting idea but it seems to presuppose that cheerleading is a strictly verbal activity. In sports, cheerleaders use their bodies to inspire more than they do their voices. Obviously, every performer would love to find a way to get fans to follow and respond to what they're doing. To that end, there was no greater cheerleader than The Rock. His poses, attitude and facial expressions were enough to get people excited in a way that most performers would kill to find. Same with Steve Austin; except for his "What?" chant, he didn't do it with words....he did it with his actions in the ring and his beer drinking routine outside it.

In this regard, one can really appreciate John Cena. Any verbal responses by the fans aren't being initiated by him; he doesn't need it. His ring persona is his own; he's John Cena.....he isn't called anything else. (The Brahma Bull! Stone Cold! The Dead Man! The Heartbreak Kid!) He goes simply by his real name. It's an enormous accomplishment in it's simplicity. Fans don't need to chant for him; his appeal (and the negativity he inspires) come from his persona, in and out of the ring.

Wrestlers who are able to develop keywords and phrases that get the fans into the action are fortunate, yes. But the guys who get us chanting by their actions and performing style are the ones who achieve the highest levels of success. It's cheerleading, as much as the guys who get us to yell "Suck it!"

 

[George Steele's Barber]

If you believe that Austin never tried to get the fans to chant what he wanted gimme a "Hell Yeah!"

Madden's just being a dick. Outside of nostalgia life stories that he has about his disdain for DDP and his bromances with Flair and Nash, Madden is void of writing anything beyond the puke that comes from this forum.

Who cares what gets guys over? Are we all such purists that we can't accept success? What WWE has done with Ryback is nothing new but not as simple as sending him out to be his own Flavor Flav Hype-Man. In the end all the cheerleading in the world and push from Vince isn't definitely going to get anyone over. The fans are smart, stupid, mark, smark, unimportant, omnipotent, assholes "who are the reason the superstars come out from behind that curtain and work their asses off each and every night".

The fans do what they want and I hate a large section of them.

 

[gers09]

well no Daniel never asked fans to chat yes or no they did it them selfs and WWE used it to there advantage same with Ryback fans just started to chat feed me more with him. As for the rock fans joined in with him on do you smell ...., millions and millions .... but going by your comment stone cold did with give me hell yeah witch he needed the fans to join in with him

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It is an interesting point, cos I can remember that RVD got a lot of heat when he first got to WWE for his thumb/name combination as it was considered "cheap pop/heat" and now it's pretty much standard that everyone plays to the crowd a lot more.

In Bryan's case I think it was a counter to the fact he was using classical music, which was pretty unusual and might have jarred with some fans, but when he was bouncing around saying Yes it would have taken the edge off it as they can chant along.

Ryback's is pretty much exactly what RVD got heat for... so I can only think that either the ones with a problem were guys who couldn't engage the fans at all, or Vince changed his mind on what constitutes a "cheap pop".