Big Men Never Get a Different Gimmick

[GI Cake]

Ever since the 6th Wonder of the World, Andre The Giant stomped his foes into submission in the WWF. Big men like Andre have all been known as the unstoppable wrecking balls that tear through their smaller counterparts. But after watching the 7 foot giants plant their 15 size boots into and out of the ring for years it is rare to see a new and unique gimmicks from them.

Sadly Wrestling promotions from around the world when a 6'9 giant with bulging biceps enter the front office looking for a job. They are quickly shoved into the role of "enforcer" for whichever Heat needed one. Week in, week out, these big men beat up, batter, and bruise their opponent's in order to make the match easier for whoever is holding the handle of his collar.


Currently we have the world's largest athlete, The Big Show. His whole career has been either lovable oaf, or unstoppable killing machine. He is either teaming with the likes of Chris Jericho or being "BFF's" with Kelly Kelly Show has had embodied the stereotype big man.

And from India we have the 7 foot Indian, Great Kahli. With the hands the size of footballs and the the comprehension of the English language of a horse he was seen with the WWE Championship belt squishing the heads of whoever dared to challenge him. Now that he is getting a mouth piece and the wrestling dummy in Jindar Mahal what is his purpose in that relationship? Have Kahli be "another" enforcer for the cocky and arrogant heel? How many times has that been played?

And on the "Other" blue show we have Matt Morgan. The "DNA of TNA," the 7 foot Goliath from Connecticut. In his stint with the WWE he played the "Enforcer" for Carlito Colon. Then shortly after that he went to TNA. And with a bit of good news he had a stroke of luck with TNA creative. He became a body guard for a corporate manager of TNA! God what a stroke of luck for a man his size... It only took him 5 years in order to be able to stand on his own as a main event player.

But we do have some bright spots, some of the greatest wrestlers happen to be big men. For instance we have the lord of darkness, The Undertaker. The Undertaker has a rare case of charisma. The crowd lives off the energy and presence that seeps out of him. He was the leader of The Ministry of Darkness, The American Badass, and just plain old Undertaker.

Then we also have the Devil's favorite son, the half brother of The Undertaker, Kane. For years he has been working multiple angles of The Undertaker feud. Miliking it all that he could before he became a stale, monster heel. Now he is at the point of playing the air trombone with Santino.

Now the reason why I wrote this list of mindless babble was to ask the readers a few simple questions

1:Why are Big men constantly rehashed and reused into the same role?

2:Should big men be used more than just typical monsters or enforcers? If so who comes to mind?

 

[Floyd Sinclair]

It's the perception of the general public. If you see a huge man with bulging muscles, you would expect them to be giant brutes. How many people look at Big Show and form the though "Why don't he do a top rope hurrencanrana?" The answer is none, unless they have a really messed up understanding of gravity. Big men, by laws of nature, are usually slower and less athletic, and in wrestling that translates to the same generic wrestler with pretty much the same attitude to match their similar movesets.

Should they be used as such? I believe that promoters should at the least try to do something different with their big guys, but in general people probably wouldn't buy it if a big man was anything different than a giant monster. Now, I can actually think of a few big men that didn't entirely fit that mold. After his initial stint with Shawn Michals, Kevin Nash did his own thing, and while he did have the big man style, he wasn't treated nearly as much as a "monster" as most other big men.

 

[wrestlingfan]

Because they're big men, it's that simple. When you look at a big person, they're made out to be a monster, 1. Thats how the market and demographic sees them and 2. That's how most of them are cut out to be with the exception of guys such as the Undertaker (to an extent), Kevin Nash,Kane, Matt Morgan, Scott Steiner, etc.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Well, that's not entirely true, is it? Undertaker is a perenially undead man while Kane also started out with a supernatural gimmick. While size is an important component of their gimmicks it is not the most important aspect of their gimmick. You also had Luke Gallows who started out as Festus, a guy who was dimwitted and mentally challenged.

But in most other cases, it's the simple case of KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Pro wrestling is generally promoted as an entertainment show based around a combat sport. And in any combat spot size and strength have got to be your biggest advantage if you happen to possess them. It's an easy story to understand and something that works most of the time. So, why is there a need to change it?

 

[The Death Rattle]

It's based on reality. Most big men simply can't wrestle a radically different style. There are some more athletic and gifted, but most will be confined to a similar moveset. You also have to play off their size advantage to give them legitimacy when they move up the card. If you have someone who is, say like Matt Morgan, struggle against a much smaller guy, like a Primo, it's virtually impossible to buy them competing with Cena or Orton. People will always be impressed with size, as it's simply not something seen everyday. Promoters will always push that body type because it can't just be produced. Remember, wrestling is a borderline circus as is.