Brodus Clay disussion

[CM Steel]

Upon the debut or return of Alberto Del Rio's former goon Brodus Clay on RAW. We were introduced to the "Funkasauras" Brodus Clay with some lady background dancers from WWE NXT. It was a big surprise to see what transformation BC had made. It was like he was turned inside out or something!

Brodus Clay came out to former WCW & WWE wrestler Ernest "The Cat" Miller's old WWE theme, "somebody call my mama". Also in the ring against competition shaking his flab from his body during a match much like how former WWF/E star Rikishi use to back in the day. And along with his back-up dancer beauty's grooving to the same move's & sets of steps like the late Heavy D did those years ago.

As reported current WWE agent "Road Dogg" Jesse James has been working with Clay on his charactor on-screen.

But if you could sum it up, what is the origins of Brodus Clay's charactor?

 

[RKOPUNK]

The origins of his character? Well he's a fat dancing 'Dinosaur' from Planet Funk. If you ask me, that's pretty fucking unprecedented.

He's a fat guy who dancers, and he is a ladies man with his 'Funkettes'. Rikishi and Viscera's long lost love child, anyone?

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

I don't know what the origin of his character is, but I remember reading it was almost like a big FUCK YOU to Clay who had the gimmick he came up with go to Mark Henry. And good for the WWE for that, a big guy who wants to be a dominant heel, who'd have thunk it, he deserved to get that character given away. BUT, good for Clay for taking this funkasauras and knocking it out of the fucking park. He's pretty damn entertaining, even if he's shit in the ring... then again, kudos to WCW for giving Ernest Miller awesome music, seeing as how that's 90% of the appeal, the 2 chicks the other 9, and him a 1%er.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

Its just a rehash of 2 Cold Scorpio's "Flash Funk" gimmick from 1997. Very, very, very similar. The only difference is that Scorpio could move in the ring, and put on better matches. Scorpio didn't really have Clay's charm or charisma though, and had virtually zero mic skills.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

He was bitten by a radioactive Flash Funk?

I would actually find it entertaining if they tried to explain how he went from a complete douche to "The Funkasauraus" but I'm not sure we'll ever get that.

 

[daletango]

100% because hes fat and Vince hates fat people so wants to humiliate him.

But the idea may of came about because hes Snoop Doggs former bodyguard, hence the pimp like Adidas ringwalk outfit.

 

[Darkdarkdays]

I would agree with the 'Flash Funk' comments and maybe throw in a little bit of the Godfather too

For many years WWE has always had a very stereotypical view on black wrestlers/managers (such as Slick) They always seem to package most of those guys as Soul Train wannabes and they always have big mommas! (Shelton Benjamin had the same)

So Brodus Clays character is just an amalgamation and rehash of all the previous characters before him. The creative team really need some new ideas and a memo reminding them that they are in the 21st Century

 

[Daniel]

It's an amalgamation of wrestling's fun-loving guys. You've got elements of Rikishi, of course. Particularly when it comes to that mean streak Clay has occasionally shown. There's of course the funk/dancing gimmick of Flash Funk and Ernest "The Cat" Miller, but for those guys, I feel like that's where it ends. Oh, and "the Funkadactyls" feel like a PG version of The Godfather's hoes. So throw in a bit of that, too.

But the main influence I can see is that of Dusty Rhodes, and not just in his physique. Clay has shown a tad of flamboyance in his promos (something which will only increase under the tutelage of Road Dogg). But the real similarity I can see between Rhodes and Clay is his connection with the WWE Universe. The kids dancing in the ring is not only adorable (or cringeworthy, depending on your personality), but it's very Rhodes-like.

I would actually find it entertaining if they tried to explain how he went from a complete douche to "The Funkasauraus" but I'm not sure we'll ever get that.

He talked about it in one of WWE's webshows. It could have been on Santino's Foreign Exchange, now that I think about it. He said that he was tired of being angry at everything and started dancing. That's it. Genuinely.

 

[DirtyD79]

I remember hearing somewhere it was a punishment for when he told fans on twitter he was gonna squash John Morrison. Although it seems he took the gimmick and rolled with it.

 

[OutsiderDX]

The Gimmick is exactly like Ernest "The Cat" Miller

In fact, Clay debuted with the "Call your Momma" theme song, which The Cat used for the WWE. It was very lazy for WWE to use the music and catchphrase that The Cat came up with in his WCW days.

IMO The Cat does the dancing wrestler much much better than Clay. His run in WCW and WWF was very entertaining, and under-rated. He went from a martial artist with serious credentials, to this amazingly charasmatic dance master.

 

[nick101181]

You've never heard of Brodus Clay's origin story?

In the late 90's he was roommates with Disco Stu and Comic Book Guy in Springfield. It was then that a young Brodus became influenced and soon discovered his love of Funk music and Comic Books. After College, Brodus and CBG invested in a joint venture that would later become The Android's Dungeon. In the late 90's the comic book business was booming, but disaster was soon to strike. Comic Book Guy had an affair with Brodus' Comic book nerdy Asian GF, who he met at Comic Con. Feeling humiliated and lost, Brodus left the comic book business broke, thanks to a loop hole in the Business contract that CBG had so conveniently exploited.

Living out of a homeless shelter, He was destined to fade away into obscurity. By chance Disco Stu passed by and recognized Brodus begging for change. Disco Stu offered to get him cleaned up and recommend that he audition for Silicon Alley Strip Club. Brodus had found his calling. He had fallen in love all over again to the disco/funky tunes of the strip club, and was shaking his way to a somewhat modest living. It wasn't until he was introduced to former wrestler turned stripper, Disco Inferno, Who knew he could be a potential draw in the wrestling business.

Knowing Vince McMahon's attraction and appeal towards large men, Disco made the call to Stamford and pitched Brodus to an all too eager Vince McMahon. Disco - "Vince trust me, this guy is all about size, and He has the height and the girth", Vince - "You know I'm all about the girth, Thanks for the heads up Disco". Brodus was flown down to Florida to being training at FCW, and the rest is history.


Next week on VH1's behind the music............

 

[Jacjac]

I have been appaulled by Clay's character since day 1. I was a huge fan and wanted him to win NXT. I recall hearing the story of how Dusty Rhodes became "the common man". Vince wanted a black guy to do the "shucking and jiving" when Dusty said he would be better with the character. Clay's character is the illigitimate child of "WWE" Dusty and 2 Cold Scorpio.

 

[thebarber]

The origins of his character? Well he's a fat dancing 'Dinosaur' from Planet Funk. If you ask me, that's pretty fucking unprecedented.

He's a fat guy who dancers, and he is a ladies man with his 'Funkettes'. Rikishi and Viscera's long lost love child, anyone?

wasnt Flash Funk from Planet Funk????

Why are people forgetting that Clay was not originally coming back with this gimmick, the gimmick was punishment for Clay going on twitter and spoiling his return to Raw the night he was to come back and brutalise John Morrison, thus storyline for Morrison exiting the company. Luckily,. this Funkasaurus gimmick has caught on to the kiddies, and Clay now has something to work with and Vince is going with it as he is making money off the gimmick

 

[yur_momma]

you suggest that if anyone likes him then something is wrong with them........then you ask for thoughts? hardly the best way to start a discussion, dont ya think? hasnt there been a thousand of these threads since his debut? ugh. anyway, no im not tired of him, no i dont hate him. the first time i saw him i wasnt impressed but he is the fun factor, a break from the seriousness of it all. you want him to be "a force?" they tried that with him before. it was awful. THAT i hated.

 

[justinsayne]

Not everything in wrestling needs to be serious business, some things in wrestling are just there to be fun. Brodus is one of those things that's just suppose fun, it's there to break up the tension of the the more serious storyline. You're just suppose to sit back (or get up and dance along with the Funkasaures) & enjoy it it for what it is. There is nothing wrong with enjoying Brodus Clays gimmick, he doesn't need to be a "formidable force". Though seeing as how he pretty much squashes everyone he steps in the ring with you could argue that is a "formidable force", or rather a "fun formidable force".

 

[LeviCook]

The only thing i am tired of is the excuses and comparisons to Rikishi. They are nothing alike. Rikishi danced and that was a part of his gimmick. Dancing IS Brodus Clay's gimmick. And that's all he does. We haven't seen him actually wrestle. That's what bothers me the most. If he went out there and put on good matches and could actually sell i wouldn't have any problems. Of course the gimmick would be cheesy but as people like to constantly say not everything has to be serious so i could deal. But the fact that every single match of his is the same thing every week and his entrance is more important than the matches them self i am not ok with. I have been counting down to the day that he finally gets beat. I don't know why they try to make him look unstoppable. I also don't know why they would have him go over The Miz, that really pissed me off. I hope to god he gets put in a match with Lord Tensai soon just so we can see him get squashed for once. Oh and also making Dolph Ziggler look like a joke. Every time Ziggler runs and jumps even if Brodus is no where near i expect him to get headbutted. Thanks WWE for your wonderful use of talent.

 

[Foshinzo]

I'll throw myself on the fire here and ask, "why so serious?"

Sure, Funkasaurus is stupid, but it's supposed to be. When everyone wants to be Randy Orton, the product gets boring. It's getting old and I'll admit that, but I don't know why some fans insist that everything has to be serious. Sure, the PG WWE's comedic bits are dumb and mostly not very funny, but that's the kind of humor they're shooting for. The comedic bits are for the kiddies and for the audience that doesn't really want to be watching, not for the hardcore fans.

With that said, I also think there's plenty of room for Brodus Clay to ditch the gimmick and go heel, from that. In fact, since he's built himself up so much with the kids, if he turned heel and attacked Santino, he could be the character that everyone here wants him to be and he'd get even more heat because the kids would feel betrayed.

 

[12isthison]

I completely agree. It is so cringeworthy it is untrue. I watch raw recorded and every time he comes out I have fast forward as it is the most annoying gimmick ever. It may be that it just does not translate across the pond too well but I honestly cant wait to see the back of it. Oh yeah, and that sketch at wrestlemania was the worst (and most pointless) piece of TV I have ever seen and made me want to turn off the PPV. He must be making alot of money otherwise there is no way he would make such a fool of himself with this joke of a gimmick.

It makes The Godfather look like the best gimmick WWF/E have ever done and that includes Doink The Clown.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Guys like Brodus Clay are the reason majority of people call wrestling "fake and stupid"

Guys like Brodus Clay are the reason Wrestling fans get a bad name.

If you guys like things like "funkasaurus" maybe you need to watch cartoons instead of Pro-Wrestling.

 

[closet_fan]

I'm not sure why everyone needs there wrestlers to be big muscular serious men with crew cuts. We had gotten that with Cena, Orton and Batista.

Who cares? I think he's fun to watch and he's over with the crowd. It's not like they have him dance around and lose. I happen to like his loose persona turning into a monster and than back to a happy dancy guy again. It works. Whether or not this propels him to any sort of main event future, I don't know. But he's getting more and more popular.

That's something I can't say about Tensai or Ryback. Both of those guys ARE boring and absolutely terrible to watch every week. At least Funky adds some life to his time on screen.

 

[closet_fan]

Guys like Brodus Clay are the reason majority of people call wrestling "fake and stupid"

Guys like Brodus Clay are the reason Wrestling fans get a bad name.

If you guys like things like "funkasaurus" maybe you need to watch cartoons instead of Pro-Wrestling.

It doesn't take a guy like Brodus Clay to make people call wrestling this. People had been calling it that way before BC or any other "goofy" character came out. I'm sure when Bruno Sammartino was battling Larry Zbyszko, people still called it stupid.

It's wrestling. Every guy on the roster can be edgy and serious and the product will still be bashed.

 

[willross]

Currently there is no room for a dominate, serious big man. He atleast has a spot on TV. Not everyone can be a main eventer. There needs to be guys who work midcards, appeal to a certain demo. Wrestling is a circus, you gotta have a bit of everything, not just a bunch of elephants

 

[Not New 2 This]

Wrestling needs different characters. Not everyone can look the same or act the same. If you havent noticed the crowds dont seem to hate him at all thats why he always gets a good pop. ... and I actually kinda like him. Your taking this fake fighting way to seriously. Relax and enjoy, if not then quit fucking watching.

 

[HashtagHeel]

The crowd reactions are still there, so they aren't going to drop the gimmick anytime soon. Brodus Clay isn't too popular with the internet fans, because he doesn't "wrestle" and he is an entertainer more than he is a wrestler. However, all you have to do is listen to the live crowd, its working and he is over. It certainly has a shelf life though, and they will eventually have to drop the gimmick.

 

[DrWilsonIPersume]

this whole "creation" is to test Brodus Clay the person, if that is his real name, i really do not care enough about him to look it up...

if he can make it thru this gimmick without quitting, they will reward him with a main event/title push 12-18 months from now...

just like ziggler with the spirt squad, only nobody thought it would be him, it was supposed to be kenny...i think...