FunKay the Inevitable
People Like Me, We Don't Play
Greetings WWE non-spam section. Been a while since our paths crossed, but the time has once again arrived. I want to talk a little bit about something that caught my eye on the new NXT. Through the squashes, superstar profiles and the cracking main event stood something pure and blissfully brilliant and had me excited for something very, very special. Allow me to introduce you all to Mr. Bray Wyatt...
Now I know what you're thinking; gee, when did Husky Harris get that nifty new tattoo, but if you could put that aside for just one moment you'll see a character that within one minute established several facts about himself:
1: He's Southern.
2: He's twisted.
3: He's got a "Messiah Complex" of some sorts.
4: He's clearly based (partially) off of Max Cady of Cape Fear fame.
Now that was done in a minute. We know what to expect on the surface and a little bit deeper too. We've actually established what this guy is here for and what his gimmick actually is. Basically, we know enough to appreciate it, but we don't a lot, making us anticipate more. A similar thing was done upon hyping the debut of Damien Sandow.
He was established as a intellectual superior who spoke in a very narcissistic, rambling fashion, coining big words and phrases and talking down to the audience. This was further backed up by Sandow's live appearances where he cuts promos degrading his opponents and the audience, drawing legitimate heat. In short, this character has been successful, and Bray Wyatt certainly has the makings to be the same, especially with the rave reviews of it from FCW.
Now, that's all well and good, but these are two exceptions to the more recent WWE rule. Normally a character will come from almost out of nowhere, show up and make some sort of "impact" where upon we'll be informed about some very generic, basic facts about them. Take for example Antonio Caesaro.
Put aside the fact that he's Claudio from Kings of Wrestling for just one second and since he debuted the week after WrestleMania what have we learned? He's dating/friends with Aksana, he's Swiss and he's a former rugby player with an aggressive side. Now that's all well and good upon learning the basics, but since he debuted what have we learned about his character? Struggling to think of anything? That's because we haven't learned anything. It's been three months since his debut (or 12 episodes of SmackDown) and we know nothing about him aside from those basics. A character won't grow if it's not over and because we're not learning anything new about Ceasaro, we're not seeing him grow.
In the Attitude Era, there was a desire for more realism in wrestling and ever since that we've been left with a boat-load of characters with one dimensional personalities who have nothing to sink their teeth into and develop. That, combined with the ever more scripted nature of WWE have caused gimmicks and over-the-top qualities to fall by the wayside and in part have caused a decline in character progression and even evolution.
Caesaro is the latest example of this, but really it's rife throughout the roster. I mean, take a look at lower card guys like Jinder Mahal, Tyson Kidd and Ezekiel Jackson. One's rich, evil and Punjabi, one's skilled in the ring, Canadian and a Hart family graduate and one's scary strong, from Guyana and has a biblical theme to his moveset. That's it. Mahal's only been on TV for about a year and we've learned nothing about him since his initial feud with Khali. Jackson and Kidd have both been around since 2008 and neither has developed outside of the points I made really.
WWE's character developmental system, through a lack of will to develop a character (I.E. Laziness), has in essence not helped develop or enhance any talent on a wider scale. Heck even midcarders suffer from these issues like Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger. Characters have the potential to get over more when they have a piece of the wrestler's soul in it. That's the case with the most successful characters in wrestling. Take Jake Roberts, take the Undertaker, take Steve Austin, take the Rock, take Chris Jericho, take Kurt Angle, take CM Punk, take Damien Sandow and potentially take Bray Wyatt.
So in summary (or tl;dr answer): WWE needs to start allowing it's talent to invest themselves in something, anything that will help them move they're character forward and get over. Anything that a wrestler can exploit with their own character will enable them to attempt to get over further. That's why Damien Sandow showed up about three months ago and is one of the top five or so heels in terms of reaction from the audience. And it's also why one dimensional guys like Ted DiBiase struggle to get over.
Alright, rant over; your thoughts on this old subject with a slightly new twist are welcome.
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Now I know what you're thinking; gee, when did Husky Harris get that nifty new tattoo, but if you could put that aside for just one moment you'll see a character that within one minute established several facts about himself:
1: He's Southern.
2: He's twisted.
3: He's got a "Messiah Complex" of some sorts.
4: He's clearly based (partially) off of Max Cady of Cape Fear fame.
Now that was done in a minute. We know what to expect on the surface and a little bit deeper too. We've actually established what this guy is here for and what his gimmick actually is. Basically, we know enough to appreciate it, but we don't a lot, making us anticipate more. A similar thing was done upon hyping the debut of Damien Sandow.
He was established as a intellectual superior who spoke in a very narcissistic, rambling fashion, coining big words and phrases and talking down to the audience. This was further backed up by Sandow's live appearances where he cuts promos degrading his opponents and the audience, drawing legitimate heat. In short, this character has been successful, and Bray Wyatt certainly has the makings to be the same, especially with the rave reviews of it from FCW.
Now, that's all well and good, but these are two exceptions to the more recent WWE rule. Normally a character will come from almost out of nowhere, show up and make some sort of "impact" where upon we'll be informed about some very generic, basic facts about them. Take for example Antonio Caesaro.
Put aside the fact that he's Claudio from Kings of Wrestling for just one second and since he debuted the week after WrestleMania what have we learned? He's dating/friends with Aksana, he's Swiss and he's a former rugby player with an aggressive side. Now that's all well and good upon learning the basics, but since he debuted what have we learned about his character? Struggling to think of anything? That's because we haven't learned anything. It's been three months since his debut (or 12 episodes of SmackDown) and we know nothing about him aside from those basics. A character won't grow if it's not over and because we're not learning anything new about Ceasaro, we're not seeing him grow.
In the Attitude Era, there was a desire for more realism in wrestling and ever since that we've been left with a boat-load of characters with one dimensional personalities who have nothing to sink their teeth into and develop. That, combined with the ever more scripted nature of WWE have caused gimmicks and over-the-top qualities to fall by the wayside and in part have caused a decline in character progression and even evolution.
Caesaro is the latest example of this, but really it's rife throughout the roster. I mean, take a look at lower card guys like Jinder Mahal, Tyson Kidd and Ezekiel Jackson. One's rich, evil and Punjabi, one's skilled in the ring, Canadian and a Hart family graduate and one's scary strong, from Guyana and has a biblical theme to his moveset. That's it. Mahal's only been on TV for about a year and we've learned nothing about him since his initial feud with Khali. Jackson and Kidd have both been around since 2008 and neither has developed outside of the points I made really.
WWE's character developmental system, through a lack of will to develop a character (I.E. Laziness), has in essence not helped develop or enhance any talent on a wider scale. Heck even midcarders suffer from these issues like Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger. Characters have the potential to get over more when they have a piece of the wrestler's soul in it. That's the case with the most successful characters in wrestling. Take Jake Roberts, take the Undertaker, take Steve Austin, take the Rock, take Chris Jericho, take Kurt Angle, take CM Punk, take Damien Sandow and potentially take Bray Wyatt.
So in summary (or tl;dr answer): WWE needs to start allowing it's talent to invest themselves in something, anything that will help them move they're character forward and get over. Anything that a wrestler can exploit with their own character will enable them to attempt to get over further. That's why Damien Sandow showed up about three months ago and is one of the top five or so heels in terms of reaction from the audience. And it's also why one dimensional guys like Ted DiBiase struggle to get over.
Alright, rant over; your thoughts on this old subject with a slightly new twist are welcome.