Do the new characters that have been created have longevity?

[Radical Canadian Goose]

First things first, I do not mean the wrestlers portraying these characters I mean the characters in general. How much longevity do these characters have?

Alexander Rusev - Anti - American, pro Russia. We see these short-lived characters every 10 years or so. Once America gets bored with the Putin hate, then Rusev disappears. How does he recover?

Adam Rose - I hate this gimmick as it is, but, how long can he keep portraying a party boy? I guess he can recover by saying he has sobered up, and hates the fun life, turning into a Steven Richards "Right To Censor" type gimmick.

Bo Dallas - I am a "Bo-liever" I just don't bolieve that this gimmick can go on forever, and I don't see him going any further past this gimmick, based on his brief run in the big leagues last year.

Wyatt Family - How long can this cult gimmick go on? I hope forever, but it seems these days that Bray is just saying the same thing over and over about Cena. What happens to Bray when the fans go quiet?

My question is obviously how long can these gimmicks last? Also, what becomes of the superstars portraying these characters when it is time to pull the plug?

 

[pipebomber]

it all depends. in 2003 I would have said that a white rapper doesn't have longevity and will be repackaged. But Cena was never repackaged. I'm not saying he is still a white rapper, Im saying his character evolved.

It's like I said in the "wwe is racist thread" about a month ago. It is up to the wrestler's to not let these gimmicks define them, they have to rise up and be more than the gimmick. The Rock rose up and became more than a guy who was part of a black power movement. Shawn Michaels rose up and became more than just a pretty boy. John Cena rose up, and became more than just a white rapper. I could go on and on.

Some gimmicks are horrible. nash as oz, Max moon, Mantaur, etc. but at least all the ones you mentioned could be actual people (though rose's party is a little out there). it's not too out there to believe that Rusev could become more than just a guy who hates America. It's not too out there to believe Adam rose could become more than just a party boy. Bo Dallas could be more that just a very optimistic excitable guy (I don't get what's wrong with his gimmick). Wyatt could easily be more than a leader of a cult.

As for how long the gimmicks can last really all depends on WWE. If these gimmicks fail and they fail to become more than their gimmick they could stay around a long time as jobbers.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Alexander Rusev
I cannot stand this guy. Unbelievably boring and cannot keep me interested whatsoever in his matches. There are a grand total of two things about him that don't frustrate me. Lana is the first. As long as she remains his manager, he stands a chance at surviving. The second is the fact that his entrance theme sounds like a remix of Tribal Dance from Jock Jams, leading to me taking him even less seriously. The moment he gets put into a match with a popular face like Cena or Bryan and loses, he's a goner. Keep Lana with him and MAYBE he has a chance at lasting longer. Her promos and being in his corner make him tolerable even though I still dislike him quite a bit.


Adam Rose
How can you not like this guy? The threadstarter is clearly a lemon and not a rose bud. Adam Rose is awesome. I really like this gimmick, it's amusing and his crowd of random partiers are funny. I can see it lasting for a good while. He might never make it into the main event with this character, but he can make a fun midcarder to help give the fans a moment of comedic relief in between more intense matches. As long as the federation needs silly midcarders, this character has a home.


Bo Dallas
Ugh.... He makes me cringe every time he opens his mouth and the "Bo-Lieve" thing is rather annoying. I won't go as far as to say that I hate him, but I am not a fan. It has been suggested on here in other threads that he should just join his brother in the Wyatt family. He'd fit right in, he has a really creepy smile and then we wouldn't have to hear anymore of his "motivational" promos. This gimmick can't last long, it's simply too ridiculous and irritating. I do see it lasting longer than Rusev at least.


Wyatt Family
The Wyatts have made a big impact so far and with how unique this gimmick is, I can see it lasting a long time as long as Bray keeps getting booked into good feuds it has a ton of potential. Bray could become a main event heel and his underlings should receive a Tag Team Championship shot soon. "He's got the whole world...." is getting overdone, but I have no complaints otherwise. This has the most longevity out of the gimmicks listed by the threadstarter.

 

[Torgo]

Alexander Rusev
I cannot stand this guy. Unbelievably boring and cannot keep me interested whatsoever in his matches. There are a grand total of two things about him that don't frustrate me. Lana is the first. As long as she remains his manager, he stands a chance at surviving. The second is the fact that his entrance theme sounds like a remix of Tribal Dance from Jock Jams, leading to me taking him even less seriously. The moment he gets put into a match with a popular face like Cena or Bryan and loses, he's a goner. Keep Lana with him and MAYBE he has a chance at lasting longer. Her promos and being in his corner make him tolerable even though I still dislike him quite

I absolutely agree. I don't get why they took the "Alexander" part out of the name either, "Rusev" just sounds funny. IMO they should have named him Generic Foreign Heel # 7463628. The foreign language, the manager, the ripping in the US with Putin, it all is for cheap heat. Frankly, I wish the E would realize it's not 1985 anymore. The age of boring monster heels from a land far away is long over.

 

[TheHorndogSays]

I don't think any gimmick is made to last forever. When people think of long-term gimmicks, they always come back to Taker. The fact is look at how many changes his gimmick went through. Same holds true for Cena, look at how many changes his "character" went through. All characters can be tweaked to help ensure longevity.

For the sake of arguing, let's look at which current characters/gimmicks (preferably those of the newer generation) has the potential to stay relevant for years and years

Damien Sandow: If he were to go back to his old days of wearing a bath robe and simply thinking he is better than everyone else instead of the "comic villain" role he has today.

Adam Rose: I think he has great potential to have longevity with the character. For starters the same gimmick can easily be a face or a villain (I honestly thought he would debut as a heel). Plus there is potential to go through the "playboy party boy" motions, he could "mature up" for a woman only to go back to his party days and easily incorporate a new person from within the troupe (am I the only one who believes the wrestler playing the bunny will become a rival for adam?)

Rusev: This one I'm torn on as I do feel he has potential to be long-term but his gimmick change would have to be severe. I could see him becoming pro-american similar to how slaughter went from pro-america to pro-Iraq in the early 90s. However I think before long too many people will cheer for Lana and they'll have no choice but to turn him into a big powerful face similar to how they've done Big E.

 

[JamesH]

I think the problem is more WWE's unwillingness to follow through with these new characters after debuting them.

Compare Fandango and Bray Wyatt; both characters are very gimmicky and require a certain level of performer to carry them off. Both characters scored big debut victories (Fandango over Jericho, Wyatt over Kane) and looked set to get a big push.

The difference, I think, is that Wyatt was given promo time. He always had explanations for his actions, and the audience chose to boo his explanations because they disagreed with him. In short, Wyatt gave the audience a reason to view him as a heel.

Fandango has been given almost zero promo time on Raw (except for the occasional "FAAAANNNN-DAAAAANNNN-GOOOOOO!"), so we don't know why he does what he does. We don't know why he and Layla were feuding with Santino and Emma.

Hopefully this feud between Summer and Layla will give him enough TV time to show the office that he can bring more to the table than just smooth dance moves.

 

[TheLogan27]

The only ones that I see not getting anywhere honestly is Alexander Rusev. Characters like this happen to often ultimately for them to either A) disappear and go nowhere or B) turn around to love America or be some sort of comedy gimmick. I say that because Adam Rose is already as low as you can go in WWE which is become apart of a comedy act. Bo Dallas, I believe as the wrestler and as a character he can go pretty far. It has potential as a face and as a heel. And the Wyatt's are going to the moon. There's no need for an explanation there.

 

[Pedigree1]

First things first, I do not mean the wrestlers portraying these characters I mean the characters in general. How much longevity do these characters have?

Alexander Rusev - This is twenty five years at least too late for this one. Rusev is Like Ivan Drago from the Rocky IV. He is stale,boring and a robot like character is played out! Lana will have a brighter future than this guy will!

Adam Rose - OMG This guy just sucks! If you wanna call me a lemon then im a lemon.. He is a 35 year old party boy,who has a lollipop and a bunch of morons dancing around him.. He is not even remotely funny,and he will flame out rather quickly!

Bo Dallas - There is something oddly creepy about this guy am i right? This whole thing with a Bo-Liever,this guy though at least has a chance.. With his creepy just disposition and smile he make a perfect addition to the wyatts

Wyatt Family - This song of his really has ruined him IMO. I love the concept of the Wyatt's i do.. A deranged cult leader type of person,who has the whole world in his hands.. I just dont know where he goes after Cena,I am not sure of the shelf life of this one! I used to think it had a great one,but now not so sure..

As far as pulling the plug on any of these characters goes,I would say Adam gets the boot first! Again a 34 or 35 year old party boy just wont cut it.. WWE has enough comedy acts and he is the worse one of the bunch.. At least El Torito is entertaining

 

[GeneralKarim]

Rusev - Way too late for such a gimmick. He aint even that impressive in the ring from what I can see. Only interesting thing about him is Lana. And this seems like just one of WWE's little projects that they will quickly lose faith in.

Adam Rose - This is just ridiculous. This whole gimmick is fkn depressing. A boring character who is just 2 years younger than Cena behaving like a complete idiot. This is going to go nowhere. This is clearly another attempt from WWE to get people "fandango-ing". They should have kept his initial gimmick.

Bo Dallas - This I like cause I'm gonna cry because of his song and his expression when he wins a championship). I don't think it will last. I mean if Damien Sandow's gimmick didn't last, this definitely won't last. And as much as I like him, I think his physique is pretty pathetic. Someone should make a sign with smth like "You too can shed off the fat, you just gotta BO-LIEVE". I also like his theme a lot.

Wyatt Family - Look I love Bray Wyatt as much as the next guy but this song he keeps on singing is getting on my nerves. I think he can do a lot better than that and fill up the time that he is singing with more interesting stuff. People keep saying he is saying the same shit about Cena. Well the feud is being going on for some time now, there isnt much to say about Cena. Rock basically said the same things for 2 years straight. Even the feud with Cena and Batista from 4-5 years ago.

People loved Batista's heel stick cause he said things in a very cool manner and was pretty good on the mic in his role. Had that feud gone on for 4-5 months, u bet your ass Batista would've just said the same shit with a different spin on it.

As far as the gimmick goes. I think we have to wait and see what's after Cena. Before Cena he had meaningless feuds against jobbers and all of the feuds were badly booked anyway.

 

[L@RISANO]

First things first, I do not mean the wrestlers portraying these characters I mean the characters in general. How much longevity do these characters have?

Alexander Rusev - Anti - American, pro Russia. We see these short-lived characters every 10 years or so. Once America gets bored with the Putin hate, then Rusev disappears. How does he recover?

Adam Rose - I hate this gimmick as it is, but, how long can he keep portraying a party boy? I guess he can recover by saying he has sobered up, and hates the fun life, turning into a Steven Richards "Right To Censor" type gimmick.

Bo Dallas - I am a "Bo-liever" I just don't bolieve that this gimmick can go on forever, and I don't see him going any further past this gimmick, based on his brief run in the big leagues last year.

Wyatt Family - How long can this cult gimmick go on? I hope forever, but it seems these days that Bray is just saying the same thing over and over about Cena. What happens to Bray when the fans go quiet?

My question is obviously how long can these gimmicks last? Also, what becomes of the superstars portraying these characters when it is time to pull the plug?

Good thread.

Rusev
I see this as a One Storyline character. He is portraying a foreign monster type gimmick and is on a path of destruction. His push will end when someone 'stops' his destruction and defeats him.
Tbh, his chances of longevity depends on how good he is in the ring,tbh. For e.g. Brock portrays a monster type heel, and he continues to do well, since he is believable, but I think part of his attraction is his time in UFC which makes him a huge default threat to any top star at any time.


Adam Rose
Haven't seen enough of the gimmick. However, I don't see it being over for long anyway. Probably will be a decent midcard act going forward come WM31.


Bo Dallas
If he gets over with the crowd by say, MitB, I think this gimmick can be a solid MidCard act going forward. The gimmick has solid MidCard Champion written all over him, and I'd say if he improves and keeps growing, a Main Title run might not be farfetched either at some point in the future.
It is essentially, a Heel character with a Face gimmick.
I say have him win a MidCard title at some point close to or at WM31, and let him run with it for the long haul, giving him regular title defences...he could prove to be a great Heel Champion in the MidCard.


Bray Wyatt
This character will be all about Evolution, and how 'fresh' it can be kept going forward. Eventually, if WWE wants(and should) to have him as 'Special Attraction' type character, they will have to find ways to do so, such as maybe, having him on TV as rarely as possible, say Once every 3/4 weeks. Also, the family will have to be restructured at some point, maybe his attire changed. A Face run will also be on the horizon, but that has to be when the heel run goes stale.
The gimmick won't have Taker-like longevity, but it can last a while if handled correctly and is not shoved down our throats in today's world of mostly fickle fans...

 

[AnthChristo82]

The fact that Bo Dallas has pissed off an entire audience of wrestling fans across the globe, is testament to his abilities both in-ring & on the mic..

 

[Dagger Dias]

The fact that Bo Dallas has pissed off an entire audience of wrestling fans across the globe, is testament to his abilities both in-ring & on the mic..

Not exactly. I can't speak for everyone, but for me Bo is generating "go away" reactions. This does not make him a talented heel. It makes him annoying. I don't want to spend money to see him get defeated. I want him off my tv/computer screen entirely. His brother on the other hand, Bray Wyatt is a fantastic heel. He made me want to pay money to see John Cena defeat him at tonight's PPV. Granted I paid for a WWE Network subscription, but had I been re-subscribing today the same would hold true. Bo has little longevity with the Bo-lieve stuff. Bray with the Wyatt family does have long term longevity potential.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The issue with Rusev is that its' poor man's Ivan Drago from 1986... While Lana is arguably WAY hotter than Bridgette, her man is no Dolph Lundgren... the irony is if Jack Swagger was new today and could pull an accent, he would have been a more convincing "russian"...after all arguably the best "Russian" was Nikita Koloff, a.k.a. Scott Simpson...

But he isn't new so now where it could get interesting is if they tag those two up... Swagger, fed up of being a "Real America" joins the hated enemy... or because he gets "seduced by Lana" into joining them... There could be good tension between the 2 guys over her... Zeb can look for more "Real Americans" and fued in the tag division.

Adam Rose is still fun, if not a tad annoying. He is WAY better as a character than Zack Ryder, Santino and every other attempt at this in recent years... again I can't help but think he'd be better suited to a tag team, but more of a "superstar team" where he gets a "sidekick" who is higher up the card and they team occasionally. Cena's out of course but I could see this fitting Big Show very well indeed. They start by feuding cos Show thinks he's stupid, but over time he gets with it and becomes a Rosebud... let's face it "monster" Show is done to death and he is at his best now being the fun babyface... now if they can find NXT guys to do the "trust fall" with Show I would be VERY impressed...

Bo Dallas is destined for the Wyatts I think but more because this seems like part of Bray's plan... You have him trying to "tear down the world" and Bo teaching people to be positive... they're like two sides coming together and I wouldn't be shocked for Bo to end up with the beard and part of "The Family".

Bray is the most compelling thing on WWE TV but it's very delicately poised. Tonight it needs someone to JOIN the Family... be it King or JBL or someone not being used as much like Kofi or Ziggler... but a cult needs people to join it...the fans are but where are the WWE superstars joining the cause? Someone HAS to for it to work as a concept... there is plenty of talent doing sweet F.A. right now.

The song IS getting repetitive but no worse than any other catchphrase... I am still disappointed Vince didn't use his connections to the Stones to get a deal on "Time Is On My Side" the song Bray used at the start... sure it's stolen from the movie Fallen but it was very creepy... Perhaps there is another standard they can incorporate into it...

The most worrying thing is the talk of a face turn. Not this soon... they did it to Taker and it ruined him, it was only Mabel's clumsiness that forced the 180 on how he was booked that ever saw him work with the Foley's, Brets, Austins etc and actually improve. Bray is better heel for at least the next year if not longer.

 

[endless]

Bo Dallas
Ugh.... He makes me cringe every time he opens his mouth and the "Bo-Lieve" thing is rather annoying. I won't go as far as to say that I hate him, but I am not a fan. It has been suggested on here in other threads that he should just join his brother in the Wyatt family. He'd fit right in, he has a really creepy smile and then we wouldn't have to hear anymore of his "motivational" promos. This gimmick can't last long, it's simply too ridiculous and irritating. I do see it lasting longer than Rusev at least.


.

That's the whole point of his character, to irritate you, to make you cringe, to be annoying... and that's why it's great.

 

[RedRegan1005]

On a random note, I'm glad that this kind of post can be made. WWE is making an effort to create to stars and bring up new talent. Some might succeed, and some might flop totally but hey, at least they are trying right. Anyways back to the topic at hand.

Rusev - I think Rusev has staying power. Yea right now they are pushing the anti america stuff. But i think after that he still could be a good dominant heel. If I'm right remains to be seen, because when it comes time to ditch the anti american stuff and see how he and Lana can use a real story line purpose to sell a match, thats when we'll know. I definitley like the pairing with Lana and the Crush thing though.

Adam Rose - I don't think this is getting over, and I don't think it has much staying power. It also doesn't help that they have dorky ass Michael Cole dancing and being all Rosebud. Cole is so nerdy and anything thats cool just gets lame when he does it. Like when parents use a cool teenage phrase and it just sound lame. I remember the first time I heard Michael Cole say pipe bomb after a CM Punk promo, it just killed it for me Anyways though back on topic. What I have to see from Rose inorder to buy into him in the long run, is him to party and have fun, but get serious when someone pushes his buttons. If he can't come across as someone who can party and kick ass, then the gimmick becomes just another comedy gimmick.

Bo Dallas - I don't know how this will pan out, but I will say this. I think this gimmick fits Bo. When he had his short stint on the main roster I couldn't stand him cause his stupid big smile. He honestly looked like some over the top positive douche. So considering that's what his new gimmick is, I'm at least interested in it.

Bray Wyatt - Gotta be honest, I wouldn't even put him on this list of question marks. He's a sure fire hit and more of an exclamation point. Thats all i'm gonna say.

 

[Radical]

Alexander Rusev - Even though he's playing a heavy Anti-American character which is usually a pretty good way of getting cheap heat and "USA, USA, USA!" chants from fans he is also playing just a generally 'big brute'. Kind of like Vladimir Kozlov. But, how long did Kozlov last with that gimmick until he got thrown into a jokey team with Santino?

I think the biggest thing Rusev needs is to pull down those trunks. It's like he's hiking them up higher and higher every week to give him a bigger and bigger wedgie so he is madder and madder. But it just looks silly. I don't care to see him or invest in him at all until he changes his outfit.

Adam Rose - This makes me very annoyed with WWE Creative. Those of you who watched NXT will know this guy used to be Leo Kruger. A serious, sadistic and ruthless big game hunter from South Africa. He had "great heel" written all over him. I envisioned him joining the main roster and every time he defeated a new Superstar he would put a replica of their head on his trophy wall in the back. I could see that really working and a character that would make more sense in a wrestling ring and winning championships.

That's what I hate about some of these new characters. You REALLY have to stretch your imagination to understand how they could be interested or good at 'wrestling' when their character seems to be a 'make love, not war' type of persona. HOW does it make sense that Adam Rose is a wrestler? If all wants to do is party and dance around then why is he fighting people? Why should I CARE that he is in a wrestling ring fighting for anything?

This guy has Fandango written all over him. A gimmick too cheesy to take seriously so he won't likely go any further than mid-card jobber. I'm just glad he is wearing pants.

Bo Dallas - Speaking of characters that don't make much sense in a wrestling ring - Bo Dallas! Another "rather make love not war" type of character. So, again, WHY would this guy be fighting others if he is just going to hug and shake their hands afterwards? This type of behavior would only make sense if he came to the ring in a straight jacket and he was so insane he didn't know what he was doing. That would be a more compelling character.

This character is more "please, go away" and "I don't want to pay to see you, I don't mind seeing you getting beat but I'm not going to pay to see you possibly win. It's too off putting."

Wyatt Family - Now, this, THIS is a group of characters that works better for a wrestling show. A man with a mission and a clear nasty streak with his bands of goons. It's great! This is also a guy who, even though he portrays a heel can still actually get people to kind of agree with him, which is actually important because then you will more likely PAY to see him, win or lose.

At Payback, for example. John Cena will probably win but that's okay because a match between him an Bray Wyatt will be interesting anyway. John Cena always makes his opponents look good... at least MOST of the match (aside from the end where he might pop up and AA the guy in one motion and get a win), usually Cena takes a good beating from the opponent and makes them look dominant. You know Wyatt will also play mind games on Cena which will be interesting AND you know even if Wyatt loses, he didn't really 'lose' because he'll have an explanation for why Cena is a lost cause or at least something he DID accomplish in his quest to expose Cena as a fake. That's more compelling wrestling and storytelling than any of the other new characters to WWE.

Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family have a HUGE long-staying power potential. I'd love to see Wyatt at the WWE World Champion sometime (multiple times) and Harper and Rowan as Tag Champs at least once and I think the fans would understand and appreciate it.

 

[Hem]

Adam Rose + Rusev have future flop stars written all over them. Like who cares for a party guy who only seems to say "be an rosebud not a lemon" every time and a valdamire kozlov with longer hair an a hot manager..

Bo Dallas actually has potential to be a solid mid card guy somewhere around the level of a Miz or something. I actually think Bo vs Miz, ADR, Mark Henry and so on.

The Wyatt Family has super star written on them. I think this group if used well could last another 4 or 5 years without changing much. They can win championships and maybe even introduce a real Sister Abigale.

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

Can't see Rusev being anything big. He just comes across as another Koslov character.

I reckon Bo Dalls could be big. He has a very annoying character and I think it is brilliant. His interaction with Kofi at Payback was great, I would like him to still be the annoying character but everyone once in a while, completely snap and destroy someone and then talk about 'Bo-Lieving'

The Wyatt family. Bray controlled DB and then lost. He was in the head of Cena and then lost. If he goes after someone else, can we really beleive that he will succeed in his 'Mission' of whatever it is? He is turning into a star, and the character was good, but if he has now been beaten trying to deliver his message twice, and it hasn't worked. Where does he go?