UFOcalling
Master of the Scorpion Death Lock
I am in complete agreement with you here. Managers need to make a comeback in Professional Wrestling. They did wonders for characters all through the 1980s, and early 1990s. You've got to think that during that time, wrestling was a lot more kid-friendly -- just like the WWE is now!
I can't believe that the WWE hasn't gone back to some more "cartoonish" characters (at least some that are over-the-top), now that they're trying to be more family-friendly. The last one(s) I can think of like this that they tried were Paul Burchill (with the pirate-gimmick), and Kizarny. Has there been any more cartoony characters that have debuted since these two? ...obviously the WWE wasn't big on either of these gimmicks, and put the kibosh on them almost immediately.
I think a new "supernatural" (or at least "evil") character like Husky's new FCW gimmick might open the door for these types of characters to flourish on the current WWE Roster as well. I know that the WWE is trying to look into the future, and not the past -- and that's a good thing! ...but I think wrestling characters could have more depth with Managers and "crazier" gimmicks since they can no longer rely on swearing and "adult-themes" like they did in the Attitude Era. Now is a perfect time for these 80s-inspired characters and gimmicks to come back.
Haha! I definitely see your point, & I figured that I would be in the minority (if not the ONLY one) with this comparison. Like I posted originally, I think it was the kick to the gut that first made me think of the Evenflow/Raven Effect comparison. I suppose the quick-execution of the move was a factor as well. I know Stone Cold also did the gut-kick before the Stunner, I think I was just grasping at straws by comparing it to a hybrid of a couple of Raven's moves.
You're definitely right to not be in agreement with me on this one, Natural. The finisher definitely looks like a Stunner and/or Diamond-Cutter (as others have already stated). I think I just had Raven on the brain in that first post, and was trying to see something that wasn't really there...hence my idea of the move being a hybrid of Raven's bulldog and DDT. My fault! ...I'm definitely man enough to admit my mistake there.
Totally! James Mitchell would be absolutely PERFECT as Axl's manager. I imagine the guy needs to collect a paycheck anyway, WWE would be stupid to not reach out to Mitchell to act as Axl's manager.
I think the name "Axl Mulligan" DEFINITELY needs to be changed though. Husky definitely looks like he could be a Guns N' Roses fan (must be the hair, lol!), and that's most likely the reason that "Axl" was chosen for the character's first name. I think that a one-word name would work much better, kind of like how a lot of the "evil" characters all had before him [Kane, Mankind, Mortis, Undertaker, Abyss, Boogeyman (yawn), Doink (wasn't he "evil" at one point or another?)].
If the name was shortened to just "Axl" or "Mulligan" I don't think that would work either. I'm sure that if this character is brought up to the WWE roster they would tweak the name into something a lot better than "Axel Mulligan". To me, that name sounds like it would work better for a golfer-type character that dresses like Axl Rose. The name's gotta go!!