**MERGED** Brodus Clay Discussion- KEEP IT ALL IN HERE!

[H33LTurn]

GOTTTA CALL MY MOMMA!!!!!

Ok I regret being dissapointed after RAW, hes actually starting to grow on me. Once Zack Ryder is out of the picture it would be great to see him as US champ. Its great to have such a positive superstar instead of a negative one.

 

[JVel]

Mark Henry
Kane
Big Show is just a quick swerve from a turn
Mason Ryan in the back who wrestles a dominant style
Ryback (Sheffield) set to return (imo is just a younger Batista in ring style)

Why does the roster need more big powerhouses and unbeatable monsters on the roster? Some people might hate it but it's a breath of fresh air. We've seen too many times "monster hyped to debut, monster squashes nobodies for a month, monster finally gets feud, monster starts to lose steam" then we end up with Khali kiss cams, Mark Henry as the real life Kool Aid man, Kane tromboning with Santino, etc. It's hard to keep a monster's momentum in the longhaul and the more you have playng the same general character, it gets kinda old.

They needed to break the cycle a little. Brodus can still wrestle like a monster and dominate people. He doesn't need to be yet another "no man can stop me *roar*" character.

 

[Alittude]

Brodus has been doing awesome and is really embracing the gimmick. Loved how he talked to the crowd during his first match and he has continued that well (even word for word on one episode haha). He has become instantly decently over which would have never happened if she was just squashing people as a boring 'monster' heel.

It looks as if they might start him feuding with Regal which would be a very good opening feud for him as Regal can work a hell of a match and a win over a veteran like Regal is much bigger than beating some random jobber.

 

[jssellen]

So about 5 minutes ago, after months and months of buildup, we get the "Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay in a squash match with Hawkins...

What are your thoughts?? Who will he feud with (Besides either a buffet line or a dance instructor)

I like Brodus. I thought "what. the. hell." when he first came out, but the passed couple of weeks I have been looking forward to it.

I've noticed one of the old NXT divas 'Naomi' is one of his dancers, its a shame, she would probably be a better wrestler than the twigs they have at the moment.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Talk about a composite of characters. WWE has taken Flash Funk & his ladies (see below) and combined them with bits of The Godfather and a sprinkling of Akeem (the former One Man Gang, in one of the strangest character switches ever seen) and come up with Funkasaurus.

It will be interesting to see how long this guy stays a face. The happy countenance and dancing girls will remain entertaining for a while, but not forever. As it is, Clay ridicules his opponents before he squashes them, a routine that plays only so long as a good guy's M.O.

Then, after Clay invites William Regal to dance in the ring.....and Regal takes to it with good humor..... Brodus attacks the man from behind, to the delight of his ladies.

I'm telling you, there's a face change coming here......and it won't be too long before we see it.

 

[Twocenter]

Although this gimmick is recycled from the others in the past, this is one of the best thing happening in the WWE besides Jeritroll and Kane-Cena storyline. I mean it is not always necessary that a big man needs to be a monster. That concept is already outdated. We need something refreshing and Brodus is giving us one. I always have fun when he comes out and dances. This gimmick is growing on everybody. I know some might not think is at a threat but this is WW(E)=Entertainment. Wrestling is there but there needs to be fun to watch it. R-Truth and Funkasaraus are two of the most entertaining characters at the moment. So I think this gimmick can be made even popular. But he needs a feud. He cannot keep on facing jobbers.

 

[The Future Rises]

I freaking love his new gimmick. Although guys like Big Vis and Rikishi had similar personas Brodus' "Funkasorous" gimmick tops them all. I've always been a fan of Clay and this is exactly what he needs to get over. I'm not gonna lie, I mark out everytime he comes out right now. WWE needed another great midcard babyface with great charisma and now they got one.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I kept saying that I wanted to see something different with Brodus Clay. Not the typical "big guy debuts, destroys jobbers, gets fed to a top face, does nothing for two months, future endeavoured" garbage we see constantly. I wanted it, WWE provided it. Be careful what you wish for, folks. I thought at first it was one of the dumbest things I had ever seen. Then, oddly enough, Brodus grew on me. I find his Funkasaurus gimmick to be hilarious. It reminds me of The Godfather, I also agree with Sally's comparison to Akeem.

Where does he go from here though? He's gone through pretty much every jobber on the roster. He will need to enter the midcard before this act gets stale. I give WWE credit for trying something different and Brodus is getting over. It's a dumb yet silly gimmick, but clearly he is having fun with it and the fans seem to like it. At least he stands out because he is getting a different push than what many fans including myself got so tired of with bigger guys in WWE. That will benefit him in the long run. I would like to see him enter a midcard feud soon, perhaps win the US Championship from Swagger and hold onto that for a while. The sky's the limit with Brodus in this character as long as they keep giving people a reason to care about him. I look forward to seeing where they go with the Funkasaurus heading into Wrestlemania.

 

[#BabyFace]

O.k....They hold his debut off for over a MONTH, then he debuts as a joke funkasaurus (Which could be good if they tried), then he has a chance to maybe start a fued and dominate in the Rumble match and isnt even in the match! Now We havent seen him in consecutive weeks. What is WWE doing with Brodus Clay??? He needed to get fued going and instead he isnt even seen.

If they havent completely screwed up yet then I think there is one way WWE can save Brodus Clay. Have the skit of Clay with the funkasaurus was all a joke. Have him come in on a match and destroy everyone without the shiny clothes or the "Somebody Call My Momma" theme song(Although who doesnt love it.) He can say the whole funk thing was a lie to get people to think he was soft. He can come as the dominant heel monster we all thought we were going to get and he could start a fued with someone. (LongShot: Mason Ryan?)

Im not a writer for a reason so this may be terrible but its true that SOMETHING needs to be done about Brodus Clay.

What should be done?

 

[PlayTheGame]

Your idea isn't terrible, and it seems like a rather unique idea. But I, for one, actually like Brodus Clay. I agree, it's not good for him to be off of TV for so long, and it would have been nice if he were actually in the Rumble instead of just another squash match. But because I like Clay, I'm gonna give the WWE the benefit of the doubt and hold out a little longer before I dismiss him as a failure, because I don't think the WWE has ditched him. He's obviously fairly over for someone just in squash matches, but I agree, it's about time they get something going with him, or he'll fall into obscurity. I'm willing to wait it out a bit longer, because I think something will happen, but it has to be done soon by the WWE. As I said, I like Brodus Clay. I hope the WWE doesn't just throw him away.

 

[Shotaro]

I can't help but disagree strongly. Funkasaurus has far from failed. He needs TV exposure though. He has already gotten over with the gimmick he's just underexposed right now.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Here's the thing if you're Clay... You can be another monster in a WWE with Kane, Henry, Ryan, Undertaker, Big Show... but you'll never be "bigger" than those guys, you're never gonna get the belt so don't even worry about it... What Clay IS is a fun big man that will sell a shit load of merch and be mega over with the kids...the little kids I mean. They will buy Funkasaurus stuff by the boat load and that is gonna make him a shit load of cash... It's the old artistic integrity v success argument... Clay may hate it now, but wait till the first Royalty cheque from his merch comes in... he will learn to love it...

Still think he needs the team with Tyler tho... Funkasaurus Reks is too good to pass up...

 

[Foshinzo]

You know what's nice about the Funkasaurus? It stands out.

Do we need another dominant heel character? That and the cocky heel is all the WWE uses right now, and it's so convoluted among those two gimmicks that nobody is really cutting through.

The Funkasaurus is doing fine. I'd be lying if I said that I don't laugh when I see it, and the gimmick keeps him unique, which can't be undervalued, at this time.

Brodus Clay can always do a monster heel gimmick later, when there's more room for it. Right now, just learn to laugh and appreciate how well Clay is doing with what he's been given to work with. It's dumb, but that's the point and you shouldn't take anything too seriously. It's just a TV show.

 

[Harthan]

Brodus Clay hasn't failed - yet. The WWE has a serious problem on their hands with Brodus, if they intend to make him successful. On the one hand, you can book Brodus like a monster heel. That, however, is a problem because we are coming off a summer and fall dominated by Mark Henry and now the main event of Raw being dominated by Kane. A monster heel in the current scene is just white noise that I really have trouble envisioning anyone caring about. On the flip side, his current gimmick is completely unsustainable. Sure, it's nice to come out to a great song, dance around, make everybody laugh, and squash jobbers. But that obviously can't last, which is probably why he hasn't been on TV for two weeks. This is something of a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario for the WWE, and really why they should have had the good sense to keep Brodus Clay off of television until after WrestleMania if they'd wanted long term success out of the guy. Now, let's be clear, he certainly hasn't failed yet, but I would agree that if all he does is continue in squash matches, he will.

So, the solution here is to salvage the current gimmick, of course. Turning him into a monster heel at this point would be unsound from almost all perspectives. It doesn't make sense in storyline, no one would care about him for the reasons aforementioned, and it would kill the momentum he already has going. The more appropriate venue is for him to actually start a feud and cut some promos. I have no doubt that there's a solid character in the Funkasaurus, they just need to write some material for him and let him come out. Give Brodus a microphone and an opponent that isn't Curt Hawkins. More importantly, let work a long enough match to actually connect with the audience. Swagger is probably the obvious guy to do this right now, and is doubly effective since it can add the title to the mix.

The Funkasaurus can work, it just needs what every new character needs - a program, a feud, an opponent, and all the necessary trappings that go into a successful wrestling character and storyline.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with the summation that Funkasaurous Clay is a failure. He hasn't failed, although he hasn't been given ample time and opportunity to succeed. Okay, they brought him out as a jobber-squasher to gain momentum and gave him a rather silly persona. The thing is, he played the silly persona to the hilt and delivered each time. He makes one think of a physical and physically dominant version of Santino. The two of them would make a good tag-team come to that.

Thing is, we haven't seen him in an active feud yet (which would be a very good idea for him to get into with Drew McIntyre, just sayin') nor have we heard if he's currently any good on the mic. If he can shine in these capacities, we might have a real winner here. We just need to wait and see. That, and the WWE bookers would have to follow through in giving Clay a chance to do something of semi-significance rather than simply be filler material. I'll agree that he hasn't yet made a tremendous impact, but I personally am going to suspend judgement until he's had opportunity to do so.

 

[dudedudedude]

Yeah those pops he's been getting in the barely a month since he returned sure say failure. Do some of you even think before you type???

 

[jeff_hardy_heel_is_awesom]

What i say next is my idea, i think the whole funkasaurous gimmick was like chris jericho's return, he trolls the crowd, clay hasnt really spoken to the crowd about why he came back as the funkasaurous and not as the BIG MONSTER he was supposed to be. So i wouldnt be surprised if over the next couple of weeks he will return back as a major heel which he used to be and start "kafabe" injuring superstars. i wouldn't be surprised if he feuded with ADR. i say this because in NXT ADR was clays mentor, and after that season ended clay was seen regularly with ADR, mainly as his bodyguard. But then ADR gets rid of him, and we don't see him for the next few months. So realistically the whole funkasourus gimmick was a joke if u would say to get the crowd over. So what do you guys think? is it a possibility or jus plain stupid?

 

[WunNightStan619]

The fact that you felt compelled enough to start a thread on it, proves that Brodus is no failure. Its controversial, you either love it, or you hate it....but the wun thing that you wont see when it comes to Brodus is indifference. Hes marketable and people are into it. it works

 

[midgensa]

I think it is harsh to call it a failure already.

I for one LOVE the funkasaurus gimmick and hope they stick with it for a while. He has no room as a "monster heel" with the way the rosters are set up and he would just get lost in the shuffle.

This gimmick is fresh and funny every single time. What needs to happen is for a "serious heel" to get pissed at all of Clay's squash matches and come out and attack him for making a "mockery" of the business. This could easily be ADR or someone of the like.

I would love to see WWE creative wow me here and have Broadus be a guy who loves having fun, but is STILL a monster. It will be interesting what they do for his promos ... and that may be why they have went with the hiatus. They don't know how to have him talk.

He has one of those gimmicks that is tough to ever take anywhere (like Zac Ryder) but with the right creative approach and the right writing it can go somewhere (like Zac Ryder). I don't know exactly what I would do, especially if they don't think he can go on the mic. But they need to try something, because regardless, the Funkasaurus is a money-making machine (as plenty have said ... just think of the merch sales!)

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

Not a failure... yet. He definitely needs to be on TV though! I find myself watching Raw and am disappointed when I don't get my weekly dose of "Somebody Call My Mamma" and the dance styling of the near 400 pounder. Whether you like it or not, the man and his gimmick are over. He's a few months away from being a cash cow for the WWE. The kids love this guy almost as much, if not more than Santino, Ryder, or Kofi. We're going to see sweat suits, those hats he wears, dinosaur theme t shirts, stuffed animals that say things like, "My bad" or "Should I get him?" or "Somebody Call My Mammma!". He's a merch gold mine. Last I heard, Brodus appeared on a dark match or house show with only one of his dancers. They may be taking him off TV for a bit to replace a dancer or wait until issues with the current ones are resolved. Whatever the hold up, Brodus needs to get back on TV sooner rather than later before the audience forgets about him.

THTRobtaylor: Still think he needs the team with Tyler tho... Funkasaurus Reks is too good to pass up...

May I just... Holy shit. That's clever. Kudos to you, sir!

 

[JaylisJayP]

It doesn't matter what his gimmick is, you need to put him an ANGLE. The writer's are 100% to blame for any lapse or slip of Brodus Clay. Hell, he wasn't even put into a feud. Of course his stupid dance is going to wear thin after a few weeks.

The WWE writers have done what they did all of last year, failed to finish or even further a story.

 

[GrandSword]

Clay is one of the most over faces on the card! He's new and refreashing, with a little bit of attitude era type feel to his gimmick. The OP's thread is a fail!

Funkasaurus is great and in the lead up to WM 28, the bigger stars are being put in the limelight and need more time to develop their storylines. Clay is just been put on the back burner for a bit as WWE don't even have time for guys like Miz who main evented last years WM...

 

[DirtyD79]

Hell no, the last thing we need is yet another generic monster running around. We already have Kane and Mark Henry doing the monster thing. Just because a guy is big doesn't mean he needs to be a monster.

 

[JJ15776]

This thread, well the responses, has given me new faith in the IWC.

Brodus Clay is many things, but FAILURE is not one of them. Not even close, to be honest. Now, I don't know why he hasn't been on TV lately...is he injured? Is he learning new dance moves? Maybe they've just been overbooked with the build to WrestleMania going in full swing now and haven't had time for him. That's ok. But given the crowd reaction he's been getting, I'd say it's highly unlikely they've given up on him.

If they're going to do what the OP suggested, then they should just save the time and Future Endeavor him now. Like others have said, he's not going to get over as a monster heel right now. The Funkasaurus is a unique gimmick and it's the only way he's going to go anywhere at the moment. Is he going to go to main events with this gimmick? No. But neither was Rikishi, and he could be in the Hall of Fame some day because of the success of his Too Cool gimmick. And Mark Henry was never going to main event while he was sexual chocolate, and he's now one of the top heels in the company after leaving that gimmick behind. My point is, there's nothing wrong with having an unusual gimmick like the Funkasaurus. It's all about what you do with it - and all a wrestler can ask for is a chance to do something. It's getting him on TV, it's getting people talking about him, it's getting him noticed. The fact that this thread exists, the fact that we're talking about him and have noticed he hasn't been on TV lately, shows you it's not a failure.

The only think they need to do with Brodus Clay right now is get him back on TV and keep doing what he's doing. Put him in a feud with Jinder Mahal or Heath Slater or whoever, then maybe he can start challenging for the IC/US title and go from there.

 

[DeathClutch]

This is the reason WWE needs at least a lower card championship so people like Brodus are getting themselves on the championship ladder and more importantly on the television week in and week out and they have a plateform to feud on and a tricket where people can get behind.

Imagine for all intensive purposes the WWE has the European Championship, Brodus Clay's been European champion for 8 months, had some lower card feuds and built himself to the point he's IC title meterial so he goes for the belt but can't seem to win the IC belt, so he continues to defend the European belt dominating so the IC champion challenges Brodus for the European belt and Brodus dominates, but when he goes for the IC belt he can't seem to get it until that point where the fans are clamouring for that moment, it makes the IC belt look important and gives people that storyline nearly everyone can understand how you have something in your grasp only to lose it.