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

[ZiggingThenZagging]

I don't understand the internet community sometimes. We often complain that there is no originality anymore, there are no suprises, that what we expect to happen always happens.

Well with Brodus Clay, nobody thought he was going to come out like this, yet people are getting mad because it is different from "the monster heel they were expecting".

I think this was great for the WWE. Instead of making Brodus a monster heel (behind the likes of Mark Henry, possibly Big Show, Kane, if Brock ever decides to show his face), he's been made into a monster face. This monster face is different from monster faces we've seen in the past: Khali did that kiss cam, was thrown under the rug and looked like he hated what he was doing. Big Show is a monster face (for now) and has the personality of an everyday joe. The Funkasaurus is so much different, we have this ridiculous character going into squash matches and taking people out, it's great.

What I think will happen is the gimmick will stay the same but be toned down a little bit (little less ridiculous) once he gets past the squashing and to the midcard talent. What I think will happen is he may be all giddy and happy until he takes a big bump, and this will put him a on quick mean streak where he drops the gimmick momentarily and just lets his anger out. Then, the gimmick would still be there and it wouldn't be as degrading for a midcard talent like Cody Rhodes to lose to this guy.

 

[silrock316]

Come on people, face it, he was NEVER going to be a strong main event type monster heel. We have gotten so many of them as it is.

His character the way it is long term will actually be sustainable longer than he would a monster serious heel because of that very reason. People LIKE funny. Santino has a job because he is FUNNY.

The Godfather, who was nothing special in the ring, still has a special place in the hearts of AE fans.

I think if you tone your expectations for Clay, he could have a pretty long run with this goofy character. We have seen him ONE night. He could be one of those lovable dancy goofy guys until someone makes him mad and then he transforms. Its been one night. Chill.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

I wonder how Ernest "The Cat" Miller feels about them using his old theme song as well as the announcers using his old catchphrase "Somebody call my momma!"

As far as Brodus Clay goes, his gimmick change was unexpected. I've been a fan of his ever since I first saw him on NXT. The guy had a great theme when he was squashing jobbers on Superstars. Now I'm kind of worried he'll end up with the same fate as Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov. With his current gimmick, I wouldn't be surprised if his first loss comes at the hands of someone like Jinder Mahal. (I really hope not.)

However, since he's a face now, I think it would be interesting if he feuded with Alberto Del Rio. (upon Del Rio's return from injury, that is) Although the announcers would probably never acknowledge that Clay used to be associated with Del Rio. (Which is always annoying.)

 

[VinnieSunshine]

I gotta say...at first I hated it and thought it was a joke. Then I started to warm up to it. He was like a 70s funky Godfather. Loved Godfather back in the day. WWE needed a sort of...goofy character for him.

Shane Helms said it best on twitter last night...there are enough angry giants running around WWE.

I just hope this works out in his favor and doesn't come crashing down. I STILL would've loved him as a giant heel or face. Imagine Big Show vs Brodus Clay.

 

[CraigThe13th]

I loved it! Totally caught me off guard, I was expecting the same Brodus as last seen on Superstars. My problem with Brodus Clay was he looked very generic even though he is a beast in the ring. I think it's nice to have the odd gimmick here and there and he plays it well. Don't see him winning any titles in the gimmick but I still enjoyed it

 

[HitmanRicks]

People either loved or hated this debut. I am the former.

When Justin Roberts announced "From Planet Funk, 'The Funkasaurus' Brodus Clay!", I didn't know what think. Then the funky-fresh tune of "Somebody Call my Momma" started playing and I died laughing. I have honestly been waiting for someone to use this theme ever since I heard Ernest Miller come out to it at the 2004 Royal Rumble, so I marked out big time.

The match itself was fine. Brodus was having a ton of fun, with a big grin plastered on his face, even calling his spots out loud. "Suplex, baby!" It's nice to see a super heavyweight who can T-Bone Suplex somebody. It shows that bigger guys can be technical too, if they want. Brodus has always impressed me in the ring, and now, with this flashy gimmick, he can do flashy spots.

Sure, Brodus won't be WWE champion with a silly gimmick like this, but for now, it's fine. Mark Henry and Kane have cornered the market on serious big men, and those who can't or won't change their gimmicks (ex. Mason Ryan) will get left behind. I welcome colorful characters like Brodus right now. It's a change from the 3 WWE stereotype characters right now: honorable faces, cocky heels, or serious big men. Brodus can run his course with this gimmick, then when the time is right, make a heel turn and get serious. Remember, Mark Henry had to go through being "Sexual Chocolate" before he got to where he is today. Kane had to be Issac Yankem and Fake Diesel before he made it big. The gimmick isn't insulting or crude, so I say just enjoy the humor and let the Funkasaurus run his course.

 

[shafe_41]

I liked it. At first, I was like "jesus christ on a bike what is this?" But then I remembered "how many big monster heels do you really need?" With the lack of faces in the WWE right now, this isn't a bad idea. I think this may be why it took so long for him to debut. He probably was going to debut as a monster heel. Then Vince changed things to not have him take out JoMo. Then Kane returned. There's your monster heel. Then you have wind of the Big Show possibly turning heel. Then you have Mark Henry. You don't need another guy like that. And since the Kane/Cena thing took off, you have to push Brodus back a little bit more. If you look at the timeline of things, it looks pretty legit that he was actually intended to debut, but really got pushed back.

It's different. I like it. I liked the things he was saying during the match. It was humorous. Give it a chance. It's entertaining as hell.

 

[Down_Where?Down_Here.]

... Yes, it was funny. But I'm thinking that this won't last. Brodus will soon flip out and become a "monster", it seems like they'll have him become very frustrated with the "gimmicking" stuff. That's how I see it. Even thinking possibly have him come out to a new gimmick each week for the next 3-4 weeks, then have his eventual explosion on Johnny Ace or whatever.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

Oh my god. That re-debut was BRILLIANT. I'll say it again. BRILLIANT. Everyone was expecting another angry, huge monster to come in and squash everything. The whole big, overweight or tall, monster heel gimmick is one of the largest clichés for a wrestler Brodus' size. I'm really happy they're giving him something to actually make him STAND OUT. With this gimmick, he won't get lost in the shuffle of just squashing jobbers and then eventually losing to main event talent as part of a bigger scheme for that main event talent. Besides, it will be easy to turn this man heel if they ever do have a lack of main event monsters. It's really a win-win.

Good god. I never thought I'd say this, but good ol' Johnny Ace's Monday Night Raw really is unpredictable.

 

[J.J.]

Soooo Foley as Dude Love competing for the WWE title in '98....Foley as Mankind during his WWE title reigns wasn't a fun gimmick? Gimmicks like this is what keeps the fans interested in the product. Look how over Rikishi and Too Cool were with a similar gimmick. From a business standpoint he is a merchandise seller. I would not open a business with half of you with such shallow mindsets.

 

[TheOrtonRevolution]

One word screams at me when I saw this: Viscera. Viscera, Viscera, Viscera. Only this is just his turn but backwards. Honestly, this could work for him, only time will tell.

 

[mdj2010]

Anyone that didn;t enjoy that debut should stop with the WWE. That was entertainment, pure and simple .It has been way too long since we had an American Dream, or even An African Dream for that matter and Brodus pulled it off perfectly.

This is my favourite kind of monter. He will entertain, but when he gets pissed, he will destroy everyone in his path. I think this is going to catch on and catch on big time... worth the wait!

 

[The Heartfix Kid]

My reaction had nothing to do with any expectations. I really only watch part time now and may have barely seen one Brodus Clay teaser over the course of watching again. I had heard about the guy coming, but never really gave it much thought. Then it happened and it was one big WTF. Now, I am not suggesting it was bad. And even if I did, it wouldn't be about taking stuff to seriously. It was just.......odd.

 

[Ithil]

sorry guys, but im just waiting for the WWE to unleash the 'next big thing' upon us. im waiting for another austin, or a lesnar, or an HBK-type guy to come in and blow the roof off the building like back in the attitude era days. the talent pool right now is NOWHERE near the level of the late 90s , nor is not where it should be.

the attitude era (97-2003) stands out to me as the BEST time to be a fan of professionall wrestling because of all the legendary talent in the ring at that point in time. you got : austin, rock, bret hart, hbk, undertaker, lesnar, triple h, hardy boyz, edge / christian, kurt angle, benoit, guerrero, malenko, mysterio, lance storm, RVD, jerry lynn, taz, etc.....

these guys wrestled every week , and were the cream of the crop. put anyone of these guys in the main event, and it would be a guaranteed ratings draw.

but today, honestly, who is out there that can match up talent-wise with these legends??? CM PUNK for sure, orton, and uh.....cena (drawing power-wise).....uh.....who else??!!! (ziggler, rhodes, barrett, miz, although good, aint quite up there YET)

since when has a humorous, funny, off the wall gimmick ever led the wrestler to the world championship? it has NEVER happened. Guys like flash funk, norman smiley, alex wright, disco inferno, ernest the cat miller, the godfather, rikishi....etc....may have gotten popular at some point, but it was a very SHORT-LIVED and LIMITED. they have since disappeared into OBSCURITY.

which is why i HATE these stupid dancy/funky gimmicks because, although 'entertaining' to some follks (mostly casual fans) , this ultimately DOOMS the wrestler into the midcard and eventually GONE for good. diehards like me can't stand this s##$# and we just want some real bad **** with real wrestling talent and mic skills / storytelling ability.

Since when did the Attitude Era have another two years added to it?

And look, NO ONE just "comes in" and blows the roof off. The Rock, Stone Cold and HBK were around for several years before they gradually became megastars.

And Rikishi was not "short lived", he was as over as a mid carder could get during the Attitude Era.

 

[Notorious718]

I don't have a problem with Brodus Clay's gimmick. I actually enjoyed it. Do we really want to see yet ANOTHER one dimensional monster heel? I had no interest in Clay when he was a monster heel over on Smackdown and NXT but I do find him at least interesting now. It was fun and I got a good laugh out of it. Was it what I was expecting? Absolutely not. But like I said, we already have enough monster heels in Kane and Mark Henry. No need for another one. At least Clay's gimmick is unique and over the top, something we don't really see often nowadays.

 

[donutman]

I like the new Brodus clay. WWE needs to go back to having gimmicks again. Seems like every wrestler is generic these days. This reminds me of old school wrestling with outlandish characters. Seriously, how many scary big fat guys do we see in the WWE that go nowhere? Time to switch it up

Brodus clay > y2jay

 

[Martin Gabriel]

Brodus Clay's debut was great. It was something different as opposed to the typical boring monster heel push.

Honestly, some of you need to get a sense of humor and stop taking wrestling so seriously. Why would him doing some boring squash and then growling angrily be so much better? Because he's OMG LEGITIMATE? Who cares? This generated excitement and actually has people looking forward to seeing him again. Do you think that would have happened to anywhere near the same degree had he debuted the traditional "monster" way?

Also, WWE is not in some desperate need for a monster heel. They already have Kane and Mark Henry taking up plenty of airtime in that role. I'd rather have guy with character, which is usually something WWE is very good at taking away from guys. We should have more goofiness in wrestling, not less.

Oh, and one more point to make for the people who think his career is over. Plenty of guys debut in rather shitty ways and still make something of themselves. CM Punk's first WWE appearance was riding on the back of John Cena's car at WrestleMania. Miz hosted the Diva Search. Batista was a Deacon for Reverend D-Von. Edge and Christian were part of the Brood. No one's career is ended by his first gimmick, because the cream always rises to the top. Remember that.

I have to agree about WWE not needing anymore monster heels, they certainly have enough in Mark Henry on SmackDown! and Kane on RAW. However, I was still taken aback by it and not necessarily pleased when he debuted. Maybe I just need some warming up to him, but I was already a fan of his work, especially on the mic, so it disappoints me a little that I won't get to see that played out now. Whether we agree with it or not, the audience did seem to give a decent reaction to him.

By the way, it looks like he slimmed out a lot, which is good for him.

 

[TheIcon2]

First reaction is horrible gimmick.

Can he get over with it. Absolutely. Gimmicks like this just don't have any longevity.

Its like watching the Oddities. Sure there were over for a short period but they run their course rather quickly.

However I still don't see what others see in him. Bad gimmick or not.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I was expecting my take on Brodus Clay to be some light-from-the-heavens voice of reason, but I'm happy to see that many of my IWC bretheren see the value in last night's debut the same way I do.

That said, here's my take on Clay's debut and why I like it / think it's effective.

1. It doesn't pigeon hole the Superheavyweight as a monster heel only.

This has been said already, and its valid. What rule is there that says that every 300+ lb ugly dude who shows up has to be a stereotypical monster heel? Umaga, Mark Henry, Big Show, Viscera, Khali, etc. When you look at the success rate of the monster heel, it isn't very good, as fans often get bored. From then on, that character is typecast as a monster heel, and any deviations from that norm that don't take immediately revert the character right back to the monster heel status. Just ask Mark Henry.

2. When we look back 20 years from now...

I recently finished watching some WWE DVD's like the "OMG Moments" and such. The most memorable characters in history were not the generic ones who "fit the mold of the wrestler's look." Doink the Clown is memorable more than most from the early 90's because he was colorful but could also "go" in the ring. Some succeed, some fail, but you have to respect the willingness to roll the dice.

3. What's wrong with a little fun?

You have to admit - the outfit, the song - it was catchy, and it was fun. It's nice to see the WWE finally not taking itself too seriously. Clay comes out at house shows, people will be up dancing and having a good time. If he were the plain monster heel, they'd be up taking a rest room break.

4. You all don't want to see John Cena beat another SHW anyway.

The way people shit all over John Cena when he beat Umaga and Khali and few years back, you don't want to see the inevitable Hogan-esque build up of the super powered babyface vs the ugly unstoppable monster heel anyway.

Here are my concerns, though:

1. You can't feed him Curt Hawkins every week.

Clay's gonna need a program to work and some stiff competition to face. When you compare him to another re-debut, how much for Clay benefit from a program with Capt. Buzzkill Chris Jericho?

2. If he's just a Tweet-****e...

Don't use an over the top character just to generate Twitter hits for a few moments each day. This ego-drive on having top-trending-twitter-topics (that's called alliteration, kiddies) can get really old, really fast.

 

[thadarksandman]

This was easily a shot at the IWC. We expected a monster and got a clown in a cheap track suit. I thought at first he might be "reluctant" to do it, IE Big Johnny made him and he wasn't feeling it BUT then he seemed to love it.

I don't see it being permanent, but then again if people like it it might be. The IWC got got on this one.

 

[stephenjpunk317]

I think the biggest thing is why air those videos making Brodus looking like a beast, and then do something like this? Funkasaurus...hey Rikishi called and he wants his gimmick back. I was half expecting for Brodus to do the stink face, it works for Kelly Kelly.

 

[12healface34]

I was surprised as well. At first I thought it was a fake BC, then I realized it was really him. I watched it a couple more times on youtube, but I do have to say it might not be an original creative twist on a character, but it pays homage to some legends such as Dusty Rhodes. I think BC can spin this into an original idea with his own personality in the mix. I love the play by play move description before he did the moves. He is a beast in the ring, has more personality, and more charisma with the new persona. As long as he continues with this gimmick, he is going to have a bright future.

 

[Cosmic Hate]

I think the biggest thing is why air those videos making Brodus looking like a beast, and then do something like this? Funkasaurus...hey Rikishi called and he wants his gimmick back. I was half expecting for Brodus to do the stink face, it works for Kelly Kelly.

Probably to throw us off. They did that while throwing the Undertaker into the airport and Santa too before the Jericho debut.

 

[closet_fan]

i think it's going to be one of those situations where brodus is fed up that he had to wait so long and this is how they repackage him. i don't see it lasting long.

 

[ltyson]

Loved the music. Just shows there is no original ideas left. I was thinking
the Godfather or Flashfunk. May work but Brodus can not dance.