**MERGED** Fandango Discussion (Keep it in here!!!!)

[enviousdominous]

This is why I still hate the WWE.

This wasn't so much a fake debut for another Kizarny. This was a way to use Kofi in some manner without actually having to put him over in any way.

So we're getting close to Wrestlemania, and their pissing away air time to sell the idea that Fandango can't get into a wrestling mood unless Justin Roberts says his name correctly.

I think it's fucking stupid, and as usual, the morons who pinched this gimmick off have no intention of presenting it in a serious manner in the fucking ring.




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[Olan]

there are reports here and elsewhere that WWE might already be souring on Fandango and his debut is in jeopardy. YesI know theyare only reports but I don't see that as a good sign at all.

 

[Justinian]

I like what I am seeing from the guy so far, real anxious to see what he can do in the ring though. The way he is working the gimmick is classic heel which is great.

 

[Mustang Sally]

there are reports here and elsewhere that WWE might already be souring on Fandango and his debut is in jeopardy. YesI know theyare only reports but I don't see that as a good sign at all.

Well, yes, that would be a bad thing. After all, if they've decided it's a lousy gimmick before he even gets it to the ring, they sure are investing a lot of time and capital promoting something they intend to abandon, no?

Of course, the company invested tons of effort into the Kizarny promos, only to can it after a couple of weeks. Sometimes we just don't know what their reasoning is behind things, but it's hard to believe they're going full throttle pushing this guy on both TV shows if they think he's doomed to fail.

As to his not deigning to wrestle because of his upset at how his name is being pronounced, I'd love to see Lilian or Justin announce him as "Johnny Curtis!" and see how he likes it. All the bells, whistles and dancing girls wouldn't make up for how he'd handle that one.

 

[Sheik-mon]

I guess i'm the only one who thinks he has alot of potential?

My wife LOVED his "debut", it was ridiculous and beyond silly, and as long as we are getting Jericho vs Bryan, and Cena vs Punk every now and then, I have no problem with silly characters, I think he's giving 100% and it shows.

Hope he does well.

 

[Mattitude]

Sure he hasn't made a great first impression with his daft refusial-to-compete schtick, but it hasn't got to the point where I'm about to throw my "tv" out the window. But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being and be a tad more paitent to see what happens with him.

Plus it would be typical that whilst the majority of the wrestling online community slates this gimmick as a waste of TV time, etc, etc - that, given time, he actually does quite well.

 

[MasterDebator]

I don't think it's fair to disengage from the Fandango shuttle just yet. Plenty of guys were saddled with horrendously cheesy/ridiculous/lame gimmicks before their potential was fully realized (Issac Yankem D.D.S would someday become Kane, Mark Henry was once "Sexual Chocolate, The Miz was a reality-TV cornball, etc.)

Johnny Curtis as Fandango will never break into the main event scene, but if he's pushed, at least he'll be able to show us/the WWE whether or not he can carry a promo, hold his own in the ring on a low-mid card stage, and stay strong with a gimmick that others are likely scoffing at. Dude is on national television in front of millions of people every Monday night. If he even has mild success as a ballroom dancer, at least he'll prove that, with a proper character, he has star potential.

I get a kick out of Fandango, too. If he is solid in the ring (and comedic), I'd predict that Fandango will be around long enough to sink or swim.

 

[johnmountain]

I guess i'm the only one who thinks he has alot of potential?

My wife LOVED his "debut", it was ridiculous and beyond silly, and as long as we are getting Jericho vs Bryan, and Cena vs Punk every now and then, I have no problem with silly characters, I think he's giving 100% and it shows.

Hope he does well.

I also agree. Fandango has a ton of potential to be amazing. I'm excited to see him in singles action and hopefully win some belts.

 

[~Heup©~]

Ahh... I can't stomach this guy already so I'll agree he is doing his job. I'm not seeing him reaching main event status though I do feel like he is going to give it his all. He seems focused and has some potential through his mic work but I just keep thinking his gimmick is going to murder his own effort to succeed. Just my thoughts of course.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, at least he made it to the ring last night. He's getting closer to actually engaging in a wrestling match, although you wonder whether his first opponent will actually be The Great Khali. It seems unlikely, because Khali is used to destroy lower card talent while serving as a very large sacrifice to the stars.

In which category does Fandango fit? It's rather hard to believe they intend to have him battling for mid-card titles right off the bat. On the other hand, why give a guy a high-profile gimmick if they plan to use him as a jobber from day one?

Enough of this, already. I like Curtis' look, I like the girl (she's dancing even when she's not) and I'm interested in seeing what the Fandango character will do when facing adversity in the ring.

Let's get ready to Rhumba, Fandango.

 

[DirtyD79]

You know why I like Fandango's segments, because it means you can get up and go to the bathroom without worrying about missing anything. Nothing worth caring about is going to happen even when he finally does do something, It's Johnny Curtis, before this he was crying and pouring milk on his head. If this gig don't work out he's probably gonna be in a chicken suit.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Can the guy wrestle? He doesn't interest me enough for me to look up Johnny Curtis videos on Youtube. If he can work then he will be a serviceable enhancement guy, jobbers need gimmicks too. But this gimmick is going to die within 3 months.

I think he's been awful, he has no heat, his voice sounds way too put-on, the obsession w/ the pronunciation of his name is already old. The whole thing is awkward.

 

[tvcolosi]

If you write him off based in gimmicks alone, what about these gimmicks,
A blue blood from CT (HHH),
A guy dressed in all black "taking souls"(Undertaker).
A pale Irish guy that like too fight (Shemus).
A guy dressed in all gold, acting androgynous (Goldust).
Big muscle heads in make-up (Sting, Warrior, LOD, Demolition).
A barber (Beefcake)
A guy in a kilt (Piper)
A super hero(Hurricane Shane Helms)
A guy 5 foot 5 that can choke everyone out (Taz)
A Korean Cowboy (Jimmy Wang Yang)
Elvis (Honky Tonk Man)

Of course the gimmick will need to evolve, but writing him off, from who in all accounts is a good worker, because of the initial gimmick is asinine. Sure some gimmicks are dumb and are doomed from the start (Kizarny, and Brakkus come to mind) you never know until you try. Will he be a main eventer, probably not, but a solid mid card gimmick is a good job.

In closing, I am open minded because he seems to be giving it his all. A lot of gimmicks fail because the guy doesn't believe his persona. Last night was a HUGE step forward for him. I thought that leg drop looked awesome.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

If you write him off based in gimmicks alone, what about these gimmicks,
A blue blood from CT (HHH),
A guy dressed in all black "taking souls"(Undertaker).
A pale Irish guy that like too fight (Shemus).
A guy dressed in all gold, acting androgynous (Goldust).
Big muscle heads in make-up (Sting, Warrior, LOD, Demolition).
A barber (Beefcake)
A guy in a kilt (Piper)
A super hero(Hurricane Shane Helms)
A guy 5 foot 5 that can choke everyone out (Taz)
A Korean Cowboy (Jimmy Wang Yang)
Elvis (Honky Tonk Man)

Of course the gimmick will need to evolve, but writing him off, from who in all accounts is a good worker, because of the initial gimmick is asinine. Sure some gimmicks are dumb and are doomed from the start (Kizarny, and Brakkus come to mind) you never know until you try. Will he be a main eventer, probably not, but a solid mid card gimmick is a good job.

In closing, I am open minded because he seems to be giving it his all. A lot of gimmicks fail because the guy doesn't believe his persona. Last night was a HUGE step forward for him. I thought that leg drop looked awesome.

Why does everyone on this board come off as an apologist and/or promoter of every single thing that happens in the WWE. I say that this ballroom dancer gimmick is lame, and bringing up Jimmy Wang Yang does little to change my mind.

 

[prosenfi]

Before tonight, people were giving Fandango crap about his gimmick,but after seeing how things panned out with his crowd reaction, I can definitely see Johnny Curtis becoming big with this gimmick.

Now before people start jumping on me for saying a ballroom dancer is gonna be WWE champion, let me remind you of someone...Dolph Ziggler. When Nick Nemmeth first debuted in the WWE as Dolph Ziggler, his gimmick was him going around and introducing himself to everyone. He would yell his name over and over again in his matches and nobody thought he would make it with that gimmick.

But as time went by, that part of the gimmick slowly died down, and people began to really enjoy his work rate and his look. I can see that happening with Fandango. The ballroom dancer might slowly die down, he has a great look and we already know Johnny Curtis can work, so I believe that in 4-5 years, Fandango could be World Champion.

What do you all think?

 

[PsychoBlack]

Before tonight, people were giving Fandango crap about his gimmick,but after seeing how things panned out with his crowd reaction, I can definitely see Johnny Curtis becoming big with this gimmick.

Now before people start jumping on me for saying a ballroom dancer is gonna be WWE champion, let me remind you of someone...Dolph Ziggler. When Nick Nemmeth first debuted in the WWE as Dolph Ziggler, his gimmick was him going around and introducing himself to everyone. He would yell his name over and over again in his matches and nobody thought he would make it with that gimmick.

But as time went by, that part of the gimmick slowly died down, and people began to really enjoy his work rate and his look. I can see that happening with Fandango. The ballroom dancer might slowly die down, he has a great look and we already know Johnny Curtis can work, so I believe that in 4-5 years, Fandango could be World Champion.

What do you all think?

Actually Dolph was a cheerleader.

Fandango is terrible, he's fun though. Just saying his name is fun and I'm sure the fans will continue to hum his theme music because that just seemed like a ton of fun. He'll be over for quite a while with this.

As far as a world title shot goes I'm not so sure. All of the main event guys are unique characters but not to the point that they begin to portray something that they're not.

I would let Fandango go in like a Santino role for as long as they can. Santino was just as over as anybody on the roster and he rode that wave for years, even challenging for World titles every now and then.

 

[Dysturbed]

Actually Dolph was a cheerleader.

"Nicky" was a cheerleader. Yes both characters were portrayed by the same person, but I get the impression that him saying When Nick Nemmeth first debuted in the WWE as Dolph Ziggler" as opposed to "when Nick Nemeth first debuted in WWE", that he is talking about the evolution of the specific character.


I am surprised to say that I like the Fandango character so far. I am not going to make any predictions of how far he will go with it because I feel that it is too early to tell.

 

[sTyLnK]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. His character is only good short term. Soon enough, people are going to start becoming uninterested and bored with it. The WWE will then have nothing for the poor guy, he'll appear on tv less and less, then ultimately be let go. Prove me wrong, because I really enjoy his work and style in the ring. JMO and I stand by it.

 

[thebarber]

"Nicky" was a cheerleader. Yes both characters were portrayed by the same person, but I get the impression that him saying When Nick Nemmeth first debuted in the WWE as Dolph Ziggler" as opposed to "when Nick Nemeth first debuted in WWE", that he is talking about the evolution of the specific character.


I am surprised to say that I like the Fandango character so far. I am not going to make any predictions of how far he will go with it because I feel that it is too early to tell.

wrong, he first debutted as Kerwin White(Chavo Guerrero's) caddie, until the crap gimmick was dropped

 

[future admin]

It's interesting, before the WM match was announced, people seemed to consistently ridicule the gimmick that is Fandango. There were allegations of the WWE dropping the ball before he even wrestled a match. There were chants of "You can't wrestle!" echoing around arenas.

Suddenly, Fandango is almost a cult hero.

There is a video of fans chanting his song. I'm not sure if these fans just like the song, but it is clear that he is a liked character. Can he win a the world title with this gimmick? Unlikely. Can he get some valuable experience under his belt? Shit yeah!! he's already had a WM match with Chris Jericho! I'm sure we will see him challenging for the mid card titles at some point, but hopefully his push to the moon doesn't crash and burn quickly.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

One week, one crowd and he's a "cult hero"?

You do realize that they're not chanting those things because he's that good. They're chanting it as a goof, because it's funny. It's almost mockery, even though it's not meant to be. He is ridiculious. He's a fucking meme.

Remember Zack Ryder? Ryder revolution. Ryder or we riot. Oh, oh, oh. They were singing his theme, too. Hell, Cena was. Everyone was fist pumping, everyone was wearing his stupid gear and he was rendered the next big thing. Then what happened? People came off the high. Why? They never liked his talent, the dude has none, just like Fandango.

Is this what it takes to get over in the WWE these days? Ridiculious gimmicks? First we have Daniel Bryan and his goat beard, acting like a fool. That got over. Then Zack Ryder and his ... whatever he did. That got over. Then Brodus Clay dancing around. That got over. Now it's Fandango, a gimmick that belongs in the 80's and even then it would've been cheesy.

I wish for once someone would get over due to smart booking, cool storylines, epic promos and amazing matches. Well, Punk did and he was white hot. Then he got shoved in stupid booking, uncool storylines, watered down promos and very rarely did he have an amazing match. Still, he's over, because he has talent. Yet clowns like this get the people nuts? This moron got on the 'Mania card and beat Jericho, yet Cesaro didn't?

Where is wrestling going?

Enjoy it while it lasts. Pretty sure it's dead already. If it's not, WWE will find a way to kill it.

 

[PsychoBlack]

One week, one crowd and he's a "cult hero"?

You do realize that they're not chanting those things because he's that good. They're chanting it as a goof, because it's funny. It's almost mockery, even though it's not meant to be. He is ridiculious. He's a fucking meme.

Remember Zack Ryder? Ryder revolution. Ryder or we riot. Oh, oh, oh. They were singing his theme, too. Hell, Cena was. Everyone was fist pumping, everyone was wearing his stupid gear and he was rendered the next big thing. Then what happened? People came off the high. Why? They never liked his talent, the dude has none, just like Fandango.

Is this what it takes to get over in the WWE these days? Ridiculious gimmicks? First we have Daniel Bryan and his goat beard, acting like a fool. That got over. Then Zack Ryder and his ... whatever he did. That got over. Then Brodus Clay dancing around. That got over. Now it's Fandango, a gimmick that belongs in the 80's and even then it would've been cheesy.

I wish for once someone would get over due to smart booking, cool storylines, epic promos and amazing matches. Well, Punk did and he was white hot. Then he got shoved in stupid booking, uncool storylines, watered down promos and very rarely did he have an amazing match. Still, he's over, because he has talent. Yet clowns like this get the people nuts? This moron got on the 'Mania card and beat Jericho, yet Cesaro didn't?

Where is wrestling going?

Enjoy it while it lasts. Pretty sure it's dead already. If it's not, WWE will find a way to kill it.

Have some fun dude. We all know Fandango sucks it's clear. However everyone has tried to pronounce his name correctly and we all have fun doing it. He's going to get over just like Santino did and the way that Ryder did. Santino stayed over because he beat damn near every one on the roster with the cobra and it was entertaining as hell. Ryder didn't stay over because he tried to change a tire while Kane pummeled him. Either way as a fan, I had a lot of fun whenever those two guys were on my television.

 

[Mouthy Idiot]

I know one thing .... Johnny Curtis the guy playing fandango is freaking hilarious tonight when he got beat down and still had to grab the mic to say his name... That was funny. And that girl whos his dancer partner is like really attractive and shes so low key so far which for some reason is making her seem even more sexy. The crowd was mocking him with the chant and kinda rubbing it in Vinces face alittle. But when he comes out I find it more entertaining then seeing boring bland guys like orton and cena and any of the current roster whos been there awhile. And again that valet dancing girl who is with fandango is like just really sexy. I am not sure if Johnny Curtis is married or has a gf or whatever but I would place high odds hes getting with her behind the scenes.

 

[PemilyPelvis]

Just terrible that he's getting unfair comparisons to Ryder, Santino and Brodus Clay. The guy is magnificently charismatic. He may come across as fun but definantly has elements of intensity. You'll be hard pressed to find any top level superstar that can't deliver part humour to their character. HBK , HHH, Austin, Booker T, Jericho, CM Punk, Kane, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall. Infact it's almost a must.

Within time the elements of the character that work will be magnified and other parts fazed out. No reason what so ever he couldn't be a challenger and winner for a money in the bank contract.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't know how long the character's steam will last, but I'm enjoying it. Fandango is a different character who embraces many aspects of the old school heel. He gives off kind of a creepy vibe along with one that's on the feminine side. If this was 1987, the live audience would be booing the snot out of this guy left & right.

Fandango is different and in spite of all those who proclaim to want something that's different, it's mostly a smoke screen. What many, including a lot of internet fans, want that's "different", is some sort of cross between Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels & The Rock. They want someone whose an appealing, near unstoppable badass that hardly ever loses yet makes EVERYONE else look good who can do all the flips & high spots while being a technical dynamo. If Fandango, or any other wrestler for that matter, by some miracle, managed to be all that; someone would soon find something else to complain about. Modern fans are extraordinarily fickle and would probably be booing Fandango as heavily as Cena in the next 6 months.

We live in the age of the smark and smarks like to cheer for heels, cheer only when someone does a highly dangerous spot or just flat out dumps on everything that's put in front of them. Last night's crowd, while mostly an energetic bunch intent on just having fun, show off the good & the bad of smarks. For instance, last night's crowd was no doubt made up of many of the same people who booed the Make A Wish video that was shown during the HOF induction ceremony, so they've also got little to no sense of class.