over the top gimmicks

[fredstephenson]

the wwe has been aiming at children directly for quite a while now and im just wondering why have the wwe almost completly done away with the real far out and wacky gimmicks it just doesnt make sense to me as children love that sort of thing most of the wrestlers now just use there real name or a slightly altered version of there real name and seem slightly generic and dull in my opinion.thats not knocking there in ring skills tho as a lot of them are very entertaining in the ring they just dont seem to have much personality.


i would like to see more over the top gimmicks used in the wwe i remembered one in particular when they did the pirate gimmick with paul burchill i thought that was pretty awesome and i think it would be cool to see them use that again on somone else it would be completly doable in the current child freindly enviroment and if done right it would probably be very popular with the kids and adults alike.

so my question is would you like to see this gimmick used again and if so who do you think would be the best guy to pull it off also what are your thoughts on the current lack of gimmicks in the wwe.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I don't like the pirate gimmick. If WWE was gonna recycle gimmicks, I would like to see Goldust get a mid card title push as a heel. Same with Ryder.

Also I would like to see Doink's evil clown gimmick reused.

 

[Dzone]

I'd have to go with what I feel is the most under utilized gimmick in wrestling as a whole...

A maniac clown, sure Doink was good but i feel someone like CM Punk would be much more suitable and play it much better. Only problem is it would almost fix CM Punk in the gimmick but im sure he'd play it well enough for this to not be a problem.

 

[Eupadrinho]

I Liked the Gangster tipe of gymmick used by the Mammalukes,but i would like to see it in a single's wrestler... Just can't figure out who could be good for it right now !!!!!

 

[Aotearoa (Bushwacker)]

Doink is an awesome and can and has been used by numerous different people over the years. Anybody could debut as Doink as it wouldn't matter who it was. Go with a gimmick that is already over to get a new or unknown over.
Doink can always be recycled and always get a reaction.
What about the boogie man. When he actually wrestled I thought he was pretty good and had potential.

 

[thesacredcow]

the wwe has been aiming at children directly for quite a while now and im just wondering why have the wwe almost completly done away with the real far out and wacky gimmicks it just doesnt make sense to me as children love that sort of thing most of the wrestlers now just use there real name or a slightly altered version of there real name and seem slightly generic and dull in my opinion.thats not knocking there in ring skills tho as a lot of them are very entertaining in the ring they just dont seem to have much personality.

First off, WWE has NOT been aiming at children with the PG era. I was about 8 or 9 when the Attitude era really got into full swing and everyone I knew at that age was obsessed with WWF. The PG era is aimed at parents so they don't bitch and moan about WWE being a bad influence on their kids and more importantly, its aimed at the companies who sponsor the company. We could have an Attitude Era style product now and kids would still go nuts for it, doubt they'd even pay much attention to the sexual content (I know it wasn't until I was about 10 or 11 that I gave a shit about the Divas). The PG era is in place to make the WWE a more marketable product.

As far as not introducing over the top gimmicks, I think that's down to the fact that WWE don't want to alienate the male 18+ demographic which still makes up a huge chunk of their fanbase, and who'd shit all over cartoony gimmicks.

so my question is would you like to see this gimmick used again and if so who do you think would be the best guy to pull it off also what are your thoughts on the current lack of gimmicks in the wwe.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a few more over the top gimmicks, maybe even unique ring attire. I'm sick of seeing bland, boring, interchangeable wrestlers with no discernable personality whatsoever. Considering the lack of angles and promo time for undercard guys, WWE would do well to give them more unique, over the top gimmicks. Not necessarily cartoony, childish gimmicks, just something to help them stand out and allow them to develop a unique personality...instead of the bland, monotone mediocre bastards we're stuck with now.

 

[Aotearoa (Bushwacker)]

First off, WWE has NOT been aiming at children with the PG era. I was about 8 or 9 when the Attitude era really got into full swing and everyone I knew at that age was obsessed with WWF. The PG era is aimed at parents so they don't bitch and moan about WWE being a bad influence on their kids and more importantly, its aimed at the companies who sponsor the company. We could have an Attitude Era style product now and kids would still go nuts for it, doubt they'd even pay much attention to the sexual content (I know it wasn't until I was about 10 or 11 that I gave a shit about the Divas). The PG era is in place to make the WWE a more marketable product.

As far as not introducing over the top gimmicks, I think that's down to the fact that WWE don't want to alienate the male 18+ demographic which still makes up a huge chunk of their fanbase, and who'd shit all over cartoony gimmicks.



Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a few more over the top gimmicks, maybe even unique ring attire. I'm sick of seeing bland, boring, interchangeable wrestlers with no discernable personality whatsoever. Considering the lack of angles and promo time for undercard guys, WWE would do well to give them more unique, over the top gimmicks. Not necessarily cartoony, childish gimmicks, just something to help them stand out and allow them to develop a unique personality...instead of the bland, monotone mediocre bastards we're stuck with now.

He didnt even mention the PG era, you did. He said the WWE have been aiming at children which is fact. They have toys, and comic books etc. which no self respecting man is buying for himself. They are for children and WWE is aiming at them. He also never mentioned that they were EXCLUSIVELY aiming at children but more implied they were a market. WWE has always been a variety show of sorts with something for everybody. Lately I agree that they have aimed more towards a certain market but not exclusively.
You didnt even answer his question.

 

[thesacredcow]

He didnt even mention the PG era, you did. He said the WWE have been aiming at children which is fact. They have toys, and comic books etc. which no self respecting man is buying for himself. They are for children and WWE is aiming at them. He also never mentioned that they were EXCLUSIVELY aiming at children but more implied they were a market. WWE has always been a variety show of sorts with something for everybody. Lately I agree that they have aimed more towards a certain market but not exclusively.
You didnt even answer his question.

"WWE has been aiming at children directly for quite a while now." Now, anyone with any modicum of intelligence would interpret that as...drumroll...a reference to the PG era, considering that pretty much everyone has seen the PG era as Vince trying to market directly to children. I was merely stating that I think that the PG era is more for the benefit of parents and sponsors. Which is fairly important here, seeing as how this whole thread is predicated on the idea that WWE is aiming DIRECTLY at kids, rather than making the product 'kid friendly' for the benefit of parent, which is the view I take.

WWE are doing toys now? WOW thats incredible. I mean it's not like they've been doing them for FUCKING YEARS!!

So no self respecting man buys comic books? Thats really interesting, considering the fact that most comic books are bought by men aged 20 to 25.

I never said that WWE were aiming exclusively at kids. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I said that the reason WWE hasn't brought in more cartoony gimmicks is so they don't alienate the male 18+ demographic, which would imply that they're at least PARTIALLY marketing towards that demographic and not EXCLUSIVELY towards kids.

And I did actually answer the question(s) which were would I like to see cartoony, over the top gimmicks like the Paul Burchill pirate gimmick in WWE, and IF SO, who would I like to see given such a gimmick.

My answer to the first question was that while I'd like to see more over the top gimmicks, I wouldn't neccessarily like to see cartoony ones, such as the pirate one. As far as the second question goes, I would have had to answer yes to the first one to answer the second one. I said no, so I couldn't answer it.

 

[fredstephenson]

"WWE has been aiming at children directly for quite a while now." Now, anyone with any modicum of intelligence would interpret that as...drumroll...a reference to the PG era, considering that pretty much everyone has seen the PG era as Vince trying to market directly to children. I was merely stating that I think that the PG era is more for the benefit of parents and sponsors. Which is fairly important here, seeing as how this whole thread is predicated on the idea that WWE is aiming DIRECTLY at kids, rather than making the product 'kid friendly' for the benefit of parent, which is the view I take.

WWE are doing toys now? WOW thats incredible. I mean it's not like they've been doing them for FUCKING YEARS!!

So no self respecting man buys comic books? Thats really interesting, considering the fact that most comic books are bought by men aged 20 to 25.

I never said that WWE were aiming exclusively at kids. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I said that the reason WWE hasn't brought in more cartoony gimmicks is so they don't alienate the male 18+ demographic, which would imply that they're at least PARTIALLY marketing towards that demographic and not EXCLUSIVELY towards kids.

And I did actually answer the question(s) which were would I like to see cartoony, over the top gimmicks like the Paul Burchill pirate gimmick in WWE, and IF SO, who would I like to see given such a gimmick.

My answer to the first question was that while I'd like to see more over the top gimmicks, I wouldn't neccessarily like to see cartoony ones, such as the pirate one. As far as the second question goes, I would have had to answer yes to the first one to answer the second one. I said no, so I couldn't answer it.

well first off wwe has been pg in the past and has not been aimed primarily at children its nothing to do with the rating its just the direction wwe have been going in and its blatently obvious that thats what theyve been doing

and i didnt really mean just cartoony gimmicks think back to the attitude era almost every wrestler had a gimmick of some variety mankind,val venus ,kaientai undertaker,the brood,the godfather it doesnt neccersarily have to be cartoony as long as it makes the wrestler more unique instead of just a sweaty oily man in underpants which is exactly what were stuck with now

 

[Fargo]

I think it would be cool to have a group of midget wrestlers form a clique and start attacking wrestlers in the ring like Barrett's group did. Hornswoggle could be the ring leader. Could you imagine John Cena getting attacked by 6 or 7 nasty little midget wrestlers?

Cena would be interviewed after the attack...."they are mean little suckers, one of them bit me on the ass!"

In the end we find out that Sheamus is the ring leader. "These attacks will not stop until everyone here starts wearing green"

 

[stasheroo]

I do like the idea of a revamped Doink-type character.

Why not a face-painted, twisted version of the old court jester characters named Jester?

Apart from that, I'm not sure that the truly 'over the top' gimmicks are good for wrestling.

I think the days of The Goon, TL Hopper, and Abe 'Knuckleball' Schwartz led to the WWF's early 90's downfall.

But I do think there's a lot of room for improvement giving current stars defining gimmicks and characteristics, just not the more ricidulous types.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

To be honest, I've always been a fan of the more out-there weird gimmicks. Doink is and has always been one of my favorites (particularly the heel version) and while I don't necessarily like their music, I enjoyed when ICP was getting involved in both WWE/F and TNA. I think the maniac clown should be used again, so long as the person in question is extremely expressive, at least decent on the mic, and able to do insane things. In the time before Jeff Hardy left the WWE and started getting in major trouble again, he'd have been a great candidate for this type of gimmick.

I was also a fan of The Hurricane and think, if he hadn't gotten himself in trouble and gotten fired, this guy would have returned to either Raw or Smackdown and had himself a good mid-card run.

I agree that many of the wrestlers today are just too darn generic. They don't push these personalities far enough. Many have a certain potential. Wade Barrett, for instance, once described himself as a conquering Caesar or something like the same. Now I like this thought, fashioning himself as an emperor and perhaps claiming heritage from great conquerors. Push his delusions of grandeur a little more.

One gimmick I'd like to see used again is the violent and vicious convict/prisoner, such as we had with Nailz. This guy was a scary, scary dude and with all the prison reality shows going on showing what it's "really like" on the inside, it could become a very solid gimmick. There are several who could pull this off, but my vote would go for a returning Skip Sheffield. He's big enough, he's expressive enough, he can be vicious enough, and he's a big and well muscled guy which would fit with the gimmick. Maybe the WWE could manufacture a story about a conviction for a violent crime, but as part of a plea agreement, he's allowed to wrestle. Have a prison warden be with him at all times and act as a manager for him.

 

[Fargo]

In the old days, they had a guy that was a hypnotist, and he would hypnotize the ref and his opponent, then after the 3 count, he would slither out of the ring, clap his hands waking up the participants and walk off. Another guy was a chiropracter, and he would dislocate his opponents joints and then walk off. Not really evil things, just evil enough to shock people. Imagine John Cena laying in the ring with his hip out of place, unable to get up until the good doctor came back into the ring and fixed it. I remember a tag team that had both members as evil bounty hunters. Mr. Fuji used to find pressure points that would paralyze the other wrestler, and then Fuji would pick his opponent apart, playing him like a cat tortures a mouse. We need this kind of gimmick again. Not just some guy that is so white he looks like he takes baths in milk and lives under his house.

The evil stink face was a good one, good old Rikishi.

 

[deforty]

I mean the best over the top character is still there UT. I think they could come up with a couple of them for someone like Tyler Reks would be good. Maybe the youngest brother of Kane and UT would be a good fit, this would help him get a bigger role and the rub of two the greatest gimmick characters ever. I mean he could have electric powers like Raiden, or he has a mixture of both Kane and UT. He could also start out helping them and then eventually turning on them thus propelling him to some even if short stardom.

but if you are referring to the cartoonish ones like Earthquake and Tugboat you could make some one like that dude that has be coming out with Del Rio a character like that, have him go on a rampage squashing people.

We could always use another Yokozuna, or a Big John Stud type of character.

I just wouldn't want a whole lot of them but a couple of them, a good tag team like demolition would be cool again too.