Should WWE Try For More International Superstars?

[Calderownz]

I was thinking about the fact that on Smackdown! -- for example -- they have the WORLD Heavyweight championship. However, most of the uppercard is filled with only Americans. While Edge is from Canada and the champion, that's a far stretch from the rest of the world.

Alberto del Rio and Wade Barrett as well as Sheamus are nice concepts, I'd like to see even more.

I think a big time Japanese wrestler with an American mouthpiece could work. Obviously, it would be somewhat of a throwback, as most good ideas are, but it'd just help with the WORLD portion of the Heavyweight championship.

Also, a Japanese or Mexican tag team could be interesting. Still, I'd just like to see the WORLD aspect be more respected in the title.

Questions I ask...

What do you guys think in GENERAL about the WWE bringing in more international superstars?

If you think they should, how do you think it could work?

If you don't think they should, why not?

What market do you think is untapped that should be tapped?

 

[MoizH28]

No as much as I wanna see it, it just wouldn't work. Look at Yoshi Tatsu or Primo these guys could put on a solid 10 minute match on raw but they dont have the mic skills to get called up to the main roster. If the star bought in was decent on the mic it could work. Plus they got plenty as it is.

Alberto DelRio. Rey Mysetrio, Sheamus, Ezikel Jackson, Drew Mcintyre, Kofi, Primo, Yoshi, Khali (coming back soon) plus they have another 4-5 in FCW when I looked at the roster last.

 

[Decarow]

I personally don't care who's from where. I'm all for diversity. But if you're not from USA or Canada, WWE most likely won't pay attention to you unless you're an exception. The E has had loads of international talent over the years and they most likely don't work out too well.

I would like to see them bring back another middle eastern superstar though. Hassan was going places. Just bad timing.

 

[Serious Jones]

The "World" in World Heavyweight Championship is mostly for show (kind of like the Heavyweight part), just as the United States and Intercontinental Titles are pretty much just called that for the sake of sounding prestigious.

In general, I don't think more international superstars should be necessarily pursued. I'm not opposed, but more foreign guys aren't needed right now. We already have several, and they range from main events to curtain jerking on Superstars.

What I'd like to see, if more international superstars were brought in, is for them to have gimmicks that are more than "Hey, this is where I was born." A lot of international guys aren't getting much exposure, and a big reason is that their country is their gimmick. Alberto Del Rio is a good example of an exception, as his Mexican elite gimmick is more focused on the elite aspect than the Mexican aspect. Too often, though, we see a new heel come in that's not much more than another evil foreigner. I remember SmackDown in the middle of the last decade was filled with them: Muhammad Hassan, Rene Dupree, Kenzo Suzuki, etc.

Could WWE benefit from bringing in more international guys? Yeah, but it shouldn't be a priority. They have enough foreign talent, and it would be in their best interest to groom the existing talent, as opposed to hiring more guys. The real focus should be to expand the gimmicks past the superstar's heritage so they can develop their personalities further.

 

[ARLO]

No as much as I wanna see it, it just wouldn't work. Look at Yoshi Tatsu or Primo these guys could put on a solid 10 minute match on raw but they dont have the mic skills to get called up to the main roster.

Agreed.
As much as I'd love to see more Japanese & Mexican stars ( Or perhaps a world X cup style thing), it can't happen.
Now more than ever the WWE is very character based. A luchador that is good on a mic is hard to find, but a Japanese wrestler who can speak English is damn-near impossible.

 

[cm ben]

I would definitely like to see this. The idea occurred to me when watching the World Cup this year; soccer is this international phenomenon and the World Cup really exemplifies how diverse its audience and participants are. And, as a "fair weather" fan of soccer--I don't know who any of the players are or anything--I found it pretty entertaining to arbitrarily root for countries based on facts about the country. Oh, Ghana has a population half the size of France? Cool, I'll root for them. I'm not sure; I'm pretty tired right now, and this will probably sound pretty heavy-handed, but the World Cup just kind of made me feel like a "citizen of the world," like I was a part of something much bigger.

And that would be cool if WWE could embrace that; rather than watching a guy from California and a guy from Ohio duke it out, I think it would be somehow more entertaining and even "enriching" to see, say, a guy from, uh, Spain fight a guy from Germany! I would feel less white trashy watching wrestling (still a common conception of pro wrestling, I think), and heck, at least as far as image goes, WWE might help itself out by appearing less like programming that caters to white trash kids.

Also, gosh, think about all the great stereotype-driven characters that could come of it. I loved the Wunderkind Alex Wright. That boy just couldn't get enough of those fat German beats.



EDIT: Regarding finding English-speaking wrestlers; I, of course, have no idea how easy it is to find foreign wrestlers who speak English, but if any of you have ever traveled abroad (I have been to several countries in Western Europe), you probably realized how. Many. People. Speak. English. It is really the world's lingua franca. Of course, being able to have a conversation in English is different than speaking in front of a live audience; however, I'm hard-pressed to believe that it's impossible to find foreign wrestlers who have a strong enough grasp of the English language to give an understandable promo every once in a while (it's not like Dolph Ziggler is the next Shakespeare or anything).

 

[J-Dogg]

I'd definately like see more international superstars, especially Australian's, now before people knock back the idea, i have witnessed some great local wrestlers from my city of Sydney in Australia put on expectional matches. I trained under the current Shimmer World champ Madison Eagles whose Australian, and her husband and they run a successful promtion a few minutes away from my home. They are currently going for a tenure in America for a few months, not only those 2 but also many aussie wrestler's could make it WWE if WWE didn't give them stuid gimmicks.

International wrestlers like Sheamus have had a great start to their careers, Yoshi is more significant that Funaki, and Mysterio is well Mysterio, one of WWE's biggest draws.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

They shouldn't TRY, they should just ACCEPT. Let me clarify...

If someone were to come under their radar that fits the necessary requirements (ie, they've got the look, the skill, they aren't a problem backstage, they're the right age, they're dedicated, etc), then by all means, they should hire them. HOWEVER, they shouldn't go out seeking people from other countries and hire them purely because of where they come from if they lack those requirements.

Would you rather have "yet another" American superstar with the total package, or would you rather have a foreign one just to be different, who can't wrestle, can't talk, etc? Being outside of the United States should be an added bonus, not the focal point. They shouldn't be trying to figure out a way to take just anyone from say, China, just because they want to be able to say "we've got a wrestler from China" if they don't have the requirements, and then just try to pass them off and hoping everyone jumps on board. They should look at it as "we've got this great talent, who just so happens to be from China, so that's cool too". It'd be interesting to see wrestlers from different parts of the world, but all of that goes out the window and means absolutely nothing if they're the equivalent of another Snitsky.

Bottom line, if they don't have the other factors outside of being foreign, then they shouldn't have a job. If they have all the tools and just happen to be foreign, then by all means. We don't need another wrestler that comes in and they shove him down our throats because he's expanding the global marketing, but can't wrestle for shit, can't talk for shit, and the entire selling point is just "hey look..this guy's from Thailand...what else is there to talk about?"

 

[sXe_Factor]

I would love to see more. And now, there's some people saying "Oh, it wouldn't work. They can't speak english".
How many english speaking countries are there in the world? They could scout all of those?

The other problem though, is seeing them overcome racist booking.
It seems like in WWE:
Asians always have to be martial artists.
Samoans are "Wild", and "Barely human".
Englishmen are Nicely mannered, but will knock you out without issue.

Anyway, I saw WWE should absolutely embrace the "World" aspect of it's name.

 

[xxxdaniel_ariesxxx]

What's all of this talk about they can't speak English? That's what Managers used to be used for. Look at one of the most successful Japanese stars ever in America, The Great Muta. I'm not sure if he couldn't speak English or not, because it didn't matter, because he had Gary Hart to speak for him, and he was The Great Fuckin' Muta. The fact that he didn't speak added to the Mystique of his Character. Speaking and doing Promos aren't an issue if you have a decent mouthpiece as a manager. Kane, didn't speak at all when he first came in, got over huge. Lesnar, didn't talk, just destroyed who ever was infront of him, got over huge.

So I say bring in people from other countries if they can work, don't give them names and music that remind me of video games from my youth (seriously? You pay this "creative" team and the best they can come up with is Yoshi?) and if they can't do a decent promo give them a mouthpiece for a manager.

 

[Brahma Bull]

So you guys want more great khali's? Thats the whole reason he is there, to tap the Indian Market. Bringing foreigners just for having foreigners really hurts the brand. Look at the main event now. Wade barrett, edge, jericho, sheamus, rey mysterio, and del rio to a degree. 5-6 maineventers who are foreign. now the other main eventers. cena, orton, hhh, taker, miz, kane, cm punk. wwe has 1 to 2 more native main eventers than foreigners. not to mention many guys who have been in it before. khali, umaga, and batista are all recent ones for me.

If there is a great talent, should the wwe not take them because they are foreign? hell no. not only is it wrong on many levels, but it would hurt business too. its just, what japan, and mexico wants in their wrestlers, is not what the us wants.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The problem with International superstars is that they are all booked according to their nationalities. Look at Tajiri, Kung Funaki and Yoshi Tatsu. They all ended up being martial artists. You bring in another Muslim and I am pretty sure he will get the same anti american gimmick that Muhammad Hassan had. Mysterio is booked as an underdog due to his size but all Mexican wrestlers are generally saddled with a stereotypical mexican gimmick like Eddie and Chavo were in Los Guerreros.

The point is that all these gimmicks work fine till a certain point of time after which the audience will not want to see them at all. What usually happens is that international superstars are reduced to comedy figures and end up wasting their potential.

As of now I feel WWE does have quite a few international stars. So I would like to see them being booked better before WWE makes another transaction.

 

[Calderownz]

The problem with International superstars is that they are all booked according to their nationalities. Look at Tajiri, Kung Funaki and Yoshi Tatsu. They all ended up being martial artists. You bring in another Muslim and I am pretty sure he will get the same anti american gimmick that Muhammad Hassan had. Mysterio is booked as an underdog due to his size but all Mexican wrestlers are generally saddled with a stereotypical mexican gimmick like Eddie and Chavo were in Los Guerreros.

The point is that all these gimmicks work fine till a certain point of time after which the audience will not want to see them at all. What usually happens is that international superstars are reduced to comedy figures and end up wasting their potential.

As of now I feel WWE does have quite a few international stars. So I would like to see them being booked better before WWE makes another transaction.

I see where you're coming from. However, I do feel that WWE could simplify the entire ordeal by simply bringing in a wrestler from say.. Japan and having him be the best Japanese wrestler on the planet. (Regardless of if he's even close.) He could have a mouthpiece that says if that's the WORLD Heavyweight championship, then it should be defended against the best in the world.

Enter: This Japanese wrestler.

I'm sure, like many others on this board, I could come up with more scenarios. I just feel it's unfortunate that WWE doesn't strive for that type of thing, when it's fairly simple.

Not to say I hate current WWE talent or product. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I see where you're coming from. However, I do feel that WWE could simplify the entire ordeal by simply bringing in a wrestler from say.. Japan and having him be the best Japanese wrestler on the planet. (Regardless of if he's even close.) He could have a mouthpiece that says if that's the WORLD Heavyweight championship, then it should be defended against the best in the world.

Enter: This Japanese wrestler.

I'm sure, like many others on this board, I could come up with more scenarios. I just feel it's unfortunate that WWE doesn't strive for that type of thing, when it's fairly simple.

Not to say I hate current WWE talent or product. Quite the opposite, actually.

Sounds a lot like the way Yokozuna was brought in.

The fact is this would lose steam as the time progresses as well. What is the gimmick? That the guy is the best wrestler from his country. That will ensure that the guy has one feud with the champion of the company. The foreign wrestler we are talking about might even win the title. But what do you do after that?

The point I am trying to make is that the fact that they are foreign will always remain the big deal about the foreign superstar. His character cannot be developed the same way that the character of an American superstar can be developed. As I said that most international superstars have one good angle in their careers after which they disappear. Some don't even have that,

In the example that I have given I do not see the superstar progressing much once he loses the title.

 

[Calderownz]

Sounds a lot like the way Yokozuna was brought in.

The fact is this would lose steam as the time progresses as well. What is the gimmick? That the guy is the best wrestler from his country. That will ensure that the guy has one feud with the champion of the company. The foreign wrestler we are talking about might even win the title. But what do you do after that?

The point I am trying to make is that the fact that they are foreign will always remain the big deal about the foreign superstar. His character cannot be developed the same way that the character of an American superstar can be developed. As I said that most international superstars have one good angle in their careers after which they disappear. Some don't even have that,

In the example that I have given I do not see the superstar progressing much once he loses the title.

Truthfully, once a wrestler is established, you're half-way there.

Look at Yokozuna for example, once he was brought in in a similar fashion, he had several feuds outside of that concept. The Undertaker. Bret Hart. Lex Luger. Quite a few others, as well. Also, the struggle between the wrestler and his mouth piece eventually. You could also bring in another Japanese wrestler that could create some drama.

It could be done fairly well.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Smackdown has several foreign superstars now... Barrett is English, Drew is Scottish, Kofi is Ghanian, Gabriel, South African... WWE as a whole has made a large stride in recruiting overseas talent in recent years... arguably they need to start building overseas shows again to be bigger... we need a big PPV event to be at Wembley for example... then it will be much easier to break the traditional "US only" stronghold that WWE has held...

 

[Arkham Noir]

I think that it's simply because they are based out of the U.S. that you see so many Americans with a few Canadians mixed in as the general norm. I mean, if you watch any American television show, they mainly use actors from their country because it is alot easier to hire those that are near you than to start looking abroad. FCW, their feeder system, is in Florida, so logically that is where their stars will come from opposed to other countries. Also, I don't think alot of foreign stars want to work for WWE. WWE has such a specific style that they use and I don't think alot of guys care for it enough to leave their home land.

Should WWE bring in more international stars? Only if they can get the job done well and become an asset. Every star, either foreign or domestic, should be brought in only if they can do something for the buisness, not just to have "a mexican guy". But on that note, having someone of a different culture does give them something unique right away. Look at Sheamus. He stands out right away just by sounding and looking different than anyone else on the roster. Del Rio also fits into that.

I say they should aim for stars who are capable and can draw, but having Superstar that are from different backgrounds and cultures could help.

 

[Oracular Spectacular]

The only problem with a lot of international stars is the fact that they use the fact that they aren't American as the major definition of their character.

Take Tajiri for example. Originally(and for the longest time) he was a fun babyface who had comedic moments because he didn't have a grasp on the English language. Sure he was talented but his defining characteristics all had to do with the fact that he was Japanese. When the WWE finally turned him heel, it was as an "Evil Ninja"(Even though it was supposed to be a Yakuza gimmick. but Tajiri was worried the actual Yakuza wouldnt be too happy about that)

When It comes to an oriental wrestler, as long as they speak poor English and have a martial arts background then they have a job. I would like the WWE to pull out a Japanese Wrestler like Takeshi Morishima who wrestlers a more MMA ground based style.

But I am all for International stars, I am just sick of the obvious gimmicks based on their heritage that they give these stars.

 

[911 JP]

Wwe has a very wide range of wrestlers that hav come through, and a big part of its history hav come from foreign wrestlers. When u think of wrestlers from other countrys u think of: Samoans, Mexicans, Canadians and some notable others. Alas i have thought there has never been any Australian wrestlers that hav made it big in the wwe. So my question is how do u think an Australian wrestler would go in the wwe. I believe given the rite gimmick etc they could be just as big as say a kofi kingston. But if they were given a bush waker persona it wuld be an epic fail. (although new zealander, close to home.) what are your thoughts, from an american perspective how do u think we wuld fair?

 

[Oracular Spectacular]

Outback Jack sure as hell didnt work....but that was campy and in a dark time for the WWF.

Nathan Jones, if he was a better wrestlers could have worked perfectly. "The Colossus of Boggo Road" gimmick should have worked because he actually spent time in Boggo Road Gaol, but it came off bad and made him look like the Australian version of Nailz.

It could work, but like i said in the International Wrestlers thread the gimmick shouldn't be all about him being Australian. Justin Gabriel is from South Africa but you don't see him dressed in African Heritage clothing or as a British Colonist. You can mention the wrestlers heritage but if he has natural charisma let him roll with that.

 

[Sora/roxas]

I think the fans would eat up an austrailian wrestler. all it would have to be is the steriotypical austrailian that americans love. Talks about kangaroos, has the cargo shorts and the hat. so pretty much steve erwin on crack. And if WWE's smart and your resarch is accurate he could brag about being the first astrailian to win the "insert title name here" like they did with Sheamus.

 

[sam_the_man_2]

I think it could work (and not just because I'm an Aussie), the only problem is that Australia doesn't have a major wrestling promotion to create a good wrestler... Also I don't think the gimmick should be all about being Australian, like Alberto Del Rio's gimmick isn't about being Mexican…

 

[#1Peep]

I think the fans would eat up an austrailian wrestler. all it would have to be is the steriotypical austrailian that americans love. Talks about kangaroos, has the cargo shorts and the hat. so pretty much steve erwin on crack. And if WWE's smart and your resarch is accurate he could brag about being the first astrailian to win the "insert title name here" like they did with Sheamus.

I completely disagree with this. I think an Aussie wrestler would work very well as it would allow an Aussie audience to get behind him and have someone, in a North American dominated place, to get behind. I don't think a sterotypical 'Croc Hunter' gimmick would work as it is just campy and lame in this day and age, but simple references such as a strong accent or small Aussie flags on his boots/ trunks as opposed to full blown khaki, Akubra and a 'Swimming Croc' mascot would be best.

A good looking, charismatic and athletic Australian wrestler would be better than a campy 'Croc Hunter' gimmick in the WWE.

A side note question for anyone else; do you believe an Australian Aboriginal gimmick would work in the WWE? I personally think it would be unique and interesting if it was done correctly.

 

[#1HEEL]

Aboriginal gimmick wouldn't work in my opinion, and it could be seen as highly offensive. Its a touchy subject over here, and I can see WWE going with a boogeyman type angle and it wouldn't work.

Just a simple gimmick, with an Australian guy. None of us over here are actually like the Croc Hunter/Croc Dundee. Seriously...

We are pretty tough but, so just a standard im a badass gimmick from the streets of Sydney. Like Nathan Jones was

 

[m6usin786]

I agree WWE needs more international stars to get into the roster so we can have more cultural storylines and it is also a good way for us to learn about a particular culture or country.