The New Day only sucks as a gimmick and not Wrestlers

[ASKane]

I imagine its been said before but I have only just come back on here and want to restart the debate now there tag champs.

It may have but shouldn't have been a surprise that the tag title match was good because the 4 guys it featured are all highly talented, from the technical wrestling of Kidd and Cesaro, to the athleticism of Kofi and the Power of Big E they all have the talent to have good singles careers but are settling with being the top of the tag division alongside the Lucha Dragons which is still a good position to be in.

Onto the New Day now, when you analyse the abilities of the guys you see 2 extremely talented wrestlers in Kofi and Big E and a very good talker in Xavier Woods to back them up. I think putting them together was a good move and has helped the tag division but what needs to happen now they are tag champs is a transition into a new gimmick. A PG Nation of Domination was what we all thought it would be and while bringing race into the equation worked in the past I cant see it succeeding in a PC society and PG company. So I cant think of what I would really do in terms of a gimmick but something has to happen because they have the talent to anchor the tag division but not the gimmick

Any Ideas on what they could use as a gimmick, bare in mind WWE's limitations with PG

 

[cornerdon26]

Keep the gimmick as it is for now, they are a main roster tag-team version of Bo Dallas. If they change gimmick suddenly or become too aggressive to quick they will probably end up turning face by accident.

Perhaps they could pretend to hear 'New Day Rock' or something to that extend, keep them in your face until they get completely booed out the building. As they get angrier with the booing, have them attack faces singles competitors to give them something to really boo at. 3-on-1 attacks on top faces will hopefully get them some good heat, could also lead to some 3-on-3 matches which will get Xavier Woods involved too. Just make them cockier, arrogant and less aware of crowd reactions.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When it was initially announced that WWE was going to form a stable of black wrestlers along the same lines as the Nation of Domination, I knew it wouldn't work. It's not got as much to do with PG as it does with PC, as has already been mentioned.. I can't remember exactly when this was first reported, but I think it's been well over a year, maybe as long as a year and a half. I think the idea of a Nation of Domination style faction was talked about, but the kibosh was put on it after considering the ramifications in light of the Trayvon Martin shooting. With what's happened since then with those four black teenagers, also in Florida, being shot at in their SUV by a middle age white guy, who says he "felt threatened" even though none of the boys did or said anything threatening, and the various cop related shootings involving black suspects, including Ferguson, MO and the ones that've followed, WWE really dodged a major bullet by not going down that road in the first place. I mean...people were getting entirely too worked up over the stuff with Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter a few years back, so just imagine the shitstorm of controversy to come about if WWE formed a stable comprised of black wrestlers inspired by the Nation of Domination, which itself was inspired by the Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and various other militant organizations. There'd be accusations of WWE exploiting racial tensions coming out of the woodwork; it doesn't matter that it's pro wrestling where everything is as staged as a traditional television show.

As far as dropping their gimmick, I'm interested in seeing where they're able to go with New Day as full out heels. There's talent there and it MIGHT lead to something potentially bigger for them further on down the line. Xavier Woods and Big E are both only 28 and 29 years old respectively and this gimmick provides something that Big E didn't really have before: an opportunity to show that he has genuine personality. With some wrestlers, especially if they have a certain look or build, Vince sometimes goes far too narrowly with characters; in Big E's case, Vince saw a very muscular guy with genuine credentials as a powerlifter but instead of highlighting that there's more to Big E than just muscles, which he showed in NXT, he kept him as a silent, one dimensional bruiser. Instead of giving Big E an opportunity to show some charisma, Vince decided that his personality, or lack thereof, should match his physical appearance and it's sometimes hard for Vince to accept that muscular powerhouses can be more than big, physical, dominant brutes with nothing to bring to the table besides size. And surprise, surprise, the fans didn't really respond to him.

I think things could be looking up for the gimmick as it's drawing pretty good heat. They were being booed last night, but they weren't being booed because fans weren't enjoying what they were doing out there in their match. After all, Extreme Rules was in Chicago last night and Chicago is one of the smarkiest crowds WWE plays to at anytime of the year; so since they didn't crucify Kofi, Big E & Woods last night, that's a definite positive. At the same time, I'd rather WWE have them doing this than for WWE to be doing nothing with them at all, which is essentially what Xavier Woods' career has amounted to, what Big E's been doing since the loss of the Intercontinental Championship last year and has been the case with Kofi off & on during his 7+ years in WWE.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I actually think that the gimmick is becoming less of a crutch and more of a positive factor in their getting over, albeit as heels.

Its funny that the WWE, whether purposeful or not, has essentially organically created on the main roster a gimmick situation for The New Day that is basically a rehash of what they developed for Bo Dallas during his main event run with NXT. Ambiguously oblivious and ironic babyfaced heels.

If this was all planned from the start by the creative heads, it was a beautifully executed piece of trolling. If it is merely a result of "rolling with the punches" due to crowd reaction, then it is an excellent example of evolving on the fly. Either way, creative seems to have delivered with the faction, when it seemed at first that they had made an egregious miscalculation.

And yes, the tag title match at Extreme Rules last night was excellent, and the only thing truly worth watching from an incredibly poor PPV. The team of Kofi and Big E is a nice combo, and their chemistry is quickly developing as Big E is improving his tag instincts and comfort level.

Kofi and E against Kidd and Cesaro is a very effective matchup stylistically, and it would benefit the tag division to continue to extend this program.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

They don't need a gimmick change at all. Their gimmick works great as heels, they're generating some of the biggest heat on the entire roster, the "New Day sucks" chants are heat, not go home heat. Their heel run is just getting started and they have the right gimmick to not run into cool heel peril. Give them time, the fact you don't like their characters and like their talent is a good thing, they're being good heels.

I wouldn't call tag team wrestling settling. It's WWE's fault for presenting the division as being only a stepping stone to singles success. Kidd/Cesaro and New Day are right where they should be. Being tag champ should be treated as an honour and come with more job perks (either in kayfabe or real life).

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

No one here gets it lol.

This is a GREAT gimmick. The gimmick sucks, you know it, I know it, the fans know it, the wrestlers know it, the writers know it.

This is the era where kayfabe is dead. "New....DaySucks" is a chant. That would have NEVER happened if they came out acting like 3 angry black guys, or 3 *insert generic serious gimmick*.

This is how you work in an era where kayfabe is dead. They have built in heat. Where they go next is where the gimmick really is. Now if they act angry, there is a reason. Or they could go the Kurt Angle route and be hilariously frustrated. Or they could do something else.

Either way, the foundation for crowd emotion has been laid and it makes whatever they do next a lot more interesting. You guys are thinking in checkers terms and they're playing chess.

 

[Navi]

It didn't work when they were faces, now because of the crowd chanting New Day Sucks, they're getting over as heels. Weird. But anyway, I'm not a fan of them.

Xavier Woods to me anyway adds nothing other than having an extremely loud voice. It's even worse than Brie Bella yelling "Nikki let's go" every two minutes. Not much more annoying just slightly. Big E is might be a monster heavyweight, but Jesus, watching grass grow is more exciting. Not to mention the fact that he looks like an overgrown toddler in that outfit. Kofi I feel the worst for. He's a natural face and to be in with this group, well I just feel for the guy. He doesn't look at all comfortable half the time.

I've no doubt they will keep going, they have too, the tag team division needs teams, but i'm sure once they bring in more, New Day will have to say Good Day and be gone.

 

[LBGetBack]

The gimmick is FANTASTIC for a heel gimmick. I think that was the plan all along. Have them out there as "faces" being as corny and obnoxious as possible so the fans quickly turn on them, and then "turn them heel" with the only real change being some slight cheating and now wrestling against faces, but otherwise with the same gimmick that got them hated. They basically made them get "Rocky Maivia heat" on purpose.

It's awesome. They get great heel heat, so it's a great gimmick.

I'm sure over time they can become more vicious and angry......if needed. See Kurt Angle. He started as an obnoxious dork, and gradually got more vicious and intense over time. It was never a drastic, quick change, it just slowly and naturally happened.

 

[Jeritron5000]

Unpopular opinion I guess: I can't stand them. I've always seen a difference between "over as heels" and "I'm fast forwarding through this." I enjoy "New DaySucks" because I believe it. Not because I think it's fun. To each his own I guess but man do I feel bad for those pressed-penny tag titles.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I think a good way for them to go is to tap into what "New Day" essentially started as in their vignettes- gospel singers in a black choir.


Have them come across as saccarine sweet, polite, upstanding types, who are actually "fake" and are judgemental, insincere and somewhat hypocritical.

But play it that the rest of the roster are oblivious to New Day not being what they say they are, because they are too clever to get caught. They pretend to befriend people, while the fans see that New Day have the figurative knife ready to plunge into their back.

This "goody two" shoes gimmick will give them the right type of heat, as people don't like the PG type stuff, but then they get even more heat for being hypocrites and "pretending" to be more righteous than everyone else. They will be a heat magnet in no time.

 

[kadroan]

I imagine its been said before but I have only just come back on here and want to restart the debate now there tag champs.

It may have but shouldn't have been a surprise that the tag title match was good because the 4 guys it featured are all highly talented, from the technical wrestling of Kidd and Cesaro, to the athleticism of Kofi and the Power of Big E they all have the talent to have good singles careers but are settling with being the top of the tag division alongside the Lucha Dragons which is still a good position to be in.

Onto the New Day now, when you analyse the abilities of the guys you see 2 extremely talented wrestlers in Kofi and Big E and a very good talker in Xavier Woods to back them up. I think putting them together was a good move and has helped the tag division but what needs to happen now they are tag champs is a transition into a new gimmick. A PG Nation of Domination was what we all thought it would be and while bringing race into the equation worked in the past I cant see it succeeding in a PC society and PG company. So I cant think of what I would really do in terms of a gimmick but something has to happen because they have the talent to anchor the tag division but not the gimmick

Any Ideas on what they could use as a gimmick, bare in mind WWE's limitations with PG

I like what they're doing now. The heel turn helped. They're getting a reaction from the crowd. Woods can talk which helps even more to get a reaction from the crowd. They keep doing that clap, they may have something there.