The New Stooges

[The Brain]

For the past few weeks Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury have taken on the role of the stooges like Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco played during the Attitude Era. They are at the Authority's beck and call mostly assisting Seth Rollins. They aren't quite the lackies that Patterson and Brisco were when they were constantly getting Vince's coffee and kissing his ass, but they are doing some dirty work and taking some beatings. They've done a good job of staying out of the spotlight while at the same time making their presence known. I'm wondering if you think anyone else would have been better suited for that role.

Like I said, Noble and Mercury are doing ok but they aren't exactly the most recognizable names in the world. Most of us think of Patterson and Brisco as those bumbling stooges but they were pretty big names in their day. Would the new stooges be better off being played by more famous names? I don't know who the backstage road agents are these days. I know at one point in the recent past (and maybe still presently) Mike Rotunda, Finlay, Dean Malenko, Steve Keirn, Ted Dibiase, and Ricky Steamboat were on the payroll. Even though I'm wondering if bigger names would be better in the role they can't be too big. Ted Dibiase and Ricky Steamboat would not work, for example. They would steal some of the spotlight from Rollins. I think any of the other names could work. They're all more recognizable than both Noble and Mercury (Keirn is debatable) but not so much that they would take anything away from Rollins, Orton, or anyone else.

Realistically Noble and Mercury are doing fine. I'm not saying replacing them with Rotunda and Malenko would make any kind of difference in the show. I was just thinking how seemingly random it was seeing Noble and Mercury in main event angles. I guess anyone else I named would be just as random but at least more successful during their primes. I'm not making a big deal of this. It's just something that crossed my mind while watching the main event tonight. How do you think Noble and Mercury are doing in their roles? Would you prefer to see someone else in that role? If so, who?

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

Well, while their presence is somewhat random they have a few qualities going for them that some of the other names you listed don't.

Firstly, they are both still fairly young and agile, which means they are able to get in there and mix it up from time to time, and not have it be perceived as a comedy bit (like Brisco and Patterson). The other good thing, is they are both smaller guys. While this might seem like a detriment, I actually think it helps them in this role because they clearly play a secondary role to Rollins (and the rest of the Authority), similar to the role of a referee, their presence is known but it doesn't outshine the others.

The biggest thing I wish they would do though, is make the audience more familiar with their previous in-ring careers, so they would be perceived as more of a serious threat. As a younger kid, watching during the attitude era, I understood that Brisco and Patterson were former wrestlers, but I took them as a joke because I didn't really know much of their prior in-ring accomplishments at the time. While they're trying to sell the network, it seems like a great time to maybe do a couple of vignettes or something, so that the younger audience knows who these guys are.

Overall though, I actually liked Mercury and Noble's work when they were actively wrestling so I'm enjoying seeing them again in their new role. I hope it expands and leads to more opportunities for them in the coming months.

 

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

I say they bring back Nidia too to lay down the Authoritayyyy on the Divas division.

 

[zwbruno]

The major difference I see is who the pair is stooging to. Patterson and Brisco are legends and champions being subservient to THE BOSS, Mr. McMahon. And while these guys are still with the Authority, they mostly interact just with Rollins. This may change going forward, but I think any name too big would become endearing to the crowd because of Rollins treatment. Noble and Mercury are guys who are accomplished and recognizable enough to be remember but not legendary enough to make us connect with them. Perfect stooges.

 

[MCMG]

I like it a lot. It gives Rollins something different while him remaining the focus. There are the obvious things they can do: get involved in matches and take bumps. Moreover, they simply add numbers to The Authority.

As for Noble and Mercury themselves, they are both logical choices. They are recognisable enough to be on TV but aren't really that big to tarnish any legacy. This combination works really well and I'm intrigued to see where it goes next.

 

[brochester8]

I like that it Noble and Mercury. Both are doing a great job in my opinion. I think one reason they went with them besides the others is that they are still young and can take bumps better then Malenko whom has heart problems. Rotunda is getting up there in age and I don't think they want to work him in on any storyline with fans knows he's the father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. Finlay may show up on some occasions but he's a bit older than Noble and Mercury. The only others that could play this role would be the Outlaws but there still over with the crowd so it makes more sense with it being Mercury and Noble

 

[Slash-LN]

I have no problem with them.

I've always liked Mercury and I have no beef with Noble. I'd rather see the younger stooges opposed to the Brisco and Patterson stooges we saw back then. I guess it's just more believable to me that Mercury and Noble could team up against a guy like Ambrose and at least have a shot at taking him out opposed to old out of shape guys.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I'm good with Noble and Mercury as the new Stooges. As mentioned by the above posters, both guys are young and healthy enough to take beatings better than the older guys backstage, and like Patterson and Brisco they seem the type to do some hilarious bits with each other from time to time. Also, Mercury makes perfect sense as The Shield always considered him the fourth member of their group, he was Rollins' mentor. It wouldn't suprise me if that is the only reason why he was chosen to be a stooge and why he's mostly assisting Seth.