HeenanGorilla
Championship Contender
Many times, either while reading this forum or listening to people talk about wrestling history, I hear comparisons of modern characters or angles to those from previous eras. My era as a fan was mostly the Golden Era of WWF. From 1986 to 1992, wrestling was a big part of my life. But, I was only a fan of WWF. That is not to say I didn't like what NWA and others were doing, I just wasn't familiar with them. When Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Ric Flair and the Steiner Brothers showed up in the WWF, I knew who they were. But, I didn't know much else about them. I find it interesting to read about the feuds, matches, face/heel turns and gimmicks that I missed.
I'll also see things like (made up example) "AJ Styles didn't come up with that! Bobo Brazil did that decades ago!" Now, I too used to get...perturbed...when people would talk about today's product and dismiss things from the past that they weren't around for. But, I also think it is silly to expect a fan of today's WWE to be familiar with the happenings of the WWWF, for example.
The WWE Network allows today's fans to either relive, or experience for the first time, a lot of older superstars and shows. Maybe a kid knows about Piper smashing a coconut over Snuka's head because it is referenced a lot to this day. But, maybe he had never seen it before.
This got me thinking... Which characters or angles are old enough and good enough that they could be re-done now and be entertaining to today's fans while not angering fans of yesteryear? For example, could a billionaire character come out and show what his money can buy and rub it in everyone else's face and get away with a Ted DiBiase-esque Million Dollar Man gimmick? Not likely. But I would like to hear what you guys think can still work now?
One that popped into my head was the angle that culminated with the Blindfold Match at WrestleMania VII. This match is not very popular on this forum, but I liked it a lot! For those who may not know, Rick Martel had a Model gimmick, which included him carrying an atomizer filled of his own cologne called Arrogance. Martel was an obnoxious heel so the commentators and faces would act like this stuff really stunk. On the Brother Love Show, Martel sprayed Arrogance into Jake Roberts' eye, blinding him. After recovering, Jake would try to attack Martel but would have some trouble due to his damaged vision. This feud led to a Blindfold Match at Mania. I found it to be a lot of fun. It seemed like a lot of fun for the crowd, as Jake would point in various directions, using the audience's cheering to locate Martel. But, for me, it was Martel's performance that still cracks me up to this day. He would do an elbow drop after Jake had moved away. He would throw Jake into the ropes and then pop his head up as if he was trying to do a back body drop, only failing because Jake (not being able to see) came off of the ropes and went away from where Martel was standing. There were a couple of moments where, even though we knew they could actually see, the psychology of acting like two guys who couldn't see was really entertaining. Like I said, I seem to be in the minority as a fan of this match. But, I think this could be done today. The original is a pretty well-known match, but not an untouchable match. Of course, I wouldn't suggest having a model-type heel spray cologne again. But, any number of heel tactics could lead to a face's "temporary blindness" and consequential recovery/heat building, culminating with a blindfold match.
I think enough time has passed where many fans would be seeing this for the first time AND fans who recognize this angle could still be entertained by it if done well.
What are some characters and/or matches that you feel WWE can "redo" now and, not only get away with, but entertain people?
I'll also see things like (made up example) "AJ Styles didn't come up with that! Bobo Brazil did that decades ago!" Now, I too used to get...perturbed...when people would talk about today's product and dismiss things from the past that they weren't around for. But, I also think it is silly to expect a fan of today's WWE to be familiar with the happenings of the WWWF, for example.
The WWE Network allows today's fans to either relive, or experience for the first time, a lot of older superstars and shows. Maybe a kid knows about Piper smashing a coconut over Snuka's head because it is referenced a lot to this day. But, maybe he had never seen it before.
This got me thinking... Which characters or angles are old enough and good enough that they could be re-done now and be entertaining to today's fans while not angering fans of yesteryear? For example, could a billionaire character come out and show what his money can buy and rub it in everyone else's face and get away with a Ted DiBiase-esque Million Dollar Man gimmick? Not likely. But I would like to hear what you guys think can still work now?
One that popped into my head was the angle that culminated with the Blindfold Match at WrestleMania VII. This match is not very popular on this forum, but I liked it a lot! For those who may not know, Rick Martel had a Model gimmick, which included him carrying an atomizer filled of his own cologne called Arrogance. Martel was an obnoxious heel so the commentators and faces would act like this stuff really stunk. On the Brother Love Show, Martel sprayed Arrogance into Jake Roberts' eye, blinding him. After recovering, Jake would try to attack Martel but would have some trouble due to his damaged vision. This feud led to a Blindfold Match at Mania. I found it to be a lot of fun. It seemed like a lot of fun for the crowd, as Jake would point in various directions, using the audience's cheering to locate Martel. But, for me, it was Martel's performance that still cracks me up to this day. He would do an elbow drop after Jake had moved away. He would throw Jake into the ropes and then pop his head up as if he was trying to do a back body drop, only failing because Jake (not being able to see) came off of the ropes and went away from where Martel was standing. There were a couple of moments where, even though we knew they could actually see, the psychology of acting like two guys who couldn't see was really entertaining. Like I said, I seem to be in the minority as a fan of this match. But, I think this could be done today. The original is a pretty well-known match, but not an untouchable match. Of course, I wouldn't suggest having a model-type heel spray cologne again. But, any number of heel tactics could lead to a face's "temporary blindness" and consequential recovery/heat building, culminating with a blindfold match.
I think enough time has passed where many fans would be seeing this for the first time AND fans who recognize this angle could still be entertained by it if done well.
What are some characters and/or matches that you feel WWE can "redo" now and, not only get away with, but entertain people?
