Why do all WWE faces threaten violence?

[Justin Satiable]

I get it, it's wrestling, it's a 'violent' medium. That said, why do so many promos come down to John Cena, or Sheamus, or Reigns, or whoever the face is threatening to hit the other person?

I dislike the John Cena character for this reason. I don't care about the smark bandwagons, I've hated Cena for a long time due to his terrible character. He's simply a bully. Worse yet, he's the kind of twisted bully who makes himself out to be the good guy. It astounds me that the WWE, with all their anti-bully campaigning, insist that their faces threaten to beat up older men like Paul Heyman. How can you possibly defend the character of John Cena when he so often resorts to violence over petty insults. Remember when he hit Punk 'cause Punk called him "the New York Yankees"? Get over yourself, John.

Maybe I look into these things too much but this seems like a massive flaw in these characters. They come across as hypocritical bullies to me. Maybe I'm just applying too much "real-word" logic to wrestling, but I don't see how portrayal of character should be any different to other mediums.

How do you feel about this?

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

Your way off point here because of one simple reason. These guys are here to fight. They're professional wrestlers. They get paid to fight. The reason why some are portrayed as good guys and some as bad guys is simply because some fight for a good cause and some for a bad cause. To be honest I don't really see what your gripe is.

 

[CKDaimen702]

I see it differently. I see it as (With the exception of Paul Heyman) the faces STANDING UP to bullies who hurl petty insults. They stand up to these bullies by trying to settle their differences like men. To me, that is indeed babyface.

 

[CharlesKane]

I have to agree with the OP here. Wouldn't be refreshing to see a baby face come out and instead challenge his antagonist to a spelling bee or knitting competition.

 

[Max Headroom]

If anything, a 100% non-violent wrestler would be heel, not a face. Generally, people tune into wrestling shows because they want to see someone get a nice ass-whoopin'. In the case of Paul Heyman, I can *kind of* see where you're coming from. No, he is not a competitor, he is a manager. However, he abuses his position, calling everyone else out when he has Brock around, but then going "oh no I'm just an advocate!" whenever he's confronted face-to-face. Giving him a smack is what he deserves, and what everyone wants to see. It's not being a bully. It's not like Cena beat him with a chair or choked him out (like he did to Rusev the other night). In the case of Punk, he's a competitor whom was in a program with Cena, where they intended to fight each other. If Cena jumped him from behind and beat the piss out of him, that's one thing. But going up and fighting him face-to-face is the noble, face thing to do.

On to what I mentioned in my first sentence. Imagine having a 100% non-violent wrestler. Yes, there is Daniel Bryan, whom avoids altercations if need be, as he is a nice fella. But if you put his back against the wall, he'll fight with all he got (hence why he's so over). I'm talking about someone whom always runs away. Just imagine Cena finally getting Paul, or Punk, or anyone else, alone in the ring. He walks up, gets in their face, and says: "I know you've been insulting me, I know you've staged sneak attacks on me, but can't we just talk it out like two men? We can go in the back, have a drink, and peacefully solve all of our problems, dude. Nobody has to get hurt. It's not like this is a wrestling ring or anything". Instant heat.

In fact, that's a good idea for a heel character! Have some dude go around telling all the wrestlers how they're too violent, and that they should have a chat instead. But that's an idea for another thread I suppose. All-in-all, I can see the mindset you're in, but that type of stuff doesn't/wouldn't fly in the world of wrestling.

 

[DirtyD79]

If anything, a 100% non-violent wrestler would be heel, not a face. Generally, people tune into wrestling shows because they want to see someone get a nice ass-whoopin'. In the case of Paul Heyman, I can *kind of* see where you're coming from. No, he is not a competitor, he is a manager. However, he abuses his position, calling everyone else out when he has Brock around, but then going "oh no I'm just an advocate!" whenever he's confronted face-to-face. Giving him a smack is what he deserves, and what everyone wants to see. It's not being a bully.

This. In general pro wrestling fans have always been the type who live by the credo of "Talk shit, get hit." Rusev talked shit, he got hit. Same with Paul Heyman. I view it as standing up to the bullies who throw shade on everybody else and then start squealing about free speech whenever somebody calls `em out on it. As for the whole anti-bullying thing, oh please kids don't take that corny shit seriously. It's just like all those lame school assemblies telling you to avoid peer pressure, say no to drugs, don't smoke, blah blah blah. Kids don't care, they just wanna see John Cena and Randy Orton beating people up.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

John Cena, the "goody-two-shoes, boy scout, superman" is too much of a "bad guy" to be a "hero" to the kids. That's what we've come to?

You might as well just take umbrage with the fact that pro wrestling is marketed towards children, period.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

ECW had a similar character in the mid-90s, a wrestler who 'renounced hardcore' and deliberately made matches boring with rest holds. The gimmick was intentionally to rile up the audience, and it worked a treat: a super heel purely by dropping the violence. The wrestler soon appeared on WWE's radar and was with them less than a year later.

The man's name? Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack)

 

[L@RISANO]

If anything, a 100% non-violent wrestler would be heel, not a face. Generally, people tune into wrestling shows because they want to see someone get a nice ass-whoopin'. In the case of Paul Heyman, I can *kind of* see where you're coming from. No, he is not a competitor, he is a manager. However, he abuses his position, calling everyone else out when he has Brock around, but then going "oh no I'm just an advocate!" whenever he's confronted face-to-face. Giving him a smack is what he deserves, and what everyone wants to see. It's not being a bully. It's not like Cena beat him with a chair or choked him out (like he did to Rusev the other night). In the case of Punk, he's a competitor whom was in a program with Cena, where they intended to fight each other. If Cena jumped him from behind and beat the piss out of him, that's one thing. But going up and fighting him face-to-face is the noble, face thing to do.

On to what I mentioned in my first sentence. Imagine having a 100% non-violent wrestler. Yes, there is Daniel Bryan, whom avoids altercations if need be, as he is a nice fella. But if you put his back against the wall, he'll fight with all he got (hence why he's so over). I'm talking about someone whom always runs away. Just imagine Cena finally getting Paul, or Punk, or anyone else, alone in the ring. He walks up, gets in their face, and says: "I know you've been insulting me, I know you've staged sneak attacks on me, but can't we just talk it out like two men? We can go in the back, have a drink, and peacefully solve all of our problems, dude. Nobody has to get hurt. It's not like this is a wrestling ring or anything". Instant heat.

In fact, that's a good idea for a heel character! Have some dude go around telling all the wrestlers how they're too violent, and that they should have a chat instead. But that's an idea for another thread I suppose. All-in-all, I can see the mindset you're in, but that type of stuff doesn't/wouldn't fly in the world of wrestling.

Seems like a good idea for Bo Dallas whenever he makes his return, it would surely get him over big time given how he looks and coupled with the "Bo-lieve" schtick also.

 

[FromGlasgow]

To be fair it is proffesional wrestling, What should they do? Perhaps John Cena should have invited Paul Heyman backstage to sit round a table with a cup of tea to calmly discuss their issues with each other I don't think that would make for very interesting television though.

 

[kadroan]

I get it, it's wrestling, it's a 'violent' medium. That said, why do so many promos come down to John Cena, or Sheamus, or Reigns, or whoever the face is threatening to hit the other person?

I dislike the John Cena character for this reason. I don't care about the smark bandwagons, I've hated Cena for a long time due to his terrible character. He's simply a bully. Worse yet, he's the kind of twisted bully who makes himself out to be the good guy. It astounds me that the WWE, with all their anti-bully campaigning, insist that their faces threaten to beat up older men like Paul Heyman. How can you possibly defend the character of John Cena when he so often resorts to violence over petty insults. Remember when he hit Punk 'cause Punk called him "the New York Yankees"? Get over yourself, John.

Maybe I look into these things too much but this seems like a massive flaw in these characters. They come across as hypocritical bullies to me. Maybe I'm just applying too much "real-word" logic to wrestling, but I don't see how portrayal of character should be any different to other mediums.

How do you feel about this?

I think it's realistic. It's not like they're The New Day where they promote positivity. Cena, Sheamus etc, they beat their opponents up but only do it for good. Now if they start beating up random faces and heels for no reason, that'll raise an eyebrow.

 

[Mustang Sally]

These guys are here to fight. They're professional wrestlers.

For sure, and the true point in all this is that the reason we watch is to see them fight. If they settled their gripes by taking it to mediation, how long would we keep tuning in?

Even when they attempt to handle matters by talking it out, and a table & chairs are placed in the ring to effect a summit meeting, someone winds up getting belted, right? What else would we expect? If they don't get physical, do you sigh with satisfaction at the end of the skit and say: "Whew! I'm glad they settled that peacefully!"

As to the OP's points about John Cena, sure he's threatening people.....but only in response to whatever they've done to him or those he wants to go to bat for. Even if Cena appears to be initiating the violence, it's due to an injustice being done somewhere to someone, which he feels compelled to avenge.

The good guys are all good. After all, aren't they defending Mom, apple pie & the girl you left behind?