Why does some wrestlers CONNECT with the crowd - and some people just doesnt?

[mizowns]

Connection with the crowd must be the most important thing in wrestling.

The entertainement/ringpsychology.

That's what makes a great wrestler.

Not being technicalk 24/7 with no charisma and ring psychology or understand pace/movements.

But why does some people just CONNECT with the crowd, and some wrestlers just don't?

 

[Creepy Old Man]

You said it: charisma. It's just an innate quality that can't be taught. Sometimes it can be dormant and come out later, as with Rock, and arguably Austin. Each and every person who's ever been consistently over with the live crowds has displayed strong charisma, without fail. People might point to wrestlers like Brock Lesnar or Bret Hart as having no charisma, but what they mean is those men aren't good on the mic. There's massive confusion between mic skill and charisma within the IWC.

 

[CyberPunk]

It's the intangible factor. Connecting with crowd can be attributed yo many different qualities. From gimmick to work ethic to abilities inside the ring, all contribute. People would seldom back any particular talent in unison.

I think the most important thing is how someone plays their particular role. Take Mizdow for example. He was/is nothing more than comic relief. However, he took this crappy gimmick and played his part with full devotion. He got himself over. People appreciate the work put behind a character. This is directly proportional to telling a story.

Some intangible factors like charisma also play important roles. No matter what Curtis Axel does, he would always have a hard time connecting because of how bland he is.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

The only reason I can think of after reading the OP is that some wrestlers no speak so good.

Otherwise, this is a complicated question that if any of us could answer we would probably have Vince McMahon so far up our ass we could claim him as a tax deduction.

 

[Navi]

Everyone on the roster connects in some way with the crowd for different reasons, whether they love you or hate you. Sometimes it's the gimmick, other times it's the person themselves, but only a certain few connect with almost everyone.

Daniel Bryan is a good example of someone who connects well without really trying. He's not your typical wrestler, he's approachable and looks like a really nice guy. With Bryan you get the feeling that you can talk to him about almost anything, he's your typical guy nice door. Unassuming and normal.

Cena connects with the kids and women. They love his never say never attitude and he's become a role model for them. Again like Daniel Bryan he's just a really nice guy.

Reigns is every women's wet dream. Not much of a personality to speak of, but every woman in the audience wants to get into his pants. His reaction is more of a male stripper than a professional wrestler. They don't give a shit what he does in the ring, as long as he's just standing there looking good. I'm sure he does nothing for the guys. You won't hear the women booing him though.

Someone like Cesaro connects with the gimmick. There is little reaction until he pulls out the swing, then the crowd goes nuts. Same with Mizdow and his stunt double work, and Axle with the Axelmania.

You could go through the whole roster and see that each one has their own unique way of connecting. Some just do it better than others. If there was no connection at all, then they shouldn't be there.

 

[kumarjtk]

daniel bryan connects with fans for his underdog persno. Everytime they show yes ing in the crowd i see half of them wearing cena merchendise. Even i am in the live crowd i also chant yes.
If you disagree with me. For example axel got equal reaction when compared to ziggler. The main reason is male adults. They sound heavily against cena. They easily change their mindset. If punk return wwe and fued over bryan then half of adult male go against bryan.
Cena is different. He has a standard kids and female fans. So he sell more merchandise than other. Its shame those who hate cena and boo him. Even u guys cheer rusev for insulting america bcoz he is against cena. Its shame.
So in my point of view. Wrestler connecting with fans is temperory. Chanting yes is easy and enjoyable and forgetable.

 

[Pedigree1]

Everyone has a small chance IMO to connect with the audience in their own way. It really comes down to charisma,but it necessarily doesn't have to be done on the mic.. Someone brought up Cesaro with that swing he does,the crowd eats it up.. Ryback with his meathook clothesline,reigns with his superman punch etc..

Others like Paul heyman are a genius on the mic,and the miz can cut a good promo.. I for one don't like someone to be phony i have to buy into the character the whole character..

Yes Axel is bland,but if he were to cut a honest promo talking about his past and hard times i would bet things would turn around for him! The goldberg chants stopped when Ryback cut his promo

 

[YourSavior]

I think it comes down to what an individual is able to feel. When you're surrounded by so many people it gets difficult to presume what people do or don't want to see and some guys are able to figure it out and others aren't.

 

[LuckyLouie]

A wrestler who can come out to the ring and make it look natural will get over much much easier with me. If a person looks real, not like reading lines. Or as much as I like Cesaro, setting up some spots kinda sloppy and slowly lately. Things like that take you out and make it seem set up, and the magic of the show is somewhat lost.

 

[John McCass]

Connection to the crowd or charisma is an asset much needed by a wrestler to get himself/herself over. If people are not giving a fuck to what you are doing then, why will someone push you? If people don't care whatever you do, why will you be pushed? Charisma is what got The Rock super over. Without charisma, The Rock was an average wrestler with good looks but charisma was the factor which got him over. Many wrestlers with average ring ability and a ton of charisma got over. If people care about you, you will be noticed and pushed.




Yes, storyline and circumstance also play a great role in building a wrestler. Without Axelmania, Curtis Axel was nothing but a joke. But Axelmania is on his way to make him climb stairs.

Spoiler

On SD!, He demanded a match for the US championship and he is going to be over. Whatcha gonna do when Axelmania runs wild on you.

Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are examples of wrestlers with both charisma and solid in-ring abilities. Storylines and Circumstance got them over and underdog persona almost gets everyone over.

 

[kadroan]

You said it: charisma. It's just an innate quality that can't be taught. Sometimes it can be dormant and come out later, as with Rock, and arguably Austin. Each and every person who's ever been consistently over with the live crowds has displayed strong charisma, without fail. People might point to wrestlers like Brock Lesnar or Bret Hart as having no charisma, but what they mean is those men aren't good on the mic. There's massive confusion between mic skill and charisma within the IWC.

Yeah true. It's unfortunate some wrestlers don't have it. WWE has some talented wrestlers in the company that can't seem to get over with the crowd like Big E. I guess it's a testament to a wrestler's commitment to the company if they actually choose to work on it.

 

[justinept]

It's not an intangible quality, and it is not all about having charisma. If those two things were true, then there'd be countless instances in pro wrestling history that couldn't be explained:

1) Why didn't Steve Austin get over as The Ringmaster? He had the intangible quality. He had charisma. But people didn't give a shit about that character... Makes no sense!

2) Why did Rocky Maivia suck? Again, he had the intangibles. He had the the charisma. But the fans chanted "Die Rocky Die" at him...

3) Mick Foley (no reaction as Mankind in early 1997; huge pop as WWE Champ in late 1998)... Charles Wright (no reaction as Kama in 1997; huge pop as The Godfather in 1998)... Chris Jericho (no reaction in WCW; huge pop in WWE)

That alone should tell you that intangibles and charisma aren't the only factors at play here. If they were, then you could give any gimmick to any of the wrestlers listed above, and they'd crush it. But they didn't!

So how do wrestlers connect with the audience? Seriously, take an improv class and you'll figure this one out. Connecting with the audience comes down to creating 3-dimensional characters who have real emotions and real reactions. If I believe the reality of what the character is saying, doing and feeling, then he's connecting with me. It's a really basic concept that is used throughout scripted entertainment...

 

[Mustang Sally]

If people are not giving a fuck to what you are doing then, why will someone push you?

That's a statement that goes hand-in-hand with the converse: If no one's pushing you, how do you make people give a fuck?

As far as I can see, when some wrestlers advise others: "You've got to go out there and make it happen" I ask how you're going to do that when your ring repertoire and personality is dictated (and often limited) by Vince McMahon?

Take Tyson Kidd. I waited the longest time for him to be allowed to show he's not a complete bore as a personality. Since his days teaming with Harry Smith, we could see Kidd's technical excellence, but he seemingly was instructed to not display any other gifts he might possess. As a result, he languished in obscurity, was kept on the shelf by an injury for an incredibly long time (I thought he had been released) and was back to vanilla jobbing when he returned.

As funny as it sounds, the damn Total Divas show might have been his salvation.....that, in connection with his marriage to the well-regarded Natalya. Have you noticed? All of a sudden, he not only wrestles as well as ever, he's showing other personal attributes, many of them while working off his wife. Now, he's animated and interesting.

No, he hasn't suddenly become John Cena in the charisma department, but he's finally being permitted to show us more of what he's obviously had all along....and his career is stronger for it; he's a tag team champion and getting lots of air time. The right stuff has been in him all along; it's up to management to let the wrestler show what he's got.....and I can just imagine the frustration felt by performers of the past who might have had good stuff inside, but were never permitted to let us see it.

 

[John McCass]

That's a statement that goes hand-in-hand with the converse: If no one's pushing you, how do you make people give a fuck?

As far as I can see, when some wrestlers advise others: "You've got to go out there and make it happen" I ask how you're going to do that when your ring repertoire and personality is dictated (and often limited) by Vince McMahon?

Yes, this is also a factor but sometimes many guys fail even if they are given time. The best example is Curtis Axel. He was pushed to moon. He was aligned with Paul Heyman, also defeated HHH, came close to defeat Cena but partly Cena ruined his push and partly his lack of charisma also ruined his push. Charisma and airtime both are important factors for success in pro wrestling.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Yes, this is also a factor but sometimes many guys fail even if they are given time.

I totally agree, and Curtis Axel is a fine example. We don't know what the factors are behind some performers being given time, and others not. I've always presumed Axel's family connections were at least partially responsible for his getting to WWE in the first place.....and was never able to figure why he took a last name other than Hennig. Fine, so maybe he wanted to "make it on his own".....but was happy to secure a place on the main roster based on his late father's rep in WWE. Go figure.

Another example of what we're talking about was Chris Masters. Presuming the only thing they held against him were the chemical substances that enabled him to become "The Masterpiece" in the first place (as if they didn't know he was juicing)....but honestly, I liked his ring performance more once he "slimmed down" and wrestled honestly. Still, they dumped him after all the initial effort they put into his character.

But, at least Axel and Masters had a chance to show their stuff. I think of guys like Trent Barretta, who jobbed and jobbed some more, before being released......and sometimes wonder what people like him felt, watching others get their chance while he sat in the back. Maybe he had more in side him than we ever got to see, but the powers-that-be never let him show it. Maybe.

 

[Blade]

Well, that's why it's called the X Factor, isn't it? It's such a difficult thing to pinpoint. I mean, there are wrestlers like Daniel Bryan who don't have much physical presence, but get over huge. And guys like Lesnar, who overcame their lacklustre speaking skills to become huge. And there's guys who seem to have a lot going for them, like John Morrison, who manage to get over to an extent, but they just kinda fizzle out.

It's just that intangible that's hard to measure. As the French would say, a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi.

 

[Navi]

Yeah true. It's unfortunate some wrestlers don't have it. WWE has some talented wrestlers in the company that can't seem to get over with the crowd like Big E. I guess it's a testament to a wrestler's commitment to the company if they actually choose to work on it.

I like Big E, but God love him his personality is what's keeping him down, not his wrestling ability. The guy is a boring as watching paint dry. The New Day gimmick which I had high hopes for is doing nothing for him either. As a matter of fact it's doing nothing for any of them.

Sheamus is another good example of someone the crowd just isn't interested in. He's another good talent in the ring, big guy, can wrestle the pants of anyone, but Jesus he's for some reason bland. His matches should be exciting but they just aren't. Maybe for him it was just sheer bad luck with timing and others were seen as more exciting, but at this stage in his career, with his injuries piling up, I don't ever see him in the main event again. And he had the talent to be a main event player.

 

[whoopin' ass]

I will call it charisma for lack of a better term. Like it has been said, that isn't being able to talk well on the mic, it is going out there and for whatever reasons, the fans watch you even if the match stinks or the promo/angle is bad. That's what takes a good talent and makes them a star. 2 simple examples - Bret Hart was never a great promo guy by any means but he has charisma. You watched his matches and believed everything he did was real, he was able to tell a story in the ring and people watched him. Look at HHH - good in the ring, cuts decent enough promos but something is still missing. I was thinking about this a while ago today - look at wwe from say 1995-2000 and tell me who the top 3 guys in the company were. Chances are Rock, Austin, Foley and Taker will probably be in there for most people. Why not HHH? It's that something missing that the other guys had that keeps him from getting thought of that way. Now this is just a fans perspective - a star in a company's mind can be totally different. That's why Reigns is going to Mania this year instead of Bryan, that's why Batista was going to be World Champ last year.