Characters of the Past Nearing Extinction

[ROCKAJABRONi]

I'm watching the '98 Royal Rumble at the moment and it just showed the LOD promo before their match against the New Age Outlaws. And man, it was intense! It's like they had all this built up testosterone and unleashed it during that promo. I'm a relatively new wrestling fan (started watching around 99-00), but I'm guessing most of their promos went about the same way.

So my question is, why is this intense style of promo-ing gone from today's wrestling? Is it because it's looks cheesy to today's generation of viewers? Or maybe, because the WWE is going in a more realistic direction, it doesn't quite fit in anymore? Personally, I love it. It may be over the top, but when you hear certain guys speak, you just listen. Guys like Mach and Warrior, I don't even know what the heck they're saying half the time, but man were they epic promos.

There's a huge decline of gimmicks/characters in today's WWE. Most of the next-gen stars use random-name-generator names or their actual names - Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Randy Orton, John Cena - and just seem so ordinary. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wish there were more guys like the Undertaker, or Goldust, or LOD. I'm watching the Rumble match and, even though there's a lot of guys in the ring, most of these guys stand out.

So does anyone else share the same sentiments on this? or am I just stuck in the past?

[eddie eddie]

oh, i agree fully. there are seriously hardly any gimmicks out there anymore. everyones just themselves/cool babyface/mean cocky heel now and days. now thats cool and all, all of the classics like Austin, Rock, Michaels were all themselves. but, it used to be you either did something to stand out or you worked with a gimmick until you could breakaway from it rather than being just another boring normal wrestler like nowanddays.

[nibs92]

i think a lot of it is scripted word for word today as well.

my understanding is that in the past wrestlers were told what point they had to get across and basically delivered a promo ad hoc.

gimmics still exist today in some form but apart from a select few they are pretty toned down.

my love is for the mid eighties to early nineties in wrestling. there were some outrageous characters then and it was kinda the fun of being a wrestling fan.

[Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai]

There used to be a lot of "shouters" and a few guys that could get their point across calmly (Arn Anderson, Jake Roberts to name a couple).

Now, most of the guys stay calm. Part of what made it work in years past was the fact that the calm ones stood out, because they were in a world where everyone shouted. When everyone delivers even-toned promos (or even quiet-but-intense promos like Randy Orton tries to pull off), I think it lulls the entire audience/show into a relaxed state.

Which isn't good when the entire show is built around man-to-man combat, enemies, competition and revenge. By all rights, these guys should be amped up!

[Deleted]

WWES cookie cutter sytem is to blame.

everyone is told exactly how to act and work.and when WWE does get talent in from outside they are shipped off to FCW to learn how to work the WWE way.

imagine Oct 99-Jan 2000 in WWF if the likes of Jericho,Taz,Benoit Guerrero and The Dudleys had been shipped off........they need to cut this crap out NOW.

[candygallows]

I agree. Characters are what's lacking. Characters and promos.

[machoking]

One thing that makes Indy companies stand out over WWE.

Back in the 80s an agent or McMahon/Crockett would look and say "You got 3 minutes. Get your point across and make sure you get get jabs in about your match with _____" The rest was freedom of the wrestler. Around the time of the Attitude Era, everything became "scripted" They would hand you a promo and say "here, read this"....Everyone says Rock is such a great wrestler on the mic...which might be true. What they dont say is that 90% of his stuff was written by Terry Taylor.

[greenjack1992]

I'm with you.

I wish they did things like that still.

[ROCKAJABRONi]

I'm glad you guys feel the same way. If the WWE is trying to blur the line between real and scripted, they have to change a lot of the moves the wrestlers execute as well. As sweet as the RKO is, Orton's opponents jump with him. If you think about it, that's never gonna happen in an actual fight or wrestling match. But that's what makes pro wrestling pro wrestling. It's these moves and these characters (at least in the past) that set them apart from anything else.

Imagine if the Undertaker was never the Undertaker and just went as Mark Calloway or whatever random name. Even if he wrestled the same, I doubt he would be as successful and as popular as he is today. Look at Kamala. He left the WWE long before I started watching, but I have his Mattel figure because he's an interesting character. I don't recall him winning any championships (correct me if I'm wrong), yet many know and remember who he is.

[LA Times]

The majority of guys in WWE developmental are clean shaven, bodybuilding pretty boys in black trunks, given a random FCW name with little or no independent/international experience. Even if there are guys down there with talent and charisma, they are so micromanaged on every aspect that it would be hard for them to break out.

[facemeat]

I totally agree. Gimmicks really need to make a comeback...I'm sick of every new guy being just some random dude in trunks with zero personality and a regular name. Think about it, are there any current WWE wrestlers with fun gimmicks that have debuted in the past 5 years or so? I can't think of one, and that's pretty sad IMO.

Just look at the pictures alone on these two pages, and it'll be pretty obvious that character and personality are severely lacking in the current WWE:

www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni

www.wwe.com/superstars

[ROCKAJABRONi]

Aug 27, 2011 16:28:30 GMT -5 facemeat said:

I totally agree. Gimmicks really need to make a comeback...I'm sick of every new guy being just some random dude in trunks with zero personality and a regular name. Think about it, are there any current WWE wrestlers with fun gimmicks that have debuted in the past 5 years or so? I can't think of one, and that's pretty sad IMO.

Just look at the pictures alone on these two pages, and it'll be pretty obvious that character and personality are severely lacking in the current WWE:

www.wwe.com/superstars/wwealumni

www.wwe.com/superstars

I did a quick scroll-through on the current superstars page and only four guys stood out for me: Goldust, Mysterio, Sin Cara, and Sheamus (haha).

[DTP.]

LOD's gimmick, as was most 80s/90s gimmicks, was to simply yell and act angry. Stereotypical musclemen yelling to incite fear in their rivals/opponents.

Times have changed, and rightfully so. Any superstar would lose credibility just trying the old angry interview, because of how stupid they come off as.

[LeighD]

Aug 28, 2011 11:04:34 GMT -5 DTP. said:

LOD's gimmick, as was most 80s/90s gimmicks, was to simply yell and act angry. Stereotypical musclemen yelling to incite fear in their rivals/opponents.

Times have changed, and rightfully so. Any superstar would lose credibility just trying the old angry interview, because of how stupid they come off as.

Inciting fear and backing it up by DEMOLISHING their opponents.

the 80's and 90's are my favorite wrestling time periods. The gimmicks; the diversity among characters, bodytypes, and styles of wrestling; and build behind both matches and storylines. It had everything that today is lacking.

Seriously match a regular SME or SUperstars match and compare it toa regular RAW match. The matches back then were filled with strong, diverse and great moves. Today's are basically punch, kick, and "insert wrestler's trademark move to which no one else has been granted the right to do" move set. Boring as hell.