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J.Park, the pioneer

Has anybody, in the history of wrestling, gone from 'does not touch a mike' to 'best actor in wrestling' the way abyss has?
It seems baffling. Really, why hasn't he had the chance before?

What's really awesome about Park is that he's a good wrestler portraying a bad wrestler, and doing little subtle things that someone who has never wrestled before would do, like the way he runs the ropes or has trouble navigating the ring.  The obvious payoff seems to be Park turning into a Jekyll & Hyde type character, where Joseph finally snaps and realizes that Abyss has been the dark side of his personality all along.  It's like man v. motorcycle v. horse!  Yeah, an Adaptation reference, take it and love it.

I think Undertaker also progressed pretty fast, given that he had never cut a promo in his life before getting to the WWF in 1990.  He was always the big scary silent dude, like Mean Mark or The Master of Pain, and finally after years of Paul Bearer doing literally all the talking for him, he suddenly started doing 20 minute interviews in 1997 and he was fine.  So maybe Abyss just listened and learned all this time like Undertaker did, who knows?

Comments

  1. I still want Park to one day take off the glasses and open his shirt to reveal an undershirt saying I'M ABYSS.

    I know it's stupid but it would make me laugh.  Ray's reaction is going to be great.

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  2. I always thought Kane was pretty good (still do to this day) and he would fall into that boat.

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  3. In the opposite yokozuna was awesome as a menacing heel who didn't speak English and then he started cutting terrible promos

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  4. Joseph Park, Esq. is a pretty awesome gimmick.

    I'll definitely vouch for Kane, who is near the top of the short list of best 7-foot talkers (I like him more than Nash mainly because he doesn't sound like he has a bag of marbles in his mouth). The only thing I don't like about Kane on the mic is his tendency to breathe heavily after every word like the wheelchair kid from Malcolm in the Middle.

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  5. Yes this abyss to joesph parks thing is an awesome angle and he's knocking it out the park and Bubba ray is doing great as a foil. This is the main angle that got me back into tna.

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  6. I dunno about the Undertaker becoming a good promo guy. I think when he played his Deadman gimmick pre-Attitude Era, it was pretty cool when he did a promo and fit the character very well.

    But when he became the American Bad-Ass, it was damn near embarrassing seeing Taker stumble through his words and try to get his lame catchphrases over. Just YouTube some of his interviews during that era and you'll see what I mean.

    Sadly, Taker couldn't hang with guys like Austin, Rock and Foley promo-wise back then. Even during the build-up to his match with HHH this year, he was just sad and talked a whole lot of gibberish. 

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  7. I actually liked his Bad-Ass promos. He showed a "cool side" something of a natural swagger. 

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  8. The whole angle has just been incredibly well done. It helps that, at this point anyway, I've never seen an Abyss match so it adds this whole extra dimension of intrigue to the whole thing.

    My kids totally dig it too. I think it's fun for them because they get to be "in on it". 

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  9. I like Taker's promos. I think he's always been somewhat limited by his gimmick. How many times can you spin "I'm a dead guy and I take souls"? But he's done a good job. I liked his biker phase where he was able to just talk like a normal guy. Sure Taker's no Foley/Austin/Rock/Flair, but he gets his point across. 

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  10. "
    It helps that, at this point anyway, I've never seen an Abyss match"-You haven't missed very much! 

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  11. Poor Taker can't win.

    For years people were like "This undead gimmick is horrible, especially now with Attitude making everyone into real people!"

    So then he becomes a real person...

    "Ewww no this is horrible, you should be an undead guy not a biker!"

     I agree though I've never been a huge fan of his promos. They only really seem to work when he's going against another weird character like Kane or selling The Streak against a good promo guy that you think could actually pull it off like Shawn.

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  12. There was some foreshadowing this week when he asked Bully "Don't you know who I am?" or something like that.  It's clearly building to him having that Superman moment when he finally realizes who he actually is.

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  13. Hi, original emailer, so feeling a little weird!

     I don't think Undertaker gave as nuanced a performance as J. Park is giving right now, UT was pretty much conforming to the character laid down previously. Abyss/Park is a full turn around, with only a year of switcharoo. He is defining a new character, rather than building one that already exists. Perhaps I'm just being optimistic, but I think this is the best gimmick in recent memory.Though that isn't saying a lot...

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  14.  He rambled a lot in the biker days but I liked some of his lines, you can tell Taker has a real dry, ball-busting sense of humor. Telling Rock he was kicking ass in a ring when he was still "back in high school feeling up Sally Rottencrotch" was a favorite. I love the tossed off way he dissed HHH this past year too: "Hey businessman!" just had an awesome tone to it.

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  15.  Eh, he's had some good ones considering who he's worked with over the years. He's not a 5 star, workrate type wrestler but he doesn't embarrass himself, and he can do hardcore pretty well.

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  16. I don't think it's so much a mental thing.  I think it's more along the lines of a master plan by Abyss.  I haven't gotten the Jekyll/Hyde feeling from it at all, especially with Park talking about Abyss all the time and even talking to him on the screen once.

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  17. Oh my God! If what Scott said would happen with Abyss/Park, it would be tremendous! I mean, since when we have had any character with that sort of psychology and potential for great weird angles? Hopefully at the end TNA gets it right!

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  18. Oh I don't think he's the dirt worst or anything, but the only Abyss match I would actually suggest somebody track down is the cage match with AJ. 

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  19. Booo, you didn't call my kids ugly in this post.

    Why don't you show the rest of the blog who you are? 

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  20. The obvious payoff seems to be Park turning into a Jekyll & Hyde
    type character, where Joseph finally snaps and realizes that Abyss has
    been the dark side of his personality all along.


    Part of me wants to think they teased this on Impact when Park said, "Do you know who I am" to Bully Ray.  Of course, it might have been playing off of Ray's schtick, but for a split second I almost thought they were going to do the reveal, or at least heavily tease it.

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  21. I have my own personal follower. This guy comes behind every one of my posts it's adorable.

    I wish he'd call my kids ugly more though, he only wants to do that in threads that are buried back on Page 3, such a shame!

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  22. Are you suggesting I'm hiding who I am or something? I'll admit I said your kid I was ugly after an argument where you called me stupid. I'll also admit that I said I was done doing that and from now on, if I reply to you, I'm not going to go down that route. You're doing your best by insulting me over and over to get me to go back on my word. I don't blame you, if somebody called my kids ugly, I wouldn't like them either. Where we differ is that if it was on the internet, I would probably just ignore them.

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  23. You legitimately wish somebody would call your kids ugly more? That's odd. As odd as suggesting I have done it repeatedly and often, and not in 1 conversation.

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  24. Hahaha, yes clearly you play the "just ignore it" game very well. So well that you get worked up enough to start attacking kids. Nothing says Brave On The Internet like insulting children!

    Be yourself. There's no reason to hide here. Let it out buddy. 

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  25. Brave Guy also doesn't understand context! Brave Guy sure is smart!

    Be yourself. Stop hiding.

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  26. I am being myself. I made it clear to you earlier than when I said your kids were ugly, I was not being myself. I was responding to your behavior with similar behavior. This blog does not need two of you, my friend.

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  27. Sort of Mick Foley back in the Attitude era.

    And TNA sort of tried it with the abysmal Eric Young/Super Eric (I honestly think we were supposed to believe that Eric didn't know he turned into Super Eric).

    Gregory Helms/Hurricane is a different case b/c it was obviously a Superman pastiche, as was Owen/Blue Blazer.

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  28. I understand context as well as you understand sarcasm, I assure you.

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  29. My issue with the undead gimmick was always the rare lightning bolts and such. Other than that, I think it's evolved pretty well over the years.

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  30. TNA is pretty much doing the Clark Kent lost his powers storyline from Superman II with Joseph Park (who is essentially playing the Christopher Reeves' Clark Kent character).

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  31. Isn't that what makes the story so good though? They could legitimately go a number of ways with it, and haven't really painted themselves into a corner like WWE does so often (usually because they tell the story backwards, but that's another topic).

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  32.  That was a neat little double entendre.  "Do you know who I am?" is how Bully Ray starts EVERY promo, so he was clearly first and foremost mocking Bully, but it also works as a hint towards a "wake-up call."

    I think we also maybe saw some of the facade cracking when he referenced growing up in Cleveland when up to this point every reference to where Joseph Park is from has been Chicago.

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  33. Maybe Abyss knows he's Joseph but Joseph doesn't know he's Abyss, if that makes sense. Man, pro wrestling really is a soap opera.

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  34. Hopefully they don't start doing a Superman III-type storyline where The Pope suddenly becomes a scientist for no explained reason and tries to reveal that Abyss and Joseph Park, Esq. are one and the same.

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  35. A part of me wants him to stay Joseph Park forever. Why not even make him a commissioner-type authority figure for TNA? He's got a law degree and it would allow him to interact with the other talent.

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  36. They already have Hogan to do that though.

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  37. "Just because I don't dress like Satan no more, don't mean I still not down with the darkside"

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  38. "I was ugly" -Jordan

    This made me laugh.

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  39.  That makes sense

    Tyler Durden knew he was an alter-ego, even though "The Narrator" thought Tyler was a friend of his.

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  40. Sounds like someone is running scared brotha!!!

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  41. I remember that Edge never touched a mike during his first several months with the company and they were intending for his character to be a mute. But then the Brood did a live promo on RAW where Gangrel was doing a terrible job and Edge finally had the chance to take the mic and people were like: "Wow, he's pretty good". It's amazing to ponder how Edge's career might have turned out if they never allowed him to show personality for a long time.

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  42. YES! That match kicked all sorts of ass.

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  43. I was watching the Edge doc on netflix and they were talking about that.

    End of Gangrel's national career.

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  44. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 30, 2012 at 12:20 PM

    Similarly to Abyss and Joseph Park I'm hoping Chin and Jordan are the same person! 

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  45. Dirty_Dave_DelaneyJune 30, 2012 at 12:23 PM

    "And I will go medieval on your ass!"

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  46. Surprised Stone Cold didnt get a mention, I mean he was stuck with Ted DiBiase as his mouthpiece and a lame Ring Master gimmick. Austin could always bring it in the ring, but it was when he was allowed to be himself while cutting a promo, that he became the legend that he is.

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  47. Well I've never seen both of us in the same place!

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  48. Yawn, good morning! Attack any toddlers today Brave Guy?

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  49. Be yourself. Stop trying to act like your something you're not. You're "Attack Children" guy, own up to it Sally.

    (Why did you never quote the mean things I called you? You were going to do that remember?)

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  50. Hey! A whole post where you managed to not personally attack a child! Our little Jordan's really growing up!

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  51. When did I call you stupid? I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for you to quote me.

    Go ahead...

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  52. Good morning? Posted 1 hour ago? 

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  53. I figured one of us needed to, right? 

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  54. Oh Chin, you really, truly want to keep this going. I'm sorry that I'm not going to fan the flames anymore. Feel free to have normal conversations with me from now on, otherwise, please ignore.

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  55. Haha, poor fella, it's no fun being yourself in threads people might see huh?

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  56. Laid in bed and watched cartoons with the kids for like four hours, was a great way to wake up.

    It's summer time, we sort of work on a "who gives a shit" schedule.

    Oh, right. I forget you're the guy that thinks every child goes into a coma right at 9pm.

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  57. Oh Jordan, you must feel very silly for getting so twisted up that you started attacking children.

    This is a normal conversation with you. You normally attack children because you can't handle being wrong.

    Now quote me. Go on.

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  58. Laying in bed or not, it's still not morning. It's afternoon.


    But hey, thanks for once again taking one statement and jumping to the most extreme conclusion. The statement that a show aimed at kids ending at 11 PM on a school night now means that ALL KIDS ARE IN COMAS BY 9 PM. It wouldn't be a Chin post without it now, would it? Keep that gimmick alive my friend, we all love it!
    Anyway, now that you've spent time with your kids, enjoy spending the rest of your day on here letting everyone know how incredible you are. I won't be here to respond though, I'll be with my kids, as I was only spending some time on here while they were cleaning their rooms, now we're off to go swimming and to watch fireworks! See ya later buddy!

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  59. LOL

    Have fun Brave Guy. While you're out you should attack a child. It's what you're good at right Brave Guy?

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  60. I would absolutely say anything I say online face to face. It is not like me to have an "online persona" in which I act high and mighty. As I stated last night, this blog already has you for that, and I cannot compare. I've also said I do not care enough to go back and read old posts to find quotes. That's up to you. 


    Enjoy your day, my internet friend! Somebody, somewhere on here needs to be told they are stupid and brainwashed, and I've got a feeling you are JUST the person to do it! I believe in you!

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  61. I'm not good at it all. In fact, you are the only person who has ever driven me to it. 


    Thanks for the personal insult, but no, it's not my weekend.I have full custody of my children, as I have been married to my wife for 10 years.

    P.S.-Both of my boys are incrediblyhandsome! See ya later, bestie!

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  62. I thought you were leaving. You're really bad at this "I'm done with you" stuff.

    So you can't quote me? Yeah I didn't figure.

    Oh and then you followed it with again saying I said things I never said.

    Well, that's pretty typical for Brave Guy.

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  63. I am leaving. Again, just waiting for my kids to finish cleaning their room. Should be any minute now.


    Can't quote and won't quote are not the same. I do not expect you to understand the difference, but I still value everything you bring with each of your insightful, witty replies. 

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  64. So again, you can't quote me. It's ok. I know you can't quote me. THAT'S WHY I KEEP ASKING YOU TO QUOTE ME.

    Duh.

    So.

    Very.

    Brave.

    What nasty names do you call your kids when they make you mad? Come on. You can be honest Brave Guy.

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  65. Awww....look at you trying to be cute. lol

    Poor Brave Guy, he's too thick to understand he lost this battle days ago when he resorted to calling a toddler names.

    Hahahaha

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  66. The difference is, if you made a vulgar statement about my kids, I would know you're just being your usual self. One day though, you could be me. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication and you'll have to become a much kinder, smarter, reasonable person. But I believe in you! I don't believe in you enough to think it will start right away though, as this will probably be met with a response calling me brave man, saying you don't use personal insults while also saying I'm not smart(which I guess is a ringing compliment?) and then bringing up TV ratings.


    Expand your horizons my friend. There is more to life than fighting on the internet. Once you get there, you'll be a lot happier! Again, I believe in you! :-) You can do it! :-) :-) :-)

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  67. Right, my usual self, because I usually attack children when I get backed into a corner and start looking stupid.

    Oh right, that's not me, that's YOU.

    Lol. Brave Guy. What a role model!

    I don't want you to have faith in me. I want you to be yourself. Let's see the real you again, this hokey encouraging gimmick is boring.

    Let the real guy out like you did the other day. Attack a kid. Go for it. It's who you are Brave Guy.

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  68. I saw that promo. It was so bad. Poor Gangrel. Then Edge grabbed the mic, his promo wasn't special, but it was WORLDS better than Gangrel's.

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