Its the Claremont approach to storytelling, this maybe someones first time watching wrestling. EVER. Happens everyday. Its a necessary evil sometimes. Plus, usually heels do it to piss people off... which pisses the writer off... which means...
The only slight disagreement is with the winning streak angle. That's basically how they used to book in the pre-Raw days. A guy would debut and then squash a bunch of jobbers before his first real test. The main problem is that they are doing it with practically everybody.
This one has never bothered me as I've always took it that (in a kayfabe way of course) ceratin wrestlers were just better at hitting a certain move than others and that's why it's a finisher for them and not others.
Remember when the Radicals came over and immediately were just thrust into the storylines rather than have months of beating jobbers? Kurt Angle had maybe a month of beating jobbers before he started working big storylines.
I agree. As a kid, I always thought that Jake Roberts and Arn Anderson's ddts were knockout finishers b/c they practiced the move and were better at it as opposed to guys who used it as a set-up move.
We used to debate who did the Sharpshooter better, as if it was a more dangerous move when done by Bret than when done by Owen, so I know what you mean.
Totally agree. I've always said the same thing. Every guard in basketball, for example, has a crossover dribble, but they don't all break you off as hard as Deron Williams' crossover does.
That's why it's a guy's signature move. It isn't that the move by itself is killer, but when THAT guy hits you with it, peace out. He does it better than anyone.
A bit of a silly list, actually. The mid-match theme music, for example, typically ISN'T for the element of surprise. It's to cause a distraction. In the instances where it is supposed to be a surprise (for example, to break up a pin), typically they don't come out to music. The fact of the matter is, this is a television show that relies HEAVILY on crowd participation. Having somebody's music play is a guaranteed way to get the audience to react. If the audience doesn't see the interference until a moment before it happens, it does lose some of its impact.
Also, the "Get the advantage on TV, lose at the PPV" thing is overstated. It's only true when it happens. It's also pretty traditional storytelling. The good guy typically wins in the end, and the most natural way to encourage people to buy a PPV is to see the good guy get his revenge. The best way to do that is to let the bad guy get the upper hand before the show.
The finisher thing was also a bit silly. Because somebody at Finlay's level used a move over a decade ago, Sheamus shouldn't be able to use it as a non-finisher now? I do agree that somebody shouldn't use a move if another current Superstar in the company already uses it as a finisher, but that seems pretty rare.
The forgotten storyline thing, while true, screamed of "dirt sheet" reader. Booker T and AJ were never "incompetent" -- that was just the word that was used on the news boards. And frankly, the matter wasn't dropped. Just last week AJ had a breakdown in the middle of the opening promo and was acting pretty berserk backstage. And Booker T has been getting manipulated by Eve and questioning Teddy. Again, just the news boards said "it's been dropped."
I agree with you on Kurt Angle, but the Radicals were different. They were already established and didn't really need to be introduced to the audience in order to get over.
This is pretty typical of the craptastic lists that The Bleacher Report puts out. Everytime I see a new list, I get excited, then actually read it and it sucks.
Does anyone else find the Bleacher Report to have the worst articles? Its like a Cena match = SAME OLD SHIT! 95% of the articles are lists, the other 5% are stories taken from other sites. Do people get paid for this?!? WHY AM I SO ANGRY ABOUT THIS!?!? AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I'm an adult smart who's been watching this stuff my whole life (albeit with some breaks) and I didn't remember anyone using White Noise before Sheamus. I really doubt the target 12 year olds in the audience are like "Waaaaaaaaaaitaminute...... That's Finlay's finish and it only ALMOST finished ADR when Sheamus did it......are these matches FAKED???!!!!!"
This site got a red flag from my antivirus app, the fucking awesome Webroot, so luckily I never even go that far. That site's probably almost as awful as Inside Pulse anyway.
I'm with them on the name issue. It drives me nuts. If the announcers want to remind the audience at home who guys are, that's fine. Establish the characters for new viewers. But I'm pretty sure 99% of the live crowd knows who CM Punk is - having him restate it is just ridiculous.
-Kill the authority figure gimmick altogether. Somehow wrestling survived without it before 1997.
-No managers. This is horsecrap and needs to be changed. And not some no talent like AW either. I loved James Mitchell being paired with Abyss a few years back, and Larry Sweeny (RIP) would have been great in the big time. The talent is out there.
-The handicap match. There is not a more worthless piece of booking. The only time I think it worked was with Andre back in the day. But most of the time it gets nobody over. If the two guys lose, they are buried. If they beat the one guy, it doesn't help or hurt anyone because it was 2 on 1.
-The backstage segment. If it is important, it needs to happen in the ring. You wanna do an interview? Do it Mean Gene style in the ring or ringside before or after a match.
-All faces are friends, all heels are buds. This is a long term trend, but it still is stupid.
Re: Constant reminding of names.
ReplyDeleteIts the Claremont approach to storytelling, this maybe someones first time watching wrestling. EVER. Happens everyday. Its a necessary evil sometimes. Plus, usually heels do it to piss people off... which pisses the writer off... which means...
The only slight disagreement is with the winning streak angle. That's basically how they used to book in the pre-Raw days. A guy would debut and then squash a bunch of jobbers before his first real test. The main problem is that they are doing it with practically everybody.
ReplyDelete"A Finisher For Some but Not For Others"
ReplyDeleteThis one has never bothered me as I've always took it that (in a kayfabe way of course) ceratin wrestlers were just better at hitting a certain move than others and that's why it's a finisher for them and not others.
Remember when the Radicals came over and immediately were just thrust into the storylines rather than have months of beating jobbers? Kurt Angle had maybe a month of beating jobbers before he started working big storylines.
ReplyDeleteThe Radicals were an exception to the rule as they were THE RADICALS.
ReplyDeleteI bet Brian Gerwitz was behind all of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree. As a kid, I always thought that Jake Roberts and Arn Anderson's ddts were knockout finishers b/c they practiced the move and were better at it as opposed to guys who used it as a set-up move.
ReplyDeleteWe used to debate who did the Sharpshooter better, as if it was a more dangerous move when done by Bret than when done by Owen, so I know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteAnd I liked Owens, it looked like it hurt more.
Yeah, that's why stealing finishers doesn't ever get you the pin. You're not going to do a move as well as the guy that's mastered it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree, those have been around forever.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I always thought the Rock's Stunner and Austin's Rock Bottom were less effective.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I've always said the same thing. Every guard in basketball, for example, has a crossover dribble, but they don't all break you off as hard as Deron Williams' crossover does.
ReplyDeleteThat's why it's a guy's signature move. It isn't that the move by itself is killer, but when THAT guy hits you with it, peace out. He does it better than anyone.
A bit of a silly list, actually. The mid-match theme music, for example, typically ISN'T for the element of surprise. It's to cause a distraction. In the instances where it is supposed to be a surprise (for example, to break up a pin), typically they don't come out to music. The fact of the matter is, this is a television show that relies HEAVILY on crowd participation. Having somebody's music play is a guaranteed way to get the audience to react. If the audience doesn't see the interference until a moment before it happens, it does lose some of its impact.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the "Get the advantage on TV, lose at the PPV" thing is overstated. It's only true when it happens. It's also pretty traditional storytelling. The good guy typically wins in the end, and the most natural way to encourage people to buy a PPV is to see the good guy get his revenge. The best way to do that is to let the bad guy get the upper hand before the show.
The finisher thing was also a bit silly. Because somebody at Finlay's level used a move over a decade ago, Sheamus shouldn't be able to use it as a non-finisher now? I do agree that somebody shouldn't use a move if another current Superstar in the company already uses it as a finisher, but that seems pretty rare.
The forgotten storyline thing, while true, screamed of "dirt sheet" reader. Booker T and AJ were never "incompetent" -- that was just the word that was used on the news boards. And frankly, the matter wasn't dropped. Just last week AJ had a breakdown in the middle of the opening promo and was acting pretty berserk backstage. And Booker T has been getting manipulated by Eve and questioning Teddy. Again, just the news boards said "it's been dropped."
I agree with you on Kurt Angle, but the Radicals were different. They were already established and didn't really need to be introduced to the audience in order to get over.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty typical of the craptastic lists that The Bleacher Report puts out. Everytime I see a new list, I get excited, then actually read it and it sucks.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else find the Bleacher Report to have the worst articles? Its like a Cena match = SAME OLD SHIT! 95% of the articles are lists, the other 5% are stories taken from other sites. Do people get paid for this?!? WHY AM I SO ANGRY ABOUT THIS!?!? AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm an adult smart who's been watching this stuff my whole life (albeit with some breaks) and I didn't remember anyone using White Noise before Sheamus. I really doubt the target 12 year olds in the audience are like "Waaaaaaaaaaitaminute...... That's Finlay's finish and it only ALMOST finished ADR when Sheamus did it......are these matches FAKED???!!!!!"
ReplyDeleteThis site got a red flag from my antivirus app, the fucking awesome Webroot, so luckily I never even go that far. That site's probably almost as awful as Inside Pulse anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm with them on the name issue. It drives me nuts. If the announcers want to remind the audience at home who guys are, that's fine. Establish the characters for new viewers. But I'm pretty sure 99% of the live crowd knows who CM Punk is - having him restate it is just ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteNova- kryptonite krunch ECW
ReplyDelete-Kill the authority figure gimmick altogether. Somehow wrestling survived without it before 1997.
ReplyDelete-No managers. This is horsecrap and needs to be changed. And not some no talent like AW either. I loved James Mitchell being paired with Abyss a few years back, and Larry Sweeny (RIP) would have been great in the big time. The talent is out there.
-The handicap match. There is not a more worthless piece of booking. The only time I think it worked was with Andre back in the day. But most of the time it gets nobody over. If the two guys lose, they are buried. If they beat the one guy, it doesn't help or hurt anyone because it was 2 on 1.
-The backstage segment. If it is important, it needs to happen in the ring. You wanna do an interview? Do it Mean Gene style in the ring or ringside before or after a match.
-All faces are friends, all heels are buds. This is a long term trend, but it still is stupid.