|
|
Post by Citizen Zero on Feb 24, 2011 20:53:47 GMT -5
Just something that's been bugging me lately.
From what I understand the strict definition of a 'spot monkey' is someone who basically flips and flops around the ring with no real rhyme or reason behind it, essentially not so much wrestling as putting on a gymnastics exhibition.
But lately (not necessarily here but I've seen alot of this in other places) the term seems to get assigned to just about anyone that uses any kind of flippy or high-flying moves like Gabriel, Bourne, Morrison, etc, and I don't think that's fair at all. They work their moves into story and, in my opinion, in doing so add excitement and drama to the match.
They also sell the side effects of their moves as well, which accentuates the 'high risk' part of their high-risk, high-reward movesets. Gabriel in particular always looks legitimately hurt every time he hits his finisher, which adds to it's reputation as the Nexus/Corre's 'exclamation point' in their group beatdowns.
...So yeah, random gripe of the night.
|
|
|
|
Post by Alex Shelley on Feb 24, 2011 20:55:58 GMT -5
Honestly, I think even true spot monkeys have their place in wrestling as much as I think a guy like Khali has a place.
|
|
|
|
Post by dlg3000 on Feb 24, 2011 20:56:21 GMT -5
citizen, I agree with you. There are some who aren't high flyers who are not good at telling a story, they get injured, and can't work to save their lives. At least the high flyers you mentioned can work.
|
|
|
|
Post by Apricots And A Pear Tree on Feb 24, 2011 20:57:31 GMT -5
Then you have Teddy Heart who is not so much a monkey as he is a dick.
|
|
|
|
Post by Citizen Zero on Feb 24, 2011 21:05:34 GMT -5
Honestly, I think even true spot monkeys have their place in wrestling as much as I think a guy like Khali has a place. I'd agree with that. A good booker can pretty much do anything with anyone if he tries. |
|
|
|
Post by Red Impact on Feb 24, 2011 21:06:21 GMT -5
I always thought the phrase spot monkey referred to someone who didn't sell, and didn't do anything but set up top rope move to top rope move. So I don't think a lot of people who have that term thrown at them.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2011 21:06:38 GMT -5
I think it's a stupid term in the first place, but I'd assign it if I had to put it to anybody to some people like the occasional filler X Division guys in TNA back in the day - yeah, they keep bouncing off stuff, so what?
But even then, that's a lot more fun than someone who's proficient but in no way exciting in mat-work.
|
|
|
|
Post by lemonyellowson on Feb 24, 2011 21:09:08 GMT -5
i like spot monkeys.nothing wrong with having the odd match with guys flying all over the place, and usually the spots they are monkies for are pretty damn cool.
|
|
|
|
Post by Citizen Zero on Feb 24, 2011 21:12:37 GMT -5
i like spot monkeys.nothing wrong with having the odd match with guys flying all over the place, and usually the spots they are monkies for are pretty damn cool. Yeah but what I was complaining about is guys like Gabriel and Morrison aren't spot monkeys. |
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Feb 24, 2011 21:15:09 GMT -5
I always thought the phrase spot monkey referred to someone who didn't sell, and didn't do anything but set up top rope move to top rope move. So I don't think a lot of people who have that term thrown at them. I personally also apply it to guys who have trouble stringing matches together because everything they do between high spots is incredibly boring. Matt Cross is my big example here - the guy had maybe two offensive maneuvers that didn't involve going to the top rope. Oh, he could bump and sell really well, but his entire match involved him bumping for his opponent until they fell on their back through some contrived circumstance so that he could hit one of his three or four top rope moves. Take that opposed to Morrison, who strings together incredibly eye-popping offense in a very logical manner and builds his matches around doing things that are cool because they're logical. Or Evan Bourne, who has a wide array of small, sensible moves that happen to involve him jumping around. Or the polar opposite, Colt Cabana, who does a lot of really stupid-looking moves that get pops precisely because they're so logical that they're funny. |
|
|
|
Post by lemonyellowson on Feb 24, 2011 21:21:44 GMT -5
i like spot monkeys.nothing wrong with having the odd match with guys flying all over the place, and usually the spots they are monkies for are pretty damn cool. Yeah but what I was complaining about is guys like Gabriel and Morrison aren't spot monkeys. i totally agree, wwe doesn't have any all out spot monkeys, not a one. |
|
|
|
Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Feb 24, 2011 21:28:21 GMT -5
Then you have Teddy Heart who is not so much a monkey as he is a dick. he's more of an anus  |
|
saintpat
El Dandy
Release the hounds!!!
Posts: 7,664
|
Post by saintpat on Feb 24, 2011 22:44:51 GMT -5
I don't agree with the original definition, or at least I'd never thought of it that way or heard it applied that way.
The EVIL Dr. Bolty pretty much nailed what I always thought the term meant, someone who offers little but spots and not much between spots.
I put Kaval in that category, but not Bourne. I'd say The Brian Kendrick was a spot monkey, but not Evan Bourne (I'm basing this on WWE work, not what Spanky did in the Indies).
Is there anything wrong with being a spot monkey? Nothing more than being limited, and lots of decent wrestlers are limited in one way or another.
|
|
|
|
Post by jadison on Feb 24, 2011 22:49:30 GMT -5
Yeah Morrison and Gabriel are definitely not spot monkeys. In fact, Jomo is about as good as it gets in terms of working in his crazy offense and counters in a way that is exciting and fresh and tells the story of the match. Kofi Kingston is also great at this. He invents some of the funkiest counters I've ever seen, but he doesn't repeat them every match because it gets a pop. He goes back to the drawing board for each match.
|
|
MrBRulzOK
Wade Wilson
Mr No-Pants Heathen
Something Witty Here.
Posts: 26,719
|
Post by MrBRulzOK on Feb 24, 2011 22:58:16 GMT -5
I don't have a problem with spot monkeys, I suppose. Though in my case the problem is that when I watch them in a match I don't care about the wrestlers themselves. Rather I care about the wacky moves they are going to pull out next. That may be fine for some, but for most people it's never going to amount to much of anything in terms of getting them over to a substantial level.
Of course concerning the Teddy Harts of the world, there really is no need for those type of spot monkeys.
|
|
