Post by rnrk supports BLM on Apr 23, 2011 5:33:33 GMT -5
The James Cameron movie, that is, not The Last Airbender, or the protagonist from Ultima, or a manifestation of a Hindu deity, or any other pop cultural use of the word.
Anyway...
As WWE is clearly aware, they've stumbled onto a goldmine. There's nothing that can drum up interest in an already-popular star like having them cut down in their prime due to a tragedy beyond their control, and this time they've got a particularly fortuitous set of circumstances. Eddie limited things by actually being dead, Benoit ruined his potential angle altogether, and Shawn was too into boring stuff like spending time with his family to milk it as much as they could've.
But Edge... Edge is still under contract for about a year, he's healthy enough that he can appear at shows and pose and not be a downer by being in a wheelchair or looking fat/old/bald, and he's always been a good talker. Edge can handle all the aspects of being a major WWE headliner other than the actual wrestling part, and in our world of action soap opera sports entertainment, that's only a minor inconvenience.
Edge's sudden retirement has left a void in WWE's main event scene, and clearly the best superstar to fill that void is still Edge himself. Heels can cut promos on him, and they'll get even more heat because everyone has particularly warm and fuzzy feelings for Edge at the moment. Edge can come out and interrupt said heels, and get even bigger pops than usual for the same reason. And then, when it comes time to have the actual wrestling matches, we bring out Edge's Avatar.
Christian has, of course, been the most immediately obvious choice to use as Edge's proxy, but it's not good enough. Christian has been around too long, become too well known as his own character, and the audience actually remembers him and thinks he has his own personality. Christian cannot fufill this role satisfactorily because he isn't completely subservient to Edge.
Ergo, we need a new and/or comparatively unknown wrestler to be Edge's Avatar. Said wrestler will have no name other than Edge, will wear Edge's outfits and ring gear, come out to Edge's theme, and do Edge's moves. Adam Copeland will sit at ringside and pretend to be unconsciously controlling his Avatar. When it's time to say anything, he'll wake up long enough to deliver the promos. Occasionally, a heel will get cheap heat by attempting to attack him to weaken the Edge Avatar (like Undertaker's magic urn back in the day), but the Avatar will always prevent this before Adam Copeland is forced to get into any actual physical altercation.
Naturally, the most logical choice to play Edge's Avatar would be Curt Hawkins.
Eventually, Edge's contract will expire and/or he will blanch in horror at the idea of the gimmick and run for the hills. Ideally, the Edge Avatar will gradually be weaned into cutting his own promos, and the angle will finally be wrapped up a year later when Edge permanently transfers his brain into the Avatar, letting Adam Copeland retire for good and letting WWE keep on using a wrestler called Edge with the exact same gimmick and moveset and spots that he's always had.
And once they've done it once, think how often it can be done again! No longer will WWE have to worry about building new stars when they can simply reuse the same (WWE-copyrighted!!!) characters in perpetuity. A Batista surrogate has already been selected, of course, but soon they can go one better and start bringing back stars from the boom periods through this method. If Stone Cold and the Rock bring in ratings boosts, then we ought to keep having Stone Cold and the Rock headlining for decades to come, with the same gimmicks and catch phrases repeated ad infinitum, and all those worries the bookers must have about stars aging and leaving and the frightening prospect of being forced to conceive new ideas will never be a concern again!
And that is my modest proposal to Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Anyway...
As WWE is clearly aware, they've stumbled onto a goldmine. There's nothing that can drum up interest in an already-popular star like having them cut down in their prime due to a tragedy beyond their control, and this time they've got a particularly fortuitous set of circumstances. Eddie limited things by actually being dead, Benoit ruined his potential angle altogether, and Shawn was too into boring stuff like spending time with his family to milk it as much as they could've.
But Edge... Edge is still under contract for about a year, he's healthy enough that he can appear at shows and pose and not be a downer by being in a wheelchair or looking fat/old/bald, and he's always been a good talker. Edge can handle all the aspects of being a major WWE headliner other than the actual wrestling part, and in our world of action soap opera sports entertainment, that's only a minor inconvenience.
Edge's sudden retirement has left a void in WWE's main event scene, and clearly the best superstar to fill that void is still Edge himself. Heels can cut promos on him, and they'll get even more heat because everyone has particularly warm and fuzzy feelings for Edge at the moment. Edge can come out and interrupt said heels, and get even bigger pops than usual for the same reason. And then, when it comes time to have the actual wrestling matches, we bring out Edge's Avatar.
Christian has, of course, been the most immediately obvious choice to use as Edge's proxy, but it's not good enough. Christian has been around too long, become too well known as his own character, and the audience actually remembers him and thinks he has his own personality. Christian cannot fufill this role satisfactorily because he isn't completely subservient to Edge.
Ergo, we need a new and/or comparatively unknown wrestler to be Edge's Avatar. Said wrestler will have no name other than Edge, will wear Edge's outfits and ring gear, come out to Edge's theme, and do Edge's moves. Adam Copeland will sit at ringside and pretend to be unconsciously controlling his Avatar. When it's time to say anything, he'll wake up long enough to deliver the promos. Occasionally, a heel will get cheap heat by attempting to attack him to weaken the Edge Avatar (like Undertaker's magic urn back in the day), but the Avatar will always prevent this before Adam Copeland is forced to get into any actual physical altercation.
Naturally, the most logical choice to play Edge's Avatar would be Curt Hawkins.
Eventually, Edge's contract will expire and/or he will blanch in horror at the idea of the gimmick and run for the hills. Ideally, the Edge Avatar will gradually be weaned into cutting his own promos, and the angle will finally be wrapped up a year later when Edge permanently transfers his brain into the Avatar, letting Adam Copeland retire for good and letting WWE keep on using a wrestler called Edge with the exact same gimmick and moveset and spots that he's always had.
And once they've done it once, think how often it can be done again! No longer will WWE have to worry about building new stars when they can simply reuse the same (WWE-copyrighted!!!) characters in perpetuity. A Batista surrogate has already been selected, of course, but soon they can go one better and start bringing back stars from the boom periods through this method. If Stone Cold and the Rock bring in ratings boosts, then we ought to keep having Stone Cold and the Rock headlining for decades to come, with the same gimmicks and catch phrases repeated ad infinitum, and all those worries the bookers must have about stars aging and leaving and the frightening prospect of being forced to conceive new ideas will never be a concern again!
And that is my modest proposal to Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
