Why did Warrior get over with the crowd?

[Unocal 76]

On the surface, it seemed like a gimmick that you wonder if it would have gotten over- big guy, face paint, doesn't speak much, not a guy who seemed fan-friendly or smiley.

At times, he was a face that acted like a heel.

But we all saw how over he was with the crowd- after all, the WWE wasn't afraid to book him in the Ultimate Challenge with Hogan in the SkyDome, let alone crown a new champ.

How did it work?

[celticjobber]

Short answer? It was the 80's/early 90's. How could he have not been over?



Longer answer: He was charismatic as hell and worked mostly short matches where he dominated, and he was put with great in-ring pros for his longer feuds (like Rick Rude and Randy Savage).

[MrBRulzOK]

You never know what's going to get over or how over they are going to be until you give them a shot. I guess Warrior just clicked with the crowd though his charisma and booking probably didn't hurt his chances.

[cactusrob]

As a kid he was fun to watch.
He was booked in short matches that best highlight his particular strengths, and he looked energetic and flashy. The promos didn't need to make sense.

[Sir Woodrow]

He looked more like a Super Hero than Hulk Hogan did

[johnnyk9]

for being a 3 to 4 year old with a ton of energy and someone who couldn't sit still at the seeing a guy on TV do the exact same thing plus beat up a guy was awesome.

[Deleted]

Energy. The man brought energy to the WWF.

He was kind of like a Road Warrior. You'd hear "Iron Man" and the Roadies would storm the ring and just beat the snot out of their opponents in less than a minute, then leave.

[mrjl]

Jan 28, 2012 4:35:16 GMT -5 Unocal 76 said:

On the surface, it seemed like a gimmick that you wonder if it would have gotten over- big guy, face paint, doesn't speak much, not a guy who seemed fan-friendly or smiley.

At times, he was a face that acted like a heel.

But we all saw how over he was with the crowd- after all, the WWE wasn't afraid to book him in the Ultimate Challenge with Hogan in the SkyDome, let alone crown a new champ.

How did it work?

no, not in the 80's. After the 60's and the 70's people were eager to just be able to charge right through a problem, over power it and toss it away.

[Citizen Snips]

His theme music helped as well. That song was amazing.

[The Peoples Elbow]

Jan 28, 2012 10:54:10 GMT -5 Citizen Snips said:

His theme music helped as well. That song was amazing.

Damn straight. That song was so powerful.

[Magnus the Magnificent]

Let's see...

1. Larger than life. He looked like a Greek god statue come to life.
2. Energetic.
3. The music. It really gets you pumped.
4. Cryptic promos. Made you think about what he actually said. Plus that awesome voice.
5. Beat the snot out bad guys in a quick fashion.

What's not to like?

[agent817]

Did the fans really eat up his promos that really made no sense? I am asking out of curiosity.

[molson5]

Jan 28, 2012 12:31:51 GMT -5 agent817 said:

Did the fans really eat up his promos that really made no sense? I am asking out of curiosity.

It's hard to tell because back then, wrestlers hardly did any promos in the ring, most of the time it was in backstage segments that the live audience couldn't even see, much less react to. I can't remember Warrior doing any live promos in his first run. He did a few in his second run when he aligned with Randy Savage and they had that stage over towards the back of the arena for TV tapings. Even Hogan didn't cut a lot of promos in front of live fans back then.

[HMARK Center]

Most fans absolutely ate it up back then. Just go back and check out a lot of late 80's/early 90's pop culture, especially for kids and young men, Warrior fit the mold of the time.

[beamanhogan]

The way he got over isn't that different than Goldberg. He had the right look, a good theme and just destroyed people. He had sneaky good charisma that just translated to people. They played the streak up for Goldberg, but it wasn't as if Warrior was jobbing at all.

Sometimes, guys just click with the audience right.

[Hit Girl]

He had a great look, an awesome name, star power, promos that although cryptic never left you in any doubt that he was going to kick someone's head in, amazing theme music and energy.

[mizerable]

Because he had all the tools to make it big.

A lot of people complain that he "only worked short matches", which they argue they booked him that way to cover up the fact that he wasn't a great worker, which is completely false. You look at a lot of the guys who were over during this period, and it was mostly guys who would just go in there and kick someone's ass in less than a couple minutes. The reason I think this worked is that whenever you had someone like Warrior who'd work over 10 minutes, you'd completely buy into the fact that he might actually lose (otherwise why hadn't he beaten this chump already?) and it just made for great storytelling.

[willywonka666]

he had a "hook" so to speak-he stood out and the 80's as they say was full of people that were larger than life. it's not like that anymore sadly-maybe it's more style over substance now, which is important, you need a cake to go with the frosting, BUT I miss the extra frosting.

[Deleted]

The Warrior was my favorite for a long time. He was kind of like Mike Tyson at his peak, he just went to the ring and beat ass, was charismatic, had insane promos, and looked like a beast.

I used to love the way that Vince said "the Ultimate Warrior" in the PPV intros. It sounded badass.

[Johnny D]

Jan 28, 2012 12:31:51 GMT -5 agent817 said:

Did the fans really eat up his promos that really made no sense? I am asking out of curiosity.

Yes, they loved every minute of it too. (me included ;D )