Kofi + AJ's 10 favorite games

[salsashark]

Back around the time WWE 13 was coming out, I did an interview with AJ about her favorite video games ever. The interview finally ran today in a new home after a looooong wait (but with a sweet tie-in to WrestleMania), so do check it if you're interested.

withleather.uproxx.com/2013/04/aj-lee-waxes-on-her-10-favorite-video-games-also-cm-punk-thinks-hes-solid-snake#page/1

AJ was super fun to talk to. I've spoken to hundreds of folks for interviews, and she was definitely had the gift of the gab in a pretty rare way. She giggles and laughs a lot.

While writing this and listening to her talk, I kept thinking about a couple of people on here who thought she had no credibility as a real gamer (i.e., it was all a gimmick). While I'm sure there are a few aspects of her personality that are occasionally played up for the sake, my experience tells me that this is definitely not a put-on of any kind. (I mean, she references Samurai Shodown.) Totally feel that bias and sexism was guiding that opinion all the time.

As I type this, I'm putting together the sequel to this piece with another WWE talent, so check this space on Thursday (I think) if you are so inclined. I also have a Jim Johnston interview coming up that I was planning on making a separate thread for. (Any mods who read this, please let me know if this will be a faux pas.) Thanks in advance for reading if you do.

Update: As promised here is the other wrestler and his choices getting a spotlight: withleather.uproxx.com/2013/04/kofi-kingston-talks-his-10-favorite-video-games-plus-his-pick-for-a-movie-version-of-master-chief#page/1

[Andrew is Good]

One of my big pet peeves on the Internet is people bitching about girls pandering by trying to come across as gamer girls. I'm sure there are some people like that who exist, but it seems like a straw man (or straw woman in this case) that people attack.

As said before, there is probably some exaggeration in her whole character, for the past part, she plays the character of AJ Lee. But people also bring on their own traits and raise them to a crazy degree for television.

[BorneAgain]

Now I want CM Punk with a Solid Snake gimmick. (I guess him as the Snake using the Fogger instead of cigarettes).

[Spider2024]

Awesome article. And actually, I think I like MK3 more than MK2 as well.

[BigJerichool222]

OMG WHAT A PHONY. SHE LIKES FABLE III!? PLUS, MISTY WAS THERE PAST THE FIRST 151.

4/10. NOT A REAL GAMER GIRL.

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2013 15:25:46 GMT -5 Andrew is Good said:

One of my big pet peeves on the Internet is people bitching about girls pandering by trying to come across as gamer girls. I'm sure there are some people like that who exist, but it seems like a straw man (or straw woman in this case) that people attack.

I'm one of those people because of how totally unrelated it is to anything about the person, and the way that it's presented. Like, she enjoys video games. Great, but that really doesn't have anything to do with her character, so why is it being advertised so much?

That and the segregation of "Gamer" into an isolated group. She's not a "gamer girl." She's just a girl. She may happen to like video games, but in this day and age making a big fuss out of that is akin to "This man likes Grey's Anatomy and Glee! BOW DOWN TO HIM, LADIES!"

I know plenty of WWE-level wrestlers who have various cultural interests that are totally unrelated to wrestling, video games included. But they don't randomly go around advertising it or talking about it.

[dbostick]

Very good games; I love the Resident Evil games as well. I guess AJ was never into Street Fighter or Tekken, sadly.

[Free Hat]

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

[BigWill]

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

Why did they make such a big deal about CM Punk being straight edge? Why did they make such a big deal about Daniel Bryan being a vegan?

[salsashark]

Thanks to everyone for reading so far. spiderfab, I'm also way more into MK3 than MK2, too. Totally marked when she went for that game versus MK2.

Apr 1, 2013 15:36:08 GMT -5 @mightykretzler said:

Apr 1, 2013 15:25:46 GMT -5 Andrew is Good said:

One of my big pet peeves on the Internet is people bitching about girls pandering by trying to come across as gamer girls. I'm sure there are some people like that who exist, but it seems like a straw man (or straw woman in this case) that people attack.

I'm one of those people because of how totally unrelated it is to anything about the person, and the way that it's presented. Like, she enjoys video games. Great, but that really doesn't have anything to do with her character, so why is it being advertised so much?

That and the segregation of "Gamer" into an isolated group. She's not a "gamer girl." She's just a girl. She may happen to like video games, but in this day and age making a big fuss out of that is akin to "This man likes Grey's Anatomy and Glee! BOW DOWN TO HIM, LADIES!"

I know plenty of WWE-level wrestlers who have various cultural interests that are totally unrelated to wrestling, video games included. But they don't randomly go around advertising it or talking about it.

I disagree. I think it's a hobby that means something to her and she's happy to talk about, which is why it gets out there so much. I can name a bunch of other people on the roster who have interests they have discussed before outside wrestling: R-Truth is a rap fan, CM Punk is a punk and hardcore dude, Cody Rhodes like comics, etc. I think Vince was once interviewed for Cigar Aficianado, and I bet Triple H would be down to talk about bodybuilding if given the platform and the time was right. Same goes for Ted DiBiase Jr. and hunting or Zack Ryder and his favorite boy band songs. Even though it's faith-based, I'm sure Sting and HBK are the same way about Christianity. It's always interesting hearing someone you are familiar with in on other ways (i.e., via wrestling) talk about their other interests/hobbies. Me finding out Daniel Bryan's taste for Townes Van Zandt and Frank Turner had no impact of my opinion of him as a wrestler, but it was cool to hear him discuss that. I for one would love to hear pretty much anyone on the roster discuss their interests, but especially my favorites. It'd be neat to learn what kind of movies or books Ricardo or Alex Riley or whoever watches or reads.

[salsashark]

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

In my spiel up top, I wasn't thinking of those apathetic on the matter (which is totally fine, too) but rather those who talked about her faking it for attention.

["American Cream" Dusty Loads]

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

Nerdy dudes watch wrestling. Nerdy dudes tend to play video games. Hot lady wrestler that likes video games = $$$

[Hit Girl]

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

Personally I think WWE should make a bigger deal out of it.

It would make her stand out more than the personality-free Divas that usually fill the roster.

[salsashark]

Oh yeah, the whole WWE "Superstar Toyz" series is also dedicated to spotlighting out-of-the-ring interests, what with Hunico talking about his mask collection and Natalya about shoes.

[jimmyjames]

Apr 1, 2013 15:50:12 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

Personally I think WWE should make a bigger deal out of it.

It would make her stand out more than the personality-free Divas that usually fill the roster.

Agree completely. I think that's why she's popular, because she's different, not just physically, but that she also has a personality, and there is more to her than just wrestling. Someone who might not get a second look from fans, but she does have other things that make her standout.

[frogsplash45]

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

If somebody on the roster liked, let's say, a lot of the same films as I do, I would find that interesting and cool.

Same thing here.

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2013 15:46:57 GMT -5 BigWill said:

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

Why did they make such a big deal about CM Punk being straight edge? Why did they make such a big deal about Daniel Bryan being a vegan?

Those were both stupid too, and had little to do with the character of each originally.

However, Punk and Bryan each had something going for them when they debuted. They were critically-acclaimed, seasoned veterans of the indy circuit and widely believed by workrate and character enthusiasts who knew them to be among the best out there. And neither has exactly disappointed. So much about them is about the wrestling, so it's much easier to not focus on it as much. Almost everybody knew full well what kind of stuff Punk and Bryan can do, and at the end of the day, their abilities and experience are why we think of them the way we do and not as two guys with half-assed gimmicks.

Punk's SXE is a lot more unique, too. And it really does factor into his identity and the character that he plays at this point, who is self-serving and self-loving.

AJ's a girl with relatively scant experience as a wrestler who never really had to prove herself to get randomly injected into a main event storyline. She hasn't endured repeated burials to stay over nor has she turned a storyline meant to belittle her into her character's saving grace. She hasn't put on any memorable matches or had any memorable feuds.

So naturally, instead of having her wrestle in relevant matches, or giving her some kind of character development, the solution is to have her talk about video games because that's relevant to fleshing her out, right? I mean, she's got nearly a million followers on twitter in spite of still not really doing anything ring-wise or character wise, but it doesn't really help the women's division or develop her as a character in the long term.

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2013 15:47:56 GMT -5 salsashark said:

Thanks to everyone for reading so far. spiderfab, I'm also way more into MK3 than MK2, too. Totally marked when she went for that game versus MK2.

Apr 1, 2013 15:36:08 GMT -5 @mightykretzler said:

I'm one of those people because of how totally unrelated it is to anything about the person, and the way that it's presented. Like, she enjoys video games. Great, but that really doesn't have anything to do with her character, so why is it being advertised so much?

That and the segregation of "Gamer" into an isolated group. She's not a "gamer girl." She's just a girl. She may happen to like video games, but in this day and age making a big fuss out of that is akin to "This man likes Grey's Anatomy and Glee! BOW DOWN TO HIM, LADIES!"

I know plenty of WWE-level wrestlers who have various cultural interests that are totally unrelated to wrestling, video games included. But they don't randomly go around advertising it or talking about it.

I disagree. I think it's a hobby that means something to her and she's happy to talk about, which is why it gets out there so much. I can name a bunch of other people on the roster who have interests they have discussed before outside wrestling: R-Truth is a rap fan, CM Punk is a punk and hardcore dude, Cody Rhodes like comics, etc. I think Vince was once interviewed for Cigar Aficianado, and I bet Triple H would be down to talk about bodybuilding if given the platform and the time was right. Same goes for Ted DiBiase Jr. and hunting or Zack Ryder and his favorite boy band songs. Even though it's faith-based, I'm sure Sting and HBK are the same way about Christianity. It's always interesting hearing someone you are familiar with in on other ways (i.e., via wrestling) talk about their other interests/hobbies. Me finding out Daniel Bryan's taste for Townes Van Zandt and Frank Turner had no impact of my opinion of him as a wrestler, but it was cool to hear him discuss that. I for one would love to hear pretty much anyone on the roster discuss their interests, but especially my favorites. It'd be neat to learn what kind of movies or books Ricardo or Alex Riley or whoever watches or reads.

I can absolutely see where you're coming from and I mean no disrespect for your opinion. Although, I find it hard to enjoy that sort of thing when no matter what their interests are, I'm still totally an outsider to it. From the kayfabe standpoint alone you can never fully know a wrestler, and so the grasp of who they are is still a rather limited one.

[Free Hat]

Apr 1, 2013 15:46:57 GMT -5 BigWill said:

Apr 1, 2013 15:42:32 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

I never doubted that she was a gamer, I just don't....care? Count me as another one who doesn't see why they make such a big deal out of it.

Why did they make such a big deal about CM Punk being straight edge? Why did they make such a big deal about Daniel Bryan being a vegan?

Punk's heel persona has always been a holier than thou asshole who lords his superiority over others. His Straight Edge lifestyle plays into that well.

Besides which, there's a huge difference between a hobby and a lifestyle, especially when said hobby is shared by half the damn roster in real life. It's the equivalent of constantly emphasizing that some dude really loves movies, but never really having that play into his character development in any way.

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2013 16:04:43 GMT -5 Free Hat said:

Apr 1, 2013 15:46:57 GMT -5 BigWill said:

Why did they make such a big deal about CM Punk being straight edge? Why did they make such a big deal about Daniel Bryan being a vegan?

Punk's heel persona has always been a holier than thou asshole who lords his superiority over others. His Straight Edge lifestyle plays into that well.

Besides which, there's a huge difference between a hobby and a lifestyle, especially when said hobby is shared by half the damn roster in real life. It's the equivalent of constantly emphasizing that some dude really loves movies, but never really having that play into his character development in any way.

And this is all true too.