SAJ Forth
Wade Wilson
Jamaican WCF Crazy!
Half Man-Half Amazing
Posts: 27,214
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Post by SAJ Forth on Sept 9, 2016 15:19:56 GMT -5
Getting literally buried by Cena was what he was talking about. Right. And I was being a smart ass about the unresolved "bigger picture" Barrett kept babbling on about. I was saying Barrett's bigger picture was being buried. He was meta as hayl then.
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ookkie
Unicron
Rated R.
Posts: 2,571
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Post by ookkie on Sept 9, 2016 19:20:26 GMT -5
Muhammad Hassan?
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Venti
Unicron
Posts: 3,002
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Post by Venti on Sept 9, 2016 19:29:03 GMT -5
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ookkie
Unicron
Rated R.
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Post by ookkie on Sept 10, 2016 11:13:05 GMT -5
Why? He got a gimmick that was brilliant to begin with - the frustrated Arab American in a post 9/11 world - then spiralled into stereotype when the audience didn't seem capable of the nuance. He eventually ends up in a main event program with the Undertaker but at this point has devolved character-wise into a fanatic whose manager was 'martyred'. Political events outside of the WWE, coupled with the E's own insensitivity to airing a controversial segment on an ill-timed date, lead to the character being literally buried (through the stage) on PPV. The guy could talk and wrestle and the WWE had a chance to be smart post-9/11 and they squandered the chance and his potential main-event run.
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Futureraven: Beelzebruv
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Ultimate Arbiter of Right And Wrong
Spent half my life here, God help me
Posts: 15,131
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Post by Futureraven: Beelzebruv on Sept 10, 2016 11:31:48 GMT -5
Why? He got a gimmick that was brilliant to begin with - the frustrated Arab American in a post 9/11 world - then spiralled into stereotype when the audience didn't seem capable of the nuance. He eventually ends up in a main event program with the Undertaker but at this point has devolved character-wise into a fanatic whose manager was 'martyred'. Political events outside of the WWE, coupled with the E's own insensitivity to airing a controversial segment on an ill-timed date, lead to the character being literally buried (through the stage) on PPV. The guy could talk and wrestle and the WWE had a chance to be smart post-9/11 and they squandered the chance and his potential main-event run. Arab...bomb
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ookkie
Unicron
Rated R.
Posts: 2,571
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Post by ookkie on Sept 10, 2016 11:40:51 GMT -5
Why? He got a gimmick that was brilliant to begin with - the frustrated Arab American in a post 9/11 world - then spiralled into stereotype when the audience didn't seem capable of the nuance. He eventually ends up in a main event program with the Undertaker but at this point has devolved character-wise into a fanatic whose manager was 'martyred'. Political events outside of the WWE, coupled with the E's own insensitivity to airing a controversial segment on an ill-timed date, lead to the character being literally buried (through the stage) on PPV. The guy could talk and wrestle and the WWE had a chance to be smart post-9/11 and they squandered the chance and his potential main-event run. Arab...bomb Yes, I get it. Ha-ha bomb. But that's exactly the problem with how Hassan's run was handled. He went from a guy with a legitimate complaint upon his arrival to a man in a main-event push with no redeeming qualities. He went from a character who could have done a lot for the representation of Arab Americans in a post-9/11 world to what people are automatically linking my original post to, a play on the concept of a terrorist. In order to push him as the antagonist in the main event, they went from disenfranchised-feeling American to full-on stereotypical 'terrorist', complete with martyrs, masked men, throat-cutting gestures. The OP asked whose main event push had no redeeming qualities... what good came from Hassan's push? Non-wrestling fans infuriated by the WWE's insensitivity to the London bombings? Validation of xenophobic feelings in the eyes of audience members who perceive someone like Hassan as capable of nothing other than fanaticism? Did it lead to anything redeeming? No. He became simply the caricature, lost to Taker, and disappeared. A huge opportunity lost.
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Futureraven: Beelzebruv
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Ultimate Arbiter of Right And Wrong
Spent half my life here, God help me
Posts: 15,131
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Post by Futureraven: Beelzebruv on Sept 11, 2016 5:02:24 GMT -5
Yes, I get it. Ha-ha bomb. But that's exactly the problem with how Hassan's run was handled. He went from a guy with a legitimate complaint upon his arrival to a man in a main-event push with no redeeming qualities. He went from a character who could have done a lot for the representation of Arab Americans in a post-9/11 world to what people are automatically linking my original post to, a play on the concept of a terrorist. In order to push him as the antagonist in the main event, they went from disenfranchised-feeling American to full-on stereotypical 'terrorist', complete with martyrs, masked men, throat-cutting gestures. The OP asked whose main event push had no redeeming qualities... what good came from Hassan's push? Non-wrestling fans infuriated by the WWE's insensitivity to the London bombings? Validation of xenophobic feelings in the eyes of audience members who perceive someone like Hassan as capable of nothing other than fanaticism? Did it lead to anything redeeming? No. He became simply the caricature, lost to Taker, and disappeared. A huge opportunity lost. When was he presented as having legitimate grievances? He said so in promos before his debut, but he was an anti-american heel from day 1.Could you do a rich character study about this kind of situation? Yes, but that time, and with WWE creative was not that, he was immediately a heel, getting USA chants, so within 5 minutes anything interesting was lost.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,303
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Post by agent817 on Sept 11, 2016 8:59:57 GMT -5
Test? Making him Stephanie's boyfriend meant they presumably had big plans for him but he dropped down the card pretty quick after Steph and HHH hooked up. They "made" him Stephanie's boyfriend because he was dating Steph at the time. But even they didn't really seem to really have big plans for him either way. Test was like 6th in the pecking order behind Austin, Rock, Foley, Big Show, and Kane, and there wasnt really a "move heaven and earth to get Test over no matter what to the point of looking desperate and obnoxious" directive like they usually do when they're behind someone. They were really dating? Not to derail the topic, but I thought that their relationship was all a work. This was news to me. Even then, it was a missed opportunity to push him. He seemed rather over, especially in his feud with Shane McMahon. Here is my contribution to this thread: R-Truth in 2011. He was given a push for a really good part of 2011. He even headlined a couple of PPV's. Then he was just back to being a mid-carder.
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SAJ Forth
Wade Wilson
Jamaican WCF Crazy!
Half Man-Half Amazing
Posts: 27,214
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Post by SAJ Forth on Sept 11, 2016 12:30:40 GMT -5
That was a strange run. WWE not having the proper insight to make it work.
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