|
Post by JasonVoorhees1988 on Jun 26, 2023 22:54:02 GMT -5
Hulk v. Andre at Mania 3, possibly the Main Event. Newbies don’t wanna see workrate, they want to see spectacle. Definitely a good choice.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Jun 26, 2023 23:35:52 GMT -5
There is no one answer. As someone who has successfully found matches that appealed to a new viewer on multiple occasions, I can say that it's all about finding something to the tastes of the friend in question.
Matches I've picked in the past:
Orange Cassidy vs. Angelico from some Dark or Elevation episode. Two wrestlers who are obviously impressive and superb, with a very simple character dynamic of a laid back hero and an easily flustered pretty boy villain. This was for a friend who seemed more interested in something lighthearted and funny, who was put off by wrestling when he thought it was just huge guys doing fake looking punches.
Orange Cassidy vs. Pac from AEW Revolution 2020. This was picked for someone who likes muscular men and seeing villains get their comeuppance; I had a whole itinerary for her that also included Jon Moxley vs. Brian Cage, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus vs. MJF & Wardlow, Hangman & Dark Order vs. Chaos Project & TH2, and, the one that sealed the deal and pretty much made her a fan for life, Hangman & Kenny Omega vs. the Young Bucks.
Hangman & Kenny Omega vs. the Young Bucks is also the match that sold my wife on AEW and is why the promotion is an institution in our house.
Leyla Hirsch vs. Mercedes Martinez (CZW match that's on Youtube) - picked this one out for a few friends who mostly wanted to see badass women beating the hell out of one another. One friend was rabidly cheering on Leyla by the end - the size difference creates a natural story, and it's a match that's no frills in a way that makes it very accessible (IE, most of the way a wrestling match is "supposed" to go are demonstrated). For the other friend, we moved on to the Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker Lights Out match, and they were completely blown away and adored every second of it and asked for more of both wrestlers.
Another friend who just loves seeing tough ladies was very into Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki in a 2/3 falls match. Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker was a win for this friend, too, though.
Britt/Rosa also won over a friend who loves blood and violence for its own sake. However, during the match, she commented that the selling was what impressed her the most, so the next match we watched was Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima, because I was able to appeal to her morbid curiosity to see a match where a man detached his retina. She loved the hell out of it.
I forget what all I picked for another friend...she liked MMA and wanted to see some MMA guys and influence, so we watched Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, at least one Minoru Suzuki match (I forget which). When we drifted from MMA-infused stuff, though, we watched Ryo Mizunami vs. Maki Itoh, which is a great introduction to Maki's shtick. She found it quite entertaining, but she remains more interested in the MMA intersections.
Someone in my life found out they share a birthday with Utami Hayashishita, whom I'd been meaning to check out, and they had a great time watching a 30-minute match between Hayashishita and Syuri. We'd previously watched some other matches together, though, which have mostly been major favorites of mine, but probably their favorite was Minoru Suzuki vs. Mecha Mummmy.
My college roommate walked in on the Briscoes vs. Steen & Generico Ladder War and henceforth asked to watch more wrestling with me.
Another college acquaintance walked by when I was watching a Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money match, and was instantly sold because it defied his expectations of what wrestling could be.
A friend back in high school was up for more wrestling after RVD vs. Jerry Lynn from the RVD compilation WWE had just put out at the time. Another went wild for Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi.
I want to get across that there is a lot of wrestling out there, with a lot of potential appeal to a lot of different people. There are people who will want characters, who will want comedy, who will want spectacle in the form of bodies, who will want spectacle in the form of athleticism, who will want wrestling that touches on one of their pre-existing interests. All of the matches above worked to some extent - and I feel like the majority who didn't become lifelong fans were simply not going to become such, but were very happy to enjoy something that was cool and directed to their tastes. Britt/Rosa shows up a lot, but that's because I have a few people in my life who are amenable to the idea of seeing two women tear each other apart, and it's notable that one of those friends had just as much fun with a stiff workrate match; another had just as much fun with the broad comedy of Minoru Suzuki and Mecha Mummy as with the epic high-octane showdown between Hayashishita and Syuri.
TLDR: Why do you think your target audience will like wrestling? And what match do you enjoy that would best bring that out? And, if you think your target audience will enjoy following wrestling, not just watching a match on your recommendation on occasion, do you have a promotion in mind that you can pick to showcase?
|
|
Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,268
|
Post by Mozenrath on Jun 26, 2023 23:37:16 GMT -5
Owen Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid at whichever King of the Ring it was. It's a complete sprint and very fun.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Jun 26, 2023 23:59:14 GMT -5
Hulk v. Andre at Mania 3, possibly the Main Event. Newbies don’t wanna see workrate, they want to see spectacle. Have you actually tried this and found it successful? Genuine curiosity, because I have had such success with the opposite of your premise. I have never met the non-fan who wasn't impressed by fast paced, hard hitting wrestling. I have met non-fans who are turned off by slow wrestling. It seems intuitive to me that the fancier and speedier wrestling is a better fit for what you say about spectacle. I will never disagree that story and character are some of the most important factors, but these things can also be present in high workrate matches. There are also multiple types of spectacle - large men, steroid muscles, and massive crowds are not the only kind of spectacle that anyone enjoys. Precise execution, agility, fast paced exchanges, blood, comedy, celebrity crossovers, wild gimmicks, stiff shots, elaborate double teams, props - all of these are spectacles.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Jun 27, 2023 0:57:03 GMT -5
If they want to understand what you're interested in why not just show them one of your favourite matches? Would be pointless if you showed them some random match you don't care about based on online opinion and they didn't understand what you like based on a part of wrestling you don't even like that much My favourite match is Kobashi Vs Sasaki and that's not the match to start with! Apologies for the triple post, but, well, I am kind of enthusiastic about the topic... How about Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Danny Kroffat & Doug Furnas? It's shorter and more fast paced, but it still has that Kobashi fire and the King's Road trappings, combined with the simple appeal of underdog faces doing the classic tag formula. If your friend wants to see the sort of thing that you like, and you like hard hitting AJPW/NOAH type stuff, then that is a good place to start without committing to a 40 minute epic or a five minute chop exchange.
|
|
XIII
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,632
|
Post by XIII on Jun 28, 2023 12:49:27 GMT -5
I’d honestly just show them the Hard Times promo. That thing is universal and still relevant today.
“My belly is just a little big and my hiney is a little big, but I’m bad and brother they know I’m bad” is one of the hardest lines in wrestling history. Big Dust was the shit.
|
|
|
Post by cassonova on Jun 29, 2023 9:45:39 GMT -5
WeeLC.
I'm serious. I love it and will show anyone foolish enough to allow me to pic things.
|
|
|
Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Jun 29, 2023 10:37:48 GMT -5
So I have a friend who wants to dip their toe in pro wrestling. Not so much that they want to get into, but understand what it is that I watch. So, if you had one match and one segment/promo to show someone, what would you go for? Personally I'd go with either the Royal Rumble 1992 or Royal Rumble 2001. If it had to be an actual match probably No Mercy 2008 Ladder Match: Jericho vs HBK that was a great feud.
|
|
|
Post by Jaws the Shark on Jun 29, 2023 10:58:29 GMT -5
La Pareja del Terror vs. El Hijo del Santo and Octagon from When Worlds Collide. The story is pretty straightforward but still engaging and with good characters, and there's lots of action in the actual match to keep someone interested.
|
|
MrElijah
Crow T. Robot
Posts: 43,493
Member is Online
|
Post by MrElijah on Jun 29, 2023 11:04:02 GMT -5
For a newbie -Owen vs. 123 Kid, KOR '94 -Jerry Lynn vs. The Lightning Kid, GWF -Jushin Liger vs. Pillman, Superbrawl 2 -Steamboat/Dustin Rhodes vs. The Enforcers, Clash of The Champions -Midnight Express vs. The Southern Boys, Great American Bash '90 -RnR Express vs. The Russian Team, NWA Worldwide Wrestling -The Boss vs. Vader, Spring Stampede '94
|
|
Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
Posts: 42,002
|
Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jun 29, 2023 21:36:51 GMT -5
Hulk v. Andre at Mania 3, possibly the Main Event. Newbies don’t wanna see workrate, they want to see spectacle. Have you actually tried this and found it successful? Genuine curiosity, because I have had such success with the opposite of your premise. I have never met the non-fan who wasn't impressed by fast paced, hard hitting wrestling. I have met non-fans who are turned off by slow wrestling. It seems intuitive to me that the fancier and speedier wrestling is a better fit for what you say about spectacle. I will never disagree that story and character are some of the most important factors, but these things can also be present in high workrate matches. There are also multiple types of spectacle - large men, steroid muscles, and massive crowds are not the only kind of spectacle that anyone enjoys. Precise execution, agility, fast paced exchanges, blood, comedy, celebrity crossovers, wild gimmicks, stiff shots, elaborate double teams, props - all of these are spectacles. No, because I don't think I've ever met a single person who hasn't at least seen wrestling once in their lives.
|
|
|
Post by Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃 on Jun 29, 2023 22:47:59 GMT -5
1992 Royal Rumble….made my wife and kids into fans.
|
|
Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
Posts: 42,002
|
Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jun 29, 2023 23:00:28 GMT -5
1992 Royal Rumble….made my wife and kids into fans. Rumbles are good, especially older ones, because you see so many wrestlers and get a sense of what's up.
|
|
|
Post by government mule on Jun 30, 2023 13:15:30 GMT -5
I think The Rock will be my daughter's entry point into wrestling (she's 3 and a half). When I showed her a random clip of him vs Cena (one of the WMania matches) and told her it was Maui from Moana, she lost her f***ing mind.
|
|
Cranjis McBasketball
Crow T. Robot
Knew what the hell that thing was supposed to be
Peace Love and Nothing But
Posts: 42,002
|
Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jun 30, 2023 23:54:26 GMT -5
I think The Rock will be my daughter's entry point into wrestling (she's 3 and a half). When I showed her a random clip of him vs Cena (one of the WMania matches) and told her it was Maui from Moana, she lost her f***ing mind. That's how my dad got me to watch Princess Bride, "Andre the Giant is in this" Now, at 6 I didn't really enjoy it, but now at 40, it's one of my favorite movies ever.
|
|
AdamAFL was sooooo wrong
Hank Scorpio
note to all: he's a pants-less heathen
I Survived The Impact Spoilers 7/22/15-7/30/15
Posts: 7,097
|
Post by AdamAFL was sooooo wrong on Jul 1, 2023 10:53:55 GMT -5
Austin Aries vs Samoa Joe from Slammiversary 2012. I’ve no idea why, it’s a good match don’t get me wrong but wouldn’t crack probably top 500 matches of all time for me. But anytime a non wrestling fan has shown any interest in the past decade or so since that match happened it has automatically sprung to mind. Has about an 80% track record of converting them into fans as well.
|
|
|
Post by Jindrak Mark on Jul 1, 2023 12:09:11 GMT -5
I think The Rock will be my daughter's entry point into wrestling (she's 3 and a half). When I showed her a random clip of him vs Cena (one of the WMania matches) and told her it was Maui from Moana, she lost her f***ing mind. I mentioned the match earlier in this thread but the first Rock/Cena Wrestlemania is what helped me get my nephew into wrestling a couple of years ago. The full match was on Youtube and to him at first it was the guy from Rampage/the voice from Moana v the guy from Bumblebee/the voice from Ferdinand and now he's completely hooked on wrestling. Somehow he's like one of the kids from 10-15 years ago who idolized Cena despite the fact he never lived through any part of his full-time career.
|
|