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Post by dxbang on Feb 29, 2016 9:56:44 GMT -5
Professional Wrestling has changed. A "great heel" nowadays ends up being cheered because of how good/cool they are. I remember in the mid/late 80s and early 90s some of these heels were amazing. Maybe it's because I was a kid and never even thought about cheering for a "bad guy," but things were so different.
"Ravishing" Rick Rude: This guy was such a D-bag...it was perfect. I love watching him now, but only because he was so good at what he did. His look, his facial expressions, his mannerisms...he may have been the ideal heel.
Mr. Perfect: Speaking of perfect...it was so annoying when this arrogant a-hole would beat some of my favorite wrestlers because he made me believe that he may have been as good as he thought he was. Great heel.
Ted DiBiase: A millionaire that thought he could buy his way into or out of anything...and he was almost right. An amazing cowardly heel that could still beat some top guys due to the help of his bodyguard.
The Honky Tonk Man: This annoying Elvis impersonator was able to hang on to the IC belt longer than anyone else. Somehow kept holding on the to the title until the Warrior came out and destroyed him. What else do you want from a guy you love to hate?
There are many more, but these are just some of my favorites. Aside from JBL being a tougher Million Dollar Man, how can these types of heels be recreated? They worked...they'd probably work again. I think The Miz is great.
Who were your favorites? What would you like to see?
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Post by dxbang on Feb 24, 2016 22:05:07 GMT -5
Have him get destroyed by the Wyatt family, and give him a couple weeks off (including Wrestlemania). When he returns, he destroys people while trying to "find" the Wyatts to get revenge. Let him destroy Rowan. Have him beat Harper. Big match against Strowman at Summerslam, where he hands him his first WWE loss, and then he can move on (to keep Bray strong). Him dominating again is the only way. Imagine a dominant Ryback against Lesnar at next years Wrestlemania. It would LOOK amazing.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 16, 2016 23:05:01 GMT -5
The Network has truly shown me how different things are today than they were 20-30 years ago. With that said, we can still compare the spot guys are in today to the spot wrestlers of the past had.
An easy example would be Cena and Hogan.
Another could be Orton and Savage (almost the face of the company for a while and now kind of lost in the shuffle, but will always be a big name and on top of the card).
A more difficult example could be Rusev and Earthquake (came in as a monster, suffered a loss to the face of the company, and joined forces with someone else in the middle of the card).
I know he last one is a stretch, but that's the kind of comparisons I'm looking for. Just something to think about...
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Post by dxbang on Feb 10, 2016 12:40:48 GMT -5
Now that Titus O'Neil's suspension has been picked up by major news sources (FOX, etc.), it's time to quickly get over it. Vince needs to be smart about this. He should apologize to Titus, compensate him for the "embarrassment," and immediately put him in a program with The Authority/Vince that will instantly elevate a guy they wanted to push in the first place.
Swallow your pride, WWE...you have something here.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 4, 2016 16:59:26 GMT -5
Oddly enough, one of the most successful wrestler of all time (Hogan) had the worst hair and probably isn't considered good looking by most.
Alex Wright was always a good looking dude, but his hair was thinning before he shaved it. I think it was part of the reason Berlyn had a shaved head.
Thinning hair didn't really matter at all for guys like The Big Bossman. He looked pretty much the same even when he lost most of his hair. Curtis Axel, though not successful, isn't really hindered by his hair (I feel he'd be in the exact same spot with thicker hair).
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Post by dxbang on Feb 4, 2016 15:42:20 GMT -5
I love the circular reasoning about why this is a viable topic. "It's important because it's important! People care about it because people care about it!" You want to bitch about people's looks, fine; at least we haven't descended into creepy body dysmorphia yet. But it's pretty tacky to act like you just care about people not reaching their full potential or whatever. "It shouldn't matter because I think it shouldn't matter!" We can do that all day, but that's not what this thread is about. A professional wrestlers looks are extremely important. While a flawless appearance isn't necessary, it definitely helps to have good facial features, an interesting/unique/attention grabbing look, and hair that matches what you're going for.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 4, 2016 13:16:29 GMT -5
Finn Balor hasnt been called up because he has a comb-over. Rusev is slipping down the card as his hairline is slipping back. Rick Viktor never had a chance; he was even a nobody jobber on episode one of Fullsail NXT. I'm assuming this is a joke, but Balor and Rusev are just fine. Viktor is starting to look like Stabler from SVU. He needs to bulk up a little and do something with the hair. Neville probably won't get too far because he looks like a jacked Screech Powers with a massive forehead. Gotta throw a mask on him or something...amazing talent though.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 4, 2016 11:08:50 GMT -5
Thought for sure the OP was gonna be the dude that always talks about hairlines, lol.
Haha I'm relatively new to posting, but I remember seeing those threads. I somewhat agree with the hairline guy though. It's somewhat important in this type of entertainment, though definitely not mandatory (see Hogan, Austin, Rock, etc.).
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Post by dxbang on Feb 4, 2016 10:41:09 GMT -5
With all this talk about AJ Styles hair, who are some guys that you think may be held back by the way they actually look (facial appearance, hair, etc.).
It's very easy to say "it doesn't matter if a guy is ugly/balding," but it does matter to a lot of people (after all, pro wrestling is partially based on appearance).
AJ Styles is not a good looking guy...I can admit that. I think he looks cooler with longer hair though, but his face is just kind of ugly. SO I think the longer hair suits him because it takes away from that.
I think Dean Ambrose has a look that suits him right now, but how long is he going to be able to push the long hair from the middle of his head forward? He won't look the same if he shaves his head, it could end up keeping him from reaching his potential.
Baron Corbin's thinning hair, in my opinion, makes him look almost ridiculous.
There are options, like hair transplants, etc., but that's not for everyone...and in some cases it's not permanent (due to further hair loss). For some people, shaving their head could completely alter their character.
Anyone else whose looks/hair has or might hold them back?
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Post by dxbang on Feb 3, 2016 10:36:09 GMT -5
I personally don't think so. I used to look at him as an unlikable Budnick type (Salute Your Shorts reference), but now it seems as though a lot of people cheer and those that don't...almost want to. I'd love to see him come out one of these days and actually deliver on one if his promos.
If I was WWE, i'd be willing to let him "luck" into a Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal win at Mania and let him roll from there. By luck I mean he literally had nothing to do with winning, he just happened to win because he was recovering in a corner while the other two guys left eliminated each other at the same time. After that, he'd luck into a couple more wins (with the help of the rest of the Social Outcasts) and earn an IC/US title shot where he actually competes and nearly gets the win before losing it. Let him compete as a legit threat for another couple months before earning another title shot and actually winning it this time.
May be a long shot, but I like him...he's worth it.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 3, 2016 9:47:18 GMT -5
I don't really have much interest in the Wyatt Family going after Lesnar. Bray needs to beat a solid name and it won't happen with Lesnar.
Enter Kevin Owens. Maybe there's a Kevin Owens/Ryback match on Raw soon and the Wyatt family comes down to do their routine "mess with Ryback" bit, but Kevin Owens kind of bumps into Strowman or something. Strowman throws him out of the way, and KO doesn't really know how to feel about that...so he catches an unsuspecting Luke Harper with a pop-up powerbomb and walks off. Well Bray isn't going to let him get away with that, so they begin to mess with him leading up to Mania. Kevin Owens, still a heel, begins to mount some attacks of his own on the Fam, leading to a bloody Kevin Owens/Bray Wyatt match at Wrestlemania that Wyatt wins.
This would create a high profile feud that would elevate both stars and put them firmly in the middle of the card at Wrestlemania, while allowing Bray to continue to look strong.
If Taker/Strowman occurs at Wrestlemania, I think it would be the perfect opportunity to give Taker a quality win (for his second to last Mania match ever) and follow that up with Taker/Harper the next night on Raw...which Harper wins. Harper has the most potential out of all of the Wyatts (including Bray). His size would make his dominance believable and he is a better worker than both Strowman and Rowan. Undertaker would be worn down by Strowman the night before, and Harper would just take it to him on Raw and come away with the clean win. This would result in a Harper/Taker rematch at Payback that Harper will once again win. This would immediately push Harper into the upper card, keep Rowan and Strowman as a massive tag team, and Bray in more of the leader role while still getting some quality wins (ultimately, I don't see Bray as a Main event guy).
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Post by dxbang on Feb 3, 2016 9:31:08 GMT -5
Culminating with his win over Bret at SummerSlam in Wembley Stadium, the British Bulldog had the look and popularity to be a main eventer in the early '90s. He may have only been 5'11, but his frame and look were larger than life. I can't think of anyone that wasn't excited to see him come out and he was a solid worker too.
His lower card feud with the Warlord was pretty good for what it was, and I think they missed an opportunity after SummerSlam to keep the ball rolling. I know they wanted to put the IC title on Shawn, but they could have easily continued to push Davey Boy after that loss. Wins against DiBiase, IRS, Nailz, Kamala, etc. could have catapulted himinto a fued with Razor and eventually Flair. I just think they could have done more before his HGH related release in '93. Even his return in '94 could have been done a little better.
FWIW, I was never a fan of short-haired/main event Davey. He was never really believable as an actual threat to the title.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 2, 2016 13:32:36 GMT -5
I know Marty is back in the news for his most likely drunken response to his name being mentioned by Stephanie on Raw, but i'm talking about the opportunity the WWE missed with him in the early 90's. Sure he was getting himself into trouble, but when he returned prior to the '93 Rumble, he looked pretty cool in that Guns N Roses shirt (I'm being dead serious).
Marty was a good worker that had a pretty cool look at the time (unfortunately he was never able to get with the times), but they could have definitely done a lot more with him if he was able to keep his head on straight during his runs. Upper mid-card Marty would've been fine in the mid 90's.
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Post by dxbang on Feb 2, 2016 9:16:29 GMT -5
I guess it all depends on what you look at as a "clean" win, but Hogan technically had the Warrior pinned in the match. This has always bothered me, but I guess it was the only way to give Hogan a relatively clean loss to the Warrior.
Had the Ultimate Warrior's run been a little more successful, what do you think the result of their match at Wrestlemania VII been? My assumption is that Hogan would've gotten it back and they would have had the rubber match at Wrestlemania VIII with two legit superstars leading the way (Hogan and Warrior). It would've made the passing of the torch a lot more gradual and would've allowed more time for guys like Macho and Flair to be involved in some serious programs with both guys (not to mention Sid, Slaughter, Taker, etc.)
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