Why is Hornswoggle Still Employed?

[forgottensinpwf]

Dec 31, 2009 11:11:34 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

He'll be gone within a year or so.

Haven't people been saying that since the Little Bastard days?

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Dec 31, 2009 8:22:22 GMT -5 Unaffiliated said:

Right now, there seems to always be a storyline for him to integrate into. He'll be done with the DX thing after they eventually get involved in a serious feud.

DX don't do serious.

[angryfan]

You know, I'm no fan of seeing Hornswoggle in multiple segments, but I can't deny he gets a reaction. However, I keep sing mention of "he moves merchandise".

He does? I checked Shopzone, he has one t-shirt (well, two if the youth version counts) and I don't really see them blanketing the crowds. Thus, I'd say the "he draws money" thought is kinda damaged there.

He DOES get a reaction, but it's a one-trick reaction of either "that poor midget" or "ha ha, it's a midget". He can evoke sympathy or be played up as a stereotype, and that's really all that can be done to the character.

Well, that and he can beat Chavo. A lot.

Perhaps it's a testament to his ability that he's stayed over and employed as long as he has, but it has a very finite shelf-life that is only getting shorter.

[Ben Wyatt]

Dec 31, 2009 11:46:34 GMT -5 angryfan said:

Perhaps it's a testament to his ability that he's stayed over and employed as long as he has, but it has a very finite shelf-life that is only getting shorter.

Thing is, everyone was saying that a year ago.

[AriadosMan]

Dec 31, 2009 11:46:34 GMT -5 angryfan said:

You know, I'm no fan of seeing Hornswoggle in multiple segments, but I can't deny he gets a reaction. However, I keep sing mention of "he moves merchandise".

He does? I checked Shopzone, he has one t-shirt (well, two if the youth version counts) and I don't really see them blanketing the crowds. Thus, I'd say the "he draws money" thought is kinda damaged there.

He DOES get a reaction, but it's a one-trick reaction of either "that poor midget" or "ha ha, it's a midget". He can evoke sympathy or be played up as a stereotype, and that's really all that can be done to the character.

Well, that and he can beat Chavo. A lot.

Perhaps it's a testament to his ability that he's stayed over and employed as long as he has, but it has a very finite shelf-life that is only getting shorter.

The problem I have with the various pro-Hornswoggle arguments is that the people who make them seem to think he draws more than the actual wrestlers. There have been a lot of stupid comedy gimmicks in wrestling history. Horny is unique because an increasingly large part of the show is devoted to a character who is not only not a champion, but not intended to be taken seriously. The problem with this is WWE seems to think people actually buy tickets to see the Hornswoggle character rather than the "serious" storylines, since they give him so much time. How many people do you know have gone to a WWE event because "I want to see Hornswoggle" rather than "I want to see Batista" or "I want to see Cena"? Even wrestling requires a certain amount of seriousness in the types of gimmicks it promotes as the face of the company.

[steamboat1]

Aya ugh EEEEEEEEEEeh ayealow ah ahhahaha eh


Thats leprechaun for no friggin clue.

[Tiger Millionaire]

Why do people get personally bothered by a guy still having a job?

[Zen411]

Didn't he hold the cruiserweight title for a while? I liked that period in his career....honestly.

I think he does well as an underdog. I think that he is the best little person performer the company has seen in years. I think they should have droppped the leprechaun bit and the dirt on the face an actually allow him to speak. When he was VInce's son, it was huge. If they dropped the lame schtick and let him just be a talented little person, he wouldnt be as ridiculed.

[xxshoyuweeniexx]

Dec 31, 2009 11:22:15 GMT -5 @forgottensinpwf said:

Dec 31, 2009 11:11:34 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

He'll be gone within a year or so.

Haven't people been saying that since the Little Bastard days?

I guess it depends if they turn him on someone else. DX won't be serious forever, and the guest host thing will be over around draft time. I'm not sure what they're going to do with him.

[Robbymac]

Dec 31, 2009 8:37:11 GMT -5 Metalheadbanger Man said:

Dec 30, 2009 22:22:19 GMT -5 Robbymac said:

When they do then we can have this discussion.

He's a one trick pony, so when the crowd gets sick of it he's gone. They haven't though, and he only gets more over...which only serves to further infuriate the lunatic fringe of the IWC.

Personally, he's my favorite member of the roster. ;D

I've seen you use that phrase "lunatic fringe" on your 411 page - just because I don't find Hornswoggle funny, and believe he takes up way too much TV time which could be used to get wrestlers over, doesn't make me a lunatic. I can admit that he's way over, but I'm not an irrational mentalist just because I'm not a fan.

Then you're not a member of the lunatic fringe. I use lunatic fringe more on 411 because the comments section is largely unmoderated so people go off the deep end. Those are the "lunatics"

Its also just a phrase I like to throw around. I think its funny. No harm intended to anyone.

If you say "he's over...he's popular...but I don't like him" that's fine. It's the "Oh my god he's going to be the death of the WWE...they should fire him before its too late" crowd that irritates me.

Again, he is more over than the current WWE Champion, and it's not even close.

[Cretinous Humanoid]

More importantly can someone tell me why Evan Bourne is still employed?

[taylorandborland]

hornswoggle doesn't move merch...
yeah, he's over, but not enough to justify being a regular of the cast. Every Chavo/Swog segment after the first two flopped.

[Celgress]

Because he sells mountains of merch and is ultra over, thread.

[Hogasm]

I went to a Machine Head concert in Minneapolis. Upon stepping outside when it was over, I waited for my friends and had a piece of gum. When I lit up I felt this tapping against my knee. I thought it was nothing and continued to come to my senses. The tapping happened again. I looked down and saw a shirtless Asian midget with a mohawk looking up at me. "Yo dude, could I bogart a stick from you?" I flipped him a stick and asked him how he could see anything, let alone survive. He said really nice people let him ride their shoulders and lots of crowd surfing. This little dude was a metal veteran!

Right then I hear "THERE YOU ARE!" Out comes two insanely hot metal chicks that pick him up on their shoulders and promptly leave. He had the biggest smile on his face. Then someone threw up.

I believe that Hornswaggle lives a similar life every day. That son of a bitch Fit Finlay

[taylorandborland]

no joke, the majority of pics with WWE wrestlers at the club or somewhere have Hornswoggle getting grinded on by all kinds of girls.

When you see him with Eve and the Bellas and all of them, that's not kayfabe.

[Mozenrath]

Dec 30, 2009 22:05:45 GMT -5 Robbymac said:

He's more over than the current WWE Champion...

...by a lot

Maybe this isn't the place to ask this, but what do people base overness on? Crowd reaction? Then tits should win the world title, clearly they are the most over.

Kidding aside, as a heel, you need to be credible, not over. No one will cheer you, and boos are hard to come by in general, especially with jaded fans. You're there to make the good guy shine.

[taylorandborland]

Dec 31, 2009 18:04:02 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Dec 30, 2009 22:05:45 GMT -5 Robbymac said:

He's more over than the current WWE Champion...

...by a lot

Maybe this isn't the place to ask this, but what do people base overness on? Crowd reaction? Then tits should win the world title, clearly they are the most over.

Kidding aside, as a heel, you need to be credible, not over. No one will cheer you, and boos are hard to come by in general, especially with jaded fans. You're there to make the good guy shine.

Credibility and being over go hand in hand. If the crowd doesn't think the bad guy is worth getting worked up about, would they care if the good guy finally manages to take him out?

that's not a knock on Sheamus, he was hotshotted into the title after debuting barely a couple months before, and he's doing what he can. But to say that a heel's job is to be "credible, not over" is like saying a fireman's job is to "save people, not help them."

[Mozenrath]

Dec 31, 2009 18:18:54 GMT -5 @taylorandborland said:

Dec 31, 2009 18:04:02 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Maybe this isn't the place to ask this, but what do people base overness on? Crowd reaction? Then tits should win the world title, clearly they are the most over.

Kidding aside, as a heel, you need to be credible, not over. No one will cheer you, and boos are hard to come by in general, especially with jaded fans. You're there to make the good guy shine.

Credibility and being over go hand in hand. If the crowd doesn't think the bad guy is worth getting worked up about, would they care if the good guy finally manages to take him out?

That's the problem, though. You can't really tell when a heel is getting the proper response unless you give the crowd a reason to boo him. Interrupting a face talking, attacking someone when their back is turn, etc. Jaded as hell audiences don't boo much nowadays, no one is getting Ted DiBiase Sr. kind of crowd hate, except someone like Jericho on the right kind of night. They don't get cheers, that isn't their job. Their job is to be the party poopers more or less, and kill the fun, with the face being the guy who puts them down and brightens the mood.

People boo Orton when he does stuff, but unless he's interrupting, they don't boo when he comes out. Does that mean he's not over? Only a buffoon would claim Orton wasn't main eventer material at this point.

I do think Sheamus has work to do on getting over, so to speak, as I won't claim he's on Orton or Jericho's level yet, but I also don't buy for a second that he's some waste of space that no one cares about, like the general spiel you'll catch in any given Raw thread. Chavo gets boos messing with Hornswoggle. Should he be champion based on that?

[Deleted]

People love watching undersized and oversized people fight.

[Chiral]

The two Hornswoggle shirts are on the top sellers section of WWESHOP.com