|
|
Post by Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill on Feb 1, 2013 19:05:04 GMT -5
I'm going against the thread a bit but I find it impossible to like Daniel Bryan because of how irritating his fans are. The outrage when he got released in 2010 will never stop being ridiculous to me and as far as I'm concerned he's NOT amazing at every little thing he does.
|
|
|
|
Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Feb 1, 2013 19:29:00 GMT -5
I like Zack Ryder, because he appears to be smart enough to realize his limitations, and is willing to take the piss out of himself for sucking. I think his Twitter whining about being buried is attributed to the fact that WWE went out of their way to take him out of his element and embarrass him rather than any delusions that he should be higher than he is.
I like Alex Riley because of how much he improved from being one of the worst workers to a pretty solid in ring performer. I think much like guys like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk worked to overcome the "indy vanilla midget" label, and Miz worked to overcome the "reality TV star trying to extend his 15 minutes of fame" label, Riley busted his ass to shake the equally stigmatized "football player/fitness model who just wants a paycheck" label. For someone on his level of the card, he truly epitomizes JR's "maximize your minutes" spiel, and appears to be passionate about wrestling.
|
|
|
|
Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Feb 1, 2013 19:43:08 GMT -5
I like any wrestler that has ever been over, because they got over. I like to think that if I was a promoter I'd be okay with that too. That's why I liked Batista eventually, because he was over. And overness is a rare commodity these days.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 21:19:26 GMT -5
I'm going against the thread a bit but I find it impossible to like Daniel Bryan because of how irritating his fans are. The outrage when he got released in 2010 will never stop being ridiculous to me and as far as I'm concerned he's NOT amazing at every little thing he does. That is the lamest reason in the world not to like something. |
|
The Doctor
Dennis Stamp
New teeth. That's weird.
Posts: 4,952
|
Post by The Doctor on Feb 1, 2013 21:23:23 GMT -5
In response to the original 'rant' I would argue that wrestling is about eliciting emotion. It's about being caught up in a story to the point where you genuinely want to see something. It doesn't matter what it is you want to see. But so long as there is something in a story that holds interest for you, it's working. Sometimes that thing is the associated reaction from a certain group of fans.
I love CM Punk but I wanted him to lose at the Royal Rumble. For numerous reasons, firstly I think he's been a great heel and I like to see great heels lose(it's what they exist for), secondly because I wanted The Rock to be WWE Champion again. But I was also excited to see him lose because I knew it would create the biggest reaction. It would get people talking. So while I did, kind of, want to see "smark tears" it wasn't out of malice. It was more because I love the idea that wrestling can still be that emotive even to people who would swear on all they hold dear that they are too smart to be sucked in any more. It's fun. It's one reason I like John Cena so much as well. Because he is among the only modern day wrestlers who elicits GENUINE emotion from a crowd. Genuine love and genuine hate often in equal measure. Doesn't matter why and it doesn't matter how it's justified but that real reaction is what wrestling should be about. Money In The Bank 2011 is a good example of 'smark joy' being just as exciting to be a part of.
Also I have to say that the idea that "If you know that everything you see is predetermined, you are a smart wrestling fan" is a bit out dated now. Everyone, their mum and their 8 year old nephew knows wrestling isn't real. It's not as simple as 'smark' meaning that you know it's not real. I know some fans don't know as much as me, I know I don't know as much as many more, I know they don't know as much as Dave Meltzer and I know he doesn't know as much as Vince McMahon. There is a huge sliding scale and it's not nearly as simple as it once was.
And to contribute to the thread;
I'm a fan of John Cena because I love how real the reaction for everything he does is (also I am a mark at heart and love babyfaces).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 21:30:28 GMT -5
If this board back in 2006 didn't irrationally dislike her and make racist comments about the shape of her nose, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have become half the Melina fan that I am. It was like you couldn't even go into an MNM or Melina-related thread without the negativity dominating it. I liked all three of them to begin with but when only one of them seemed to get any flak at all, it was automatically that person who I was spending the majority of my time defending.
|
|
Chip
Hank Scorpio
Slam Jam Death.
Posts: 5,185
|
Post by Chip on Feb 1, 2013 21:49:12 GMT -5
I like Wade Barrett because he's English and the best chance we have currently of having our first English world champion. I initially liked Sheamus because he's the closest we have to that currently.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brother Nero....Wolfe on Feb 1, 2013 23:04:11 GMT -5
I like Ryder because he lives the gimmick of little-jobber-who-could. I mean, the guy started a youtube show, wrote and sung a boy band type song, made a music video about said song, all just because even though he's not the best he damn right wants to get to the top really, really badly. So whenever he wins a match, it's markout moment because "Oh it's just a tv show/whatever" doesn't apply. I get happy because I know that even the most insignificant wins make the dude happy, and each little thing just feels like it matters.
What I'm saying is, I like Ryder because he makes me genuinely care about his matches. I don't think there's anybody else in the company--or hell in wrestling in general--that gives me the same feeling.
|
|
|
|
Post by oniloco on Feb 2, 2013 3:48:09 GMT -5
I like Steve Lombardi because the guy got a stable position but still cropped up as OTT, random characters for two decades. No matter how much if a jobber/fill-in guy he was, he must genuinely love going out there to perform.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2013 4:01:10 GMT -5
I like Brodus Clay and Tensai for being cute bears (Hell I had them as a Gay Couple in our local efed....not as bad as it sounds  ), also Brodus is from Pasadena, which is close to East LA I like Heath Slater because I knew dudes like this in High School and I like Evan Bourne because of his work in WSX, which is why I also like guys like Human Tornado and the guy that does the 740 Splash |
|
TGM
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,073
|
Post by TGM on Feb 2, 2013 8:08:00 GMT -5
I like Mason Ryan because he is almost a hometown hero for me.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
|
|
|
|
Post by cahuette on Feb 2, 2013 8:22:35 GMT -5
If this board back in 2006 didn't irrationally dislike her and make racist comments about the shape of her nose How is not liking someone's nose racist? |
|
PKO
King Koopa
Posts: 12,639
|
Post by PKO on Feb 2, 2013 8:30:17 GMT -5
I'm going against the thread a bit but I find it impossible to like Daniel Bryan because of how irritating his fans are. The outrage when he got released in 2010 will never stop being ridiculous to me and as far as I'm concerned he's NOT amazing at every little thing he does. I think that's the exact opposite of what the original post talks about! If this board back in 2006 didn't irrationally dislike her and make racist comments about the shape of her nose, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have become half the Melina fan that I am. It was like you couldn't even go into an MNM or Melina-related thread without the negativity dominating it. I liked all three of them to begin with but when only one of them seemed to get any flak at all, it was automatically that person who I was spending the majority of my time defending. You're a Melina fan? Who would have ever guessed! I like Mason Ryan because he is almost a hometown hero for me. Yeah, I'm sorry. I have a soft spot for the big lug, and I think it may be because he's Welsh. |
|
CM Dazz
King Koopa
Chuck
Posts: 10,475 
|
Post by CM Dazz on Feb 2, 2013 9:54:26 GMT -5
Good stuff people!
Like a few people have said, I like Cena because I respect the hell out of the guy for his dedication to his craft, and his dedication to charity work.
Christopher Daniels is another guy I'm a fan of. Back when he was in Windy City, a buddy wrestled for them too. They had their Wrestlemania which was The Battle of the Belts. Daniels was part of the six man tag title match (may have been champs) as part of a team called Devastation. I won a raffle to manage them for the match. Went backstage, and everyone was cool as hell, especially Daniels. I've been a fan ever since.
|
|
|
|
Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Feb 2, 2013 13:35:04 GMT -5
I'm a fan of Jeff Jarrett because, in retrospect, the dude was incredibly good at his job and had the funniest attire of all time. I'm from the south, and as a kid I felt that Jarrett was giving all southerners a bad name. I hated his accent, and his clothes, and his stupid coutnry music, his god damned strut, all of it. Now I look back and see that he was a master heel. You know how a lot of us gush all over Heath Slater for being so remarkably punchable? Jarrett was Slater x 10.  Jeff Jarrett is kind of like JBL. at the time he was on top people absolutely despised him but in retrospect they realize just what a damn good heel he was. him being a pretty good guy IRL helps too. I dunno if Triple H is the best example to trot out though when it comes to people bashing a wrestler's fans. the "you tapped out" chants were directed at him, not people who cheered for him. |
|
|
|
Post by molson5 on Feb 2, 2013 14:29:12 GMT -5
I think it's great that almost every guy has his own loyal fans and detractors, but I do sometimes succumb to being annoyed by the negatively of portions of those fanbases. I get why Punk has so many fans, I'm one of them, but I do get annoyed when it's phrased in just factual terms that Punk has to win this match or that match, and if he doesn't it's because the WWE is incompetent. Like it's just the natural of order of things that Punk has to win and main event every show or else the product is just inherently flawed. And of course, the natural extension of that is that everybody else who wins is terrible, and specifically, "Cena can't wrestle". Fortunately, that's a really small subset of fans, and while they pollute much of the IWC, we really don't have many of them here.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2013 14:47:03 GMT -5
I will always be a Cena fan cause I am from the town right next to his hometown and have friends who have gone to his high school. I still get pride when ever I go to the burger shack Skips that he says is the place he fell in love with cars (even have been to a car show there). Its hometown pride
Kofi's story he talks about on the AOW podcast made me a huge fan. How he was at a desk job and decided "I am going to be a wrestler" and made it. This all being in Boston again makes it great.
|
|
|
|
Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on Feb 3, 2013 22:06:19 GMT -5
I'm a fan of Tommy Dreamer mostly because he just seems like a nice, generally cool guy ooutside the ring. For a long time I thought he was dull, but as I saw more of him as a person I warmed up to him. I started to appreciate him more as a performer as that went along.
Their wrestling doesn't hurt either, but I'm a fan of Orton and Bourne out of hometown support especially.
|
|
|
|
Post by Djm Doesn't Find You Funny on Feb 3, 2013 22:36:38 GMT -5
I am a fan of Daniel Bryan, not just because of his talent, but his success allows me to rub it in the faces of his detractors and anti-smarks and those that say he doesn't "fit" everywhere. I'm going against the thread a bit but I find it impossible to like Daniel Bryan because of how irritating his fans are. The outrage when he got released in 2010 will never stop being ridiculous to me and as far as I'm concerned he's NOT amazing at every little thing he does. Yeah. Drink it in. Drink it in.... |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2013 1:01:35 GMT -5
I like Jack Swagger because the dude is a beast, with a legit wrestling background, and he could easily be booked to be anything you wanted.
Need an All American Babyface? Done. Hell, a feud with Lesnar would damn near make itself. Both are big guys with collegiate wrestling backgrounds, and it even has a bit of Smark flavor to it (Swagger beat Cain Velasquez, who beat Lesnar).
Need a credible heel? That's easy, too. Have him break a few ankles, give a few doctor bombs through some tables or on the concrete/steel steps, and make him look like a bull who can beat you on the mat to boot. He'd have some gnarly matches with Sheamus, Ryback, and D-bry, I think.
Yes, the man can't talk to save his life... but neither can Jeff Hardy, and for a while he was over.
|
|
), also Brodus is from Pasadena, which is close to East LA
