Comedy's place in wrestling today?

[The Line]

I was thinking about this about an hour ago. What do you feel about comedy in wrestling today? Too much? Too little? Just right? And where on the card should the main brunt of the comedy be (midcard, mainevent, etc)?

I think comedy plays a big part in wrestling, because comedy plays a big part in life. But IMO, I think it should be left at the midcard, maybe with a couple of exceptions. I think ROH does this very well, because they have some of the greatest comedy wrestlers(Colt, Delirious, etc), but even when they had main event spots(albeit very short ones), they even minimized the comedy and brought some serious to the table. I think comedy can be very succsessful, but it can also hamper a company. I mean, companies like ROH, PWG and CHIKARA have excellent workers(a lot of the time its the same workers), yet ROH is touring all of the NE and Midwest United States, and now even the UK, and with good relationships with DragonGate and Pro Wrestling NOAH, a Japan show isn't out of the question, while PWG has yet to move out of Cali, and CHIKARA is left in the NE, and I think it has to do with how serious ROH takes wrestling, which in turn makes the fans take ROH more serious.

[The Raven]

Comedy characters seem to shine in the midcard ways of things.

[The Line]

theraven said:

Comedy characters seem to shine in the midcard ways of things.

exactly. and when they are pushed to far, they fall(see Eugene, and in a year or so, Eric Young)

[HMARK Center]

Thing is, companies like ROH, PWG, and CHIKARA hire guys who are funny, but can also work.

Too often, guys with limited ring abilities are given "comedy" gimmicks (i.e. something incredibly inane) to cover them up, and it almost always comes off as hokey.

Comedy needs to come naturally, from naturally funny people. Even guys who are usually serious can work comedy into their matches if they let the funny side of their personalities out (i.e. Samoa Joe against Delirious in ROH).

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

I love comedy stuff in wrestling because I usually gauge my enjoyment of a program(unless it's serious drama), by how much I laugh.

[thwak is T.hawk]

I should point out that PWG did work shows in UK and germany too.

anyhow I think comedy is awesome when it's in the midcard but main event comedy acts should only be for promotions who all they do is comedy and no one else.

chikara is awesome at doing this because you very rarely see a comedic match taking place in the main event but they have hilarious midcards. And if you were to count early chikara (back in the year 2002) yes they did have comedy in the main events but they also had some great wrestling as well (see the first young lions cup main event with zero vs. hallowicked and mr. zero w/ la parka vs. the BTS).

I personally think that people who say comedy has no place in wrestling look at it too seriously when in reality it's just two grown men rolling around on a mat in tights. I think comedy in wrestling serves it's purpose and wrestlers who can do comedy and also be good workers are healthy for wrestling as a whole.

[nisi]

I agree with every post in this thread.

[BHB]

Comedy works best in the midcard as main eventers generally need to be more serious. This adds to the realism and therefore the drama of matches and intense feuds.

However, it is nice to see main eventers kick back and have a laugh sometimes ie Kurt, Vince and Austin, Triple H and Trish, The Rock etc

[HMARK Center]

Main events CAN include comedy, but it shouldn't be the norm, nor should the actual main event match be a honest-to-God comedy match.

The selling point of your big title matches is drama, and while comedy can be incorporated (who can forget Bryan "Mr. Small Package" Danielson?), it's not the driving point.

[Joekishi]

thebluedevil said:

while PWG has yet to move out of Cali, and CHIKARA is left in the NE, and I think it has to do with how serious ROH takes wrestling, which in turn makes the fans take ROH more serious.

With Ebetaro, Colt, and the new inversion of wrestling fans prefering a a persnickety asshole banter with wrestlers ROH isn't really all that serious anymore.

Hmm PWG did a PWG tour of Europe, plus they are now having a working relationship with Dragon Gate.

Then again PWG is really REALLY indy, to the point that Super Dragon is editing, encoding, and shipping out DVD's from his house.

Yet out of the 3, I think PWG is the most entertaining and has the best matches.

Then again I am there for most of the live shows.

[The Line]

hitmanmark said:

Main events CAN include comedy, but it shouldn't be the norm, nor should the actual main event match be a honest-to-God comedy match.

The selling point of your big title matches is drama, and while comedy can be incorporated (who can forget Bryan "Mr. Small Package" Danielson?), it's not the driving point.

thats exactly how I feel.



And I didn't know about PWG and CHIKARA's touring. Thanks for the info guys.

[Nice Guy Cody]

thebluedevil said:

theraven said:

Comedy characters seem to shine in the midcard ways of things.

exactly. and when they are pushed to far, they fall(see Eugene, and in a year or so, Eric Young)

Which brings us to the main point.


Comedy in wrestling is great. If it's funny.


IE;

Delirious grabbing a mic and screaming his gibberish while the crowd lights up like they've been doused in gasoline = Funny

Cartoons about Vince McMahon's Ass = Not funny

[dennisisevil]

codylockemitchell said:

thebluedevil said:

exactly. and when they are pushed to far, they fall(see Eugene, and in a year or so, Eric Young)

Which brings us to the main point.


Comedy in wrestling is great. If it's funny.


IE;

Delirious grabbing a mic and screaming his gibberish while the crowd lights up like they've been doused in gasoline = Funny

Cartoons about Vince McMahon's Ass = Not funny

And if it's done in moderation otherwise it quickly ends up running it's course. Sort of like the episode of Spongebob Squarepants where ol' Spongebob rips his pants. Everybody thinks it's hilarious at first but he keeps on doing it until eventually everyone gets annoyed and wants nothing to do with him.

[The Line]

codylockemitchell said:

thebluedevil said:

exactly. and when they are pushed to far, they fall(see Eugene, and in a year or so, Eric Young)

Which brings us to the main point.


Comedy in wrestling is great. If it's funny.


IE;

Delirious grabbing a mic and screaming his gibberish while the crowd lights up like they've been doused in gasoline = Funny

Cartoons about Vince McMahon's Ass = Not funny

well thats just a basic fact of life