Gus Richlen Was Wrong
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
Fun while it lasted
Posts: 38,466
|
Post by Gus Richlen Was Wrong on Dec 18, 2020 15:38:47 GMT -5
I keep seeing viewers NOPE out of NXT when Timothy Thatcher shows up, and I genuinely do not understand why. Guy can seriously go in the ring, he's got a good character, good mic skills, and isn't some black hole of charisma. He's what SHOULD score with NXT's fanbase, yet doesn't. What gives?
|
|
lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 6,690
|
Post by lucas_lee on Dec 18, 2020 15:43:47 GMT -5
I keep seeing viewers NOPE out of NXT when Timothy Thatcher shows up, and I genuinely do not understand why. Guy can seriously go in the ring, he's got a good character, good mic skills, and isn't some black hole of charisma. He's what SHOULD score with NXT's fanbase, yet doesn't. What gives? Honestly when you think of NxT Thatcher style isn't something people want to see on TV and he needs a dance partner to make his matches interesting to the audience. I personally love the guy
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Dec 18, 2020 15:48:21 GMT -5
He's also been consistently in the 7th quarter. Meltzer IIRC has noted that that quarter tends to see a ratings dropoff due to a higher number of ads - at least, that's been brought up in context of AEW, for whom the 7th quarter is usually the worst quarter of the night (meaning nobody's flipping the channel there - both shows lose viewers simultaneously, and it's usually Thatcher on NXT and the women's division on AEW).
EDIT: Checked and saw he wasn't there this week (I've been noticing it while people had discussed his segments in previous weeks). Welp, he doesn't get that out, I suppose.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2020 15:50:24 GMT -5
His in ring style is not exciting and he himself is not exciting , he has a very niche appeal even just to diehard wrestling fans and likely even less to a casual watcher.
Putting him with Riddle off the bat was a smart play because Riddle can play off the straight man better than alot because of his whole I smoked 30 bowls before this interiew personality and it balanced out Thatchers ordinaryness.
I still say send the man to the main roster and team him with someone like Gable because the NXT audience wants nothing to do with him.
|
|
Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 234,926
|
Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Dec 18, 2020 16:00:09 GMT -5
Thatcher is a penultimate type of "Indie Guy", which is why so many people were shocked he even signed to WWE period, let alone is being used on a consistent basis.
He works a very hard nosed technical style and he himself lets his ring work do the talking more than his personality. He's someone many thought would be all around the Indies until he retired, so being in NXT and doing his style and being himself in front of casuals with basically no change, is unfortunately not yielding results some other Indie talent have gotten also coming in and just being themselves out the gate.
|
|
4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,652
|
Post by 4real on Dec 18, 2020 16:42:05 GMT -5
A. He isn’t exciting. I mean I like the character but he just isn’t exciting.
B. He barely ever wins and isn’t seen as a credible threat.
|
|
dbrussel
Don Corleone
Former WOW employee
Posts: 1,797
|
Post by dbrussel on Dec 18, 2020 16:54:18 GMT -5
Because we already have Pete Dunne on NXT. And he's better than Thatcher imo
Thatcher character should have been Margaret's grandson
|
|
markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,192
|
Post by markymark on Dec 18, 2020 17:02:53 GMT -5
He's also been consistently in the 7th quarter. Meltzer IIRC has noted that that quarter tends to see a ratings dropoff due to a higher number of ads - at least, that's been brought up in context of AEW, for whom the 7th quarter is usually the worst quarter of the night (meaning nobody's flipping the channel there - both shows lose viewers simultaneously, and it's usually Thatcher on NXT and the women's division on AEW). EDIT: Checked and saw he wasn't there this week (I've been noticing it while people had discussed his segments in previous weeks). Welp, he doesn't get that out, I suppose. This week was involved in the lowest QH of the night for NXT and the main reason they lost to AEW.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2020 17:02:57 GMT -5
I feel like older fans should like him since he comes off as a throwback to the days when wrestlers would beat dudes up in bars for calling wrestling fake, but yeah, his style isn't for everyone. I'm certainly a fan.
|
|
Legion
Fry's dog Seymour
Amy Pond's #1 fan
Hail Hydra!
Posts: 22,709
|
Post by Legion on Dec 18, 2020 17:57:51 GMT -5
WWE has spent decades telling people his style is not what they want.
Those who do want that style are already watching AEW for their 'anti-WWE style' fix, and therefore unlikely to be tuning in to NXT for him.
As such, the NXT viewers dont care, the viewers that might are busy.
|
|
|
Post by Harry The Arrow was Wrong! on Dec 18, 2020 18:09:30 GMT -5
Thatcher is great. Like legit great at what he does. Problem is, what he does is not something that will work in wwe and for a lot of the people who watch wwe. I love his wrestling style but it's not a fast paced exciting style. His character is a straight laced, no nonsense, I will f*** you up kind of guy. Not something that translates well to the wwe audience. I was legit stunned he got signed and at first assumed he was gonna be working NXT UK. Then I saw he was going straight to main NXT and was even more surprised. Ratings poison or not though, he's my favourite wrestler in NXT
|
|
|
Post by HMARK Center on Dec 18, 2020 18:14:53 GMT -5
I thought I remembered reading somewhere that a lot of it was what part of the show he was often being put in, either in the aforementioned tough quarters due to the amount of ads that get run, or up against a lot of AEW's stronger quarters in a given week.
That said, I friggin' love Thatcher's work, the guy is an absolute beast and deserves to be in a highly featured spot anywhere he goes. Word is he was eager to get signed to a solid deal in Japan, but he's not a young kid and WWE came knocking first, and as a fan I've been regretting that outcome ever since because dude would absolutely be killing it in any major puro promotion and any other US shows he'd be working in between tours.
|
|
|
Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Dec 18, 2020 18:22:26 GMT -5
Dude needs to be in a stable. He’s got the same problem Benoit and Tomohiro Ishii have, they’re great at playing the no nonsense tough guy and can have exciting matches, but they’ll get overshadowed by flashier characters/workers and often aren’t as compelling as the lead.
|
|
|
Post by eJm on Dec 18, 2020 18:46:31 GMT -5
I genuinely don’t understand why WWE hired Timothy Thatcher in the first place.
Like, I know why they did (one of the biggest names on the indies at the time, NJPW were snooping around, AEW existing period etc) but they’ve never exactly been looking to fill a hole with talent like his that they usually end up mocking on TV for not being charismatic or trying to make them do things that won’t fit what WWE is.
|
|
PKO
King Koopa
Posts: 12,602
|
Post by PKO on Dec 18, 2020 18:59:47 GMT -5
The more I learned about the Nielsen ratings system, the less sense it made to me that wrestling media spends so much time breaking down ratings to the degree they do. Especially in 2020.
But regardless, I hardly see Thatcher ever getting talked about so...beats me. It seems he came in with a little bit of a buzz, but it dissipated quickly
|
|
|
Post by Bang Bang Bart on Dec 18, 2020 19:04:16 GMT -5
Dude needs to be in a stable. He’s got the same problem Benoit and Tomohiro Ishii have, they’re great at playing the no nonsense tough guy and can have exciting matches, but they’ll get overshadowed by flashier characters/workers and often aren’t as compelling as the lead. Either make him a part of Imperium for the Ringkampf connection, or make Thatch-as-Thatch Can a full stable.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2020 19:09:52 GMT -5
Dude needs to be in a stable. He’s got the same problem Benoit and Tomohiro Ishii have, they’re great at playing the no nonsense tough guy and can have exciting matches, but they’ll get overshadowed by flashier characters/workers and often aren’t as compelling as the lead. Either make him a part of Imperium for the Ringkampf connection, or make Thatch-as-Thatch Can a full stable. That is where I thought it was going with him leading his own stable of shoot style guys but atleast as of now nope and the thing is it would make sense right now in what looks like a an ever growing set of factions in NXT.
|
|
|
Post by Bang Bang Bart on Dec 18, 2020 19:10:52 GMT -5
Either make him a part of Imperium for the Ringkampf connection, or make Thatch-as-Thatch Can a full stable. That is where I thought it was going with him leading his own stable of shoot style guys but atleast as of now nope and the thing is it would make sense right now in what looks like a an ever growing set of factions in NXT. I thought he was gonna join Pat McAfee’s team for WarGames. Although... having Thatcher lead a team with Lorcan and Burch could work.
|
|
|
Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Dec 18, 2020 19:22:43 GMT -5
Look at him
|
|
|
Post by Jaws the Shark on Dec 18, 2020 19:24:39 GMT -5
Echoing the other sentiments in here, Thatcher is a prime example of why not every wrestler is cut out for WWE. I was upset when he signed with WWE and part of the reason for it was that I thought he was a bad fit.
Like Walter, I wonder slightly how much Thatcher wanted to sign with WWE, and how much he saw it as inevitable that they would dictate his career given that three of his main indy gigs were Progress, Evolve, and WXW, and thought he might as well get a regular payday out of it or something. I think he had turned them down a few times before.
|
|