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Post by canceled4truth on Dec 5, 2022 16:36:56 GMT -5
I know the “Muslim-American seeking acceptance” thing is something he keeps coming back to, but it would be a nice story for him to finally win that US Championship at some point. Just need to get the main event guys like Rollins and Lashley out of that orbit and get him some wins on the board. If trauma fuels his urge to become US champion, then that is more sad than inspiring and I want to tell him that there are probably better ways to feel like you belong then winning a belt. Also, if trauma fuels his urge to become US champion, then why doesn't it show in his performances? Why doesn't he fight like someone who desperately wants to belong? I can't speak for you, and I'm not Muslim, but my family comes from a Muslim country, and I couldn't disagree more. Granted, this is coming from a dude who booked him to have a year-long U.S. title run in TEW, but I (and I suspect a non-insignificant portion of people who look like me) root for the dude because it's so far and few between to see a Muslim man portrayed as unambiguously a good guy in U.S. media — especially in wrestling, and ESPECIALLY in WWE. I know Ali probably is never gonna be world champion, but even seeing a brown dude being called United States Champion and not having it portrayed as a "look at this foreign invader!" thing would be probably the most acceptance I've seen in American media in a long ass time. I don't know you, maybe you're of a similar background and happen to disagree. That's valid. I'm just saying, perhaps it's not for you.
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Dec 5, 2022 16:48:00 GMT -5
I really doubt this promo will amount to anything at all given how Ali spent months doing everything he possibly could to make the Mania 34 Cruiserweight title match matter to the point they made his promos about it the entire selling point of the match, then he just lost and that was the end of it.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,136
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Post by pinja on Dec 6, 2022 10:01:36 GMT -5
If trauma fuels his urge to become US champion, then that is more sad than inspiring and I want to tell him that there are probably better ways to feel like you belong then winning a belt. Also, if trauma fuels his urge to become US champion, then why doesn't it show in his performances? Why doesn't he fight like someone who desperately wants to belong? I can't speak for you, and I'm not Muslim, but my family comes from a Muslim country, and I couldn't disagree more. Granted, this is coming from a dude who booked him to have a year-long U.S. title run in TEW, but I (and I suspect a non-insignificant portion of people who look like me) root for the dude because it's so far and few between to see a Muslim man portrayed as unambiguously a good guy in U.S. media — especially in wrestling, and ESPECIALLY in WWE. I know Ali probably is never gonna be world champion, but even seeing a brown dude being called United States Champion and not having it portrayed as a "look at this foreign invader!" thing would be probably the most acceptance I've seen in American media in a long ass time. I don't know you, maybe you're of a similar background and happen to disagree. That's valid. I'm just saying, perhaps it's not for you. That is a very reasonable take. I get that Ali's motivation is good for the prestige of the US title. The title represents something for him that the world title does not. I also understand that many marginalized people root for Ali being successful. But I still have a problem with Ali himself. I feel a disconnect between what he is selling in the promo and what he is (so far) selling on tv. And I don't see his motivation translating too well to the wrestling context, because there is no end goal in wrestling. Ali winning the US championship would be a Rocky kind of moment. The underdog winning the big prize, the people cheering hard for him. But that would not be the end of it. Ali would become champion and then he either somehow materializes his wishes of it meaning more than him being champion. Or the premise is that success does not lead to acceptance, which can fuel a very different character development. Or it is swiftly forgotten that Ali fought for more than just a belt. Either way, I don't know how much real drive there is to this direction and how much fictional. If his presentation doesn't shift, then I have someone with a very personal motive who is portraying someone with a likely very different motive.
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lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 6,975
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Post by lucas_lee on Dec 6, 2022 12:44:45 GMT -5
From what I'm seeing Tozawa is basically doing what Ali is supposed to be doing but is more over
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Dec 6, 2022 16:12:54 GMT -5
No. So, again, you might as well just let him leave and go elsewhere. Like he wanted.
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Post by Rudy Gobert Weather Machine on Dec 6, 2022 16:19:56 GMT -5
So last night dude was finally getting the crowd response that they've been trying to get for months and ditched the Ronald Uso gear + braids. Progress, perhaps.
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