Lack of Characters in WWE

[Crude]

Most of these guys grew up on the newer generation that prioritizes ring work over character work and having good mic skills.

I watch old school guys like Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Piper, Rick Rude, and Jake Roberts and those guys knew how to really work a crowd, draw real heat, and really get into the psychology of their characters.

Most of the newer generation guys just wear black and do that flippy shyt, but have zero personality and can’t talk.

The internet kinda broke kayfabe and guys can go look at spoilers and shyt beforehand now and also go look at guys post on pics on IG with their kids, out eating, and doing other random shyt and it took away the mystery and mystique of certain guys and their characters.

That’s why mythical characters like the Undertaker don’t work as well now when the WWE occasionally tries to create new ones.

Fans can now see in live action and in motion certain guys portray a certain character on tv and then go look and see his real life persona is nothing like that.

I remember watching a shoot interview with another wrestler (I don’t remember who it was) being out with Rowdy Piper at an airport and some kid came up to Piper wanting an autograph and Piper wouldn’t give it to the kid and basically told the kid to get away from him.



The other wrestler asked Piper why he did that. Piper said that if he would have given the kid the autograph he would have took it, eventually forgotten about it, and lost it, but he’ll remember me being a jerk to him forever.

Back in those days guys didn’t break character period, they would go on talk shows and shyt still very much in character.

Wrestling kinda lost something when they got away from that, I know everything has to evolve with time, but they really need to get back to making guys embody those characters. I think it would make for a more interesting product and make the crowds really get behind the babyfaces and hate the heels that much more.

There are really no true heels anymore most of these guys that we call heel are more tweeners than anything. A good antagonist makes the hero look much better and gives people something to rally around in the babyfaces.

 

[﹏﹏⛴﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏]

Unfair to place all the blame on the talent when they're micromanaged and overproduced. Not to mention barely get time on TV to potentially establish their character. There's countless .com/YouTube clips where perceived bland wrestlers are actually entertaining and/or engaging.

 

[SpacelySprockets]

it be the nikkas with no character that yall swear are misused, especially since most of them consist of nxt dudes who were big on the indies based on strictly ring work

ricochet can go to any company and he'll still be a charisma repellent cornball

 

[Starboy52]

Still trying to figure out what characters are being developed in NXT. At this point, NXT is just high hopes for indy wrestlers that needs a pat on the shoulder because that's ALL they are getting besides Pappy H words of encouragement.

They never had this issue with OVW and, to a degree, FCW.

But then again, they didn’t treat either as a sterilized version of ROH/PWG under the guise of a developmental/feeder brand and actually had to develop Homegrown Wrestlers, Characters and Character Archetypes.

 

[KFBF]

They don't really want anyone to stand out above anyone else though so they? If they do they want it to be whoever they handpick. It would seem that the desire for characters isn't to create a better product but to sell merch.

 

[Mook]

Yeah, all the new guys grew up on Benoit, Eddie, Angle, Mysterio, etc. They took aspects of the ring work and none of the character shyt that made them awesome.

I’ve come to accept that I’m just washed and the wrestling majority prefers ring work over characters and mic work. The next guy who has both is going to be a big deal.

Spoiler

also you know what you’re doing

Nobody prefers ring work that's why the numbers are down.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Most of these guys grew up on the newer generation that prioritizes ring work over character work and having good mic skills.

I watch old school guys like Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Piper, Rick Rude, and Jake Roberts and those guys knew how to really work a crowd, draw real heat, and really get into the psychology of their characters.

Most of the newer generation guys just wear black and do that flippy shyt, but have zero personality and can’t talk.

The internet kinda broke kayfabe and guys can go look at spoilers and shyt beforehand now and also go look at guys post on pics on IG with their kids, out eating, and doing other random shyt and it took away the mystery and mystique of certain guys and their characters.

That’s why mythical characters like the Undertaker don’t work as well now when the WWE occasionally tries to create new ones.

Fans can now see in live action and in motion certain guys portray a certain character on tv and then go look and see his real life persona is nothing like that.

I remember watching a shoot interview with another wrestler (I don’t remember who it was) being out with Rowdy Piper at an airport and some kid came up to Piper wanting an autograph and Piper wouldn’t give it to the kid and basically told the kid to get away from him.



The other wrestler asked Piper why he did that. Piper said that if he would have given the kid the autograph he would have took it, eventually forgotten about it, and lost it, but he’ll remember me being a jerk to him forever.

Back in those days guys didn’t break character period, they would go on talk shows and shyt still very much in character.

Wrestling kinda lost something when they got away from that, I know everything has to evolve with time, but they really need to get back to making guys embody those characters. I think it would make for a more interesting product and make the crowds really get behind the babyfaces and hate the heels that much more.

There are really no true heels anymore most of these guys that we call heel are more tweeners than anything. A good antagonist makes the hero look much better and gives people something to rally around in the babyfaces.

Right...like your social media doesn't have to be entirely kayfabe, but you should still be in your character somewhat, because as a performer in a business that sells illusion, that's your public persona. Only Becky Lynch, Bray Wyatt and some of the more seasoned cats do it right. But shyt looks silly as hell when you see, say, Alexa Bliss acting like this possessed zombie on TV but then on Twitter she's just being an ordinary white girl and occasionally tweeting in character stuff, which actually makes it come off worse. Like what if she just posted all of her usual stuff, but in a really creepy and off putting matter to sell the character instead?

 

[RammerJammer]

That's why I fukk with who I fukk with.


This shyt been bothering me since 2014. These new nikkas got the personality of a sun-dried piece of cardboard. fukk the matches, that's cool and shyt, but where are the folks who got personality?

Ricky Starks cut that promo on Powerrr and he restored the feeling.

100%, in my HS years, I was on some super smark shyt, like all I cared about was “workrate, workrate, workrate….” but as I get older I’m like, well all these mfs can wrestle but where are the characters? The promos? The storylines? That’s what made the SmackDown Six era standout, cats were putting on wrestling clinics every week BUT the storylines were interesting as well, even the Championship storylines, it wasn’t always as simple as “you have the title and I want it”.

 

[Vice Queen]

100%, in my HS years, I was on some super smark shyt, like all I cared about was “workrate, workrate, workrate….” but as I get older I’m like, well all these mfs can wrestle but where are the characters? The promos? The storylines? That’s what made the SmackDown Six era standout, cats were putting on wrestling clinics every week BUT the storylines were interesting as well, even the Championship storylines, it wasn’t always as simple as “you have the title and I want it”.

I've somewhat kept quiet about this and tried to be a super smark too but I couldn't do it any longer. It's a three-fold problem specifically in the WWE. The wrestlers are charisma vacuums but also the company itself is creatively bankrupt. Add in the fans who seem to only care about workrate and shyt on anything that isn't about proving your superiority and worth as a wrestler and here we are.

It's why the you deserve it chants bother me now. On an insider level, yeah, a person might deserve a belt for all the time they've put in, but then that creates a belief that everyone who has put in time or put up with bullshyt deserves a belt and not all these motherfukkers are champion material. Be real, be real real, do you want somebody with little to no charisma going on Good Morning America as the champ? Could you imagine how dry those Arsenio Hall interviews would be today?

Being a great wrestler is not a fukking personality trait.

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

They never had this issue with OVW and, to a degree, FCW.

But then again, they didn’t treat either as a sterilized version of ROH/PWG under the guise of a developmental/feeder brand and actually had to develop Homegrown Wrestlers, Characters and Character Archetypes.

The crazy thing about it that NXT in the beginning was pretty much OVW with a budget. Most of the wrestlers had personality and gimmicks that stood out with the fans. I swear since Dusty died, it just became "Fisher's Price, My First Indy Promotion", with a bunch of kick boot fake martial artists doing MMA moves while the stinky crowds goes apeshyt because "Workrate". That's another thing, the NXT audience is filled with frat boys that loved that shyt, but once the wrestler gets called up and have to deal with a actual "audience", then its off with the heads.

Apart of me lone for the day of big meaty men slapping meat then bust a workrate. Hence why WCW is long missed. For every workrate match, there was a legit wrestling match with a storyline to match.


Its almost as if wrestling in the States lost it's identity from biting off of NJPW, instead of mourning for WCW.

 

[NoMorePie]

Now imagine if he was the tribal chief. The head of the table. The smug mega heel roman reigns

That could have created controversy. Especially if Stephen a was there

 

[FS4LFE]

I wonder how much WWE will change when Vince dies. I feel like HHH (assuming he’s in charge) will slowly bring back characters and edgier content.

 

[SpacelySprockets]

I wonder how much WWE will change when Vince dies. I feel like HHH (assuming he’s in charge) will slowly bring back characters and edgier content.

triple h is the main person responsible for the issue of characters, hes the one signing established indy darlings instead of focusing on developing talent

 

[KFBF]

I wonder how much WWE will change when Vince dies. I feel like HHH (assuming he’s in charge) will slowly bring back characters and edgier content.

Do you think the shareholders will be happy to risk what they have now advertising wise so they can make a minority of the fanbase happy with edgier content? This is a serious question.

 

[dh86]

I don’t see how it’s the wrestlers fault. Ricochet was a character before WWE. Most of these guys have far more personality than it shows in WWE. It’s a sterile environment where no one feels empowered to take chances. If you come up with a good gimmick it will be jacked and given to someone else