Should WWE double down on angles and characters like The Fiend?

[THE 101]

Seems to me The Fiend angle has got more buzz than anything WWE has done recently, and is a lot more likely to draw the attention of new fans than watching two boring bearded guys with dark wet hair feuding over "respect" or whatever. Look at how those people reacted to them Fiend commercials. It's at least a hook. Ain't no non-wrestling fan gonna turn their head seeing Seth Rollins or Drew McIntyre.

Maybe it's time for WWE to go back to wilder gimmicks and characters. Now of course it has to be done well, which is why The Fiend has worked, and who knows maybe the reason The Fiend stands out is because everyone else in WWE is so dry. Too many OTT gimmicks might ruin the effect, but I think they should play around with more of this type of stuff and see what happens.

 

[The Ruler 09]

They could and should have been doing characters for a long time, just not oversaturate it so it dilutes the main ones, it got to a point at 1 stage where it was so boring, everybody was using a boring basic name and had no character. The Undertaker was 1 of their most successful characters ever, sustaining too, Kane in the early days was great, Ultimate Warrior, Mankind was excellent. I think they missed a trick with that Leviathan character too, if done right could have been better than Batista. It should never be overdone but also every guy can't be an average joe, it's entertainment not MMA, there's a balance to be had and some of the theatrical gimmicks can help distinguish the product and help psychology wise too. Think of some of the great shyt we got with the likes of Mankind and Undertaker, that wouldn't be possible them being Mark Calloway and Mick Foley, so some gimmicks are much better, I enjoyed when a lot of the talent had some kind of character and gimmick, it added life and vibrancy to the product, the gimmicks must be protected though or it will be ruined. The Fiend should go on a hell of a run and hardly ever lose for a while, shouldn't lose at all now for a good period so people can suspend their disbelief in this really being something new and fresh.

 

[El Cocodrilo]

I think the fiend is good cause it stands out, if you try too many characters you end up with early 90's WWF with people with dentist and mechanic gimmicks. As long as cokeboy is in charge at least.

What you need to keep people engaged is what game of thrones or breaking bad or walking dead gives people, which is character arcs and story lines with a beginning, middle and end.

 

[OVER]

Yes, wrestling needs characters, I've been saying this. Most of us got into this shyt because of the characters. Me personally Goldust, Kane, Jake the Snake had me wondering "Who the hell is this?" not dudes having 5-star matches, match quality came later.

There are already guys within WWE who could capture the imagination of children with their looks and character but WWE for whatever reason is apprehensive to put the belt on them (demon Finn and Braun Strowman).


Even legit fighters utilize characters and storylines to get people interested in their real fights because despite them being legitimately the best at what they do they still need to get casual fans interested.

"I'm the cocky rich champion, don't you want to pay to see my blue collar opponent take me down a peg and become champion?"

"The only fight I've ever lost was to my current opponent back when I was a rookie and he thinks I'm the same fighter I was back then don't you want to pay to see me prove him wrong"

"I've respected everyone I've ever fought, except this man..."

" I'm going to the champions home country and bringing the belt back home"


So it's ludicrous to believe you can make casual fans care about predetermined choreographed fights when neither guy has any character and they're battling over fake respect and honor.

 

[puppetmaster]

Long term storytelling. That’s why it’s clicking


They started with that weird ass puppet and slowly rolled out. It’s a formula that will always work.

 

[Da King]

All you idiots do is fantasy book, that’s why 90% of play fighting fans from the 99 and earlier wouldn’t be caught dead with the crowd today

You clowns really watching this shyt with pen and paper imagine people watching The Joker movie coming and 99% of the audience is playing director and screenwriter instead of just suspending the disbelief and watching the movie

 

[VegetasHairline]

They don't have enough guys on the roster who can pull it off like Bray Wyatt can. Y'all really think that Cokeboy came up with the ideas for Firefly Funhouse and The Fiend?

 

[jackswstd]

It’s familiar yet different enough that it doesn’t come off like a rehash of anything. You’d think in the current climate people wouldn’t suspend reality but with The Fiend, they’re doing just that.

 

[Cartier Murphy]

The roster should ideally be a cross between characters like the Fiend, a more grounded yet still over the top characters like a Velvet Dream, and a few more bland I’m a pro wrestler types like a Seth Rollins. You need diversity in the mix, something I see more of these days. It requires more collaboration and creative freedom which seems to be going on so, we’ll just have to see what the future holds

 

[FRIED MASON]

It needs to transition into 100% storyline based television.