Swiss Ultimate
09-16-2009, 07:07 PM
Jim Cornette is a veteran of the business. His understanding of professional wrestling is deep but, occasionally flawed. As is now obvious to me after reading his blog about "characters" in wrestling.
Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, I even think he is right about the majority of things he says, like for instance, his views on hardcore wrestling.
http://www.jimcornette.com/Commentary_05-20-2009.html
Lemme give you a rundown in pros and cons: Read the article for yourself here
http://www.jimcornette.com/Commentary_07-02-2009.html
PRO
"Nothing gives me the sour belches any quicker than when a performer in the wrestling business, whether a wrestler, manager, referee, or anyone else asks any variation on the question, "What would my character say/do?" "
He's right, if a wrestler has to think deeply of what his "character" would do in a certain situation he needs to reconsider his job or at the very least stay off the mic. The people who give the best, most entertaining promos are guys who don't have to think about what they're saying because their "character" is them!
CON
"If you were from Texas, you wore a Cowboy hat, boots, and used the Bulldog headlock, your "gimmick" was you were a Cowboy. Most wrestlers had a gimmick because it made them different, made them stand out from the pack."
Oldschool thinking here. This is what lead to the cartoon characters of the 80s and 90s and now Cena and Batista. People don't want to see generic stereotypes, they want to see people who are just interesting to watch, no matter what they do. Wearing a cowboy hat because you're from Texas? This goes against his earlier point about making sure guys could be themselves.
-Mick Foley talked about how the promoters didn't want him to open his mouth in fear that they would be appalled at the lack of a southern accent and yet, there was no bad reaction at all and Mick Foley suddenly became a success on the mic.
PRO
"Such as the use of the word "script". For decades, anyone who wanted to knock wrestling in a newspaper article, magazine story, TV report or whatever would use the word "script" in a snide, derogatory way, as in "the match went exactly according to the script." In actual fact, there really never WAS a script in pro wrestling. Interviews were never written out and studied, they were done off the cuff. Matches were never written out, they were called in the ring with a finishing sequence agreed to beforehand. TV shows were shot off a one or two page format with the list of matches, interviews, and times of segments. Now, obviously, that has changed as well, but it still makes me want to vomit when some crew member asks to see my "script", as anyone with a long background in wrestling will say "format" or "runsheet"."
Jim correctly points out why there aren't many breakout stars in the WWE, their damned mic-time is scripted by guys unfit to write back-up for Epic Movie, Date Movie or Movie Movie. Scripting live performances is iffy when you have actors who have studied their craft their entire life, but add in a green wrestler and it just becomes a reason to change the channel. Considering that no other scripted program on television is live, why the f*** would you script the WWE? Might as well not tape RAW or Smackdown in front of a live audience then, hey, why not just produce the show as a action-drama like Burn Notice??? ...Vince wants to play the part of movie/tv director but in reality he's a delusional egotist who doesn't see his own flaws.
CON
"Here's another one--"Resthold". This one has gotten so prevalent even veterans use it now, but I guarantee you that if you had told Dick Murdoch you didn't like the "resthold" he grabbed, he would have put one on you that wouldn't have been very restful. Obviously, after a fast-paced high spot or series of moves, you DO grab a hold to catch your breath or regroup, but to call a hold in a wrestling match a "resthold" is to undermine the basic logic behind wrestling. A wrestling match is supposed to consist of two people applying holds to each other until one man triumphs. The holds are supposed to be dangerous, painful and punishing."
There are rest holds in MMA, they are extremely useful in immobilizing your opponent and letting you catch your breath. Is Jim trying to say that a Randy Orton Chinlock is supposed to end a match?
PRO...well, actually, all CON from this point out
"What is more "insulting" to the fan's intelligence, consistency in and out of the ring, or the same guys who are screaming at and beating on each other on TV sitting in a bar together laughing after the show, slapping the fans' faces with "We're just pretending to hate each other to get your money"? In Ohio Valley Wrestling, the talent would squeal like pigs stuck under a gate when I would fine them for being seen in public together when they were working against each other on TV, but I refused to let my business be s*** on by people who didn't respect our profession enough to observe our kayfabe rules."
So much wrong here. Jim fined heels and faces for hanging out together outside of the arena? What?!
Are we supposed to completely forget that the finish of each match is predetermined and that most of these guys don't really want to injure their opponents? What the f*** Jim. We're not so f***ing stupid that we think stage magicians go home and continue doing magic tricks even when nobody's watching and that magic is actually real (Harry Potter notwithstanding). We don't expect circus performers to do nothing aside from the art they practice, why should we put this unrealistic and unfair restriction on wrestlers?
The only time a performance is threatened by heels and faces interacting is when it's done at and during the show. It just distracts from the real reason most modern wrestling fans go see wrestling live in the first place...it's entertaining to watch two PERFORMERS work a great match. Austin and Foley roomed together with William/Steven Regal, is that going to ruin a match for you? Is it still real for you, dammit?!
Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, I even think he is right about the majority of things he says, like for instance, his views on hardcore wrestling.
http://www.jimcornette.com/Commentary_05-20-2009.html
Lemme give you a rundown in pros and cons: Read the article for yourself here
http://www.jimcornette.com/Commentary_07-02-2009.html
PRO
"Nothing gives me the sour belches any quicker than when a performer in the wrestling business, whether a wrestler, manager, referee, or anyone else asks any variation on the question, "What would my character say/do?" "
He's right, if a wrestler has to think deeply of what his "character" would do in a certain situation he needs to reconsider his job or at the very least stay off the mic. The people who give the best, most entertaining promos are guys who don't have to think about what they're saying because their "character" is them!
CON
"If you were from Texas, you wore a Cowboy hat, boots, and used the Bulldog headlock, your "gimmick" was you were a Cowboy. Most wrestlers had a gimmick because it made them different, made them stand out from the pack."
Oldschool thinking here. This is what lead to the cartoon characters of the 80s and 90s and now Cena and Batista. People don't want to see generic stereotypes, they want to see people who are just interesting to watch, no matter what they do. Wearing a cowboy hat because you're from Texas? This goes against his earlier point about making sure guys could be themselves.
-Mick Foley talked about how the promoters didn't want him to open his mouth in fear that they would be appalled at the lack of a southern accent and yet, there was no bad reaction at all and Mick Foley suddenly became a success on the mic.
PRO
"Such as the use of the word "script". For decades, anyone who wanted to knock wrestling in a newspaper article, magazine story, TV report or whatever would use the word "script" in a snide, derogatory way, as in "the match went exactly according to the script." In actual fact, there really never WAS a script in pro wrestling. Interviews were never written out and studied, they were done off the cuff. Matches were never written out, they were called in the ring with a finishing sequence agreed to beforehand. TV shows were shot off a one or two page format with the list of matches, interviews, and times of segments. Now, obviously, that has changed as well, but it still makes me want to vomit when some crew member asks to see my "script", as anyone with a long background in wrestling will say "format" or "runsheet"."
Jim correctly points out why there aren't many breakout stars in the WWE, their damned mic-time is scripted by guys unfit to write back-up for Epic Movie, Date Movie or Movie Movie. Scripting live performances is iffy when you have actors who have studied their craft their entire life, but add in a green wrestler and it just becomes a reason to change the channel. Considering that no other scripted program on television is live, why the f*** would you script the WWE? Might as well not tape RAW or Smackdown in front of a live audience then, hey, why not just produce the show as a action-drama like Burn Notice??? ...Vince wants to play the part of movie/tv director but in reality he's a delusional egotist who doesn't see his own flaws.
CON
"Here's another one--"Resthold". This one has gotten so prevalent even veterans use it now, but I guarantee you that if you had told Dick Murdoch you didn't like the "resthold" he grabbed, he would have put one on you that wouldn't have been very restful. Obviously, after a fast-paced high spot or series of moves, you DO grab a hold to catch your breath or regroup, but to call a hold in a wrestling match a "resthold" is to undermine the basic logic behind wrestling. A wrestling match is supposed to consist of two people applying holds to each other until one man triumphs. The holds are supposed to be dangerous, painful and punishing."
There are rest holds in MMA, they are extremely useful in immobilizing your opponent and letting you catch your breath. Is Jim trying to say that a Randy Orton Chinlock is supposed to end a match?
PRO...well, actually, all CON from this point out
"What is more "insulting" to the fan's intelligence, consistency in and out of the ring, or the same guys who are screaming at and beating on each other on TV sitting in a bar together laughing after the show, slapping the fans' faces with "We're just pretending to hate each other to get your money"? In Ohio Valley Wrestling, the talent would squeal like pigs stuck under a gate when I would fine them for being seen in public together when they were working against each other on TV, but I refused to let my business be s*** on by people who didn't respect our profession enough to observe our kayfabe rules."
So much wrong here. Jim fined heels and faces for hanging out together outside of the arena? What?!
Are we supposed to completely forget that the finish of each match is predetermined and that most of these guys don't really want to injure their opponents? What the f*** Jim. We're not so f***ing stupid that we think stage magicians go home and continue doing magic tricks even when nobody's watching and that magic is actually real (Harry Potter notwithstanding). We don't expect circus performers to do nothing aside from the art they practice, why should we put this unrealistic and unfair restriction on wrestlers?
The only time a performance is threatened by heels and faces interacting is when it's done at and during the show. It just distracts from the real reason most modern wrestling fans go see wrestling live in the first place...it's entertaining to watch two PERFORMERS work a great match. Austin and Foley roomed together with William/Steven Regal, is that going to ruin a match for you? Is it still real for you, dammit?!