Its easy to be a heel in WWE if you are from another country
 

This video got me thinking.

Listen to the flag waving sheep recording it "this is america, this is america USA! USA!" So patriotic towards a country they were born in by chance and had absolutely no control over. Only in America do ya get that shit.

For example, Christian could walk down the ramp on Smackdown wearing a Canadian t-shirt, take his cock out and piss into the first few rows while slapping a Canadian Mountie on the ass and singing the Canadian national anthem. The American crowd would boo and chant "USA!USA!" Then he could step in the ring, remove his Canadian shirt, pick up an American flag and start waving it and i guarantee 95% of the crowd with piss still dripping down their faces would start cheering him and again chant "USA!USA!" That's why its so easy for a foreigner to be a heel in the WWE, just speak in a different language or with an accent and the American crowd will boo because they dont understand and therefore they hate on it. Im sure some fans (especially in the south) actually think America is the only country on the planet and are so narrowminded they dont even want to entertain any other possibility.

There are many examples of a wrestler appearing in WWE and just speaking with a different accent makes them a heel automatically, and if they speak in their own language even for a moment the booing gets louder. A few examples here off the top of my head

The Iron Sheik
Muhammed Hassan
The Hart Foundation (In 1997 which turned into an angle and almost started a war it got so personal)
Drew McIntyre
Sheamus
William Regal
Alberto del Rio/Ricardo Rodriguez (Especially when speaking spanish)


So my question is, Whats up with that?

It'd be the exact same in any other country. See the Hart Foundation stuff whenever they went to Canada.

It's not that simple. Those wrestlers you mentioned were generally told to go out there and insult Americans to garner cheap heat (although Hassan was a twist on that but people didn't seem to get that one). Regal and the Harts have been successful faces, as well as wrestlers like Kofi Kingston who came in with a fake Jamaican accent yet didn't get booed.

Not to mention the many many Canadian wrestlers who have been successful faces.

If a wrestler comes out with a foreign accent and slates America, then yeah it's easy to gain cheap heat. But a wrestler could just as easily come out with a foreign accent and act like a face.

Hassan was booed after stating the fact that he gets treated like a terrorist just for how he looks.

They went to Canada months after the angle had started up and of course they were gonna cheer their hometown boys then considering the abuse they had suffered in america leading up to that.

Oh ok so other countries have good excuses when they boo. But in America we do it because we're too stupid to know any better.

I'd say its just easy to be a heel. Just chirp the fans and the pretty much boo you.

If Americans are so stupidly patriotic, then why did Kurt Angle, a legitimate American hero, get booed?

if kurt angle had never opened his mouth he woulda been cheered. thats clearly different. he was on about his superior intensity, integrity and intelligence and he slated all the hometown's local teams etc. swagger would be cheered too if he shut his mouth. Im talking first impressions. sheamus and drew were booed for nothing. sheik was booed for loving his own country!

So what about the Bushwackers and Jimmy Snuka? Why weren't they booed?

Why was finlay billed as "Belfast, Ireland" when belfast is the capital of another country altogether? its like "ah fuck it, america wont notice"

hmmm...

"Belfast, Northern Ireland" is too much to say during an in-ring introduction. They could have used his real hometown of Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland.

Oh right, that makes perfect sense. Why didnt they announce RVD as "Creek, Michigan" cos "Battle" is a bit of a mouthful

American city people know about.

I thought all non American rasslers were heels anyway. USA USA USA!!

HBPunk, you're wrong.

When Angle first appeared he was booed before he opened his mouth. He was initially supposed to be a face, but the crowd didn't take to him at first and to make matter worse, he was booed in his home state.

Any foreign with limited talent can be an above-average heel in America..... The foreign heel will get over faster and better in America than any other foreign country..... (i.e. a British Heel will be more over in USA than in Canada or Mexico)

They aired vignettes and had him backstage playing heel so nuh uh

First off I'd like to state that this thread may be the only one you've ever posted HBPunk that wasn't complete and total bullshit. Now on to the actual topic. Americans are not stupid people from a particular country will always feel more patriotic toward their homegrown talent than that of another country which is why it makes it so easy for them to boo a foreign heel. Every person you mentioned was meant to be a heel they didn't just get booed for no reason. Take Santino he isn't American but people cheer him because he doesn't act like a total assclown. Had Sheamus come out and acted decent he could have probably been cheered as well. Yes anti-America comments get you cheap heat but go to another country and talk shit and see what happens they'll boo you just the same.

Awww wishbone that was quite sweet and with a whopping, legendary 501 posts to your name i really reeeeealy appreciate that. Its the flag waving "us against the world, we are the best country ever" mentality that really pisses me off. Not saying every single american is guilty of it but its definately way more rampant in america than anywhere else. i appreciate your point but when i was at Raw in dublin and Sheamus fought John Cena there was no "IRELAND!IRELAND!" chant. It just wouldn't occur to us to chant something so silly. But swap dublin for say, houston or florida and it will be one of the first few chants you hear. im wondering why?

Remember recently on ppv Zeke was facing Barrett and the crowd started chanting USA to get behind Zeke even though he isn't from america? Thats retarded but it happened. This is because they were ill informed but still assumed he was theirs.

Since 9/11, Americans have had Arabaphobia and anyone of Middle Eastern origin is automatically jeered on the idea that because they are 'from over there' they are 'one of them terrorists.

Well, at least thats how it was with Hassan and Daivari (Not to say WWE didnt play up to the terrorist gimmick, because they clearly did). Same w/ Sheik after the Gulf War

LMAO. Well said.

I'm not even going to try to compare reactions from other countries because I don't know enough about it, but seriously, in America, this is true. America also doesn't need to be insulted to insinuate that there are a lot of dumb shits running around in it either, so I don't even see the point in arguing.

The "USA! USA!" shit has been going on forever, and will continue to go on, and it's always been predictable to that degree.

Yeah exactly man, i just wanted a bit of a discussion about it to try to understand it better but most of what i got back was negative, defensive BS. It is unique, just like the time raw was in japan and every move was greeted with rapid applause. Pretty unique stuff

From Pudsnatcher, North Dakota.

Yeah there are indeed dumbass people in America but that goes for any country in the world. Stupidity isn't relegated to just one nationality. Patriotism is a good thing and while I agree America isn't the only country in the world and other countries do matter we are still the best damn thing going and if our citizens want to chant USA USA! at a wrestling event I think we have that right.

First off, there's the stereotype. Us irish are drunks and fuck potatoes. The welsh shag sheep. The english are smug cunts. The french are smelly and fuck cheese. Americans are fat and dumb. A stereotype is a bad thing but it has to originate somewhere. You have an enormous population and you just gotta look at george bush to see the stupidity thing shining through.

Like i said in ireland at the house show nobody started chanting IRELAND IRELAND! at sheamus. iv never heard a CANADA CANADA! chant so why do americans ALWAYS chant USA USA! im not looking for "we can do it if we want" im wondering why?

And patriotism isn't a good thing, its barely a thing. where you were born is complete luck of the draw. As a sperm how did you decide "alright ill give this america thing a go, it sounds good USA USA"

US Patriotism is about appreciating how lucky you are to live in such a free and prosperous nation and respecting the sacrifices made to establish and maintain this free and prosperous nation.

Then why is the best heel in the history of the WWE an American capitalist?

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You will find most nations are the same way but we dont need to waffle on about it. By most nations i include Canada, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, most of Asia. . . Basically not Russia, Arab countries, South Africa and Mexico

when Kurt Angle was a heel and came to his hometown of Pittsburgh, he had to come down to the ring and cut a promo bashing Mario Lemieux (who at the time was battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma), the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Pirates, the Steelers, and everything else regionally-beloved in order to get the crowd to boo him.

cool story bro

Kurt Angle was in the WWE in 1993? Cause that's when Lemieux got and beat cancer.

Whoops, ok, my bad. I DO remember that he specifically referenced Mario and cancer. I'll have to see if I can drag up a clip.

I totally agree there are dumbass people in the US, but you can't judge a whole country based on a few idiots. Especially fans of WWE, b/c WWE plays up streotypes like there's no tommorow. They actually want to diversify their roster with the intention of creating a new streotype to play off of. I think when it's appropriate, patriotism should be shown. In all fairness, that should go for all countries(even at a wrestling event), but in most cases doesn't happen. Unfortunately, WWE happens to be US based, so it's patriotism is directed at the US being superior everywhere. So, I can see why foreign fans might feel WWE events are too patriotic. You can only do a streotype gimmick so long before it's worn out. Even I get tired of hearing all the USA chants, and I'm American. In alot of cases, the supposed "foreigner" is a gimmick and not an actual foreigner. But, like you said, fans should be allowed to decide whether or not they wanna cheer....

Absolutely right Captain but they seem to belt out the same tired USA chant despite that. I dont remember hearing it much when fans were chanting 'asshole', 'you fucked up', 'this is awesome' etc. Its like USA! is the go-to chant all the time and its boring as hell. Blame the boring/bored crowds too i guess

Yeah, alot of Americans are narrow minded and ignorant in that respect. Blindly chanting "USA" like mindless sheep is very boring, almost aggravating to an extent. I can understand doing it on a patriotic holiday or to support the troops, but otherwise chanting it makes no sense. Most WWE crowds aren't the sharpest or more informed ppl, so I'm not surprized when they chant the same redundant USA chant. Good luck though getting ppl to see that logic.

I think i might just love you. Have you seen what Naitch types about? He is EXACTLY what you are referring to in your post

I'm not an American basher or anything, but so are 90% of Americans. Not too many ppl are bold enough to speak their opinion on a touchy subject like this. Yeah, I support first amendment rights and all, but damn, how many times can you chant USA for no apparent reason? If it makes sense, fine, but otherwise it's pointless. I'm glad I'd rather be considered an individualist than a conformist...

Cool man. I think it was the Zeke vs Barrett match that pushed me over the edge really. When they started chanting it at Zeke when he's not even american that was the last straw. All the troops clips during the anthem at Mania, all the pro war stuff, its just so annoying to see all the time especially when the WWE claims to be a global brand too. To be honest we could discuss the war and politics, pro or against, for the next year straight but this is a wrestling show and this is a wrestling site and it just has no place on either.

Well, it's one thing to be patriotic, it's another to obsess over it. Clearly the fans of WWE take it to outrageous extremes. It's always weird to see fans chant that during a match where neither guy is American. Zeke is from South Africa and Wade Barrett is from the UK. So who's the USA chant for? I can understand the frustration for non-US fans. I get bored and aggitated myself, b/c the chants show ignorance and serve no purpose. Like I said before if it's a Tribute To The Troops or during a national holiday, I see the point. Any other time makes no logical sense and is in poor taste...

Thank God I'm not the only one that thinks that way.

Yeah, it appears there are some likeminded, sensible ppl. Wrestling fans like we have been talking about give all wrestling fans a bad name. It's a shame all wrestling fans have to be streotyped based on the ignorance of some fans. No wonder pop culture thinks us wrestling fans are all rednecks who bang our sisters at family reunions. So fake, yet so real:love:

I'm not a redneck. I'm from up North.

Pop culture thinks we all are rednecks(and so does Vince McMahon I bet). Even though I'm from the south, I don't consider myself an inbred redneck. I'm a redneck educated enough to stay away from family reunions when dating. And definately smart enough NOT to chant USA when two guys in the ring aren't American.

cool so thats three of us then. thats about the vast majority so :) now we gotta get rid of the sexism and homophobia thats running rampant on this site. naitch is the fucking worst with his 'no homo' bs. you shud see the thread he did about the attitude era where i asked him to explain why he's against gay people and why he needs to tell people he's not gay all the time.
even for the internet, his response is fucking retarded

Zeke is from South America not South Africa.

thats the important bit alright. tell wikipedia we said thanks

.

Thanks for the correction:D Really changes my point, if it were ppl chanting South USA:p

Watch Summerslam 2006 (in Boston, Massachusetts) the Edge vs Cena match then after that watch Unforgiven 2006 (in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA) the Edge vs Cena match. In both matches, Edge is a heel. When in America though, most wrestlers from another country are booed with Edge and Christian just a couple of exceptions. Some of the biggest boos by Americans were for La Resistance. They generally hated them.

Edge was the only guy in the company that could actually get heel heat while facing Cena back in 2006.

like that time he fought cena in TLC in CENA'S HOMETOWN and the crowd CHEERED FOR EDGE?

Unforgiven 2006 was in TORONTO you DUMB mother FUCKER. The match in Boston was SSlam 06 and that was one of those stupid "If the heel champion gets DQ'd he loses the title" stips, and Edge won by cheating with brass knuckles.

La Resistance got boo'd by Americans because WWE created a gimmick to take advantage of the animosity the US had toward France at the time (besides nobody likes the French).

sorry i didnt wikipedia it like you dude. you know what i mean tho, whatever the fucking show was the month before that then in boston. how do you know about other wrestlers anyway? i thought hhh was the only one in the wwe?

Watch the damn match, Cena didn't get boo'd out of the building. There were "Cena Sucks" chants (which happened in every fucking show in 06) and a "Edge, You Suck!" chant. For the most part the crowd shit on the match in general.

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John Cena vs Edge SummerSlam 2006 (1 2) by johncena77

Also, quite incorrect. Triple H has several other wrestlers to work with since 90% of them have jobbed to him and liked the rub they got from even being in the ring with The King of Kings. Also, you are a massive twat.

remember when canadian fans used to boo the faces and cheer the heels

magical

im pretty fucking sweet actually. HHH went over everybody cos he has no penis. Im sure 'his' kids are actually Ric Flairs

I know this is kinda unreleated but how's that Jinder Mahal/ Great Khali angle going? I caught part of it one week and it didn't look like they were doing the generic "where from another contry so were better than you"