Why so serious? Is that required of a WWE Champ?
 

If Ryder stops being goofy....
If Kofi stops smiling...
If Santino drops the cobra act...

Is being serious or a bad ass really required to be a credible champ?

Granted Mick Foley was known before he became a champ, but Mankind was really goofy (socko) when he won those titles.

Kofi and Ryder are credible with the fans now, so why change them? Wouldn't they be a cookie cutter champion if they became serious? Why not keep the persona and just win the match because they are good?

Embracing the deception is more than Psych lyric, its why I enjoy wrestling... try it.

Cause they have to do like Cena and embrace the hate!!

Mankind was "goofy" but he was still a psychopathic bastard.

1. I'm glad I'm not the only Psych fan...
2. Can people like Ryder and Kofi be a champ and still keep thier persona? I can see them on the red carpet with the WWE Title...

I can see Kofi getting the belt for a short run, but that has less to do with his happy smiley persona and more to do with the fact that he's usually really exciting to watch in the ring.

Santino and to a lesser extent Ryder, not so much. Yes, they can be entertaining and they can get over with the crowd, but neither of them (Santino especially) are really booked in a way where the crowd can really get behind them as credible contenders, rather than just clowns.

Yes, there have been wrestlers with a goofy side that have won the WWE Title--Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, to some extent the Rock, etc. The big difference between those characters and someone like Santino is that their goofy side was just that, a side of a more rounded personality, whereas Santino is nothing but goofy. Angle could come out and act like a big dork, but the crowd also knew he was a conniving bastard with a vicious streak. Foley would pull a sock out of his pants, but he was also known for having extremely brutal matches against the toughest guys in the business.

What I'm saying is that while you don't have to be "serious" to be the top guy in the company, you do have to be able to be taken seriously.

But Mick Foley was capable of creating that type of dynamic for his character.

We have still yet to see if Kofi or Ryder (For the sake of example.) are capable of what Foley was able to pull off. They have a long way to go.

Kofi's character hasn't been a comedy act. Ryder has only been a legit act for a few months and Santino has been nothing but a comedy gimmick his entire career. Kofi has shown he can deliver in promos with emotion and get the point across. WWE failed Kofi after they didn't capitalize on him kicking Orton's ass in MSG.

They gave the title to Daniel Bryan. I'm pretty sure that puts Hornswoggle up there in contention for the title.

holy shit that part of the song is "Embrace the deception?"

mind blown

Kofi isnt goofy and hes a brutal motherfucker if you piss him off.

Watch his series of bouts with dolph where he gets screwed over.

This sums it up perfectly.

I would add names to the list like HBK and HHH as well. If nothing else, their classic DX antics showed they were both capable of being quite funny... but many other times they proved they were more than just "credible threats" in the ring. Even -- dare I say it -- a man who built his image around intensity and being a bad SOB was shown to be able to be funny..."Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Similar to the Rock, while he was never portrayed as a goofy bastard, he was shown to be willing to do humorous things. (Even if perhaps you didn't realize they were a big joke until the punchline hit. I'm looking at you "Bang 3:16.")

To be a champion requires honor, respect and the fighting spirit. You wear your title around your waist with pride, not over your shoulder. It's a title that most athletes work their entire lives for, so you treat that title with the respect it deserves.

This. It shined through during the feud with Orton and definitely shined through during his bouts with Dolph. I remember someone on this board saying he had a "mean streak" and thats the best way to describe it. He's a happy go lucky guy, but in that ring, he CAN convey facial expressions and the demeanor of a mean SOB.

Zis.

Although that's nothing that a couple months booking can't change. Look at Mark Henry, they even made it part of the storyline that he was an "under-achiever" in his time in wrestling/WWE on his way to becoming World Champion.

Not saying that Henry was a "joke" character, but pointing out that you can push anybody as a "legit threat".

Yeah, there just needs to be a good blend. I see no reason why Brodus Clay couldn't be a future champion without even changing his gimmick. The goofiness of the gimmick as no barring on the fact that he seems like he could legit destroy people.

If they wanted it, Santino could be the same way. With his background and skills, he can be a badass in the ring while still having fun and being goofy otherwise.

For me it was "learn how to bend." I thought it was "What might have been." I must've been out of my damn mind.

rewatching every episode of Psych on Netflix

:heart:

For the record I have all the eps of Psych on DVD... I also am HUGE Chuck fan for those who care... also learn the verse as well as the chorus... I would paste it, but I post on this site via cell phone...

Back to the topic at hand, I feel that any wrestler on the roster can be marketed as a champ... all they need is an oppertunity and the right people to work with. Some wrestlers can look good with any wrestler but those guys are far and few between right now.

Also take in consideration that a report has said that some mid card talent chooses not to step up which is a shame... My band director always said never settle for good enough when you could be the best...

Thanks for the props... it is well appreciated. On this site I need all the street cred that I need...

I guess my tag should be tpww's #1 Psych fan...

I'm still mad James Roday couldn't be on Raw... lol

cody, rtruth, dolph, and kofi will be champions by year end, thats my prediciton

Did either of you actually star watching Psych because of Raw?

I did

not because of the episode they were on, but because of the commercials that came on during every break, i just finally broke down and was like, ok this looks funny.

Since this is now the Psych thread. I started watching over the Summer cause my brother said it was great. His financee actually bought him several Psych books. They try to read the books aloud as the characters sometimes.

We watched a few episode of it over the Xbox Live Party thing on Netflix before they took it away when they "improved" the 360 interface.

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Saw a commercial, tried the pilot, loved it ever since...

saw the one with John Cena and enjoyed it, but didn't want to watch it out of order on repeats.

so when Netflix Instant had it I watched every episode in like 2 weeks

Lets see what Miz can do....